open-Source & Freeware

 

Free Software – Really?

In 2002 the computer industry experimented by offering low cost computers running a variety of freeware (or nearly free) applications. Wal-Mart for example offered computers for as low as $199 which included:

LINUX (Operating System)
Star Office 6.0 (Word processing and spreadsheet)
Mozilla (Web browser, news & email reader)
GIMP (Image editing)
GnuCash (Personal finance manager)

Since then, many freeware applications now charge moderate fees and Windows based computers have dropped in price. The result is that today, Windows based computers produced by Dell and HP cost about the same as no-name computers loaded with nearly free software. The consensus seems to be that purchasing no-name systems running Linux or Lindows does not really save much money today. For example, Wal-Mart (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/) maintains a web site in which they offer both Windows and Lindows based computers, and the pricing seems to be about the same for both systems.

Freeware

There are thousands of freeware applications available for download, but you should beware of these offerings. It is a common practice to offer software programs for free in order to accumulate market share with the intentions of charging a price later on down the road. Until then, many business-class freeware applications remain buggy and incomplete. Once they are bug free and complete, you can then expect a fee to accompany the product. In case you would like to try any of the business-class freeware applications available on the market today, visit http://www.freewarehome.com/ for immediate downloads. Here are a few of the more popular selections: 

StarOffice

StarOffice is a multi-platform office suite which includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, graphics and database applications priced at $50 for immediate download, or $71 street price for the CD. 25, 50, and 10,000 user packs are available for $1,500, $2,500, and $250,000 respectively. Selected features of StarOffice include:

• Seamlessly interchange documents with enhanced MS Office interoperability
• Share read-only PDF documents without Adobe Acrobat with the new "Export to PDF" feature
• Bring StarOffice multimedia presentations to your Web browser with the new "Export to Macromedia Flash" feature
• Import and export XML formats
• New Macro Recorder!
• Enhanced stability and performance (33% faster load times!)
• Small device support - view, edit and save documents to and from Palm and Pocket PC devices
• Share StarOffice presentations with Web conferencing support from Placeware
• Integrates with MySQL databases to extract data
• Database Report Autopilot enables report generation from databases
• Writing capability in "complex" languages like Hebrew, Hindi & Arabic
• Improved ease of use, including new icons, online help and printer-independent layout

Like the other open-source offerings listed here StarOffice is based on an effort to produce free open-source programs with enough functionality to replace commercially produced solutions. Though the current offering, StarOffice 7, retails for around $79 with CD and user guide, it is also bundled with various Linux distributions such as Lindows OS for free. Previous versions more closely based on the OpenOffice.org are also available for free download.

The suite designed to compete with Microsoft Office and Corel’s Wordperfect Office offers cross platform compatibility. StarOffice uses filters to exchange files between different office suites and has the ability to closely match the look and feel of Microsoft Windows while running under Linux or UNIX.

In addition to word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, drawing tool and database, StarOffice users can receive, review, and edit files from a multitude of office suites including Microsoft Windows and it supports one-click export of PDF files.

StarOffice Calc functions much like Microsoft Excel

Open-source software like StarOffice can provide an enterprise class solution without huge licensing fees and high total cost of ownership. Even more beneficial, many open-source programs are designed to seamlessly integrate with current commercial alternatives thereby reducing the training time incurred with learning an all new system. Users have multiple support options for most products. Distributors bundle media with service and support contracts for fees quite less than other offerings, or software can be downloaded and support achieved through the free information exchange of the open-source community who work together to review and improve the products themselves.

Ability Office Suite 

Ability Office is an integrated suite of five software applications - a word processor, a spreadsheet, a database, a photo-editor, and a drawing module - and is ideal for use both in the office and at home. It claims to be compatible with Microsoft Office and sells for $50.

Hancom Office

Hancom Office is an office productivity suite for Linux that includes word processing, spreadsheet, graphics and presentation applications. The suite can open and save Microsoft Office files, allowing you to easily exchange information with others. Hancom Office includes an online Update Wizard that makes it easy to get the latest version of the software. The user interface is similar to that of other popular office suites, there is no special training needed. The product sells for $50 & $60, depending upon the version you choose.

