An beginners guide to free software

Over the course of the last 30 years of my life (that is my whole life), I haven’t exactly been wealthy. Not really poor, but never have I had the money to spend on that expensive software. As we know there are times we wish we had the best out there, like Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office, 3d Studio max, or just a nice software to play music with. Well you can either fork out the cash and and put the squeeze on the bank account, or find a free alternative. I believe in sharing information to further mankind through collaboration, not through corporation or competition. We should work together to find a solution to help each other out, not help our wallets out. Well we are in luck others have that same view and will share their information for your use.

Open Source

What is Open Source?

So there are people that like to share information and collaborate on products and they do it all for free. This is what open source is. Open Source means that the source code, the programming garble that only nerds and geeks understand, is open to the public. The source can be modified and improved and is free to everyone. Al thought they encourage participation in making the product better, you don’t need to be a programmer or a geeky nerd to help out. Every program needs users to test it out. That is right you ca help test the product by using it and sharing it. It also helps if you have problems with the program, to contact them or post on their forums,and give the geeky nerds a detailed description of what is wrong with the program and any error messages you might receive. Make sure to give all the error message to them especially the ones that look like garble. You know which ones I mean.

Also I should take the time to mention that most open source is donation-ware. What does that mean? It means that they don’t sell the program but are funded strictly by donation. If you use the software and like it, then you should make a fair donation to the project to help fund improvements.

How does one find open source programs?

This is fairly simple. Lets say you want to find a program similar to Photoshop. You just go to Google.com or any search engine, and type Open Source Photshop. You will get one of two things, you will either get a popular open source program to pop-up on the list of sites or a website giving you another list of popular open source programs. These both will normally show up on the first page of your search engine. I would look at both and decide on what software works for you.

If you did a search on Open Source Photoshop you might notice a program named Gimp. Now don’t let the name fool you this program as been developed over the years to be a very competitive product to Photoshop. It is an amazing program and is worth giving it a try if you can’t afford photoshop. Some even say it is better than photoshop.

How do I know how to pick the right Open Source Program?

One word, “Research.” That is right do a search on the program name and reviews. You will find people love to critique everyone and will point out the flaws, then there are open minded people to show you which one of the critics really has no idea. After doing a little research you will find the good and the bad of the programs and will be able to make an educated guess. Once you do some research download the program you think will do the best and try it. If you don’t like it find a new one, they are free! Also it is free to become a critic on the programs forums so someone can tell you how wrong you are. And if you are like me you with just make a stupid post to ruffle everyone’s panties.

What are some good Open Source alternatives?

Here is a list of open source programs for some of the common programs that cost way to much.

Well that should get you started on how to search for free software that doesn’t include viruses. Most of the programs you will find are worthy of the expensive counter part and aren’t illegal to use. Enjoy and look forward to more about free programs.