i've been asked about this a bit lately, so i'm going to lay this out in one place, so i don't have to repeat myself. Ever since i switched back to windows, it's been my goal to not depend on pay-for software. there are 3 programs i depend on that aren't free and open-source. this is a list of everything else.
Except as noted, these programs are all open source. meaning that the source code is freely distributed, so anyone with the know-how can change or improve the software. it also means that these programs are free (like free beer), and that the current version will always be free.
Instant Messaging
GAIM
everyone hates ads. so why do you let AOL (or MSN or yahoo!) serve them to you every time you want to talk to your friends? for that matter, why install 3 different programs just so you can talk to friends that aren't all on the same network? GAIM chats on AOL's network, Yahoo!'s network, and MSN. easy.
Web Browsing
Firefox
if you're still using internet explorer, you haven't been listening to a word i've said for years now, i'm not sure why you would start now, but here goes. every spyware toolbar ever written, was written for internet explorer. you know that saying about "don't give the devil a foothold"? apply it to your web browser.
Anti Virus
AVG Free
Not Open Source. i mainly like this because it isn't nagware, it's just free. microsoft's onecare seems to do too much, and i'm not a fan of the firewall built into windows.
Firewall
all the free firewall options are gone. i use sygate, which symantec bought. figures. symantec's firewall is top notch. black ice is no longer free, either. Zone Alarm is the only one left. zone alarm will give you better contol over your ports and which programs are trying to reach the internet. but i haven't used it.
Email
Thunderbird
when i used an email program, i used thunderbird. it's better and safer than outlook express. by a long shot. but i don't use an e-mail client anymore. i use Outlook Live, which is like thunderbird plus sunbird plus a bunch of other stuff. There is an open source competitor to Outlook, but it doesn't run on windows. i have used it on linux, and it works well. on top of all that, i barely use outlook for email, since i have a GMail account. personally, i think gmail is better than thunderbird, but i know some people need their email offline.
Office/Word Processing
OpenOffice.org
back before microsoft started requiring activation for it's office products, all the cool kids in school had cracked copies of it. all the losers were stuck with the wordperfect that came with their dell paperweights. that's over now. openoffice a full office suite: presentations (read:powerpoint), word processing, spreadsheets, page layout (read:pagemaker). the only complaints about it are that it doesn't have a database (read:access) program, and that not all macros translate perfectly. given that i'm an architect, and none of my documents are that complex, none of this has affected me. I've been using this at work and at home for two years, and haven't had any issues. Bonus: when a vius decides to delete all your files, it won't bother with OOo's native format. (anything you've saved as a microsoft format for sending to coworkers is fair game, though).
PDF Creating
PDF 995
Not Open Source. this is shareware. it's free ($), but it will nag you to pay $9.95. nagging aside, this is the best and simplest PDF writer there is. it installs itself as a printer, so you can use it from any program. handles multiple page PDF's easily. don't forget to install both PDF995 AND the free converter. the converter is free because it's based on ghostscript.
Photo Editting
The GIMP
Image Editting is my stock and trade. giving up photoshop was such a pain. but it is possible. caveat: the learning curve on this program is BRUTAL. ESPECIALLY if you are already used to photoshop, fireworks, photopaint, or any commercial software. but all the tools are there, you just have to dig. if you want to edit PDF's (like photoshop), you'll need to install ghostscript, and add its directory to $PATH (usually C:\gs\gs8.50 )
Photo Managing
Picasa
Not Open Source. i know your digital camera came with photo managing software. that doesn't mean you have to use it. i know way too many people who have tons of pictures in their camera's software, and have no idea where to find the file if they need to email it. Thanks, Kodak. i wouldn't recommend this software if it weren't for that. this is how google does photos: Simple.
Music Player
Realplayer
I actually use windows media player, because it runs on my xbox, but realplayer connects to my minidisc player. and it's built on an open source core. and it runs on linux (and plays mp3s!). winamp never made the jump from mp3 player to media library. realplayer did it, and did it more gracefully than any other program.
RSS Reader
NewsGator
Not Open Source. let's be real here. i don't use an RSS reader. they all suck. they all cost more than a browser, and provide no added value. i use Akregator on linux, for it's lightness, the fact that it sits in my system tray, and it's integration with konqueror. none of the windows readers have that. i use newsgator's online reader because it's gui doesn't suck (yes i'm refererring to bloglines there) and because it integrates with their media center reader (which is free, and is the "desktop" reader i use). and i actually like their feedstation. i click "add to my podcasts" at work, and feedstation downloads it at home. but i'm not going to pay for a reader until it also includes an XMLRPC blogging client (that actually works, like a real wordprocessor). and it has to work better than akregator.
Web Design
Nvu
i'm lying. i do all my web design in a text editor. but i'm trying to let myself use this.
FTP
FileZilla
you remember when we all used to do filesharing over FTP on audiogalaxy with ws_FTP? yeah, 1998's gone. filezilla is a proper ftp client. i also use WinSCP for SFTP.
