Posts Tagged: open source

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 1 Comment
26
Jan 09

Will Obama save money on government computers?

A news story from the BBC broke today describing Obama’s invitation to Sun Microsystem’s CEO, Scott McNealy. Obama asked McNealy to present a report on the benefits of Open Source software. Already many national and state government entities in the United States and many over-seas governments successfully use Linux and other Open Source software. What do you think? Should the United States government go on a software diet?

Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
17
Oct 08

What is Open Source?

Jazz BandOpen Source software began soon after computers became main stream in offices and then homes. In a nut shell, Open Source refers to software developed under a set standard of rules that developers agree upon to make the software freely available, no penalties for copying or sharing the programs (in fact, it is encouraged to share the software), the source code (programming) must be made available to anyone, and the software must also have no restrictions on others making variations of the software. You can read an exact definition and read the licensing information at the Open Source Initiative web site here.

Open Source software seems to be gaining more and more traction in the computer world as budgets start to tighten in an uncertain financial climate. This week, OpenOffice.org released the newest version of their Open Source office suite software. I’ve been using the beta version of the software for a couple of months and find it to be quite good. OpenOffice is considered one of the bright lights in the Open Source software world and for good reason. It offers an extremely viable option to Microsoft Office and gains new users and fans every single day.

Another Open Source darling is Linux and its various forms (distros). Linux is an Open Source operating system and the poster child for it today is Ubuntu. Ubuntu, like OpenOffice, garners new fans by the thousands every single day because it offers a real alternative to Microsoft Windows for no cost.

Just yesterday, I read an article by Matt Hartley titled 10 Simple Methods for Happily Running Ubuntu. I enjoyed the article, but number 7 in his list stuck with me the most. It was titled, There is no free lunch. He described Open Source as being free from any initial monetary investment, but that Open Source refers more to freedom of use than free ride. What he refers to is that although Open Source software doesn’t cost any money, it does require an investment in time. Time to learn the software, time to research and troubleshoot answers to your questions, and time shared with others on public bulletin boards or other forums sharing any solutions to problems you found or sharing tips that you might have about a particular software. Matt’s sage description stresses the importance of the Open Source movement as being an active solution that everyone can and should contribute to versus a passive one where you take something but never return anything.

I think I’m drawn to Open Source software for a few reasons. 1) The talent and knowledge of the programmers who develop the software amaze me. 2) The thought of being self-reliant and learning to use resources (existing knowledge and collaboration with others) to solve a problem makes sense to me and is extremely self-satisfying, and 3) Paying money for something that doesn’t completely solve a problem for me doesn’t make a lot of fiscal sense.

Getting more people to adopt Open Source software is not always easy. I think this is so because consumers are so brand conscious these days. If it doesn’t have a flashy logo or name on the software or device, then it can’t possibly be worth their time…especially if it is free. I try to look at anything I buy or use from a perspective of; can it do what I need it to do, can it do it efficiently, and can I readily find help for it when I run into a problem or need to learn something new. Open Source often time does fit the bill quite nicely. Sometimes it does not. However, I think any computer user owes it to him or herself to investigate Open Source alternatives to commercially available software. You may be surprised at the quality and functionality of Open Source software while at the same time saving money and becoming a little more knowledgeable and self-sufficient when it comes to your computer use.

Photo by Antikris

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 6 Comments
13
Oct 08

Get a new computer for almost free

Piggy BankIf you would like or might even need a new computer, but aren’t crazy about spending $500-1500 in our current financial environment, consider upgrading your computer for free. Yes, I said free. The only investment you will incur is some time. “How”, you ask? By upgrading your computer’s operating system to one of the many Linux options. As many of you know, I started dabbling and learning more about Linux a little more than two years ago. Linux offers a secure, completely functional, modern operating system for free. Linux falls under the guise of Open Source software (available for free and developed by a collaboration of many programmers) and has spawned many different versions to suit all sorts of users.

