Open Source Software
Many small businesses and non-profit organizations simply cannot afford to pay even the reduced cost of many premier software programs. Just creating a simple word processing document and managing e-mail requires software that ranges between $100-$200.
Open source software is the obvious solution to the software woes of organizations operating on a shoe-string budget. Below is a list compiled by Ed Cyzewski and based on the lists of other open source users.
Some Examples:
Instead of MS Office there is Open Office
Instead of Adobe pdf maker there is Primo PDF Maker
Instead of Publisher there is Page Plus
Instead of Photo Shop there is Gimp (http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html)
You can make free conference calls through www.freeconferencecall.com
Instead of Outlook you can use Gmail or Thunderbird by Mozilla
Open Source Software in no particular order:
The Open CD: just about every software program you could ever want all at one site or on one CD. All for free. The following applications are included on TheOpenCD 3.1. Download them for free or purchase the whole CD for a few bucks if you have dial up internet. You’ll find programs for productivity, design, internet/networking, and other programs not included on this list.
Productivity
AbiWord 2.4.1: AbiWord is a light weight, stand alone word processor that can read and write a large number of document formats, including MS-Word. Due to its small size it is well suited for use on older hardware
OpenOffice 2.0: free versions of Word, Excel, etc.
PDFCreator 0.8.1: free pdf creator
Design
GIMP 2.2.9: Photo Editing Program similar to Photoshop
NVU 1.0: web page design program similar to Dreamweaver
Internet/Networking
FireFox 1.5: One of the most secure web browser similar to Internet Explorer
Thunderbird 1.5: An E-mail client similar to outlook.
Gaim 1.5: Gaim is an instant messenger (IM) client.
Additional Software
Design
PhotoPlus 6 – Image and Photo Editing Software
WebPlus 6 – Free Web Site Design & Publishing Software
DrawPlus 4 – Free Graphic Design and Vector Drawing Software
Free Blog Sites
The Blog.net: Makes Sharp, Clean Blogs
Blogger: Some people love it, others hate it. It’s simple enough to use and it’s made by Google. You can’t beat free.
Blogtastic: Another nice looking blog program.
WordPress.com: Free blog, but you’re limited. Many people are using WordPress now.
WordPress.org: Same great program, but you have to pay for hosting. Their web page tells you all about it.
Live Journal: a simple to use personal publishing tool.
Other Free Blog Programs with reviews.
E-Mail Clients
Gmail: The best spam filter out there and with over 2 gb of space, you never have to delete an e-mail again. It has a new feature that allows you to send e-mail right from your account so no one will ever know you aren’t using your own domain name. (www.jordoncooper.com)
Yahoo: I don’t think Yahoo can touch GMail for now, but having a Yahoo account allows you to sign up for all kinds of free online products such as Flickr and you have a decent amount of storage.
RSS Readers
Bloglines: A great RSS reader that helps you keep up on the news, blogs, and other sites that provide an RSS feed. Bloglines makes it easy and more importantly really quick. Some like the interface a lot better than Google readers.
Virus Protection and Spyware:
Avast: free virus program for home and non-profit use. It updates just about every day and may be more effective than Norton.
Conference Calls/Telephone:
Skype: We use Skype a lot to do conference calling. I never used to have mine running but as more people are using it, I find it essential now. (www.jordoncooper.com)
Google Talk: Better quality than Skype but it doesn’t allow for conference calls. (www.jordoncooper.com)
Free Conference: Easy conference-calling. Set it up online, call the number they give you, enter your code and you’re in. When everyone else on the call enters the call, you’re ready to go. This may be an expensive service if you don’t have cheap long distance calling.
Affordable Solutions (not open source, but worth a look):
Typepad: I’d use this, a hosted version of Movable Type blog platform, for a corporate website. ($4.95 – $14.95 a month) Another decent solution to use is Squarespace. It offers a blogging tool as well as a complete content management system that you don’t have to worry about setting up. ($7 – $30 a month) (www.jordoncooper.com)
Dreamhost: If you need more features than what is offered by Typepad or Squarespace. Dreamhost has an excellent collection of tools and hosting starts at $7.95 a month. (www.jordoncooper.com)
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