Free Software

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Today in the computer world much of the software industry is controlled by large businesses like Adobe Systems and Microsoft, that hold virtual monopolies over their products. This allows them to charge ludicrous prices for their products. For example: a copy of Adobe Photoshop CS3 costs around $650 and the Home & Student version of Microsoft Office starts at $149.95 (the Professional version costs $500!). These prices make it so regular people have to pay through the nose just to buy basic software. Fortunately there exists a lot of open source software that you can get for free and is just as good as the overpriced mainstream software. From Linux to OpenOffice.org to Frets on Fire there exist many free (or at least very cheap) alternatives to expensive software.

Contents

[edit] Linux

Linux is basically a generic term for any OS (Operating System) in relation to Unix. The different distributions, or "distros", of Linux are based on the Linux kernel (a kernel is a core component to most Operating Systems. It manages system resources and stuff).

As we are fighting to break free from corpgov, we should be freeing our computer systems from huge corporate giants like Microsoft and Adobe as well. Linux and BSD are free as in, "Take one; you can have it for no price" or "Free as in beer", but much more importantly it is free as in liberty do with it as you see fit. The fact that the code is open to review makes it more secure as anyone catching a security bug can update or notify the project. This makes for our favorite operating systems and accompanying software to be capable of being very secure against hacking, viruses, and exploitation remotely or locally.

There are a number of critics who dismiss Linux as being an "old system", yet there are newer and newer versions being developed to this day. Think of Linux as "the OS that would not die". Among the various distros of Linux available are Damn Small Linux, easypeasy, Freespire, Frugalware, Kubuntu, Linspire, Lunix4One, Gentoo, Slackware, Rxart, SUSE, CentOS, Mint, Element, Puppy, Quirky, Mandriva and Yellow Dog.

If all this seems confusing, a visit to DistroWatch may answer your questions on what version may be best for you.

[edit] Live CD

A good way to start off is to play around with a Live CD, where you boot straight from the disk instead of the hard drive. This allows you to use the Linux Operating System while not having to rewrite the system entirely (or splitting the hard drive to dual-boot it with another Operating System). Once you get used to it and can tell that your computer parts all work with the distro and version you want, and after you've backed up the things you need on your hard drive, you can install it. It feels very liberating to wipe Microsoft off of your disk but it might be useful to have for some programs. You can either keep it on a different partition on your hard drive, or use a program like QEMU or VirtualBox to emulate Windows within Linux. Another way to utilize windows programs would be installing Wine on your Linux distribution. This is a Linux program which will allow you to open windows programs within a Unix Operating System. You do not always have to use a CD for starting up Linux, though. If you do not have a laptop, or computer, it may be convenient to install a distribution (such as Puppy Linux, a compact version of Linux) to a flash drive. This will allow you to easily travel with your own files and Operating System with you.

[edit] Computer Security Breach

Live CDs and flash drives with a distribution of Linux set up on them can be extremely useful at times. If you have forgotten a password to an old laptop or CPU, need access to a computer in an emergency, or just want to sneak onto any computer, this may be some useful information. Although it, of course, may have repercussions, Linux Live CDs and flash drives can be used to get passed security on almost every computer. All you have to do is plug in the flash drive or insert the Live CD, boot up into Linux, and then type in your own password to log in (if you have one). From your account, you can mount the actual computer's C:\ (or any) drive. This will allow you to view, copy, or delete, any file on the system. Be careful.

[edit] Debian

Debian is a distribution that emphasizes free software (none of this $19.99 BS). It is supported on many hardware platforms. The source of this particular distribution has an estimated value of approximately $13 Billion, and Debian has been offered large sums of money to privatize it (but they have not, and will not). This distribution contains thousands of software packages ready for installation and use. They are distributed under open source/free software licenses. The current stable release has about 25,000+ software packages available. When installed, it comes with many free popular programs, including things such as Open Office (which is almost a perfect alternative of the Microsoft Office suite). The people at Debian also re-brand many programs. A few examples are: IceCat (or Iceweasel) - [Mozilla FireFox] Icedove - [Mozilla Thunderbird] Iceape - [SeaMonkey] Iceowl - [Mozilla Sunbird] All of these re-branded programs consist of entirely free software.

Distributions based on Debian use the '.deb' package format. They use the dpkg package manager. dpkg stands for 'Debian package management system'. It is used for installing, removing, and providing information about .deb packages. The dpkg started as a Perl program, but was rewritten, and is currently, a C program.

Debian has a release cycle of about 1.5 years.

