Here is list of some of the best open source alternative you can go for when you are going to switch to new open source operating system. If you are planing to switch to linux or any other open source distro then this are the best options you can go for at the start. The tools are free and best alternative for the commercial product. They provide all the functionality and support. The only difference is the user interface and that makes you a bit slow. But later on you can gain speed on the same.
Office Application
OpenOffice in place of Microsoft Office :
If the price of Office you feel that Microsoft is seeing the face, because no change? If you compare with other Microsoft suite of products, then you are looking for something that includes an email client, word processor, spreadsheet, tools, and an application for multimedia presentations. The only product that provides a competitive edge against Microsoft is Google (which includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Presentation and more). However, some argue that Google is not truly open source. Therefore, the next best alternative would be OpenOffice, an open source project that includes everything found in Microsoft Office, except the email client.
Database Support
Kexi in place of Microsoft Access: Microsoft Access is a versatile tool for creating databases and office applications. Accesss contains a database engine built in, also connects to other databases of ODBC. On the other hand, Kexi allows users to design ways to create and access data, as well as access.Kexi is open source, whereas Access belongs to Microsoft.
OpenOffice Writer in place of Microsoft Word : If you break this suite of office and start to replace the suite item by item, then you can start with this product. Writer is the word processing component of OpenOffice.org, which is similar to Microsoft Word, and with an equivalent range of features.
OpenOffice Calc in place of Microsoft Excel : Another Microsoft product, Excel still carries its productivity advantage as a spreadsheet, but no longer carries an air of absolute necessity. Google Docs can provide the application online, sharing spreadsheets. As a true open source product that can replace Excel, try OpenOffice.org Calc This tool provides the full functionality of a spreadsheet. Includes a large number of statistical and scientific functions, tables and graphs.
CMS and Publishing Tool
Moodle in place of Blackboard : Blackboard has been the CMS (Course Management System) industry standard for educational purposes for many years. This program allows instructors to create courses, manage student work, and more. However, Moodle has gained significant ground as an open source alternative to Blackboard, as it helps educators create effective online learning communities in a scalable package that costs nothing to use.
Workbench in place of Microsoft Project : Microsoft allows users to control project work, schedule, and finances and effectively communicate project data to other users. However, costs do with Microsoft. Instead, use open source software Open Workbench to perform exactly the same details of the project. Users need to move beyond desktop scheduling to a workgroup, division or enterprise-wide solution.
PDFCreator in place of Adobe Acrobat : There is a free trial to create a PDF from Adobe. However, PDFCreator easily creates PDFs from any Windows program.
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