10 of the Top Open Source Alternatives!
Check out some of these open source applications that rival many of the main stream software that you need to pay for. These applications are perfect for someone who needs high performance software but is unable to afford them. Can’t afford Photoshop? Try out GIMPshop. Can’t Afford Microsoft Office? Try Open Office.
OpenOffice:
OpenOffice.org the product is a multi-platform office productivity suite. It includes the key desktop applications, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program, with a user interface and feature set similar to other office suites. OpenOffice.org also works compatibly with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office, and the vendor-neutral OpenDocument standard from OASIS.
http://download.openoffice.org/
Already installed on Linux Mint 8
GIMPshop:
GIMPshop is a modified version of GIMP, an open source alternative to Photoshop. It still has all the advantages of GIMP including the long feature list and customizability but its menu structure, terminology are modified to closely resemble that of Photoshop. This program basically bridges GIMP to photoshop so that the migration to open source software becomes as painless as possible.
http://www.gimpshop.com/download.shtml
Audacity:
Audacity is an open source audio editor and recorder. It can: record live audio; convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs; edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files; cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together; change the speed and pitch of a recording, and much more!
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/beta_windows
Can be downloaded directly from Linux Mint’s Software Manager.
Skencil:
Skencil is a Free Software interactive vector drawing application. It is a flexible and powerful tool for illustrations, diagrams and other purposes. A unique feature of Skencil is that it is implemented almost completely in a very high-level, interpreted language, Python. Python is powerful, object-oriented and yet easy to use.
http://linux.wareseeker.com/download/skencil-0.6.17.rar/322554
Can be downloaded directly from Linux Mint’s Software Manager.
Art Of Illusion:
Art of Illusion is a free, open source 3D modelling and rendering studio. It is written entirely in Java, and should be usable on any Java Virtual Machine which is compatible with J2SE 1.4 or later. Many of its capabilities rival those found in commercial programs. Some of the highlights include subdivision surface based modelling tools, skeleton based animation, and a graphical language for designing procedural textures and materials.
http://www.artofillusion.org/downloads
AvideMUX:
Avidemux is a free video editor designed for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. It supports many file types, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEGfiles, MP4 and ASF, using a variety of codecs. Tasks can be automated using projects, job queue and powerful scripting capabilities
http://avidemux.en.softonic.com/
Gnome Do:
A powerful, and fast remote control for your GNOME Desktop. GNOME Do was designed for Gnome but it can also run on KDE or other simple OS.
GNOME Do is not just a search tool. If you know what you’re looking for and what you want to do with it, Do will help you do it quickly. GNOME Do is not just a launcher. Send emails and IMs, play music, search the web, and launch applications too. Plugins make it possible.
http://do.davebsd.com/download.shtml
Can be downloaded from Linux Mint’s Synaptic Package Manager.
Thunderbird:
Thunderbird allows you to customize your email to suit your specific needs whether it’s how you search and find messages or listening to music right out of your inbox.
Thunderbird offers a variety of ways for you to organize and display your folders, whether by favorites, recently viewed or folders containing unread messages. As always, you can also set up RSS and newsgroup folders to stay on top of news and your interests. Thunderbird also allows you to maximize your message view pane by opting for a folder drop down menu instead of the traditional sidebar.
Thunderbird allows you to “tag” messages with descriptors such as “To Do” or “Done” or even create your own tags that are specific to your needs. Tags can be combined with saved searches and mail views to make it easier to organize email.
http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/download/?product=thunderbird-3.0&os=osx&lang=he
Already installed on Linux Mint 8
Pidgin:
Pidgin is a multi-protocol Instant Messaging client that allows you to use all of your IM accounts at once. Pidgin can work with:
AIM
Bonjour
Gadu-Gadu
Google Talk
Groupwise
ICQ
IRC
MSN
MySpaceIM
QQ
SILC
SIMPLE
Sametime
XMPP
Yahoo!
Zephyr
Now you can just use Pidgin to manage all your different Instant Messaging accounts all in the same place.
http://www.pidgin.im/download/
Already installed on Linux Mint 8
Task Coach:
Task Coach is a simple open source todo manager to manage personal tasks and todo lists. Often, tasks consist of several activities. Task Coach is designed to deal with composite tasks. With Task Coach you can make a category and within that category put in a series of different tasks. This will allow you to organize and categorize all your different task. Now you can separate tasks for different projects into its own category or have a category for non-work related tasks you have to do.
http://www.taskcoach.org/download.html
Tags: art of illusion, Audacity, avidemux, Gimp, Gimpshop, gnome do, Open Source, openoffice, pidgin, skencil, task coach, thunderbird