Ok, now that you have read the posts on Ubuntu and other OS (Open Source) OS(Operating System) alternatives, it is time to introduce a few more alternatives.

While I am not advocating use of Open Source (or Free Software), I am certainly advocating against use of pirated copies of any commercial software. Agreed that Free Software may not often meet all of your requirements, hey but that is why the commercial software companies charge you money. More than any thing, these will give you peace of mind of not using illegal software (remember, “Piracy is stealing”). 

If you wish to read more about Open Source & Free Software Foundation click here. Again please remember not all Open Source software is Free to use. As they define “Free as in free Speech, not as in free beer”.

Have I clarified things enough or at least confused you further? Good, now back to our topic. Here are top 5 most used softwares and their alternatives.

1) Microsoft Office:

This is number one single most used software on many PCs and Macs too. If you wish to retain the full functionality and familiarity of office, you may purchase this at prices starting 2500 rupees; you might get a good deal if you buy it bundled with PC. 

Now for the alternative, single most famous alternative is Open Office.org. This Open Source, free office is a fairly good alternative to MS Office. Provides most of the features, while there may be some compatibility issues, it is more than enough for home use. What’s more the built in PDF maker helps you do away with Adobe Writer/Distiller’s need. I am not a big fan of browser based Office Suites, but if that’s your liking then you have Google Docs. 

2) Adobe Photo Shop:

Number 2 on our list, again quite pricey to commercially buy. While many use this for working on their Digital media assets, few free alternatives can help you deal with most of what this offers. Go for Gimp and top it up with Gimp Shop, which is a hack, which makes it closest to Photoshop.

3) Nero Burning ROM:

Very easy to use software for burning DVDs and CDs, unless packaged with your PC Bundle, quite often used in “other” ways. Want to break free? Two options, stick to Windows standard burning options, which have gotten better with Vista, but again lack full control. A very good alternative is Infra Recorder. Does the job almost as well as Nero (other than burning Blu Ray discs).

4) Adobe Premiere:

Again for those enthusiasts working with home video and adding some effects etc. The famous iMovie of mac does a good job and so does the Windows movie maker for basic work. To get some extra you might want to look at Cinelerra. Mind you this works only on Linux. For Windows folks you could try Jashaka. This offers some solid features.

5) Norton Anti Virus:

Again for Windows guys a bit favourite. You could switch to Avast. It offers very good, non intrusive protection for your system. And is free for non commercial use.

 So that’s our top 5 list. Let us close this topic here and let you play around with these. And reiterate the importance of using legitimate software….  Well well, let me not start again!

 Have fun!

Popularity: 14%

The tag line says it all. Borrowed from the movie Spiderman, it is true for any linux/unix operating systems. Commands on the CUI (character user interface) though tough at the start (for users transitioning from Windows) works like a charm, but with it also comes the risk of some rank newbie deleting any system file. For the uninitiated, everything in Unix is a file and I mean E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.

But before I tell you on some of the nitty gritties of the stuff that Ubuntu is made off I will head over in the direction of getting you a working and virus/spyware free HD (avi, mkv etc.) file player, gaming rig, music jukebox and all in one Entertainment box which will fulfill your love for something very solid with practically all tools which are free of (m)any proprietary headaches (read Windows!) which would run for aeons (if you have uninterrupted electricity which these days is rare in India) that would bring a smile on your face.

1. Installing Ubuntu

2. Enabling third party repositories for using plugins

3. Installing Audio Applications

4. Installing Video Applications

5. Installing Games (Open Source + Some Proprietary)

6. Setting up Ubuntu for your Network Needs (Samba, FTP)

7. Pimp your Ubuntu

8. Securing Ubuntu

For now what I have for you is just the tip of the Ice Berg

Popularity: 19%

One of my pet peeves with operating systems has been the Microsoft domination of the OS market. People just dont seem to realize that they have so many things around them for free. There has been a research on how people tend to pay for something advertised rather than use something which is free and might actually work much better than the one paid for! Linux is one of such ‘geeky’ operating system termed as geeky due to its non GUI mode of functioning with its roots firmly entrenched in the best OS the world has ever known, Unix.

Such ‘terms’ usually mean the alienation of the crowd in general and for people who find the ‘point and click’ interface of Windows so easy in comparison would never think about transitioning to something as robust as Linux. If you think point and click gets your goat, then go for Ubuntu 8.04. You get support, you get a lot of beauty (even on a low end computer), you get a lot of things you never have to pay a penny for, and you get a 3 year security update cycle.

There are some things you might not know. MP3 as a technology is licensed, so when you encode music from your CDs make sure you encode it in FLAC or OGG VORBIS. The sound clarity is better and ofcourse you are in a way contributing to the open source movement. So whatever you pay for and whatever you don’t, the ROI calculation would be very different when you look at it from the open source angle.

I made the transition around 2 years back and love every moment with my Ubuntufied (Mint 4 currently) computer. No viruses, no hangs, no spyware/adware. Though there are somethings for which I would need to revert to Windows XP (would be a sycophant if I won’t). My office work has to be done on the legendary MS OFFICE (Open Office jumbles my formulae up). I would not get into the technicality of things at this juncture. You need a HD Video Player Linux (read Ubuntu) has it, you need a browser (Firefox), you need a CD/DVD burner linux has it. There are many more such reasons why a regular/advanced joe would want to go for Ubuntu. Give it a whirl and believe me this is one OS you can never have enough of.

More about this…later !

Popularity: 9%