[edit] Ubuntu

Ubuntu a Debian-derived OS based on GNU/Linux. Ubuntu focuses on usability and ease of installation. Ubuntu is considered, by most Linux users, to be the easiest Linux distribution to use. Ubuntu is a good distribution to have on a Live CD. The newer versions of Ubuntu have a USB creator, which will give you the ability to put Ubuntu onto a flash drive. It has lots of tutorials available to get anything fixed, working, or installed. You can download it and burn it yourself, or have them send it to you for free (usually within a month). What Ubuntu does, is that they basically strip Linux of it's hard-to-use features, and replace them with more use-friendly interfaces. However, these hard-to-use features are still there (like terminal, which you will need every once and a while).

Some software included with the Ubuntu installation include: OpenOffice Firefox Pidgin Transmission GIMP Ubuntu also includes some lightweight card, puzzle, and board games. This distribution currently has a selection of 46 languages to chose from. Ubuntu has a release cycle of approximately 6 months.

Ubuntu now has a very excellent windows installer which does away with the need to burn a installation disk. It will create an Ubuntu install on your Windows Operating System until the time comes when you may want to wipe out Windows for good.

As far as preparing yourself; try going down the open source software and Firefox/online document/email route as far as you feel comfortable then when you swap you will hardly notice the difference!

[edit] Xubuntu

Xubuntu is basically a watered down version of Ubuntu that requires less resources to run efficiently as opposed to Ubuntu.
It is most often used on older hardware. It may also be good for a Live CD or USB that may not hold all of Ubuntu. The latest release is 9.10, "Karmic Koala".

[edit] Puppy Linux

Puppy Linux is a Live CD Linux distribution (somewhat like Knoppix, see below). It is extremely small and takes up about 100-200 megabytes (100 megabytes on the Live CD and about 180 megabytes if you install it onto a USB) when you first acquire it. If you choose to save your session and encrypt your files, the amount of space taken up on the CD or USB can jump a bit. A small configuration and low encryption should not take up as much space.
Blowfish Encryption pretty much sucks, and here I bring you a nice note from its creator: "Bruce Schneier notes that while Blowfish is still in use, he recommends using the more recent Twofish algorithm instead."

This distribution of Linux focuses primarily on ease of use. If the computer has at least 64 megabytes of RAM (or depending on the version, up to 256 megabytes of RAM; but most of today's computers have even more than this), the entire OS of Puppy Linux and all of the applications will run directly from the RAM, allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system starts. This also makes this distribution very fast. Some programs included in the Puppy Linux distro include: SeaMonkey AbiWord Gnumerid Gxine/xine Puppy Linux is developed by Warren Willson and other members of the Puppy Linux community. It is an independent form of Linux, meaning that it is not based on another distribution; ie: Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, etc. The latest release is 4.3.1 - released on 01/23/10

[edit] Knoppix

Knoppix is a Linux operating system based on Debian. This particular distribution is designed to run directly off of a CD/DVD (Live CD or USB). This makes it one of the first of it's kind for any operating systems, not just Linux. (This is related to Puppy Linux.) Knoppix consists mostly of free software, but also includes proprietary software.

All programs are decompressed into a RAM drive. The decompression is transparent and extremely fast. Knoppix can be loaded onto a CD/DVD, but you can also put it on a USB or a Memory Card. This makes it an amazing portable operating system. Although Knoppix was designed to boot from a CD/DVD, you can also install it on the hard disk. The Live CD version of Knoppix is about 700 megabytes. The DVD "Maxi" version is 4.7 gigabytes. More than 1,000 software packages are included on the Live CD version of Knoppix and more than 2600 packages are included on the DVD edition. This distribution has two choices of languages: German and English.

[edit] Backtrack

Test your knowledge of networks and systems with this Linux distribution designed specifically for penetration testers and hackers. With over 300 tools designed for offensive security, this distro is any hacker's dream come true. The only downside is the lack of easily accessible live CD's. Remote-Exploit, the makers of Backtrack, offer both a CD and USB version of their distro, but there are no endorsed distributors. It is most useful in case your forget your admin password to someone else's computer. (http://www.remote-exploit.org/backtrack.html)

[edit] Other Stuff

Here are good websites for information on the many Linux programs available.

[edit] Office Suites

[edit] Bean

A Macintosh word processor program (more of a Rich Text editor) but not an all-in-one suite. To quote the website, "Bean is not a replacement for MS Word. It doesn't do footnotes or pre-defined styles and is only partially compatible with Word's file formats.", Still, it's free and open source. Runs on OS X 10.4+ Tiger or OS X 10.5+ Leopard.

[edit] Mozilla

Mozilla, the creators of the original Mozilla web browser produce excellent (and free!) open source programs. The following is a list of most of their creations, which can be downloaded at http://www.mozilla.org/ .

