Open-Source Options
New apps, distros, and utilities.PC World editors
Thinking about a move to Linux but don't know what software to run? Looking for something different to run on your current PC? The open-source software community continues to turn out new, useful programs. (Open-source software is usually developed as a public collaboration and made freely available. Proprietary software, like Microsoft's Windows and Office packages, generally is not.) Here's a sampling.
OpenOffice.org 2.0
If you're thrifty and you use an office suite, it's hard not to like OpenOffice.org. The current version does most things Microsoft Office can do. Plus, it's free. So what's to improve?
OpenOffice.org 2.0, still in beta, adds a database-creation application similar to Microsoft Access. Otherwise, many of the changes in the new version are small tweaks that probably won't radically alter the way you work.
In addition to Base, the database app, OpenOffice.org 2.0 includes Writer (a word processor), Calc (a spreadsheet application), Impress (a presentation program), Math (a tool for creating mathematical formulas), and Draw (a nifty drawing program). The beta is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems.
The suite's developers seem to have tried to make Base look and act just like Access--unfortunate, since Access is so frequently baffling. A better plan might have been to create a database application similar to FileMaker Pro--that is, not like Access but much easier to use.
As for the tweaks, Calc now supports as many rows of data as Excel does, eliminating one problem for serious number crunchers. And if, heaven forbid, you're a fan of transitions and sounds in between your slides, you'll love that Impress now has buckets of them.
Once a final edition of version 2 is released (there's no firm schedule), you may doubt the wisdom of paying $300 or more for Microsoft Office.
Ubuntu Linux
Ubuntu Linux burst onto the scene in 2004. It is closely tied to the nonprofit Debian project, a Linux distribution beloved by many hard-core Linux fans. Debian releases are few and far between. Ubuntu, however, aims for a new stable release twice each year, based on the spiffy stuff that appears in Debian's testing and unstable branches.
Ubuntu is a Gnome-based distribution (KDE component architecture is not a supported option) that takes user-friendliness very, very seriously. The only problem with Ubuntu is that, like Fedora Core, it lacks multimedia functionality out of the box. Ubuntu doesn't know how to rip or play MP3 files, or read a DVD, unless you install some unsupported system components.
So you've got some work to do if you want MP3 and DVD support. Luckily, the work's not hard, and the necessary packages are kept up-to-date by kind souls who want to play movies and listen to music just like you do. If you're going to give Ubuntu a shot, just know going in that you've got these tasks in store.
Open-Source Utilities
Are Linux and OpenOffice the only open-source programs you've heard of? If so, that's a shame, because there are several open-source programs you might find useful on a daily basis. Here are a few:
Looking for a free FTP client? Try FileZilla. It works, it's fast, and it has a nice interface.
Who says remote-access software has to be expensive? The next time you need to connect to a PC at a distance, give the free virtual network computing program VNC from RealVNC a try (registration required).
When you're in a chatty mood, you have permission to Speak Freely with this gratis Internet telephony client.
The free file-compression program 7-Zip claims to offer a compression ratio that's 2 percent to 10 percent better than that offered by either PKZip or WinZip.
For protecting your data, it's hard to beat the free NeoCrypt encryption software, which supports AES, DES, Triple-DES, Blowfish, Skipjack, and five other encryption standards.
And when it's time to cover your tracks, pull out Eraser, a program that overwrites the data on your drives in a way that makes it unrecoverable ($15 donation requested).