Free "versions" of commercial programs.

[Acrytex]

This thread is to keep a list of free (as in open source) programs that have similar uses as commercial (or just non-open source) software.
Indexed by the commercial program.

Photoshop (Raster image editing)
Gnu Image Manipulation Program (Gimp) (http://gimp.org/)
Paint.net (http://www.paint.net/) (Windows only)

Illustrator (Vector editing)
Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) (can import eps, and some other formats, uses SVG natively)

Internet Explorer, Opera (Web Browser)
Firefox (http://getfirefox.com)
Chrome (http://www.google.com/chrome) (Windows only thus far)

MSN/Windows Live, AIM, Yahoo IM (Instant Messaging)
Pidgin (formerly gAIM) (http://pidgin.im) (MSN, AIM, YIM, IRC, XMPP, many more, and even more available through plugins)
Finch (text based Pidgin) (Doesn't seem to have an official website, go to pidgin's)
aMSN (http://www.amsn-project.net/) (MSN)

Microsoft Office (Office suite - word processor, presentation, spread sheet, et cetera)
Open Office.org (OOo) (http://www.openoffice.org/) (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, vector drawing) (supports reading & writing word documents)
AbiWord (http://www.abisource.com/) (Word processor)
LaTeX (WYSIWYM) (http://www.latex-project.org/) (Professional word processing)

mIRC (IRC)
mIRC is not IRC, IRC is a chatroom protocol, mIRC is an IRC client. You connect to IRC servers, not mIRC servers, this is one of the biggest misconceptions about the internet
xchat (http://www.xchat.org/)
irsi (text based) (http://irssi.org/)
KVirc (http://www.kvirc.net/)
Chatzilla (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/16) (Firefox Addon)

Winzip, Winrar (Compression/Expansion)
7-Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/) (z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, LZH, CHM, GZIP, BZIP2, Z, TAR, CPIO, ISO, MSI, WIM, NSIS, RPM and DEB)

Windows, Mac OS (Desktop operating system)
Linux (http://distrowatch.com)

Outlook (Desktop email)
Thunderbird (http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/) (Mozilla email)
Evolution (http://projects.gnome.org/evolution/) (for Windows (http://www.dipconsultants.com/evolution/))

Windows Media Player
Video
Video Lan Client (VLC) (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) (Comes with most audio and video codecs, not great as an audio player though)
Media Player Classic (http://mpc-hc.sourceforge.net/)
Audio
Songbird (http://getsongbird.com/) (Mozilla audio player)
musikCube (http://www.musikcube.com/page/main) (Window only)

iTunes (podcasts)
Miro (Formerly Democracy Player) (http://www.getmiro.com/)

Adobe Audition (Sound recording, mixing, editing)
Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)

3DS Max (3D Modelling)
Blender (http://www.blender.org/)

Notepad (Text editor)
Notepad sucks a lot more than you may have noticed. Honestly.
Notepad++ (http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm) (Natively Windows only)
vim (http://www.vim.org/index.php) (text based)
Notepad2 (http://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html) (No installation)

Dreamweaver, Frontpage (WYSIWYG HTML Editor)
Nvu (http://www.net2.com/nvu/) (Mozilla)

Please post additions.

[Jefff]

http://forums.tppc.info/showthread.php?t=37

Dunno why it's locked, though

[Acrytex]

http://forums.tppc.info/showthread.php?t=37

Dunno why it's locked, thoughKyle told me to steal it

[Michael Lay]

Kyle told me to steal it

All i can say is... LMAO

[King Killa]

Why would you list free alternatives for programs which are already free?

ie Opera, mIRC, iTunes, WinRAR, MSN?

[Jefff]

First of all, mIRC costs $20, winRar costs $29 and you only get MSN when you buy Windows.

And on top of that: Free has two distinct meanings (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Free_as_in_freedom)

[freefall]

mIRC and WinRAR can be obtained free by simply clicking cancel when it asks you to pay.

i know this because i've had them for over a year from the original source without paying for them.

[Jefff]

mIRC and WinRAR can be obtained free by simply clicking cancel when it asks you to pay.

i know this because i've had them for over a year from the original source without paying for them.

Yeah, it's so damn fun clicking cancel every time the program runs.

[freefall]

it's a single click >_>

[Ichigo Uzumaki]

I can't believe this got stickied. Just sad.