  

You can download this product at the following web site address:
http://en.hancom.com/products/hancomoffice20.html 

KOffice - Integrated Office Suite

KOffice is a free, integrated office suite for KDE, the K Desktop Environment. KOffice 1.3 is the current official KOffice release. In the KOffice suite the following parts are being developed:

	KWord - A frame-based word processor capable of professional standard documents
	KSpread - A powerful spreadsheet application.
	KPresenter - A full-featured presentation program.
	Kivio - A Visio®-style flowcharting application.
	Karbon14 - A vector drawing application.
	Krita - A pixel-based image manipulation program like The GIMP or Adobe© Photoshop®.
	Kugar - A tool for generating business quality reports.
	KChart - An integrated graph and chart drawing tool.
	KFormula - A powerful formula editor.
	Kexi - Integrated Database Environment Access.
	Filters - Import and Export Filters for KOffice.

 

KSpread	KWord	KPresenter
Kivio	KFormula	KChart

 

KOrganizer

KOrganizer is the calendar and scheduling application of the popular K Desktop Environment. KDE is an Open Source graphical desktop environment for Unix workstations. KOrganizer provides management of events and tasks, alarm notification, web export, network transparent handling of data, group scheduling, import and export of calendar files and more. KOrganizer supports the two dominant standards for storing and exchanging calendar data, vCalendar and iCalendar. A sample screen of KOrganizer is shown below:

        
KOrganizer Calendar Screen

GNOME Office 

GNOME Office is free and includes an extensive combination of applications as follows:

Spreadsheet	Gnumeric
Word processor	AbiWord
Browser	Galeon
Communications	Gfax
Graphics	Sodipodi, Sketch & Gimp
Image viewer	Eye Of GNOME
E-mail	Balsa & Evolution
Database	GNOME-DB
Project Management	MrProject & Toutdoux
Diagramming	Dia
Finance	GnuCash

Screen shots for some of the GNOME applications are shown below.

Sodipodi	Galeon	MrProject
Gnumeric	Dia	Gimp
Toutdoux	Evolution	Sketch

You can download these applications for free at this web site: http://www.gnome.org/gnome-office/.

Linux

Linux's has 17% of the worldwide server share and claims its user base, estimated at 10 million, is growing at 50 percent annually-a healthy growth rate. Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Informix, Lotus, Novell and scores of other software and hardware vendors  are working on products for the operating system. Linux proponents hope that within 18 to 24 months the software will compete seriously with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows product.  The Linux name is derived by combining its founder’s name (Linus Torvalds) with UNIX.

Critics of Linux say it is difficult to install, has yet to prove itself in a multivendor, enterprise environment and offers sparse commercial support. Supporters highlight research that shows Linux scales better than Windows NT, and they point to the millions of Linux users on the Internet who offer free support and advice.

CIOs counter free with two words: trust and accountability. You implicitly trust a vendor to deliver a product or service as promised. And if the product or service is of poor quality or fails, you have recourse: a lawsuit. Right now Linux is more Woodstock than Main Street. There aren't enough vendors dedicated to the operating system, and it's kind of hard to sue the surfer in Venice Beach, Calif., who gives you poor Linux advice. What will it take, then, for CIOs to take Linux seriously?

At CIO's recent Enterprise Value Retreat, I asked the CIO of a major financial services firm for his view on the operating system. He said, "Linux will get my attention when a major vendor announces it's going to fully certify the software." By full certification he means that Linux will run not only on the server as advertised but more important with other applications in the enterprise. Currently, no vendor makes this claim. Senior Writer Derek Slater explores the issues involved with open source software in the enterprise in his story "Free Radicals".

CIOs, not the sneaker-wearing programmers, will determine the fate of Linux. Its vocal supporters deserve credit for getting software and hardware vendors to port to Linux. That's the easy part. The hard part is getting those same vendors to commit. Vendors need to see a real economic opportunity (Show me the money!) or the operating system will be eternally assigned to the "we'll get around to it" department.

A recent survey at CIO.com showed that 53% of enterprises intend for Linux to be their principal operating environment by 2005.

Moderate-sized governing bodies like Miami-Dade County government hope to follow in the footsteps of larger corporations like IBM, Novell, and Sun Microsystems, all of which are in various stages of internally adopting the open-source operating system. Linux also appeals to a variety of individuals such as:

• People who already know UNIX and want to run it on PC-type hardware
• People who want to experiment with operating system principles
• People who need or want a great deal of control over their operating system
• People who desire a great deal of stability from their operating system
• People who have personal problems with Microsoft
   

What is Linux?