Firefox - Arguably the most well known open source program around, Firefox is one of the fastest, most lightweight web browsers available. It is almost infinitely extensible with over thousands of plug-ins and themes.
Minimo - A web browser for mobile devices such as cell phones and PDA's.
SeaMonkey - An "All-In-One" internet application suite with Web-browser, advanced e-mail and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, web development tools and an HTML editor.
Sunbird - The Mozilla calendar application. It lets you easily manage upcoming events and obligations.
Thunderbird - An easy to use e-mail application, rss reader, and Usenet newsgroup reader. It has a huge number of plug-ins, like all Mozilla apps, one of which adds on calendar abilities to Thunderbird.

[edit] OpenOffice.org/NeoOffice

OpenOffice.org is a full function, multi-platform office suite that is basically the open source alternative to Microsoft Office. It includes a word processor and desktop publisher ("Writer") , a calculator ("Calc"), a presentation program ("Impress"), a database ("Base"), a vector graphics editor ("Draw") and a mathematical formula editor ("Math"). In short, it does pretty much what Microsoft Word, Publisher, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Equation Editor all do, but it's free to download and use, supports the OpenDocument standard for data interchange and has no licensing hassles (PDL and LGPL). To quote the website, "the software looks and feels familiar and is instantly usable by anyone who has used a competitive product". It is available for Windows (98 through Vista {Yes, it runs on Windows 7}), Mac OS, Linux (32 and 64 bit), Solaris, BSD, OpenVMS, OS/2 and IRIX platforms, and is available in assorted languages. You can even burn copies onto CD-ROM and give them away! Try doing THAT with Microsoft Office!

NeoOffice is an offshoot of OpenOffice.org designed exclusively for Mac OS X.

[edit] Other Suites

Some of these are just simple word processors, while others are modeled after earlier versions of OpenOffice.org. The pages for these links will give you full information.

[edit] Instant Messaging

[edit] Pidgin

Pidgin, originally called Gaim, Pidgin is an instant messaging client that is compatible with many of the mainstream clients (AIM, MSN, etc.). This allows you to have all of your messaging accounts available in one program. Pidgin is easy to use, and open-source as well.

[edit] Graphics

[edit] Inkscape

An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Available in Windows, Mac and Linux.

[edit] GIMP

GIMP or GNU Image Manipulation Program is basically the open source version of Adobe Photoshop. It has many of the same features as Photoshop and other popular image editing tools. These features include: Color support, selection and masking tools, paths, effects, scripts, and filters. One of the advantages over Photoshop is that GIMP does not take up the whole computer screen while you use it, all its windows can be shrunk down to make them more manageable. Also there are many communities and forums for GIMP users. These communities give tutorials and allow artists to communicate and display their art on the internet.

[edit] Scribus

Scribus is a document creating software similar to Adobe PageMaker and Adobe InDesign. It allows you to create PDF files and allows you to manipulate your documents much better than in Microsoft Word. It features many different fonts and allows you to insert images and text. Full tutorials are available online for free.

[edit] Audio-Video

[edit] Ardour

Ardour is a digital audio workstation. Its capabilities include: multichannel recording, non-linear, non-destructive region based editing with unlimited undo/redo, full automation support, a mixer whose capabilities rival high end hardware consoles, lots of plugins to warp, shift and shape your music, and controllable from hardware control surfaces at the same time as it syncs to timecode.

[edit] Audacity

Audacity is a free-to-download software that allows you to record sound on your computer. You are able to choose between your computer's direct input, microphone input, phoneline, and stereo mix. Not only is Audacity good for recording your own music (as it allows an unlimited number of tracks per file [however, adding too many tracks slows down the program and makes it glitch-y]), the stereo-mix record function allows you to record whatever is playing through your speakers. This means that you can easily rip music from live-stream web-radio, music players, Purevolume, MySpace, etc.

It comes with some basic built in studio effects, like a hard-to-control reverb and delay patch, a quality fader function, phaser, flange, tempo/pitch controls, right v. left pan control, and volume control.

The interface is very basic and easy to use, and allows you to manually affect and change any bit of any track you're working with.

[edit] MPEG Streamclip

A free video converter, player and editor. It can also download videos from YouTube and Google by entering the page URL. Available for both Windows and Mac.

[edit] SUPER

SUPER (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) is a Windows freeware program that can convert almost any audio or video format into any other, including I-pod format, mp3, mobile phone video, DVD format, and many more. It's free for unlimited use, and very simple to use.

[edit] VLC

VLC is a media player that supports almost all multimedia formats. It also allows you to easily create a music stream, which offers a great way to start up a Pirate Radio station!

