Penguin Central

For this blog post I decided that I would share my top 5 favourite FOSS applications. I am constantly using different operating systems, so the more that the program is cross-platform, the better it is for me. These programs do different things, but they have managed to help me accomplish many of my day-to-day computing tasks.

1. Firefox - I've been using Firefox since version 1 and I refuse to use any other browser, period. Tabbed browsing (at the time a feature that I hadn't really heard about) has allowed me to keep multiple web pages open within the one browser. Extensions have enabled me to keep track of my internet usage, emails among other things. And because it's a cross-platform app, it is the same whether if I am using Windows, Mac and Linux (which I use all three rather regularly).
2. Pidgin - This program is a fantastic IM application. Because it supports multiple protocols, instead of using Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk etc. all I need is Pidgin. The great thing about Pidgin is that it focuses on the chatting. I don't need all the useless features in their "official client software". For example Windows Live Messenger has webcam functionality, voice functionality, on-line gaming, all crap that I can get elsewhere. There are Windows and Linux versions of this program, but on the mac I prefer to use Adium.
3. OpenOffice - If this office suite didn't exist, I'd probably still have to drown myself in the bloatware that is Microsoft Office 2007 and pay for it. I'm a big user of Google Docs, but when I need an offline office suite to perform more intermediate tasks, this is when I pull it out. For example I was using impress to make cue cards for a talk that I needed to do. I also used writer to make a document with columns. My Office needs are fairly basic, and OpenOffice just does the job for me. And because OpenOffice is able to work with Microsoft Office files to a certain degree, I am able to co-exist in the Windows-Centric environment which I am forced to live in every day. This is yet another cross-platform app. The Windows and Linux versions are quite good, but OpenOffice still has a long way to go on the mac.
4. Audacity - This is my audio editor of choice when I make my podcasts; it works really well. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you know how to use it for the task at hand, it becomes a very versatile editor. What is great about Audacity is the open-source codec support. Ogg Vorbis and FLAC (not available with the mac stable version) support is fantastic; and if I so desire I can install mp3 support. I have used Audacity on Windows, Mac and Linux; it just works which is what I like about it.
5. irssi/screen/ssh - Ok, I have combined the three programs for the purpose of this article, but the combination of this is actually really cool. irssi is my favourite IRC client hands down. It is a terminal based program, but it does away with the clunky interfaces that many IRC Clients carry. With screen I can keep the irssi program going on a remote server so I never have to re-connect. And with ssh I access the remote server which i have irssi and screen hosted on. The fantastic thing about this is that no matter where you go (except when the internet access is behind a proxy where you need a username and password to access the internet, PuTTY doesn't support it) and no matter what operating system you use, you can just log into your remote server and access irc. If that isn't cool, then I don't know what is.

So these are my top 5 favourite FOSS applications. In my life I need to use Windows, Mac and Linux; so it helps when you have access to these top-quality open source cross-platform applications.

Also, if you are interested, I am accepting applications for those who are interested in helping to edit the podcast. Knowlege of Audacity is helpful. If you are interested please email me at podcast@fullcirclemagazine.org.

And we'll be having a podcast IRC meeting on Good Friday 12pm AEDST (01:00:00 a.m. Friday March 21, 2008) in #fullcirclemagazine on irc.freenode.net. Recommended IRC clients include mIRC for windows, Colloquy for mac, xchat-gnome for linux and irssi for connecting using a terminal/ssh. Meeting agenda can be found at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuMagazine/FullCirclePodcast/MeetingAgenda. Feel free to add points for discussion into the agenda. See you there! :)