I have been using Open Source software for a number of years. As far as my memory can recall it is about 1995 or could be earlier. I like to use open source software because they are free and good enough for me to do what I want. It allows me to do experiment and learn without costing me a fortune during my student days. I also use prioprietery softwares, and those are fully licence copy. What is Open Source software? Good question. I will answer it if I can but it is better if you get the definition of OpenSource from here. I am sharing with you some of the OpenSource softwares that I regularly use and some that I know but seldom use for my work. Please follow the link provided to get more information or download the software. I don't think it is necessary for me to give the version number because they get outdated very fast. If just bump into this page and need some convincing why you need to used Open Souce go to this site.

Operating System

I have started using Open Source Operating System namely RedHat since version 5. I think a RedHat Version 5 is operating somewhere that I installed back in 1998. It could have been upgraded to version 6. I can't remember. I no longer maintain that system. On a system that I manage a RedHat Version 8 is operating happily and the other one is a CentOS. CentOS is Open Source operating system being develop by community in the internet. RedHat and Centos are Operating System being developed based on Linux. Linux is developed on the internet by Linus Tovarlds and his team of contributors. There are many version of Linux such as Slackware, Mandrake, Redhat, Centos, and Fedora. I am quite familiar with RedHat and Centos and I don't know much about other version There are different Open Source operating system such as OpenBSD. OpenBSD may have different liscence but you can check it out.

Web Server

Exchange of information are provided through Web Server. I have been using Apache for a long time, since I used OpenSource software. Nowadays web server are combined together with database such as MySQL, and server-side programming language such as PHP. You might have heard of an acryoname LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP). LAMP are hapilly serving the Internet very well. Actually, there are several more software integrated into it to provide the security features and other requirement of users. In the early days you can compile your own, and I used to do that. Nowadays, most features come precompiled, just install what you need or what is required by your clients.

Web Browser

In the early days I used Netscape to browse the web. Then to Mozilla. Now I used Firefox most of the time. Sometimes I used ... because some sites are not compatible with my Firefox. It is a matter of convinience.

Web Browser

In my student days I use Pegasus Mail because it free to use and one of the most advance, still is but not OpenSource software. Now, I use Thunderbird most of the times. It has both pop and imap protocol e-mail and the necessary security features required by all including advance users.

FTP Software

If you are a nut case like me you cannot do file transfer without an FTP software. FTP software allows you to transfer files from your computer to another computer. The receiving computer should have a ftp server to receive your file. Most OpenSource server come with ftp server software. There are many ftp software that are available. The one that I am using for quite sometimes is FileZilla. This program just getting better all the time. It actually exceed my requirements. Description of FileZilla (Taken from FileZilla "FileZilla Client is a fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTPS and SFTP client with lots of useful features and an intuitive interface. Features Among others, the features of FileZilla include the following:

1. * Easy to use
2. * Supports FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
3. * Cross-platform. Runs on Windows, Linux, *BSD, OSX and more
4. * Available in many languages
5. * Supports resume and transfer of large files >4GB
6. * Powerful Site Manager and transfer queue
7. * Drag & drop support
8. * Configurable Speed limits
9. *
10. * Filename filters
11. * Network configuration wizard

Office Suite

I am sure we all need a software that can be used to prepare a document of some-sort. If you are old enough you might remember names such as WordStar, WordPerfect, Words. Those days are long gone. Nowadays people talk about ... OpenOffice to name an OpenSource software that meet my requirement for preparing write-up this days. Openoffice can be used for text document, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, database, and many more. I am a minimalist and don't use much of feature available in OpenOffice. What I like about OpenOffice is that it can be used to open files in other format and have the ability to convert document to PDF format. OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute.

Virus Scanner

If you are operating on Window Operating system you need virus scanner. I have been using ClamAv for quite sometimes together with ClamWin Free AntiVirus interface. It has some limitation but it is very useful for my purposes

Content Management System (CMS)

LAMP happily server the Internet contents. Managing the contents can be tedious. Imformation need to be updated and added regularly or they get outdated very quickly. CMS play the role very well. Joomla is a popular Open Source software for this purpose. As far as I know AMP can be install on Window Operating System hence Joomla can also be used. I have never used AMP on Windows hence cannot say very much on this.

3D Graphics

I am not much into 3D graphics. There is a software called Blender. I have introduce it to my son and he started to used it. I may update this content when I get his input.

Graphics

I am also not much into graphics. However, there is a software called Gimp available. Check it out and try it.

Backup and Syncronise

This days more information are generated and store electronically. Sometimes works are done at home and need to be syncronised at work. Furthermore these work need to be backup to ensure they are safe from any possibilites. Software to carry out these function are available. A free software that can be use is SyncBack. There are other software that can be used but it is sufficient for me. This is not an open source software.

Conclusion

There are Open Source software available to meet our requirement. Some are not Open Source but free to use. Those that are listed above are the one that I actually use and some that I know. My software requirement are actually quite limited but I will add some more if I bumped into some interesting Open Source/Free software that are useful.