To many, free open source software and Microsoft Windows seem to be mutually exclusive. After all, the open source development model is most closely associated with the Linux OS and, to a lesser degree, various Unix derivatives. So when you mention the two together, you often get some rather strange looks. This is a shame because there exists a growing landscape of compelling free and open source solutions just waiting for the intrepid Windows user.
You probably already know one of them well. Firefox has long stood as a prime example of how the open source development process can work to deliver a first-class solution that rivals, and in many ways surpasses, the best that the commercial side has to offer. However, it would be a mistake to make that arduous (for novices) trek to Mozilla.com and stop there. Over the horizon are many more FOSS-on-Windows treasures waiting to be discovered, including tools that can improve your productivity, expand your lines of communication, and help keep you safe from threats along the way.
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So if your perspective on open source is limited to squat s00miling penguins and swooshing orange canines, read on -- and learn about some of the free open source gems that deserve your consideration. Who knows? You may find yourself developing a whole new perspective on the open source community.
• See our slideshow summary of the 10 best open source apps for Windows.
Read more about open source in InfoWorld's Open Source Channel.
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Download now »(My apologies for flowing everything together. It looked OK in Preview but not after being posted. And... many thanks to Randall for some excellent examples, some of which I learned about only from his article.)
I second the Gimp. Yes, it's not Photoshop. But for those who aren't familiar with the finer points of Photoshop and don't use it much but still have an advanced artistic streak hidden inside, it's very capable.
Then there is Inkscape. Wow! I've suffered with CorelDRAW over many, many versions and find that Inkscape is not only free, but it's also become a serious heavy-duty and robust vector editor. Inkscape + Gimp gives me 95% of what I would (eventually, if I had enough time) get out of Adobe Illustrator + Photoshop, but with none of the wallet-busting financial pain, and they run on Windows every bit as well as on Linux.
Scribus is an interesting desktop gem that now runs on Windows in addition to Linux. It's a very serious desktop publishing tool, by professionals and for professionals. It is quite daunting, but proper publishing design is daunting. My only gripe is its somewhat slow performance. Since OpenOffice.org supports frames rather well and does low-end page layout surprisingly well, I use it a lot but Scribus not much. However, Scribus is one of those applications that is so compellingly high-end professional that I WISH I had a reason to use it!
And no list is complete without Blender. A very serious animation tool by professionals, for professionals. There are many third-party books, including Blender for Dummies. (You know you've arrived when a Dummies book is written for your product!)
And for the high-tech developer, GNU Emacs on Windows is every bit as capable as it is on Linux, AIX, Solaris, and other *ix. Rock-solid, bomb-proof, so vast that the question never is "Can Emacs do X?" but rather "How can I get Emacs to do X?".
NetBeans and Eclipse are IDEs that, if you're into that sort of thing, run as well on Microsoft's monopoly platforms as well as they do on Linux and other Unix.
And then there is the venerable Tex and LaTex. I use the MikTex package under Windows and get the same high-end professional results as I do from other LaTex packages on Linux and Unix. In the world of clown suits that are PC-based desktop publishing tools, LaTex is the supremely elegant $6,500 silk Armani suit. No, it's not for everyone. Just for those who want to look several million times more elegant than everyone else. There is no other way to look your best with the venerable business letter than by using LaTex and its letter style.
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A couple others:
paint.net - GIMP http://www.gimp.org/
media player - VLC videolan.net