[edit] Linux Audio Software

[edit] Games

[edit] Frets On Fire

Frets on Fire is an open source clone of the Guitar Hero games for the computer. To play you hold your keyboard like it is a Keytar, using keys F1-F5 as the frets and pressing enter to strum. The game features three songs by Finnish guitarist Tommi Inkilä, a tutorial, three levels of difficulty, a song editor which allows you to create tracks for other songs, and competition against other users online. Another feature is the ability to download different themes and songs for Frets on Fire off of fan communities and forums.

[edit] Liberal Crime Squad

A text-based role playing simulation modeled after the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) of the 1970's. You control a single revolutionary determined to change America in to a liberal state. Recruit, kidnap, infiltrate, and coerce your way into the nations eye and work against the stream to create your own country. Try at home!

[edit] Tremulous

Tremulous is a free and open source first person shooter game. It is multiplayer and can run on almost any halfway decent computer. The game has two teams, humans, using traditional weapons, and the much more original aliens. It is a 100mb download, and installed takes up exactly 99mb. Therefore it is portable. It runs on Window$ or Linux, and an unofficial Mac version exists.

[edit] Wikipedia list of Open Source and Freeware Games

For some of these Open Source games, only the game engine is open-source software, and the game content is not open content, and is under a different license.

Freeware games are games that are released as freeware and can be downloaded and played, free of charge, for an unlimited amount of time and may be redistributed.

[edit] Kracking/Serials

Warning: If you search the web there are plenty of keygens and software cracks. But be aware that a high percentage of these programs or cracks include some form of nasty malware. We still recommend trying to get a free open source piece of software that meets your needs and won't require a hard disk format or worst case even a reflash of the bios for the worst malware.

[edit] Bittorrent

The bittorrent protocol allows for easy downloading of large files as well as aiding you with the dissemination of your own stuff. Using torrents, you can find anything (free!) from the latest movies and games to applications and operating systems. The bittorrent protocol uses your upstream bandwith to reshare as you are downloading.

Warning: Be sure to use PeerGuardian 2 or similar block lists if you download unlicensed content through P2P networks. This may protect you from being contacted by known copyright license collection organizations that are known to use questionable legal intimidation tactics.

[edit] uTorrent

One of the best torrent clients available, this torrent manager is extremely lightweight and easy to use. It makes torrent creation very easy and torrent downloading even easier. It supports encryption (which is always a good thing!) and also lets you pick and choose which files in a torrent you want to download.

[edit] FrostWire

Frostwire is a free, open-source alternative (it's essentially a clone) of Limewire, a popular P2P client. It's on this list because it supports torrent files as well as allowing you to access a large P2P network. It supports encryption, which is very important when using a torrent client, and even more important for P2P clients.

[edit] Vuze

One of the most popular torrent clients, Vuze, formerly called Azureus, lives up to its reputation. It's full-fledged, fun to use, and has a very refined look and feel. While many of its features are included in other torrent clients, Vuze has taken things and optimized their performance while maintaining an ease-of-use that works for anybody.

[edit] Malware Prevention

Window$ users may get frustrating pop-ups that insist that their computer is infected with a virus and needs an emergency download of some expensive program. This is almost always caused by a malware program that has snuck under your anti-virus software's radar, and the "software" you're offered to solve the problem doesn't really exist. Malwarebytes offers both free and commercial versions of its "Anti-Malware". The difference is that the free version doesn't have automatic scan or updates. Just remember to click the "Update" button before you use it each time.

Another Window$ program is AVG Anti-Virus, a free (if rather bare-bones) anti-virus/anti-spyware program from AVG Technologies. They also offer free Rescue CD downloads, virus removal tools and even a Linux version of AVG Anti-Virus.

Spybot and AdAware are useful for detecting and removing adware.

[edit] Related Websites

[edit] AlternativeTo

A listing of programs that are alternatives to the better known commercial versions. To quote the website: "Tell us what application you want to replace and we give you suggestions on great alternatives! Instead of listing thousands of more or less crappy applications in a category, we make each application into a category. Think of it like forever evolving blog posts about good alternatives to the software that you're not satisfied with."

[edit] Old Apps

Need the earlier version of a program for an older PC or Mac? It just might very well be here.

[edit] Open Clip Art Library

Open Clip Art Library is described thusly: "This project aims to create an archive of user contributed clip art that can be freely used. All graphics submitted to the project should be placed into the Public Domain according to the statement by the Creative Commons."

[edit] TinyApps

TinyApps is a site where very small application software can be found (Mostly for Windows, but there's Mac and Palm available). Nearly everything is free and nothing listed on the site is larger than 1.44 Meg. "IDEA", a symmetric key block cypher, is a mere 448 BYTES!

[edit] Other Software Download Points

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