The most popular version of Linux the past few years, and the one that hooked me, is Ubuntu. Ubuntu has risen to become, arguably, the leader in Linux operating systems. Ubuntu’s popularity stems from the solid community behind the product that supports and develops it, the incredible array of software that comes installed automatically including full Office compatiblity, networking, photo and multimedia tools, and even games. To get the equal functionality that Ubuntu gives users upon installation, a Windows user would have to shell out nearly $1000 for software alone. Ubuntu throws the knockout punch by offering all this for not only free, but also in a package written well enough that it installs in under 20 minutes and runs on hardware that would buckle under the weight of Windows Vista.

Search my site for more information about Ubuntu, read some stories at Ubuntu Story, and definitely visit the Ubuntu web page for more information as well. For many home users and some small businesses as well, upgrading existing computers to Ubuntu will save time, money and extend the life of many computers. Think about it…you do have a viable choice.

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 6 Comments
18
Mar 08

Linux growing rapidly

I never thought I would write about or like Linux as much as I do. If you search HelpMeRick.com for Linux or Ubuntu, you will get a plethora of information.

Today, I received an email from Bill in Kentucky, who is an avid listener of our web show. He sent me links to stories of major organizations from all over the world describing the exodus from Windows to Linux. Cost is definitely a factor, but the functionality, safety and stability of Linux also ranks very high for the switching organizations. Listed below are the articles for you to read for yourself….thanks Bill in KY!

I don’t have a question, but rather a news story. Microsoft is in big trouble, not from the EU or from the latest Vista or Novell problem. This seems like mass defections from Windows to Linux.

Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
25
Jan 08

Ubuntu client update

Today, I helped my customer who I installed Ubuntu for almost four months ago. “It has been working great so far”, he informed me. We mainly worked on fine tuning some aspects of the desktop and panels (Ubuntu toolbars). He also wanted to use a calendar, but didn’t know how to approach the included Evolution program which is similar to Microsoft Outlook. However, as I pointed out last summer during my “14 days with Ubuntu”, I like the direction Evolution is heading, but it is far from polished.

Although Evolution comes with Ubuntu automatically, I still recommend using Thunderbird for an Ubuntu email program (also superb for Windows’ users too). And for a calendaring program on any operating system, Mozilla’s Sunbird works extremely well or if you already use Thunderbird for email, their Lightning program adds calendaring to Thunderbird.

However, for my customer today, we went the Web 2.0 route and chose to use the fast and flexible Google Calendar. It is easy to learn, loaded with just the right features that are easy to use and because it is web based can be accessed from any computer, any where in the world. You can use any of these programs for absolutely no cost, and in many ways they are more flexible and functional then anything you can buy.

I am ecstatic that my retired customer is enjoying using Ubuntu on his machine and doesn’t miss Windows at all. I think the fact that he was willing to give an alternative, open source operating system a try was extremely admirable and in many ways brave. The fact that he continues to use Ubuntu and function well with it is a testament to the fine work that Ubuntu and other open source companies have done developing solid, competitive products that will shape the future of computing for all of us.

Riding Shotgun with Adam — 3 Comments
11
Oct 07

Possible Ubuntu Alternative – Freespire

I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but the following is an excerpt from an email that my brother-in-law sent me. As Windows Vista proves to be a bigger lemon than anyone ever expected, Linux geeks are taking control. The future of non-Windows systems is very promising.

“You may want to check into this, though, if you haven’t already: http://www.freespire.org/

Freespire is the free version of Linspire (which used to be Lindows before Microsoft sued them). They started releasing a free version a while back to try to get some more community development going.

I recommend it because they start their codebase with Ubuntu version 7.04 (so underneath the hood, it’s completely Ubuntu), but they add in a bunch of really useful stuff.

The most useful of these extra features are the proprietary codecs and drivers. Linspire/Freespire is the only major Linux distribution that comes bundled with support for MP3, WMA, etc, plus a bunch of non-open source drivers for wifi and video cards and other hardware.
They also include a bunch of proprietary software like Flash, Java, Quicktime, and Adobe Acrobat.

The other distributions don’t include this stuff because they don’t want to pay licensing fees, and because it’s not open source software, so if you’re a purist, it kind of violate the Linux philosophy.

On my old laptop, I tried half a dozen different distros (Ubuntu, Red Hat, Gentoo, Suse, etc…), and Freespire was the only one that got my wireless card working right out of the box, without fiddling with ndiswrapper or any of that crazy command-line stuff.