Bittorrent
Azureus
if you're ever going to make the leap to linux, you'll need a bittorrent client. if you're using it for anything else, i don't wanna know.
i use a lot of other software, but most of it isn't applicable to anyone else.
9 Comments
So, how to work better than Akregator? I mean what’s wrong in there… You know, things won’t change if no one knows about the problem and so on. Please report your problems (if codewise) and wishes to http://bugs.kde.org so developers could have an idea what should be fixed or improved. Thanks.
sorry, that wasn’t meant as a slam against Akregator. akregator is EXACTLY what i want. unfortunately i’m running windows. until native KDE for windows is released, i’m outta luck.
Good list! I especially appreciate the link to the PDF creator and GAIM.
GAIM: Looks great OTB, I may review it later on my blog once I see just what it can and can’t do.
Firefox: By far the best browser out there. I tried Flock, and IMHO it’s way over-hyped. All it really is is a beefed up version of Firefox.
AVG Free: I use and recommend it to everyone I know. No need to pay for Antivirus.
Firewall: I come up woefully short here.
Thunderbird: I’m with Adam, I just use Gmail, I have no need for an offline email client.
OpenOffice.org: I used to use it all the time until I got Microsoft office.
PDF 995: Sweet, I’ll be using this from now on.
The GIMP: GREAT photo editing program. Adam pointed me to it a long time ago and it’s been a god send.
Picasa: I agree with Adam. K.I.S.S.
Realplayer: Don’t like it. I use Media Player. I know, it’s of “the devil” but I like it.
NewsGator: I use Newsgator Online and it’s sleek. Very highly recommended.
Nvu: I’d rather code in Wordpad or something. But when I have to use a WYSIWYG editor this is the one I use.
FileZilla: I use Smart FTP which is free for personal use but not opensource.
Bittorrent: I have it and used it once. Don’t really have a need for this program though.
Realplayer? Besides the fact that IT is of the devil, converting realplayer format files for editing is a pain in the ass. 90% of all music editiing software is geared toward windows media and it’s associated files. Besides, I hate the stupid ads and headlines that incessantly show up slowing performance.
Besides that I like your list. If I spent more time on the web I’m sure I would use more of these programs than I currently do.
there’s a lingering hatred out there for realnetworks from the dialup era that’s no longer justified. all of the advertising can be opted out of, but most of those options are buried.
real has done a lot to try to reverse that bad image, and the things they’ve given the community are tangible, not just window dressing. check out helix community. the content production, encoding, and serving tools they’ve made available FREELY (all senses of the word) are not available, even cheaply, from anyone else.
yes, most windows based tools are geared towards windows media. that’s called vendor lock in, and it’s the very thing this list is meant to supplant.
Real’s codecs are the only high-compression codecs that are cross platform. (yeah, just try running windows media player on a mac, and it gets worse. or any of them on a Legal linux install.)
Real’s streaming media server is the only one that’s available without buying a server operating system. (OS X or Windows).
not to mention, their player interface acknowledges that it’s a 2D image that you click on, not a star trek phazer with metal buttons (but that’s an interface rant for another time)
Adam,
Over all I am on board with your picks, I am completely with Joel on the Real Player thing though.
Personally, I use Firefox exclusively, and actively use open office, and pdf 995. I even teach a web maintenance class for non profits using Nvu, so I am a big supporter of Nvu as well. I would also add too the list - AceFTP for FTP needs, and Irfanview is not bad for photo resizing and such.
With all of that said I still use Dreamweaver for my HTML development and Fireworks / Flash for most of my graphic work. Though I have to pay for them I find the added benefits and functions worth it for me. Most of that is due to the fact I routinely mess with / maintain / adjust / fix about 20 different web sites.
Like Ben I am a big Wordpress fan and use it exclusive to blog.
Stay strong, and be courageous
i do have an old student version of dreamweaver/flash/fireworks, and dreamweaver’s site management is far superior to either Nvu or Filezilla. that said, i only have one site, so it doesn’t matter much to me. and if you have more than one site, odds are you don’t need this list.
flash is old tech, and i don’t see it being relavent for much longer. yes, i know, google video would seek to dispute that.
fireworks, from my perspective, isn’t worth it at all. when i need something gimp doesn’t have, i fall back to an old copy of corel photopaint, but i hear photoshop elements is just as good.
and yes, wordpress all the way. i think wordpress.comis a much better blogging platform for the uninitiated than blogger/blogspot.
and i’m sticking to my guns on realplayer. when aol turns the corner, and open-sources winamp, maybe i’ll change my mind.
AFAIK, aceFTP and infranview, while useful, are closed source.
hi.
after reading your post I installed Picasa2 on my grandfathers computer. He just got his first and was having an awful time locating his photos and printing them. Picasa2 worked out being a life saver.
glad to hear it!
Ben alerted me that although development has been disconinued on Sygate personal firewall, it is still available here.
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