Open Source Free Software De-Mystified
Copyright 2004 by Jared Alberghini - http://www.WebDesignHQ.com
Did you know that the most powerful software and web applications are all free? Yes thats right, just about every commercial software or web application you know of is most likely available as a free Open Source project/clone. Economic Efficiency of Free and Open Source Software in the Public :: Economic Efficiency of Free and Open Source Software in the Public Sector: the The role of software patents needs to be demystified and advantages and http://www.eclac.org/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?xml=/publicaciones/xml/1/27531/P27531.xml&xsl=/ddpe/tpl-i/p9f.xsl&base=/socinfo/tpl-i/top-bottom.xslHOME |
Why havent I heard of this Open Source stuff??? There is good reason for not seeing advertising for open source software in ppc search engines, if you had a free product, you would not be likely to pay for top advertising spots, or even worry about your search engine placement. Open Source projects rely on word of mouth and the fact that its free, well you all know that FREE is the most viral form of advertising. Also, the open source community is a tight group of developers and programmers who often exchange links, so if you dont know the right places to look, you can spend days and weeks searching out the top open source applications. The Future of Web Analytics, Demystified » Blog Archive » Web :: In five years, all Web Analytics software will be free. .. To see web analytics soul source of revenue in advertising is a poor assessment of the value http://thefutureof.webanalyticsdemystified.com/2008/02/18/web-analytics-is-dead-long-live-web-analytics/HOME | Bluetooth Intrusion Demystified | GeniusHackers.Com:: officepoltergeist | Play pranks on your friends with this open source software · How hackers used to hack through windows · RapidShare hacking for downloads http://geniushackers.com/blog/2008/03/15/bluetooth-intrusion-demystified/HOME |
Dont worry though, this article has a list of the top open source applications, as well as links to the top open source search engines.
But I always thought you had to be a techno-geek to install or use these applications? This is the way it used to be just a few years ago, but times have rapidly changed in the Open Source world, and the focus is now on more userfriendly, step by step installations and control panels, so you dont need to know much of anything to get these apps up and running.
Now, the only downfall of an Open Source application compared to a Commercial application... NO DIRECT SUPPORT. However, as in all web based communities, there are hundreds of thousands of people using these applications, and there are always community support forums where you can get help from veteran users. Community Support can often be ten times better than the commercial support a Commercial company may offer. Amazon.com: Embedded Systems Firmware Demystified (With CD-ROM :: Embedded Linux Primer: A Practical Real-World Approach (Prentice Hall Open Source Software. 11% buy. Embedded Linux Primer: A Practical Real-World Approach http://www.amazon.com/Embedded-Systems-Firmware-Demystified-CD-ROM/dp/1578200997HOME |
So how do I find these Open Source Applications? Luckily for you, I have been working in this field for several years now, and would like to save you the time of searching to find the best places to look.
The following list is also available at http://www.webdesignhq.com/portal/ as well as many other links/resources dealing with the Open Source Community.
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The mother of all open source application search engines is SourceForge.net where most if not all of the top projects are located:
http://www.sourceforge.net
Here is a list of the top Open Source Web Applications:
CMS - Portals
Drupal - http://www.drupal.org/
eNvolution - http://www.envolution.com/
eZ Publish - http://ez.no/
ezContents - http://www.ezcontents.org/
Geeklog - http://www.geeklog.net/
Mambo - http://www.mamboserver.com/
MD-Pro - http://www.maxdev.com/
myPHPNuke - http://www.myphpnuke.com/
PHP-Nuke - http://www.phpnuke.org/
phpWebSite - http://phpwebsite.appstate.edu/
Postnuke - http://www.postnuke.com/
Typo3 - http://typo3.com/
Xaraya - http://www.xaraya.com/
XOOPS - http://www.xoops.org/
CMS - Blogs
b2evolution - http://b2evolution.net/
bBlog - http://www.bblog.com/
BLOG:CMS - http://blogcms.com/
Nucleus CMS - http://nucleuscms.org/
pLog - http://www.plogworld.org/
pMachine Free - http://www.pmachine.com/
Serendipity - http://www.s9y.org/
Textpattern - http://www.textpattern.com/
WordPress - http://wordpress.org/
CMS - e-Commerce
MyMarket - http://mymarket.sourceforge.net/
osc2nuke - http://www.osc2nuke.org/
osCommerce - http://www.oscommerce.com/
Zen Cart - http://www.zen-cart.com/
CMS - Groupware
dotProject - http://www.dotproject.net/
eGroupWare - http://www.egroupware.org/
MoreGroupware - http://www.moregroupware.org/
phpCollab - http://www.php-collab.com/
PHProjekt - http://www.phprojekt.com/
CMS - Forums
openBB - http://www.openbb.com/
Phorum - http://phorum.org/
phpBB - http://www.phpbb.com/
PunBB - http://www.punbb.org/
W-Agora - http://www.w-agora.net/
XMB - http://www.xmbforum.com/
CMS - e-Learning
ATutor - http://www.atutor.ca/
Claroline - http://www.claroline.net/
Moodle - http://moodle.org/
Segue - http://segue.middlebury.edu/index.php?&action=site&site=segue
Site@School - http://siteatschool.sourceforge.net/
CMS - Photo Albums
Coppermine - http://coppermine.sourceforge.net/
Gallery - http://gallery.sourceforge.net/
CMS - KnowledgeBase
Owl - http://owl.sourceforge.net/
CMS - Customer Support
SugarSales CRM - http://www.sugarcrm.com/
As you can see, there are many choices so the thing to do next is a bit of research by taking a look through a few and finding one that suits your exact needs. There is really no wrong choice, its all a matter of preferences and the features that you are looking for.
Happy Open Sourcing!
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