Though it has not come close to surpassing Microsoft’s hold on the operating system market, Linux has been surrounded by a great deal of controversy and media attention in recent years, primarily because it delivers hardware and software neutrality. Linux is groundbreaking because it is written and distributed under the GNU General Public License which means that its source code is freely-distributed and available to the general public. Users can legally download the operating system and a wealth of programs for free from a large number of sources, or they can choose to pay a small fee to one of the companies who sell the OS along with documentation and support such as Mandrake, Redhat and SuSE. One Linux distribution known for mimicking the look and feel of Microsoft’s product is the Lindows OS.

Linux is interesting in that it is designed to offer:

• tremendous flexibility and customization
• rigid security while remaining bug and virus free
• support for multiple CPUs
• large-scale memory and disk management

All these features come without the inflated license fees and proprietary stranglehold of commercially engineered systems. In fact, Linux is so user friendly that its followers are actually encouraged to review, alter, and improve upon its code. Linux literally has hundreds of different versions or “distributions,” each with a slightly different feel. While venturing out into the operating unknown may not be for everyone, the General Public License and unparalleled low total cost of ownership go a long way toward not excluding anyone.

           

 

Compiere ERP Software

From more than 600,000 instances of the open-source ERP software being downloaded, Compiere’s creator-Jorg Janke, has made about $75,000 in support contracts since the program’s inception. However, that amount is basically the total sum the native German has gleaned from his code writing masterpiece.

Like Linux, Compiere is an open-source solution with freely available code, and like Linux, the bulk of revenue generated from the program is for consultation and support.

Compiere can provide functionality required for POS, Web Store, Distribution, and Service Industry businesses offering basic modules such as:

Self Service	Inventory Control	Production
Distribution	Marketing and Sales	Field Service
Human Resources	Sales Force Automation	Procurement
Finance and Accounting	Call Management

While open-source software certainly has its limits, end users can and do increase their system’s functionality by writing add-ons to the code themselves. One of the biggest drawbacks of Compiere is its lack of support for many manufacturing functions, but 30 branch consultancies initiated by Janke as well as some current customers are working to integrate new manufacturing modules. Businesses can even sell the customized software additions to other companies seeking similar functionality.

Due to its nature Compiere cannot be assimilated or merged but should changes occur, its users retain ownership and all the necessary code for a fully functioning ERP solution with integrated CRM designed for small to medium businesses.

Compiere works with Linux, Unix, Solaris and Windows 2000 server operating systems, and also with Linux and Windows desktop systems.

Apache

An October 2003 Netcraft Web Server Survey found that more than 64% of the web sites on the Internet are using some version of the Apache server program. Amazon.com uses Apache. The servers for HP/Compaq run it also. Some divisions of Accounting Software Advisor use it. Even investment firm Charles Schwab Inc. uses Apache on some of its servers, the rest are outfitted with IBM’s Websphere, but IBM uses…you guessed it—Apache! More interesting than its high usage however is the fact that Apache is an open-source server platform that competes with the heavily licensed Microsoft IIS. The Apache Software Foundation states that the protocols of the World Wide Web should not be owned by a single company, to ensure that the Web will remain an open market and level playing field for companies large and small. Similarly, Apache is a collaborative software development effort aimed at creating a commercial-grade and freely-available source code implementation of an HTTP (Web) server. Like Linux and Compiere, Apache users give their application an almost “organic” identity. End users who enjoy the product often give back to it in the form of feature enhancements and bug fixes.

The original design team known as the Apache Group incorporated in 1999 to form the Apache Software Foundation to provide legal support and organization for the Apache HTTP Server community. The primary means of communication for the Apache Software Foundation is a mailing list where code changes are generally discussed and designed. Code development is in the hands of the core members and their local machines. Particularly devoted contributors can become members though nomination and unanimous approval.

See what server your favorite sites use - http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph

Mozilla

Mozilla is a free web browser which includes the following features:

• Web browsing
• Email
• Html editing
• IRC chat
• Popup blocking
• Junk mail blocking
• Navigator
• Messenger
• Composer
• An option to prevent sites using JavaScript to block the browser's context menu
• Improved OS theme support on Linux
• Improved cookie controls
• Better palm sync capabilities
• Support for SMTP "msn authentication" in mail
• Big gains in application and layout performance
• You can open multiple web pages in the same window with tabbed browsing

You can download Mozilla from the following web site: http://www.mozilla.org/

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