Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Open Source Programs is Happy


Why should we pay for what we can get for free? I always ask myself this whenever I log onto a friend's computer and they have tons of bloatware and inefficient programs pop up on login. Of course not that many people seem to know about the various Open Source programs that exist on the internet as effective alternatives to the big corporate programs that find themselves in the limelight. When I bring these up, most just bring out derogatory terms like computer geek or nerd, while refusing to realize that I am basically an average user, just an incredibly cheap average user. If only many were to realize that these programs existed millions could be saved just getting the most basic computer running.

Of course reading this you may be wondering what exactly open source is. The name implies that the source code of the program is viewable/editable but that is not exactly all it is. Open source programs are programs designed and released under licenses (the most popular seeming to be GPU-General Public Use) often developed in a very public manner with the developers interacting with their target audience. These programs do not cost anything for the average user and must be released in a way so that it is modifiable by the users and legally redistributed/repackageable. This method of distribution usually relies on internet downloads, rather than actual physical copies. Because of this, these programs are ideal for students, schools, corporations (who may have to pay for a business license), and also any average users.

Because of this I am always surprised by how many people tend to see these options as "dangerous" or too much of a hassle to learn about. While there are large communities that seem to embrace the freedom from the mainstream companies, a large majority of the populace seems to reject the ideas of free software, often feeling way about the legitimacy of the programs. What this seems to indicate is a relative shift in the social structure of the world. The world is becoming more web literate obviously and its shift into the new internet age has spawned a internet culture that no longer listens to the Big Business figures. Of course the average user is still lost in a world of big business brainwashing that has existed for the past two decades. This open source alternative may never fully replace proprietary software, but it certainly will increase competition and may eventually offer a viable alternative to the those less technologically knowledgeable and light computer users.

Check for alternatives to mainstream programs with this site (Not all are open source): http://alternativeto.net/

I would recommend these good Open Source Programs:
Open Office- Microsoft Word/Powerpoint/Excel replacement
7zip- Winzip/WinRar replacements
Firefox- Internet Explorer replacement
Pidgin- Facebook, Aim, Yahoo, etc messenger replacements
Mozilla Thunderbird- Outlook Express replacement
VLC- Windows Media Player replacement
Handbrake- DVD Ripper
Audacity- Recording Software
Gimp- Photo editing
Inkscape- Vector Image creation

1 comment:

bcope said...

Great post; informative and practical while managing to touch upon capitalist/social dynamics. I'm going to check out some of these programs, especially since I will be back in the evil world of PCs come August. Thanks.