Documentation by A. Harmon (Revised 4-22-09)
What follows is a list of software that are the cream of the crop of open source software for Windows and Mac. “Open source” means that the code for the software is freely available online, so developers can make improvements and different versions. Not only is every piece of software listed in this handout free, almost all of the programs directly replace expensive software packages.
Best Free Stuff for Windows
Many open source programs are available in versions compatible with Windows, Macintosh, and even other operating systems like Linux. The programs in this section were developed for Windows, though many of them will work on a Mac, too. Later in the class we’ll look at some Mac-specific free software. Firefox (www.mozilla.org/products/firefox)
Replaces Internet Explorer and Safari Works for both Mac and PC
If you haven’t switched to Firefox for your web browsing needs, do it now. It stops annoying pop-ups and it has tons of amazing plug-ins that can make surfing the web even better. With add-ons like Book Burro, FareFirst, and Package Mapping, plus the speed and reliability I’ve come to expect, Firefox is the only web browser for me.
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Thunderbird (www.mozilla.org/thunderbird)
Replaces Microsoft Outlook or Eudora or Mail (on Mac) Works for both Mac and PC
Thunderbird is an email client that has five big things going for it: it’s free, it’s full featured, it’s lightweight and runs quick, it has an unparalleled spam filter, and it protects you from those ridiculous phishing attacks by clearly indicating which emails send you to a bogus website. If you’re not already using a web-based email solution, Thunderbird should be your client. Even better - it works identically both on my PC and on my Mac. Sunbird (www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird)
Replaces Microsoft Outlook’s calendar functions and iCal (on Mac) Works for both Mac and PC
Might as well get the Mozilla trifecta out of the way by mentioning Sunbird, which is the Mozilla Foundation’s calendaring program. It’s extremely easy to use and easy to share your calendar with others. It also syncs nicely with Google Calendar. When I’m traveling, I’ll use Google Calendar at any terminal I’m at to print out tomorrow’s schedule, make little changes, and so on. When I get home, it’s just a click of a button and it all syncs up with Sunbird. That’s an amazing feature for me and it makes Sunbird far superior to iCal. AbiWord (www.abisource.com)
Replaces Microsoft Word Works for both Mac and PC
Want a good word processor but find Microsoft Word too expensive? AbiWord is my favorite replacement for Word. It’s lightweight (meaning it runs quickly) and includes pretty much every feature that I use regularly in a word processor, plus it can save files in formats that you can exchange with Word and WordPerfect users, plus open any of their files, too.
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OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org)
Replaces Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint Works for both Mac and PC
If you want to replace the rest of the Office suite, your best bet is OpenOffice. It includes very nice replacements for Excel and PowerPoint (and workable replacements for Access and other Office elements). In fact, I actually prefer their Excel and PowerPoint replacements to the real thing. ClamWin (www.clamwin.com)
Replaces Norton AntiVirus or McAfee
ClamWin is a slick anti-virus software that’s quite easy to manage and is unobtrusive while keeping your system free of viruses. Pidgin (www.pidgin.im)
Replaces AIM, Windows Messenger, etc. Works for both Mac and PC
This is a very clean instant messaging program that allows you to be on AOL Instant Messenger, Windows (MSN) Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger simultaneously with one program. There are other free packages that do this, but Pidgin is stable, clean and simple. BitTorrent (www.bittorrent.com)
Unique but essential Works for both Mac and PC
BitTorrent is a peer-assisted, digital content delivery platform that provides the fastest, most efficient means of distributing, discovering, and consuming large, high-quality files on the Web. Our mission is simple: to deliver the content that entertains and informs the digital world. In other words, BitTorrent allows you to download large media files and also use your bandwidth to help others download these files. Search for media files you want and download ‘em.
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GIMP (www.gimp.org)
Replaces Adobe Photoshop Both Mac and PC versions available
The GNU Image Manipulation Program does a pretty solid job of imitating Adobe Photoshop. It’s very richly featured and runs quite well. VLC Media Player (www.videolan.org/vlc)
Replaces Windows Media Player, Quicktime, RealPlayer, etc. Works for both Mac and PC
If you get tired of having tons of media players on your computer, get this package that runs pretty much every media type you’ll run across without breaking a sweat. Juice (juicereceiver.sourceforge.net)
Unique but essential Works for both Mac and PC
Juice lets you effortlessly subscribe to podcasts, organize them, and listen to them at your convenience. In conjunction with PodNova, I find it easier to use Juice to organize podcasts than using iTunes itself. Audacity (audacity.sourceforge.net)
Unique but essential (for some) Replaces/supplements Mac’s GarageBand Works for both Mac and PC
If you’re interested in recording your own podcast (or just want to make your own voice recordings for whatever reason), Audacity and a microphone are pretty much all you need to get the job done. RSSOwl (www.rssowl.org)
Unique but essential Works for both Mac and PC
RSSOwl is one of many open source RSS readers. In other words, it enables you to use one program to keep track of the content of a lot of different blogs; if you read a lot of blogs, it’s the only way to keep tabs on all of them without devoting hours jumping from site to site.