[Jefff]

it's a single click >_>
…every time the program starts. I don't know why you would want to use mirc or winrar when there are better programs that don't make you dismiss an advertisement every time it starts.
I can't believe this got stickied. Just sad.
Why's that?

[Acrytex]

…every time the program starts. I don't know why you would want to use mirc or winrar when there are better programs that don't make you dismiss an advertisement every time it starts.

Why's that?

I thought it was an awesome thread and Kyle asked me if i wanted to maintain the update of it.

Jefff was the original maker and I agree with him that clicking "x" on winrar every time I open a archive is hella annoying. Especially when I'm downloading multiple things...

[King Killa]

First of all, mIRC costs $20, winRar costs $29 and you only get MSN when you buy Windows.

And on top of that: Free has two distinct meanings (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Free_as_in_freedom)

You're not being serious are you? http://download.live.com/?wa=wsignin1.0

MSN = free.

But okay Auron, I understand now. Thanks :)

[Fatal]

You're not being serious are you? http://download.live.com/?wa=wsignin1.0

MSN = free.

But okay Auron, I understand now. Thanks :)
this is an 'open-source' thread, not a 'free' thread.

[shadow1900]

First of all, mIRC costs $20, winRar costs $29 and you only get MSN when you buy Windows.

And on top of that: Free has two distinct meanings (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Free_as_in_freedom)

There free :lol:

[AeSix]

mIRC and WinRAR can be obtained free by simply clicking cancel when it asks you to pay.

i know this because i've had them for over a year from the original source without paying for them.

That is a form of piracy.
Should I contact the IRS and FBI so they can contact the forum admins, get your user information (such as IP, ISP company, and such), so they can go to you ISP and get your personal information (such as your name, address, and such) So they can arrest you for software piracy?

[AeSix]

There is something I ran across yesterday actually, called GIMPshop. It's not a program per`se, but is an add-on for TheGIMP. The idea is to make GIMP more Photoshop-like in how it is used. This allows Photoshop users who have been using Photoshop illegally (or even those tired of spending all the money) to move to a Free (as in price) and Free (as in user restraints) Open Source software.

some mis-conceptions also, Open Source software does not have to be free in price. However, generally software who's source is open, yet the finished program is sold, run under a different liscense. Xchat for Windows is one of these. The "official" version costs money, same as mIRC. However, the source is free, and you can compile it yourself (NOT FUN, Don't tihnk you'll run off and do this), or you can go to such sites as silverex.org and download his compiled version of XChat, which is free in price and user constraints.

I think what Auron really wanted to post this thread as is "FOSS - Free Open Source Software, comparable to commercial software"

btw, in some respects, Photoshop is "free", just not in price. User addons, plugins, and material creation copyrights non-restricted by Adobe. This is what I mean by "free of user contrainsts" You can learn more on the subtle differences between "Free, Free, Open Source, Freeware, the GPL (GNU Public Liscense)" and other software liscenses.

Keep in mind, software piracy is a serious crime. If you are caught with illegal software on a personal computer, you will lose the computer, may be fined up to $500k per computer (I think it's per computer), Put in prison (and since software piracy is a "hacker" thing, you'll be going to REAL prison). If you're caught with it on computers at your or your parents business, all the same can be done to the owners of the company, the person in charge of the software and computers - AND the computer can be shut down. IF your parents run a company, do you really want to risk causing them to lose everything?

There is a couple of nice sites to read up on this, one is wikipedia. You can find all kinds of info there. gnu.org, the home of the GNU liscense has all kinds of information and links for free and "free" software laws and liscenses, as well as software for download (generally not for Windows though). SourceForge.com is a great place to get software you can download, use, and modify all for free and without limitations, from simple games to website type games, to enterprise level management software.

If you have a specific question and don't want others to know, please feel free (like that second type of free up there) to contact me on here, or on IRC -erm, "the chats" - if I'm in #tppc I'll help ya :)

[Jefff]

I used to use Gimpshop, when I used Windows. I don't like it running in one window (which is the only difference I found), too bad they're going towards that in Gimp 2.8 :(

"I think what Auron really wanted to post this thread as is "FOSS - Free Open Source Software, comparable to commercial software""
This was my thread (on the old forums), and yeah, that's exactly what it should be

"Keep in mind, software piracy is a serious crime"
Only in the US, and even there, the police don't care, it's just some corporations with too much money running around suing people.

