Open Source Christmas: For the homeworker who has everything
07/12/2009 send to a friend
What do you get the home business owner who has everything? San Sharma asks. Even at Christmas, he discovers, the best things in life are free. And they're five open source applications for your home office.
Firefox
Replaces Internet Explorer
If you haven't already switched to Firefox for your browsing needs, what are you waiting for? Whatever your reason, it might be the last bit of waiting you do on the web. This award-winning browser is faster, more secure, and fully customisable to your online life. It does a great job at stopping annoying pop-ups so you can concentrate on being more productive in your home office.
OpenOffice.org
Replaces Microsoft Office
If you're not quite ready to work completely on the web, OpenOffice.org is not only a fine replacement for expensive office applications, it is, in some instances, better than Microsoft Office's cumbersome alternative. It includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, database and mathematics applications. And - did we mention? - it's totally free.
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
Replaces Norton AntiVirus or McAfee
Unlike its pricey alternatives, or the anti-virus software that came pre-installed on your machine, AVG is lightweight, unobtrusive and keeps your system clean without nagging you to pay a monthly fee or upgrade your software. And people actually pay for that?
GIMPShop
Replaces Adobe Photoshop
Despite a somewhat dodgy name, GIMPShop is a solid replacement of Photoshop. This version imitates the Adobe interface well to help you adapt quickly. When the alternative costs around £500, GIMPShop is definitely worth a try.
PDFCreator
Replaces Adobe Acrobat
PDF creation is essential for any homeworker, but has been available only to those willing to pay an additional £250 to Adobe. PDFCreator adds a virtual printer to your system that, when printed to, creates a PDF file viewable on any computer with Adobe Reader. Dead simple. And completely free!
San Sharma
Social Media Consultant and Web Designer, Pop Culture Critic, Author, Moonwalker, etc.
Photo credit: Firefox by Garrett LeSage
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Comments
Author: Dave Poyser
Date: 07/12/2009
Comment: You might want to check the link for gimpshop.net!
Website: www.myhomefiling.com
Author: San Sharma
Date: 07/12/2009
Comment: Thanks Dave! Just changed it. With a name like 'gimp shop' it could have been a lot worse...
Website: http://www.sansharma.com/
Author: Colin Shelbourn
Date: 08/12/2009
Comment: If you're using a Mac running OS X, don't forget that you can create a PDF from any document by choosing Save As PDF in the Print menu.
Website: www.shelbourn.com