For 300 issues, Linux Format has celebrated and promoted free and open source software. So, what better way to celebrate that software in our 300th issue than trying to distil the most useful of it all into a tawdry listicle? In the words of a CBeebies polar bear, let’s do this!
Recently, open source has become the form of development du jour. It wasn’t always like that, with many arguing that a proprietary approach was superior. But as software project complexity spiralled, maintaining large enough groups of developers became ever more costly – for example, Cray was spending more on software development than on the supercomputers themselves before switching to SUSE Linux.
While there are certainly difficulties and challenges with the open source approach – financing, leadership conflict, interface polish, quality documentation – the benefits generally outweigh the negatives. Besides, more modern methods of running projects can help overcome many of the issues, such as crowdsourcing and sponsorship.
The open source arena is vast and it can be tricky working out which software is worth trying. Hopefully, this list will be useful and insightful. You probably know many of the titles here, but we’re also explaining why we think they are so successful. We start with some notable projects, then break off into categories such as office, system administration and development. So, take a good look and let us know which programs we missed!
Top of the FOSS!
Some of the most notable projects in history.
Linux Kernel
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Linux Format.
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Linux Format.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Create your first WebSocket service
Mihalis Tsoukalos explains how to use the Go programming language to work with the WebSocket protocol.
Fantastic Mr Firefox
Nick Peers takes a trip down memory lane to reveal the story behind the rise - and slight fall - of Mozilla's popular web browser.
Set up your terminal and email like it's 1983
Jump in the hot terminal time machine with Mats Tage Axelsson who emails from the command line using the latest technology.
Universal layer text effects with GIMP
Posters use them, films and presentations are hard to imagine without them: text effects. Attract attention with Karsten Günther and GIMP.
Jump to a federated social network
Nick Peers reveals how you can get up and running with this free, decentralised and non-profit alternative to Twitter.
Free our SOFTWARE!
Taking anything for granted is dangerous, so Jonni Bidwell and Mike Saunders revisit how the free software movement got started to help free us from proprietary tyranny!
Master RPI.GPIO
Les Pounder goes back to the early days of the Raspberry Pi - and his career with this classic library! -
Waveshare Zero to Pi3
Transform your Pi Zero into a Pi 3, they promised Les Pounder, but it's more like adding on go-faster stripes.
The Best OPEN SOURCE Software Ever!
In an attempt to trigger controversy, Michael Reed and Neil Mohr unequivocally state these are the greatest free software apps ever. Probably. We’re just trying to be helpful.
Linux-Mandrake 7
Simplicity and a wide range of applications make this a great distribution for all Linux users.
