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Increasing number of software applications are going the free/open-source way these days. Looks like more and more software companies and developers have seen the barriers of closed-source programs and have now fully realized the significance of freedom.
Okay so if you have been reading my blog regularly you will have noticed that I love free, open source software, which in many cases is an alternative to popular, expensive and worst of all closed-source software. Here is my list of 5 Lightweight Alternatives to Popular Applications (with a brief introduction and explanation of the contents, of course)
With the news of Linspire's CNR coming soon to Ubuntu, and Automatix now offering a limited number of closed source, commercial applications, what possible consequences will this have on the Linux community and open source as a whole?
The methodologies of Open Source are not owned or guided by any one person. The closest thing we have are the Open Source Initiative (OSI) and support of the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The OSI certifies what qualifies as an open source license.
Many users of open source software point to the fact that their applications and platforms are more secure than proprietary alternatives simply because they aren't such obvious targets for malware distribution. As just one example, the Standish Group recently completed a survey in which 70 percent of respondents said Red Hat Linux is less vulnerable to security threats than Windows.
Everyone loves free software (open source or otherwise) and this list demonstrates quite how many excellent applications can be had for free. If you thought you needed to buy something - maybe check this list first.
“Open Source” advocate: «...I associate much more with the "Open Source" (also as Richard defines it) camp, and am open to the existence and use of proprietary software...» --
Here’s an interesting bit of news from the blurred line between open and closed source software. Ubuntu sponsor Canonical has announced that it is reselling IBM’s DB2 Express-C database as both a standalone software package and as a software appliance with VMware. While Express-C is free as in beer, it is not free as in speech. Of course, if you want support it is not free at all.
A pretty popular topic these days with the current economic state is cutting operations/software licensing costs. Here’s a list of open source applications that are enterprise worthy: