Wednesday, October 30, 2013:
We are consistently providing a
list of open source software projects that you can use to replace
expensive software. In case you are considering buying a software with a
particularly high price tag, it would make sense to compare it with one
of these open source substitutes.
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Development Tools
KDevelop
Substitute to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional ($499.00 and up)
KDevelop
supports C/C++ and a range of other programming languages. It features a
source code editor, a front end for the GCC compiler, wizards, and a
GUI designer. It offers integrated support for a several version control
systems. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X
MonoDevelop
Substitute to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional ($499.00 and up)
The
development tool is perfect for.NET developers, MonoDevelop supports C#
and other Microsoft-friendly languages. It is simple to port
applications constructed for Windows to OS X and Linux. Operating
System: Windows, Linux, OS X
SharpDevelop
Substitute to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional ($499.00 and up)
It
is also designed for the .NET platform, SharpDevelop supports C#,
VB.NET and Boo. The tool runs well on Visual Studio and provides code
completion, project templates, an in-built debugger. Operating System:
Windows
OpenBD
Substitute to Adobe ColdFusion 9 ($1,499)
Previously
known as Open Blue Dragon, Open BD is often referred to as "the world's
first truly open source and free GPL Java CFML runtime." It is used to
create JavaEE-based Web apps using the Cold Fusion Markup Language
(CFML) without using Adobe ColdFusion. Operating System: Windows, Linux
E-mail/Collaboration/Groupware
Zimbra
Substitute to Microsoft Exchange ($699 and up)
The
open source version of Zimbra provides a "post-PC" substitute to
Microsoft Exchange to handle shared email, contacts and calendars in a
virtualized environment. Operating System: Linux, Unix, OS X
EGroupware
Substitute to Microsoft Exchange ($699 and up), Microsoft Sharepoint Server 2013 ($6,000 and up)
Here
comes a Web-based groupware and collaboration tool that combines basic
groupware functionality with CRM, Web content management, , project
management, file sharing, incident tracking and more. Operating System:
OS Independent
Citadel
Substitute to Microsoft Exchange ($699 and up)
It
proclaims to be "the leader in true open source email and
collaboration," Citadel can be used for e-mail, calendar, contacts,
bulletin boards, IM, wiki, chat and more. Operating System: Linux
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
OpenERP
Substitute to Microsoft Dynamics ($27,150 and up), SAP (prices vary)
OpenERP
offers "beautiful business applications" for CRM, accounting, project
management, point of sale, HR, warehouse, sales, purchasing,
manufacturing, and more. It is available for free and you can get the
cloud version by paying a monthly fee. Operating System: Windows, Linux
Openbravo
Substitute to Microsoft Dynamics ($27,150 and up), SAP (prices vary)
This
famous open source ERP solution is an effective tool for retailers,
distribution, manufacturing, services and coworking. You can get a large
range of on-premise and cloud-based deployments for both commercial and
open source licenses. Operating System: OS Independent
ADempiere
Substitute to Microsoft Dynamics ($27,150 and up), SAP (prices vary)
The
tools has been developed by a very active community, ADempiere provides
a full suite of ERP capabilities that combine with different open
source applications. It provides functionality for HR, materials,
finance, sales, purchasing, manufacturing, maintenance and project
management. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X, others
Apache OFBiz
Substitute for NetSuite ($999 and up), Sage One ($24 per user per month and up)
The
tool offers"enterprise automation," Apache OFBiz incorporates CRM,
e-commerce, supply chain, manufacturing, maintenance management, and
point of sale capabilities other than conventional ERP features. It
provides flexibility and low total cost of ownership. Operating System:
OS Independent
Zkanji
Substitute to Rosetta Stone Japanese ($379)
Here
comes a basic foreign language study tool, Zkanji that teaches you
Japanese characters and words, such as stroke directions used for the
formation of characters. Operating System: Windows.
ZWDisplay
Substitute to Rosetta Stone Chinese ($499)
This
tool is for students of the Chinese language. ZWDisplay makes use of
color creatively to help emphasize the learned concepts. It also
features a dictionary and flashcard capabilities. Operating System:
Linux
Gateway Security Appliances
Endian Firewall Community Substitute to Check Point Security Gateways ($1,500 and up), Sophos UTM products ($535 and up)
Here
comes the community edition of Endian which makes it possible for you
to construct your own Linux-based unified threat management appliance by
using standard PC hardware. The company also deals in hardware and
software appliances driven by the same technology. Operating System:
Linux
Untangle
Substitute to Check Point Security Gateways ($1,500 and up), Sophos UTM products ($535 and up)
Untangle
proclaims to that while using its security products users will "know
more about your network traffic than the NSA." Akin to Endian, this tool
also is open source "lite" package, as well as commercially supported
product. Operating System: Windows, Linux
Graphics/Drawing
Dia
Substitute to Visio Professional($589.99)
Believed
to be inspired by Microsoft Visio, Dia provides various tools for
creating diagrams, flow charts, org charts, and various other relational
graphics. Though it doesn’t have as many features and templates as
Visio, but goes well with basic diagrams. Operating System: Windows,
Linux
Gimp
Substitute to Photoshop CS5 ($19.99 per user per month)
Gimp,
also known as "GNU Image Manipulation Program," is an advanced photo
editing and manipulation program with features that compete with
Photoshop. It supports all common image file formats and provides a wide
range of special effects and photo tools. Operating System: Windows,
Linux
Inkscape
Substitute for Illustrator ($19.99 per user per month), CorelDraw($429)
This
professional-caliber vector graphics editing program comes with similar
tools as the proprietary products. It supports common file formats and
is equipped with advanced features. The interface is simple. Operating
System: Windows, Linux, OS X
Mathematics
Sage
Substitute for Mathematica Standard ($2,495 and up)
The
tools has been created for scientists, mathematicians, students, and
other people who have loads of technical knowledge, It has a simple
interface and can be used to perform different calculations. Windows,
Linux, OS X
Genius
Substitute for Mathematica Professional ($1095 and up)
It
offers simplified features but can be used for solving advanced
mathematical problems. It makes use of its own programming languages
which are referred to as GEL (Genius Expression Language). Operating
System: Linux, OS X
Scilab
Substitute for Mathematica Professional ($1095 and up)
This
application is used for basic math calculations, optimization problems,
simulations, 2D and 3D visualizations, statistics and more. You have
access to paid support, training and services through Scilab
Enterprises. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
Maxima
Substitute for Mathematica Professional ($1095 and up)
Here
comes a computer algebra system that can be used for solving problems
related to "differentiation, integration, Taylor series, Laplace
transforms, ordinary differential equations, systems of linear
equations, polynomials, and sets, lists, vectors, matrices, and
tensors." Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
Music
MuseScore
Substitute for Sibelius 7 ($599.95 and up), Finale ($600.00)
This
tool is meant for amateur and professional musicians both. With this
tool, it’s easy to create beautiful sheet music. Operating System:
Linux, OS X
Office Productivity
OpenOffice
Substitute for Microsoft Office ($15 per user per month and up)
The
tool is managed by the Apache Foundation. It features Office-compatible
word processor (Writer), spreadsheet (Calc), database (Base) and
presentation (Impress) software. You can also add graphics (Draw) and
math/science notation (Math) software which Microsoft suite lacks.
Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X
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