Free and Open Source Options: OS and Apps
Nobody in their right mind will pay for something if an equivalent can be had for free right? Well, that depends on how you define free. Open Source software can be had at no cost - but that doesn't mean it is free to run. You still need hardware and support and it is especially the latter that has kept many people from giving Open Source a go. Hardware-wise it just might get more juice out of what you've already got than XP, Vista or Mac OSX.
In this article, perhaps a bit more technical than usual, we'll look at a couple of recent developments on the Open Source Operating System front and also a bit about alternatives to application suites like Microsoft Office.
If you're completely new to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) or you're simply looking for a good primer for reference then I recommend the recently updated 'Choosing and Using Free and Open Source Software: A primer for nonprofits' published by NOSI and incidentally sponsored by my alma mater. It is a PDF ... and some 72 pages. If that's a bit too much detail then maybe just read on instead in the first instance.
Let's start with Operating Systems and specifically Ubuntu - I last wrote about this free Linux distribution further to Jayne Cravens asking on the UKVPM group if the São Paulo e-Intelligence Programme doesn't promote (not to say propagate) non-Windows software - and I've been meaning to talk a little bit more about this superb open source operating system since (and a further hat tip Jayne for writing about the primer above).
Now, I was an on-and-off Linux user back in my IBM days but had written it off for deployment to small charities as I felt it’d need to much training and support. In those days one distributor (Red Hat) set out to make money just from supporting their free distribution, not the development work that went into it. Meaning: If corporates with vast IT departments couldn't deploy without huge support contracts, how would a small not-for-profit? Now their share price is sliding but I am not sure it is because of a reduced need for Linux support. Or is it?
Ubuntu version 7.10, which has recently come out of beta, is quite something else compared to my encounters with Debian, Suse, Red Hat etc.
It positively rocks. Installs like a dream and runs faster than XP (and my guess Vista) by far as it is simply much less bloated both when it comes to footprint and resource utilisation. It frees up a significant amount of extra space on the harddisk as the file system is more efficient - around 10gb in my case on a comparative disk with similar file load.
Still, there are some drawbacks. Mounting drives (I can hear Windows users say huh?) still isn’t painless. Explained more simply - Say somebody turns up with a memory stick wanting to load up a presentation or something ... then an unaccustomed user could easily lose half an hour, if not give up entirely.
Also, if you're an intensive Skype user then be aware that whilst there is a version for Linux, it doesn't do voicemail or SMS (which could be another way for a nonprofit to save money). You could try and run it through Wine, the free implementation of the Windows API on Linux but then we're back at the same support problem.
The other challenge is applications - There are plenty of great ones like Amarok which beats iTunes any day and of course some you may know and love from other platforms such as Firefox (pre-installed) and Thunderbird which you can easily add using the Synaptic Package Manager.
The problem is that a lot of people in small nonprofits spend a disproportionate amount of time editing grant applications - Often populating Word templates supplied to them. And that's the crunch. A Word doc just does not look the same in Open Office let alone Lotus Symphony and when you submit you really want to be sure of the formatting working out.
Still, I am a strong advocate of using Google Apps where possible. Now I've talked mainly about the Docs (wordprocessing, spreadsheet etc.) but what about displacing the resource hugging and expensive Outlook app? Idealware has an article comparing Google Apps to Outlook worth a read if that is a challenge you're facing.
In conclusion - When Skype-for-Linux functionality catches up, and if I can get enough people I collaborate with to use Google Docs instead of Word and Excel, then I'll take another look at abandoning XP forever. Or maybe I should just put down the hard cash for one the new Skype handsets to solve part of that challenge. For organisations that can switch from Office to Google Docs through consensus (and maybe simply leave the fundraiser stranded with an XP machine) I would definitively start looking at saving money and computing resources through deploying Ubuntu. Don't forget you'll need support from a skilled pro though whether in-house our not.
Some further reading elsewhere:
- The Open Source Initiative and NOSI
- Wired Review of Ubuntu and commentary on that by Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing fame
- The good people at Ubuntu is looking for a UK Director
- If you're in São Paulo and interested in connecting with people concerned with the broader issue of public access to information resources - which of course includes FOSS, pop along to one of the G-POPAI public seminars.
