kydius
07-28-2007, 17:50
Hey guys,
I thought I would compile a list of useful tools which are all either freeware or open source projects and that can be used as alternatives to the big costly softwares available on the market. So no need to make a pirate out of yourself...:wink2:
So let's start!
- First of all, one of the most popular open source projects : OpenOffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org/) (Screenshot) (http://www.mozillaquest.com/OpenSource05/graphics/OpenOffice2-desktop_581x578.png)
It's a very good alternative to Microsoft's suite. Almost everything is there, word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, database, etc. If you're only making or editing documents without the need of ultra fancy features and don't want to pay hundreds of bucks to get a license then that's what you need! Open Office wasn't always really good but I would say that since V2 it became real nice.
- Next, a little compression software that I love : 7 Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/) (Screeshot) (http://www.pegasoft.cz/img_novinky/new_velka/7zfm.png)
It's also open source, available in many languages, compatible with zip, tar, rar and many more. Ultra light and fast, it can also compress zip files with higher compression ratio than winzip and so, resulting in smaller files.
- Have you ever wanted to create PDF files but never wanted to pay the big bucks to Adobe? Well you can with PDF Creator (http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/) (Screenshot) (http://abdussamad.com/uploads/media/pdfcreator.png)
It's another open source project. It's very simple, you install it and it creates a PDF printer. So in whatever application you are, just tell it to print on this printer and it will create a PDF file in the folder of your choice!
- But PDF Creator is only a creator and can't read PDF files. So here comes Foxit Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/) (Screenshot) (http://nayyeri.net/misc/FoxitReader2.0Released_9512/ui_outlook13.jpg)
This one is a very light PDF reader that works so well. The installation file is about 1.5mb compared to around 20mb for Adobe Reader. It installs in a fraction of a second and opens PDF files very quickly. Plus it eats a lot less memory than its Adobe counterpart. You can add plugins as you wish and can download and install other languages on the fly. But note that on the website, some advanced plugins are not free. Still don't worry, the basic ones and the reader remain totally free.
- Next, the almighty browser Firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/) (Screenshot) (http://www.pcstats.com/articleimages/200412/firefox_browserstart.jpg)(Oh and why not a 2nd one) (http://stochastix.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/get-firefox.jpg) :bigsmile:
Most of you probably already know it. It's a very good alternative to Internet Explorer. Features tab browsing, anti-phishing filter and much more. It's highly customizable with themes and very useful extensions (I might do another topic on that). It's open source and available in every language.
- For those of you who are into image editing, one of the most popular alternates to Photoshop is the Gimp (http://www.gimp.org/) (Screenshot) (http://developer.gimp.org/screenshots/gimp-svg-import.png)
I didn't use it a lot myself since I'm not really into photo editing but it's been acclaimed a lot in the open source community. I'm quite sure that the most often used features in Photoshop are present in the Gimp. Try it for yourself!
- Another popular image tool is Irfanview (http://www.irfanview.com/) (Screenshot) (http://www.wareza.net/archives/irfanview.gif)
This one is a freeware. It's also very light and fast, yet very powerful. You could use it only as a quick image viewer or use it to do some basic editing as well. Oh and it can also read movies and sound files. Compatible even on Windows 95!
- Now some other players I like : VLC media player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) (Screenshot) (http://enscreenshots.softonic.com/s2en/52000/52088/3_vlc1.jpg)
Another freeware, another very light player. This one can read almost anything you throw at it, even videos encoded with the weirdest codecs. It can also play DVD movies and can be used as a streaming server.
- I guess some of you like to play Quick Time movies for trailers and everything but hate the resource hungry quicktime player. Here is QuickTime Alternative (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm) (Screenshot) (http://www.utilidades-utiles.com/img/Download-Quicktime%20Alternative.png)
It's simply installs the quick time codecs without the big player. Instead it uses the light Media Player Classic to read mov files. It also allows you to play the quick time files that are embed within browsers without problems.
- In the same mood : Real Alternative (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm) (Sreenshot) (http://scr.softonic.com/s2/28000/28591/0_28591.jpg)
It's the exact same thing as QT Alternative but this time for the Real Media files. So it allows you to play them with Media Player Classic rather than the big Real Player.
- Finally, my favorite audio player : Foobar 2000 (http://www.foobar2000.org/) (Screenshot) (http://www.nd.edu/~mmcgill/images/foobar_3000C_060703.jpg)
When you download and install it at first, it's the most basic audio player that you can get. But it is ultra customizable, you can add a lot of plugins, i.e to see the album art of the song you're listening, show the lyrics in real time (karaoke style), manage a database of all your albums and much much more. It takes quite some time but someone that is willing to spend time to customize it exactly as he wants can achieve great results in the end!
So phew....that's it for now. I have surely forgotten some, maybe I'll add others later. And if you have any that you could share with the others don't hesitate!