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Filezilla (filezilla-project.org)
Replaces WinFTP Works for both Mac and PC
Many people occasionally have a need to FTP files to other computers; if you ever have the need to transfer files in such a fashion, FileZilla will do the job slickly and quickly. MusikCube (www.musikcube.com)
Replaces iTunes
If you’re not already committed to downloaded music from the iTunes Music Store, then MusikCube is the best choice available for a music organizer and player. It organizes your mp3s, makes it really easy and really fast to find them, and allows you to make some incredibly clever smart playlists. Handbrake (handbrake.fr)
Unique but essential Works for both Mac and PC
Handbrake enables you to stick a DVD in your DVD drive and have the contents of that film stored to your hard drive in a form that can be read by pretty much any media player. I often use it to put a few movies on my laptop for travel purposes, so I don’t have to worry about keeping track of DVDs while on the road. KeePass (keepass.info)
Unique but essential Works for both Mac and PC
KeePass is a program that securely stores and manages the abundance of passwords we all use on a daily basis. I have literally hundreds of usernames and passwords spread out all over the place; KeePass keeps them all for me and keeps them safe.
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TrueCrypt (www.truecrypt.org)
Unique but essential Works for both Mac and PC
TrueCrypt enables you to convert a memory stick into a strongly encrypted data storage device, meaning that you can store personal data on it without worrying about losing it and having personal information get out and about. I use it to keep some of my most personal data off of my laptop and strongly secured, just in case. PDFCreator (sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator)
Replaces Adobe Acrobat
PDFCreator creates a PDF of a document that can be read on any computer with Acrobat Reader on it. Freemind (freemind.sourceforge.net)
Unique but Essential Works for both Mac and PC
Freemind is a “mind mapping” software program. In essence, it enables you to brainstorm and link together ideas quickly, creating “maps” of concepts similar to what you might do on a whiteboard. I find it incredibly useful when putting together ideas for new posts or planning small projects or assembling the backbone of a writing project. NASA Worldwind (worldwind.arc.nasa.gov)
Replaces Google Earth
WorldWind is very similar to Google Earth in that it allows you to browse the globe. While it isn’t strong for creating maps (but why not just use Google Maps for that?), it is utterly incredible for viewing threedimensional landscapes of any place on earth.
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Notepad2 (www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html)
Replaces Notepad
Notepad2 is a replacement for the traditional Windows Notepad that just adds a few sweet little features: multiple documents; line, word, and character counts; and some highlighting of tags. Workrave (www.workrave.org)
Unique but useful
Workrave is a program that can prevent repetitive stress injury from too much typing, etc. Workrave basically jumps in and locks down the computer for a while, preventing you from working too much. GanttPV (www.pureviolet.net/ganttpv)
Replaces Microsoft Project Works on both Mac and PC
If you do any project management (or have a need to dip your toes in the water), GanttPV does a brilliant job of managing the task quickly, easily, and freely. If you need to move to MS Project later, you can export from GanttPV to Project, but once you start digging into GanttPV, you’ll likely have no reason to use Project. GnuCash (www.gnucash.org)
Replaces Microsoft Money or Quicken Works on both Mac and PC
GnuCash is a slimmed-down version of the Microsoft Money and Quicken packages, but it contains all of the features for managing your money. The interfaces are incredibly simple - it functions much like a checkbook ledger on your computer - but there’s a lot of meat hidden throughout the software.
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Best Free Stuff for the Mac
Many of the programs we’ve already talked about have versions available for Macs, but the following software was created with Mac in mind. Quicksilver (www.blacktree.com)
Unique but useful
Quicksilver lets you set almost anything you can imagine in Mac OS as a keyboard shortcut. This allows me to do things like start iTunes and have it auto-play a specific podcast with a specific keyboard shortcut (I have one that auto-plays This American Life, for example). It’s a bit complicated at first, but once you get used to it, it makes you feel massively productive and it becomes almost an essential part of the OS. Seashore (seashore.sourceforge.net)
Replaces (for most uses) Adobe Photoshop
This is a fairly simple image editor that takes care of most of the basic uses of Photoshop and is simple enough for most users to pick up. This is a great solution for those who want to do simple image manipulation but don’t want to shell out the big bucks for Photoshop. Scribus (www.scribus.net)
Replaces Adobe Pagemaker (desktop publishing)
I’m actually elbow-deep in Scribus right now as I work on a special side project. It’s a very powerful desktop publishing program, giving you tons of freedom to lay out pages however you like. Adium (adiumx.com)
Replaces iChat
iChat is pretty slick, allowing me to chat in AIM and GTalk at the same time, but what about all of the other chatting protocols out there. Adium allows you to be on YahooIM, Windows Messenger, AIM, ICQ, and several other messaging services at the same time with the same program.
