Computer911-8.1.09: “OpenSource”

 

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Times are tough all over, so why is it that some software companies feel the need to charge hundreds of dollars for their products?  Well we understand the problems we can all face when looking for a piece of software to accomplish a task only to be met with a ridiculous price tag.  That’s why Episode 19 of Computer 911 with Pc Medic is all about Open Source!

Also, join us on Facebook, for your chance to win the TWO Laptops and printers we’re giving away with Great Lakes Radio in the Back to School and Cool Giveaway!

In The News

• Yahoo and Microsoft agree to Truce…Or, “Yahoo Gives In to Microsoft, Gives Up on Search”

• AT&T Blocks 4Chan

• The President’s Safe House Location Leaked by P2P

• Researchers at DefCon Release WiFi Vulnerability to Install Malware

• Windows 7 Ultimate Activation Cracked Months Before Release
  

WinFail: You’ve Been iJacked

At Black Hat in Vegas a new iPhone Hack was released that brings vulnerability to SMS…Not so dangerous (more).

…meanwwhile at the iHall of Justice, its revealed this week that the iPhone’s security is not even close to being hack proof (more).

Apple responds by saying Jailbreaking is a threat to National Security (more).  Or pulls the old magician trick of saying, “HEY! Look over here, not at the trick!”

Feature: Open Source

Open source is an approach to the design, development, and distribution of software, offering practical accessibility to a software’s source code. Some consider open source as one of various possible design approaches, while others consider it a critical strategic element of their operations. Before open source became widely adopted, developers and producers used a variety of phrases to describe the concept; the term open source gained popularity with the rise of the Internet, which provided access to diverse production models, communication paths, and interactive communities.

From Wikipedia.  So what are some of the best open source alternatives to pay software?

• Photoshop → The Gimp: Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program ) Gimpshop. It’s a great program for middle-of-the-road users that just need a graphics editing application with more user power.
  • Available at gimpshop.com
  

• Microsoft Office → Open Office from Sun Microsystems: OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers.
  • Available from openoffice.org
  

• iTunes → Songbird: Its no secret that while iTunes may hold a majority market share when it comes to digital music, the software can often be clunky and bloated when running on a Windows machine.  Luckily the same folks who bring us our favorite web browser, Firefox, are there with an alternative in Songbird.  Its supports hundreds of plugins making it the perfect personalize-able (yeah I made that one up) music library organizer/player.

  • Available from GetSongbird.com
  

• Windows Media Player → VLC Media Player: We’ve talked about this one before.  Simply put, if you watch alot of videos on your computer, this is a must have.  VLC will not only handle all of your basic video encodings, but we have yet to find a generally used encoding it won’t work with.

  • Available from videolan.org
  

• Windows → Linux, more specifically Ubuntu: There are many reasons to at least give Linux a try, one of the biggest is the price that is charged by Microsoft for Windows.  Tux Magazine has a great Top 10 List of reasons to try Linux.  For the average user, we reccomend you give Ubuntu a try through Wubi, which will guide you through the installation process, and will not disrupt your current Windows installation.

  • Available through Wubi-Installer.org

Calls

• Mary in Gwinn is having problems getting her older printer to run with Windows Vista.
  • This is caused through there not being a currently supported driver already installed in Vista.  To fix make sure that your computer has all the latest updates, and try checking the printer manufacturer’s website specifically for Vista drivers for your model.
• Mary in Ishpeming wants to be able to view and print .pdf files.
  • .PDF files (or Portable Document Format) are files that need specific software to read.  Typically you can use Adobe Reader to view and print these, or for a lighter weight version try Foxit Reader (Just be careful to not install the bundled toolbar, or to reset you default search engine).  Both are free downloads, but will not allow for creating or editing.

Tags: Apple, iPhone, iTunes, Microsoft, News, Open Source, Radio Show, security, Win7, Windows