On Fri, Jan 27, 2006 at 06:11:51PM +0100, Otto Wyss wrote: > > On a related note, is anyone aware of a place where users could go to > > find open source alternatives to these applications? I'm not talking > > about googling for projects or scanning the open source foundries, but a > > place where a user could just find a Quickbooks or Autocad replacement? > > > I think the best place to find applications is still freshmeat.net. IMO > it wouldn't need much work to implement a "find alternative for ..." > function there. It might be a good idea someone makes them aware of > this. Since I've already submitted so many feedback there IMO it's > better someone else does.
This has come up around work, too. A key point is that while there are "rosetta stone" type documents giving a table of available OSS apps for particular software categories, there is a demand for something a bit more evaluative. I.e., instead of listing 6 different open source word processors with links to their home pages, provide an analysis that shows that while there are 6 programs, program A is best for most user's needs, and programs B and C are worth considering for certain special requirements. As well, many of these lists focus only on open source alternatives, whereas, as I think Mike mentioned yesterday, what may be better for our purposes is to include non-open alternatives as well (including running the original under CrossOver or Wine). You could imagine a table with several columns, with "Windows/Closed" on the left, "100% open source" on the right, and the columns in between showing the in-between options, perhaps with some sort of color code to indicate risk levels for options that aren't considered to be "good enough" alternatives. Bryce
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