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OneButton FTP (onebutton.org)
Replaces “command line” FTP
On occasion, I need to FTP some files from one place to another (usually from one computer to another within our home network, when I’m too lazy to use a memory stick). OneButton FTP does the job in the simplest and easiest way possible - much easier than the default “command line” FTP. Cashbox (www.fadingred.org/cashbox)
Replaces Quicken
This is a very nice personal finance data manager for Mac OS. It doesn’t have quite all the bells and whistles of Quicken, but it provides a strong feature set and a huge number of different views of your personal finance state. If you’re a Quicken fan but don’t want to drop the cash for a Mac version, look into this one. Vidalia (www.vidalia-project.net)
Unique but useful (privacy)
Many people are concerned about online privacy and don’t want their IP address shared with web sites that they visit or file servers that they access. Vidalia easily allows you to use proxy servers for your accessing needs, enabling you to disguise your computer on the internet. Books (books.aetherial.net/wordpress)
Unique but useful (book cataloging)
This one’s just for fun, but I’ve found it very useful. It allows you to catalogue all of your books, create reports, and so forth. I’ve been using it heavily in conjunction with PaperBackSwap to help me as I read through a pretty big pile of classic literature.
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Bean (www.bean-osx.com)
Replaces TextEdit
I use this software for the editing of virtually every post that appears on The Simple Dollar. It’s a slick little editor with features like automatic word counting that really help when you’re trying to keep some semblance of control on the length of your articles. GanttProject (ganttproject.biz)
Replaces Microsoft Project
This is an excellent tool if you’re involved in the management of large projects with many staff members, particularly if budgeting is tight (as Project can be expensive). One of my closest friends uses this for mission-critical projects in the workplace. Nvu (www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/15699)
Replaces Dreamweaver (HTML editing)
I prefer coding my HTML by hand, but many people prefer the aid of a tool to help them with layout, and that’s what these provide. Nvu is a bit outdated but is still very useful - the creator has moved on to a new project, called BlueGriffon, which should be available soon at bluegriffon.org. Blender (www.blender.org/download/get-blender)
Unique but useful (3D graphics creation) Works for both Mac and PC
Blender is a magnificent tool if you like tinkering with 3-D graphics creation. It’s perhaps overkill for most people, but if you’re involved in graphic design at all, using and knowing Blender can be invaluable. Colloquy (colloquy.info)
Unique but useful (Internet Relay Chat)
If you chat on IRC, Colloquy is essential software. For the uninitiated, IRC is a very large network of chatrooms on various specific topics, often developing their own culture. Colloquy is a wonderful solution for IRC chatters on Macs.
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Celestia (www.shatters.net/celestia)
Unique but useful (planetarium) Works on both Mac and PC
If you’re a space buff (like I am), Celestia is incredible software. It’s a great way to create star charts, help you identify good nights for viewing constellations and other stellar objects, and simply stumble around different views of the sky. I simply love looking at the night sky, and Celestia is a wonderful free companion for this hobby. Transmission (www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19378)
Unique but useful (file sharing)
Many people like to upload and swap their own files with other users, such as live recordings of concerts, recordings of their own performances, free application software, and so on. BitTorrent is one of the most popular protocols for doing this, and Transmission is easily the best of the open source Mac clients for swapping them. MacLibre (www.maclibre.com)
Supplements Software Update
Many of these software packages are updated fairly regularly by their authors. MacLibre serves as something of a “Software Update” tool for these things, fetching updates for you and helping you to easily install them with just a click or two. It’s a great way of keeping up to date on software updates for open software on a Mac.
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More Free Stuff!!!
