Software Alternatives

This is my categorized index page for suggested software programs, most of which are open source (click here for the Wikipedia definition). Others are low-cost commercial, or otherwise freely available. These are recommended equivalents to high priced commercial software such as Microsoft and other products provided in the interest of lowering clients' overall cost of implementing technology solutions or TCO. While an open source package is not always the best solution, many times it can be. Feel free to contact me for a free evaluation to determine if open source would be right for you. For more details on the cost aspect, see my article on the Cost Benefits of Open Source Software.

For some real world cost comparisons refer to these links:

Free and Open Source Software - Cost Comparison Model done by the Treasury Board of Canada
How Do You Decide If OSS Works for You?
The TCO question: Can Linux beat Microsoft?
How useful are 'proprietary vs. open source' TCO studies?
Linux vs. Windows - Total Cost of Ownership Comparison

I haven't been able to keep as up to date as I would like on this and software is constantly changing. So, if you have a suggestion for a software package that is not included, please let me know and I'll add it to the list. Many more software packages can be found at Sourceforge or Freshmeat. Some of the programs listed may only be available for Linux, though several are available for Linux, Mac, and Windows.

Physical Security/Video Surveilance

ZoneMinder Linux based video camera security system.

Also see MisterHouse on the Home Automation page

Databases

mySQL - "The world's most popular open source database"
PostgreSQL - "The world's most advanced open source database."
Wikipedia's Category listing for Open source database management systems
Why SSNs Make Bad Keys in Databases

Web Browsers

Internet Explorer?

Productivity Applications (Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Desktop Publishing, etc.)

VOIP

Asterisk - "Asterisk is software that turns an ordinary computer into a voice communications server. Asterisk is the world's most powerful and popular telephony development tool-kit. It is used by small businesses, large businesses, call centers, carriers and governments worldwide. Asterisk is open source and is available free to all under the terms of the GPL."
5 open source VoIP softphones to watch

CAD (Computer Aided Drafting/Design)

CAD & Linux: The LUnIx Linux CAD Links presented by Tech-EDV Some programs listed are also for Windows or Mac.
QCad - "QCad is an application for computer aided drafting in two dimensions (2d). With QCad you can create technical drawings such as plans for buildings, interiors, mechanical parts or schemas and diagrams. QCad works on Windows, Mac OS X and many Linux and Unix Systems. The source code of the QCad community edition is released under the GPL (Open Source)."
Sketchup - a 3d modeling software from google with a free version and a paid Pro version available
Archimedes - "Archimedes is a computer-aided design software focused on architecture. It is developed by a team of Computer Science students with colaboration of student and professional architects. The project was first conceived of on June 2005, but actual development only started on March 2006. At its first stage, the project aims to be a simple drawing board for architects. With this, it would be approximately equivalent to the most popular program among architects.
...
Apart from being free sofware, Archimedes is developed with a method that promotes constant contact with the architects, thus assuring that their requests be satisfied."

Programming IDE's

Kdevelop "KDevelop is exemplary as an all around open source IDE and is suitable for both commercial and Open Source development..." according to C++ Users Journal.
SharpDevelop " #develop (short for SharpDevelop) is a free IDE for C#, VB.NET and Boo projects on Microsoft's .NET platform."
Eclipse - An IDE popular for Java development.

Concurrent Versioning / Revision Control Systems

CVS - "CVS is a version control system, an important component of Source Configuration Management (SCM). Using it, you can record the history of sources files, and documents. It fills a similar role to the free software RCS, PRCS, and Aegis packages."
Subversion - "The goal of the Subversion project is to build a version control system that is a compelling replacement for CVS in the open source community. The software is released under an Apache/BSD-style open source license."
Bazaar - "Bazaar is a distributed version control system that Just Works. While other systems require you to adapt to their model of working, Bazaar adapts to the way you want to work, and you can try it out in five minutes. MySQL, Mailman, Launchpad, and the Linux Foundation are among the many projects and organizations using Bazaar. Bazaar runs on Windows, GNU/Linux, UNIX and Mac OS, and requires only Python 2.4. If you can run Python, you can run Bazaar! It is an official GNU project, licensed under the GPLv2 or later, at your option."

Email Clients

Financial Management / Accounting

ERP/CRM Systems

Help Desk / IT Managment

"IRM, the Information Resource Manager, is a powerful web-based asset tracking and trouble ticket system built for IT departments and HelpDesks. It keeps detailed information about each computer, as well as providing a trouble ticket system, an FAQ system, and a Knowledgebase. All elements are interwoven into a seamless web application."

Medical Practice Management

FreeMED - "FreeMED is open source practice management and electronic and computer records system. It is Episode of Care based, differing from conventional billing records. It allows the tracking of medical data, in detail, with preservation not just of the diagnosis but the reasons for medical encounters. It puts into the hands of the provicer user the ability to locally abstract outcomes data. FreeMED is freely availalbe; however professional support is available. FreeMED is released under the LGPL GNU license. FreeMED is an HIPAA compliant FOSS Practice Management System that handles billing."
LinuxMedNews

Games

Other Collections

Several Open Source Windows Programs can be found at The OSSwin project.
"Open Source Your Day!"

Open Source List Search for open source software.
Old opensourcelist.org
Freshmeat

Open Source Alternative Find open source software alternatives to well-known commercial software

Software Alternatives

Operating Systems

Utilities

Emulators / Cross Platform Solutions

Anti-Virus Software

Computer Privacy/Security/Web-Filtering

Remote Management / Virtual Private Networking

Terminal Services / Thin Clients