Hope this helps!
I thought I would compile a list of useful tools which are all either freeware or open source projects and that can be used as alternatives to the big costly softwares available on the market. So no need to make a pirate out of yourself...:wink2:
So let's start!
- First of all, one of the most popular open source projects : OpenOffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org/) (Screenshot) (http://www.mozillaquest.com/OpenSource05/graphics/OpenOffice2-desktop_581x578.png)
It's a very good alternative to Microsoft's suite. Almost everything is there, word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, database, etc. If you're only making or editing documents without the need of ultra fancy features and don't want to pay hundreds of bucks to get a license then that's what you need! Open Office wasn't always really good but I would say that since V2 it became real nice.
- Next, a little compression software that I love : 7 Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/) (Screeshot) (http://www.pegasoft.cz/img_novinky/new_velka/7zfm.png)
It's also open source, available in many languages, compatible with zip, tar, rar and many more. Ultra light and fast, it can also compress zip files with higher compression ratio than winzip and so, resulting in smaller files.
- Have you ever wanted to create PDF files but never wanted to pay the big bucks to Adobe? Well you can with PDF Creator (http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/) (Screenshot) (http://abdussamad.com/uploads/media/pdfcreator.png)
It's another open source project. It's very simple, you install it and it creates a PDF printer. So in whatever application you are, just tell it to print on this printer and it will create a PDF file in the folder of your choice!
- But PDF Creator is only a creator and can't read PDF files. So here comes Foxit Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/) (Screenshot) (http://nayyeri.net/misc/FoxitReader2.0Released_9512/ui_outlook13.jpg)
This one is a very light PDF reader that works so well. The installation file is about 1.5mb compared to around 20mb for Adobe Reader. It installs in a fraction of a second and opens PDF files very quickly. Plus it eats a lot less memory than its Adobe counterpart. You can add plugins as you wish and can download and install other languages on the fly. But note that on the website, some advanced plugins are not free. Still don't worry, the basic ones and the reader remain totally free.
- Next, the almighty browser Firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/) (Screenshot) (http://www.pcstats.com/articleimages/200412/firefox_browserstart.jpg)(Oh and why not a 2nd one) (http://stochastix.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/get-firefox.jpg) :bigsmile:
Most of you probably already know it. It's a very good alternative to Internet Explorer. Features tab browsing, anti-phishing filter and much more. It's highly customizable with themes and very useful extensions (I might do another topic on that). It's open source and available in every language.
- For those of you who are into image editing, one of the most popular alternates to Photoshop is the Gimp (http://www.gimp.org/) (Screenshot) (http://developer.gimp.org/screenshots/gimp-svg-import.png)
I didn't use it a lot myself since I'm not really into photo editing but it's been acclaimed a lot in the open source community. I'm quite sure that the most often used features in Photoshop are present in the Gimp. Try it for yourself!
- Another popular image tool is Irfanview (http://www.irfanview.com/) (Screenshot) (http://www.wareza.net/archives/irfanview.gif)
This one is a freeware. It's also very light and fast, yet very powerful. You could use it only as a quick image viewer or use it to do some basic editing as well. Oh and it can also read movies and sound files. Compatible even on Windows 95!
- Now some other players I like : VLC media player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) (Screenshot) (http://enscreenshots.softonic.com/s2en/52000/52088/3_vlc1.jpg)
Another freeware, another very light player. This one can read almost anything you throw at it, even videos encoded with the weirdest codecs. It can also play DVD movies and can be used as a streaming server.
- I guess some of you like to play Quick Time movies for trailers and everything but hate the resource hungry quicktime player. Here is QuickTime Alternative (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm) (Screenshot) (http://www.utilidades-utiles.com/img/Download-Quicktime%20Alternative.png)
It's simply installs the quick time codecs without the big player. Instead it uses the light Media Player Classic to read mov files. It also allows you to play the quick time files that are embed within browsers without problems.
- In the same mood : Real Alternative (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm) (Sreenshot) (http://scr.softonic.com/s2/28000/28591/0_28591.jpg)
It's the exact same thing as QT Alternative but this time for the Real Media files. So it allows you to play them with Media Player Classic rather than the big Real Player.
- Finally, my favorite audio player : Foobar 2000 (http://www.foobar2000.org/) (Screenshot) (http://www.nd.edu/~mmcgill/images/foobar_3000C_060703.jpg)
When you download and install it at first, it's the most basic audio player that you can get. But it is ultra customizable, you can add a lot of plugins, i.e to see the album art of the song you're listening, show the lyrics in real time (karaoke style), manage a database of all your albums and much much more. It takes quite some time but someone that is willing to spend time to customize it exactly as he wants can achieve great results in the end!
So phew....that's it for now. I have surely forgotten some, maybe I'll add others later. And if you have any that you could share with the others don't hesitate!
Hope this helps!