Even as the Web has become more entertaining – and certainly better looking – over the past 15 years, it has also become much more useful and practical, as these sites will demonstrate. I've organized the sites in the list by the type of task they help you with. It is not a ranking; in each category I recommend sites that specialize in a different area than the others. Learn Stuff Teens Read Too (teensreadtoo.com) HowStuffWorks (www.howstuffworks.com) Lynda.com (www.lynda.com) Instructables (www.instructables.com) FixYa (www.fixya.com) Treehugger (www.treehugger.com) Livemocha (www.livemocha.com) Plan a Vacation Tripit (www.tripit.com) Kayak (www.kayak.com) TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com) RoadsideAmerica (www.roadsideamerica.com) PlanetEye (www.planeteye.com) Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com) Buy, Sell, Rent Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) Zilok (us.zilok.com) CarsDirect (www.carsdirect.com) Zillow (www.zillow.com) Greenzer (www.greenzer.com) Stay in Touch Facebook (www.facebook.com) WhitePages.com (www.whitepages.com) FriendFeed (friendfeed.com) Spock (www.spock.com)
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Stay Healthy FitDay (www.fitday.com) iMedix (www.imedix.com) RealAge (www.realage.com) Take the Web With You NextBus (www.nextbus.com) Zeer (www.zeer.com) New York Times (www.nytimes.com) Google News (news.google.com) Google Maps (maps.google.com) Find Local Stuff Yelp (www.yelp.com) OpenTable (www.opentable.com) Chowhound (chowhound.chow.com) Angie’s List (www.angieslist.com) StubHub (www.stubhub.com) Access “Private” Information Glassdoor (www.glassdoor.com) Search Systems (www.searchsystems.net) NETRonline (www.netronline.com) Criminal Searches (www.criminalsearches.com) FundRace (fundrace.huffingtonpost.com) Find Music, Video, Books Pitchfork (www.pitchforkmedia.com) Amoeba Music (www.amoeba.com) Other Music (www.othermusic.com) Metacritic (www.metacritic.com) Pandora (www.pandora.com) Last.fm (www.last.fm) Heights Library (www.heightslibrary.org) Be Politically Aware FedSpending.org (www.fedspending.org) OpenCongress (www.opencongress.org)
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PolitiFact Truth-o-Meter (www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter) Project Vote Smart (www.votesmart.org) OpenSecrets.org (www.opensecrets.org) Survive the Recession GasBuddy (www.gasbuddy.com) Fuelly (www.fuelly.com) RetailMeNot (www.retailmenot.com) BillShrink (www.billshrink.com) Prosper (www.prosper.com) Kiva (www.kiva.org) Bankrate (www.bankrate.com) Pageonce (www.pageonce.com) AnnualCreditReport (www.annualcreditreport.com) Publish Your Stuff Picasa (picasaweb.google.com/home) Lulu (www.lulu.com) Animoto (animoto.com) Photosynth (photosynth.net) Capzles (www.capzles.com) Vimeo (www.vimeo.com) Sprout (sproutbuilder.com) Get the Right News, Fast Slate (www.slate.com) NPR (www.npr.org) Free Republic (www.freerepublic.com) Mixx (www.mixx.com) Techmeme (www.techmeme.com) Drudge Report (www.drudgereport.com) BBC News (news.bbc.co.uk) Watch TV Online OVGuide (www.ovguide.com) NinjaVideo (www.ninjavideo.net) Truveo (www.truveo.com) SnagFiles (www.snagfilms.com) Hulu (www.hulu.com)
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Have a Special Need? Vanderbilly (www.vanderbilly.com) Winelibrary (tv.winelibrary.com) Internet “Wayback Machine” (www.archive.org) Ballroomdancers (www.ballroomdancers.com) Emily Post (www.emilypost.com) Goodsearch (www.goodsearch.com) Babel Fish (babelfish.yahoo.com) Wikihow (www.wikihow.com) Shakespearean Insulter (www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker) Hubble Site (hubblesite.org) Occultopedia (www.occultopedia.com)
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What Should I Take Next?
Find more free stuff to do online with these additional Internet and Web Trends classes offered at the Heights Library. Internet Beyond the Basics Learn how links, hypertext, and browsing connect us to people, places, playgrounds, and valuable information. Learn to use some of the most popular search engines. Finding Pictures, Songs, and Movies on the Internet Explore websites that provide (mostly) free images, sounds, text, and video. Blogging 101 Get signed up for a WordPress blog and start letting the world know what you know and how you feel. Flickr Photo Sharing Create a Flickr account and learn to upload, organize, and share your photos for free. Google Calendars Learn to set up a personal or group calendar on Google and how to share it with your friends. Google Docs Create, edit, and share Word documents online using Google Docs. Music Channels 101 Learn about Pandora, Deezer, and Last FM in this introductory session about free music on the web. Wikis Wikis can be used for a large variety of tasks, from personal note-taking to collaborating online, creating an internal knowledge base, assembling an online community, and managing a traditional website. Learn how simplicity makes Wiki tools a breeze. Check the current issue of Check Us Out or visit the Heights Library’s homepage (http://www.heightslibrary.org) for specific dates and times.
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