Just so everyone knows, the two kinds of free in software:
Free as in Beer means being able to obtain it for free, under certain restrictions. For example, Internet Explorer is free as in beer. You are free to use it, but you are not free to do anything else with it.
Free as in Speech Free as in speech means freedom. You are given a lot more freedom to do what you want with the software.
As Richard Stallman defined it;
Freedom 0: The freedom to run the program for any purpose.
Freedom 1: The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish.
Freedom 2: The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor.
Freedom 3: The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements (and modified versions in general) to the public, so that the whole community benefits.

[freefall]

That is a form of piracy.
Should I contact the IRS and FBI so they can contact the forum admins, get your user information (such as IP, ISP company, and such), so they can go to you ISP and get your personal information (such as your name, address, and such) So they can arrest you for software piracy?

it's hardly piracy. i haven't applied a crack, and i downloaded from the companies themselves. it's not my fault they didn't code their programs too well.

[Jefff]

It is piracy.

If I lent you my computer for one month to try it out, and if you like it you can buy it, and after one month you decide to just keep it and not pay me, that's still stealing.

And not every piece of software needs to come with over zealous anti piracy protection.

[AeSix]

It is piracy.

If I lent you my computer for one month to try it out, and if you like it you can buy it, and after one month you decide to just keep it and not pay me, that's still stealing.

And not every piece of software needs to come with over zealous anti piracy protection.
Right on!
Schools really need to start teaching copyright laws earlier on, like in 5th grade, and then pound it in all through middle school.

[LifeRuiner]

It is piracy.

If I lent you my computer for one month to try it out, and if you like it you can buy it, and after one month you decide to just keep it and not pay me, that's still stealing.

And not every piece of software needs to come with over zealous anti piracy protection.

No, that's you being an idiot for not taking your computer back.

[Swisskaos]

That is a form of piracy.
Should I contact the IRS and FBI so they can contact the forum admins, get your user information (such as IP, ISP company, and such), so they can go to you ISP and get your personal information (such as your name, address, and such) So they can arrest you for software piracy?

You are acting as if you have never illegally downloaded something.
Also, To the OP, Thanks for the information.

[ryrya]

cool dude

[SwampertRocks]

Chrome is now available in Linux.

[nick20]

First of all, mIRC costs $20, winRar costs $29 and you only get MSN when you buy Windows.

And on top of that: Free has two distinct meanings (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Free_as_in_freedom)

you can download msn for free

[Fatal]

you can download msn for free
way to ignore half the posts in the thread.

msn is free as in beer. you can get it for free, but you can't do anything with it aside from use it under the EULA.

[God of time]

Add Libre Office in

Microsoft Office (Office suite - word processor, presentation, spread sheet, et cetera)
Open Office.org (OOo) (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, vector drawing) (supports reading & writing word documents)
AbiWord (Word processor)
LaTeX (WYSIWYM) (Professional word processing)



It's open source.



and




Dreamweaver, Frontpage (WYSIWYG HTML Editor)
Nvu (Mozilla)

Add Microsoft Sharepoint designer.

[Jefff]

LibreOffice is Open Office, but for the time being I think it should be added along beside. We'll see where Open Office goes, and possibly it'll be removed.

And sharepoint isn't open source, is it?

e; Also, the not on Chrome being Windows only can be removed now.

[God of time]

LibreOffice left Oracle. :/

[Xsern]

the blender does not actually work

[killerthemaster]

the blender does not actually work

yes it does, you just have to know how to use it.

[Bobhail9]

Kany I hav a 1k

[fashionever]

First of all, mIRC costs $ 20 First mIRC cost is $ 20, WINRAR29 dollars, you can only get MSN, when you buy Windows.

[killerthemaster]

First of all, mIRC costs $ 20 First mIRC cost is $ 20, WINRAR29 dollars, you can only get MSN, when you buy Windows.

...and who are you replying to? In this thread we are trying to find free open-source alternatives to paid commercial programs.

[Jefff]

...and who are you replying to? In this thread we are trying to find free open-source alternatives to paid commercial programs.

That's a spam bot trying to be smart.

[bigboel]

The only thing that pisses me off about mIRC is that ''exit'' thing.

[DogBones41]

Is this list still being updated? If so, I suggest adding Krita.
https://krita.org/en/