Today, is Document Freedom Day! A day to raise awareness for open document standards.
I’ve been dealing with computers for over 15 years now and have gone through several, several different programs and different upgrade versions. It has been a constant hassle throughout the years having to purchase the latest version of program XYZ to be able to open files created by other people that have upgraded their software. Or, not being able to work well with people working on different OS and using different softwares for the same type of document.
Read More →
OpenOffice.org has just released OpenOffice version 2.4.0. At this moment, mysteriously there is no information coming from the main website, but you can download it through Filehippo. Sorry, no change log yet, no information as to what is new, and on my Linux distro OpenOffice still is showing as the most recent version so I’m assuming version 2.4 is Windows only.
[Update (03/27): here is the press release, the new features list, and the direct download page, it works on Linux!
Read More →
Mixxx is an open source DJ tool that can be useful for amateurs and professionals. This multi-platform program is loaded with features such as:
beat estimation for you to know which songs that have a better sync match; adjust tempo without distorting music’s pitch; visual wave forms display; support for many different gears such as DJ consoles and MIDI devices; adjust the song’s low, mid, and high ranges; and more!
Read More →
So far we’ve covered open source programs you can run on your computer. Most often they’re safer, lighter, and able to have you get the task done just as easily as proprietary equivalents.
Now, we’ll take it to the next level and talk about entire operating systems you can use on your machine. With an open source OS, at the maturity level of the existing projects, you will be able to make your entire computer safer, leaner, and quite often easier to manage.
Read More →
[Windows] If you want to store your CDs into your hard drive, you can start ripping them using CDex. I always like to convert my audio CDs into files so I can listen to the songs easily on my mp3 player and even to guarantee I’ll always have a copy in hand if I lend the CD to someone or it gets lost somewhere around the house.
CDex streamlines well this process by extracting the audio from the CD and converting it automatically to mp3, ogg, or WAV formats while storing ID3 tags.
Read More →
Not too long ago I searched through several accounting / money managing software and GnuCash was the best open source software program I could find for the job. To start, I really like it because it works on several different OS such as Windows, Linux, BSD, and MacOS X.
At first the program is a bit complicated to get used to because it uses the double-entry accounting principle where you always have to list where the money is coming from and going to.
Read More →
While Gimpcan help you edit raster images (pixel graphics), Inkscape will help you edit vector graphics. The good thing about vector-based images is that you can resize it as you wish and it will not be distorted.
If you’re not a professional graphics designer most likely you’ll be able to use Inkscape and have it do everything that you need. No need to purchase the expensive Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw.
Read More →
Songbird is my new favorite music management software. Why? Because with it I can organize songs on my desktop and explore music throughout the web.
Using the Mozilla platform, Songbird allows me to browse the web searching for songs while keeping track of my music collection on my computer. I can easily find music tracks available on a site to play them, download them, or dig deeper through different web pages to find more stuff on the bands and artists I like.
Read More →
A desktop publishing (DTP) software is mainly used to produce documents such as brochures, newsletters, newspapers, and even books. If you’ve heard or worked with Adobe’s PageMaker you’ll probably be happy to know there is an open source “alternative” project called Scribus.
Although Scribus doesn’t work with the file formats created by the other proprietary programs (ie. Adobe’s InDesign), it can work between these softwares through svg, eps, or pdf file formats.
Read More →
Winpooch is a very good open source security tool for your Windows. Similar to the freeware WinPatrol, it monitors the programs on your computer to catch any suspicious behavior.
Associated with ClamWin, your computer will have a complete open source protection system against virus, spywares, and trojans. ClamWin alone currently doesn’t have real time scanning function but with Winpooch it will. It is also important to note that Winpooch will not remove spywares but work to prevent them from acting on your Windows machine.
Read More →