Like I said, Linspire/Freespire both contain a bunch of stuff that’s not open source, so for somebody who’s moving to Linux as a political or philisophical thing, it’s probably not a good choice. For somebody who’s just looking for solid, free alternative to Windows, it’s pretty cool, though.”

Computer User Group — No Comments
12
Sep 07

Introduction to Ubuntu Linux – September 2007

I have written much about Ubuntu over the past six months, but today was my first public presentation of this fantastic operating system. Because it is different, many computer users tend to look upon it with eyes of confusion, but after discussing the possibilities and the opportunities with Ubuntu, those confused eyes turn to eyes of intrigue.

Getting people to think about an alternative to Windows and computing as we know it today were My only goals for today’s user group presentation. If you missed it, or you attended, here are some links to Ubuntu articles here at HelpMeRick.com and elsewhere:

Application Tips / Computer User Group / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 4 Comments
8
Nov 06

Open Office 2.0 — FREE Alternative to Microsoft Office

In today's meetings, we downloaded, installed, and worked with Open Office. The FREE altnernative to Microsoft Office. To read why the software is free, read this information from their web site .

OpenOffice programs are completely compatible with Microsoft Office programs and allows you to read, edit, and create Office documents without owning the Microsoft Office suite. Here is a list of the programs and their functions in Open Office:

Open Office icons

First, you need to download the product by clicking here . You will be asked if you want to donate to the project…this is completely voluntary, and you can simply click "Continue to Download" if you don't want to donate. After the download finishes (less than 15 minutes for cable users, about 30-40 minutes for DSL users, and more than 5 hours for dial-up users), you will see the following icon on your Desktop or wherever you chose to save the file:

Open Office icon

  1. Double-click on the file you just downloaded, wait for the installation to start then:
  2. Click Next
  3. Click Unpack
  4. Wait a few moments
  5. Click Next
  6. Click the "I accept" button
  7. Click Next
  8. Type your name in the "Name" box
  9. Click Next
  10. Click Next if you want to install ALL programs (OR click Custom, then Next if you want to choose which programs to install)
  11. On the screen presented below, check all the boxes IF you don't currently have Microsoft Office installed OR you want to make OpenOffice your default word processor, spreadsheet and presentation manager.
    open office install screen
  12. Click Next
  13. Click Install
  14. Wait a few moments
  15. Click Finish

The install is finished, the first time you open any of the OpenOffice.org programs, you will need to answer a few more questions…again, this is one time only:

  1. When the Welcome screen appears, click Next
  2. Scroll down to the bottom of the license agreement to make the Next button clickable, then click Accept
  3. Type your Name and Initials if they don't appear already
  4. Click Next
  5. Choose whether or not you want to register (it's not necessary)
  6. Click Finish

You are now ready to start using Open Office!!

One quick tip for the Word Processor and Spreadsheet programs, when you open them the first time Click Tools —> Options from the menus, then:

  1. Click the the "+" next to Load/Save
  2. Click the "Always Save As" box and choose the "Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP " option
  3. Click OK (these settings are illustrated below)

Default Save options

Setting this option allows you to save all your documents as Microsoft Word documents so that it is easier to share them. Do the same thing in the OpenOffice Spreadsheet (Calc) and change the save option to Excel.

One other tip we pointed out in the group today is that OpenOffice has a built-in function to create an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file out of any document you create in OpenOffice.

 

 

Application Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
21
Sep 06

OpenOffice – Revisited

I wanted to give a quick update on a product that we started talking about on the show about four years ago. It's called OpenOffice . OpenOffice is considered an open source project which means that no one entity owns it (although Sun Microsystems pushed it hard in the early going), and anyone can use it for free. OpenOffice, as the name implies, is a productivity software. It contains a Microsoft Office compatible word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager and database. I installed it for my kids almost a year ago and have been rolling it out for more and more clients. I can honestly say that I'm impressed with the product.

OpenOffice opens and edits any of the Microsoft products and can save in the Microsoft format. Therefore compatibility is nearly seamless. Some smaller government jurisdictions are giving the expensive licensing fees attached to Microsoft Office in favor of the free OpenOffice. If you are looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office products, take another look at OpenOffice . I think you will be pleasantly surprised.