Firefox, Thunderbird and their community friends
Posted by blackpoolcommunitynews on July 1, 2008
Meet Firefox. It can help you browse the internet. For those of you who use Internet Explorer (and the majority of us do) then quite frankly, you don’t know what you’re missing! Meet Thunderbird. It is an e-mail programme and a real alternative to the Microsoft versions. Both are provided by and can be downloaded from the Mozilla Foundation.
Also check out OpenOffice which is an alternative to Microsoft Office and includes a word processor, spreadsheets, database, drawing, presentations and mathematics programmes. The programmes are very powerful and easy to use; if you can use Microsoft applications, you can use these! And – unlike the Microsoft versions – OpenOffice does not cost you a penny.
Not only are these programmes considered as good as, or even better than propriety software, they are part of a massive family of computer software called FOSS – Free and Open Source Software. “Free” in the FOSS sense means freedom from commercial controls and license rather than ‘without cost’. However, FOSS is almost always freely available, has no license or upgrade fees to pay .
FOSS is distributed with the condition that anyone using it has the freedom to run the programmes for their own purposes. They can opt to study how the programme works and adapt it to their needs. They have the freedom to improve the programme for the benefit of other users. They have the freedom to re-distribute copies so they can help others and ensure wider communities benefit.
Also, in contrast with propriety software where you are limited to how many copies you can make, you can copy and install FOSS on as many machines as you want. This is all good news for cash-strapped third sector organisations concerned with saving pennies and pounds.
However, groups using FOSS still need to consider the costs of training users, and the costs of any additional technical and administration support needed.
Blackpool SURF hopes to bring more information about FOSS and its benefits in the near future.
