An introduction to Open Source Software

by Joel Urbina the Creative Director of ShinyGoldShoes

(jump to big OpenSource software list)

Open source software has been called by many different names and for years has been met with much skepticism. I would like to help dispell this skepticism with some real-life comparisons, some ideas about why people have been so skeptical in the past, a bit of a quick open source software for dummies guide and then a big list of some of the best software that is available (free or extortionately priced, this list is all free).

Open source operating systems

Linux and FreeBSD

What is Linux? The Linux kernel is the base of many different operating systems. Originally created as a robust, open source alternative to Unix is has grown into many mainstream branches of operating system software. Whether you are aware of it or not, you are probably running Linux on some piece of technology. As it is a very open, yet secure and very stable platform many manufacturers have opted to use Linux on their devices. Google built Android (their version of Linux) along with the Linux community in order to create a strong mobile/tablet platform. Many digital photo frames and narrowcasting systems also are based on Linux.

When it comes to Linux running on computers Linux has begun to be taken seriously in the personal and professional computing market. Ubuntu has taken the first major steps towards the mainstream and so far has done exceptionally. One point that Linux has far surpassed rival operating systems (ie Mac and Windows) is the use of package managers. Ubuntu came out with the Ubuntu Software Center, which has all (or almost all) the programs that the normal consumer or professional user may need in a constantly updated database more or less in the same way as the iPhone/iPad App Store or the Android Market. There are many other options of more advanced package managers in Linux, but, for a very consumer-focused experience the Ubuntu Software Center has done exceptionally.

Many people believe that they will not be able to find enough applications that they need if they move to Linux; please see screenshot below for a look at the Ubuntu Software Center. At the moment there are 33,593 downloads available. All these applications/downloads will work on your computer and will not contain any viruses, malware, spyware, etc... these things do not exist in Linux. Other options under Linux include the ability to run Windows programs as if they were programs created for Linux by using WINE (an opensource windows program launcher) or running Windows from inside Linux (via VirtualBox, a program that you can download from the Software Center in order to install other operating systems from inside Linux).

Desktop Environments

One option that Linux offers that is quite unheard of in the Windows and (on the most part) Mac communities are different desktop environments. Productivity-wise one key feature that most Linux desktop environments contain is the use of multiple desktops. As I may be managing a number of projects at a time obviously running a dual display system helps, but adding multiple desktops allows me to keep many different activities separated and organized.

The most common desktop environment options for Linux are:

KDE

Screenshot of my current desktop.

Fabulous for multi-tasking and visually vary open and appealing user-interface. Uses the very customizable Plasma Desktop to allow for many various widgets, panels, shortcuts, folders, activities, etc.

It is the default desktop environment in Kubuntu.

Gnome

Another very customizable desktop environment; the default desktop environment in Ubuntu up until and including Ubuntu 10.10.

Unity

In 2011 Ubuntu released its own desktop environment: Unity. It has been met with a VERY mixed review and personally, I would not recommend it in a production environment. On the other hand, it is quite a friendly environment for less experienced computer users.

Xcfe

A very simple and straight-forward desktop environment which can run on virtually any system no matter how old; or if you're needing to save resources, make a modern high-end system run faster than you might have previously thought possible.

Applications

Office

But, I won't have Office! No, you won't have Microsoft Office; instead you'll have the choice of other office packages that are just as powerful and use the same formats (or their own formats, which arguably are better). Two examples of great open source office packages are OpenOffice and LibreOffice.

Adobe

What will I do without all my CreativeSuite?! Well.... As a replacement for Photoshop there is GIMP, which, if you've been working with Photoshop for the last 10 or 15 years like I have you have watched it grow and grown with it and it can take a bit of time to switch over. In my experience, for people that are new to Photoshop and GIMP, GIMP is more intuitive and the learning curve is not as steep. And the plugins? Yes, GIMP has many, MANY plug-ins, more or less, all community supported; many of them being very high quality and useful. Another program that has been moving rather quickly in terms of development is Krita; a part of the KDE graphics production suite of programs. Krita works in much the same way as GIMP and Photoshop, with a few interesting difference (like allowing for 32-bit color, CMYK and install filters/extensions directly from within the program).

Illustrator. Yes, there is no Adobe Illustrator. Well, there are consumer-targeted vector programs like OpenOffice Draw and LibreOffice Draw which work for many or, there is InkScape which is a great professional level vector art program that can work with a very large number of formats and has PDF packaging (and perfect PDF imports) built-in. Another less talked about professional level vector arts program is Xara Xtreme – we have it installed on our computers, but rarely use it... I'm not really sure why, because it's also a great program.

In-Design. What do I do for all my layout needs? For those of us who feel that maybe Microsoft Publisher just maybe isn't enough to create a product at high enough quality for a publisher there has always been Adobe In-Design; now in the OpenSource world there is a relatively new player who has been able to perform admirably. Scribus. From book layout, posters, product packaging... It is VERY similar to In-Design.

Compositing and 3D. What to do? Well, there is this lovely little program... ok, it's not that little but it's quick and relatively easy to run like a small program that can take care of most (if not all in one way or another) of your 3D and compositing needs. Blender.

Blender is the program that I have seen grow the most of virtually any program in the last 5 years. The community behind developing and improving Blender has become enormous; what's come of this is a program that is starting to rival high-end software like Maya, 3D Studio Max, XSI, Cinema4D and Houdini. Being that a professional license for these pieces of software can cost upwards of €5000 per license investing in an top-end OpenSource solution like Blender allows for investments in other places.

Please take a look at the OpenSource software list for a nice little list of opensource software, their functions and the propriety software they replace.

Hope this helps a little as an introduction to OpenSource!