Free Alternatives to Everyday Software

Explore the practical process of moving part or all of your software usage towards open source software (OSS). The material in this video is divided into two parts, each offering a different perspective – one general, one specific.

The first part describes the general, practical considerations for a user who moves to OSS alternatives. The considerations include: obtaining the software, migrating your data, getting support and training, and arranging for ongoing support and maintenance. For each consideration, Free Alternatives to Everyday Software gives advice on how best to approach the task and any risks to watch out for.

The second part discusses prominent examples of OSS in a number of key categories (office software, browsers, email, and so on). Each segment identifies an OSS program and explains the challenges you will face when moving to that program (for example, ‘Where is feature X in the OSS version?’, ‘Will there be issue with driver support?’, and so on).

What You Will Learn 

• Procure and install OSS programs
  
• Successfully migrate your data
  
• Obtain support and updates
  
• Overcome the challenges when moving to OSS in prominent software domains
  

Who This Video Is For

You will have experience using a range of mainly proprietary (and possibly some OSS) applications. You are aware of what OSS is, and are considering moving at least part of your toolset to open source solutions.