The best free open source software for Windows
If you run Microsoft Windows, you owe it to yourself to try these 10 killer open source apps -- InfoWorld's top picks
Join the revolution -- without leaving Windows!
There’s no doubt about it, the FOSS-on-Windows landscape is full of hidden gems waiting for you to discover. Some, like TrueCrypt and VirtualBox, are real diamonds in the rough: enterprise-grade solutions that deliver many of the same bells and whistles of their commercial brethren, but for free. Others, like Firefox and OpenOffice.org, are already legendary, and their strong followings ensure their continued development and support at levels that rival the best proprietary solutions.
If your idea of open source is limited to Linux and Firefox, you really owe it to yourself to check out some of the tools detailed above. Chances are, at least one of them will impress you enough to make it into your own must-have tools collection, leaving you with a few extra dollars to splurge on that Windows 7 Ultimate Edition upgrade you’ve been eyeing.
Or not. With TrueCrypt available for free, you can scratch BitLocker from the thin list of reasons to buy that high-end Windows SKU. No wonder Microsoft doesn't like open source.
Related stories: Windows
- Windows 7 RTM arrives: The time is finally ripe for a Windows upgrade
- Seven steps to securing Windows 7
- Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2: Joined at the hip
- The generation gap: Windows on multicore
- Flame war: The great Windows 7 debate
- Test Center benchmarks: Windows 7 unmasked
- Death match: Windows Vista versus Windows XP
- Save Windows XP!
Related stories: Microsoft Office and alternatives
- Office 2010 beta: Is there enough substance?
- Office 2010 looks solid and smooth
- Microsoft Office 2010 highlights
- First look: Microsoft Office 2010
- Why is Microsoft Office so hard to kill?
- The better Office alternative: SoftMaker Office bests OpenOffice.org
- Can you really live without Microsoft Office?
- Test Center review: Office killers pack some heat
- Fat, fatter, fattest: Microsoft's kings of bloat
Copyright © 2009 IDG Communications, Inc.