How to Save Money and Change
the World with Free Software
(But Mostly How to Save Money)
By Jens Porup
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The winds of change are blowing out in software land. Remember, way back when, when there was Choice--and not just Microsoft? Well there is Choice again.
Most theaters these days have a built-in preference for Windows because Microsoft gives them a steep not-for-profit discount. But what about the cost and hassle when Windows freezes, and you forgot to save? Or a virus has its way, and permanently erases half (or all) of your hard drive? Or a spambot hijacks your address book and sends dirty pictures to all your friends, relatives, and subscribers?
Shouldn't your computer just--work?
Maybe it's time to take a look at Free Software.
What is Free Software?
Free Software, sometimes called Open Source, is written by tens of thousands of programmers, all around the world, who are united by the shared belief that software should be Free. Together, they have built a credible, Free alternative that rivals--and, in many cases, excels-- Microsoft and Windows.
Free Software can free you from security hassles, the risk of data loss, and save you money. Whatever your circumstance--lonely actor waiting by the phone, cash-strapped mid-sized theater, small business owner, or the multinational you're temping for--Free Software has something to offer.
Here are some ideas.
Firefox and Thunderbird
The two quickest, easiest things you can do to dramatically improve the security of your Windows PC are to get a better browser and mail client. Internet Explorer is one big security patch these days, but to no avail--it still allows all sorts of spyware and malware to install itself on your computer.
Grab Firefox instead. It features tabbed browsing, a popup blocker, Google built into the toolbar, and, best of all, it's immune to all of IE's security flaws. Fast and Strongly recommended.
Outlook, likewise, is referred to in some IT circles as a "virus propagation utility with a mail client attached." Not far from the truth. Go for Mozilla Thunderbird instead. Very similar to Outlook, but completely immune to all of Outlook's security flaws. Upgrading is simple-- just import your old emails and address book into Thunderbird.
OpenOffice.org
I've been using OpenOffice for more than three years. It was usable then; now, it can take on anything MS Office can throw at it.
OpenOffice Writer is a Free, drop-in replacement for MS Word. By default, it uses its own open-standard file format, but can read and write Word .doc's with no problem. It does everything that Word can do, and then throws in a few extra nifty features that I love, like "Export to PDF." Instead of sending out your resume or play script as a .doc, you can send it out as a .pdf instead. You can also design web pages in Writer.
OpenOffice Calc and Impress are similarly complete, fully-featured, drop- in replacements for MS Excel and Powerpoint. OpenOffice Draw can export your graphics to Flash (.swf) format. And OpenOffice 2.0 (due out soon) will include Base, a graphical database tool that supports many popular databases natively, including MS Access, MySQL, and dBase.
OpenOffice runs on Windows and Linux. You can download it for free, burn as many CDs as you like, give it to as many friends as you like. And, unlike MS Office, it will always be free, and future upgrade will always be free.
Linux. Just for hobbyists and geeks, right?
Not anymore.
Check out Ubuntu Linux (www.ubuntulinux.org). Ubuntu's motto is "Linux For Human Beings," and it is Linux specifically designed for the non-IT desktop user. Ubuntu comes with literally hundreds of Free Software packages installed, including just about everything your average desktop user would need. (Plus all the toys you're going to want, like an mp3 player, mpeg viewer, sound mixer, lots of great Free games, etc.)
But don't take my word for it--give it a go for yourself. You can download it from their web site and burn it to CD, or, if you're on slow bandwidth, sign up on their web site and they'll send you two free CD's in the mail. One is the install CD. The other is a demo "Live CD." Shut down Windows, reboot to the demo, and you can try it out, see what you think.
If you decide you want to install it, there's a couple of options. If you have a second PC lying around, this is the ideal place to do your first Linux install, which is really quite simple. The installer will auto-detect and configure your new Linux system for you, all you have to do is enter your desired username and a few basic details.
If you haven't got a spare PC lying around, and your current hard drive has at least 1-2GB free, consider partitioning and dual booting your PC. Dual-booting means that when you boot your computer, you will be given the choice of which OS to load. For instance, I run Linux on my desktop by default. But sometimes my IT work requires me to reboot to Windows. (Thankfully, this doesn't happen very often.)
While partitioning is not very complex, if you've never partitioned a hard drive before, then I would recommend you ask your friendly neighbourhood IT person to help you.
Linux: The Right Choice For Me?
Most users requirements in a PC are relatively simple: office package, email, browser, audio/video, and maybe some games. For the vast majority of users with these requirements, Linux is ready to replace Windows on your desktop--for good.
There are several scenarios, however, where you don't want to run Linux, or where Linux may not be suitable for all the computers in your office. For instance, if you have specialized computing needs, or you run custom-tailored software, you'll want to ask your vendor first if they support Linux.
And if you're a small business owner, I'm sorry to say Linux does not yet fully support most accounting packages. You'll want to keep a lone Windows PC in the corner to do the accounts for just a little while longer.
CrossOver Office
Codeweavers' CrossOver Office is a Windows emulator for Linux that currently supports many popular Windows applications, including MS Office, Photoshop, Lotus Notes, QuickTime, and Visio. So if there are Windows applications you simply cannot live without, then this may be an option for you. They are continually expanding the applications they support, and Quicken support is expected soon.
CrossOver Office costs $39.95 and you can download it from Codeweavers' web site.
Server Linux
Linux has dominated the server market for years. A well-configured Linux box, running Apache (web server), postfix (mail server), and Samba (file server for your Windows desktops) needs very little attention, and will happily sit in the corner chugging away for years without a reboot.
If you're not using Linux for your servers, you should really be asking: why not? Linux is not only much faster than Windows, but vastly more secure. And Linux, unlike Windows, will happily run on PC's that are 3-5 years old, saving you money on new hardware.
Third Party Software
Most larger theaters use custom third party software to manage ticket sales, subscriber lists, and their donor database. Here are some questions to ask your vendor:
* Does it run on Linux? It might, and if it doesn't, the fact
you asked may give you leverage to get a better deal.
* Is it designed specifically to run only on Windows? If it is, you're locked
in, and at the financial mercy of Microsoft and your vendor.
* Is it web-based? This ensures it's platform-independent, so that anyone
with a web browser can use it. Make sure, though, that it runs on browsers
other than IE--some developers take advantage of IE "tricks" that
don't comply with the official standards, and won't work with other browsers,
like Firefox or Safari.
* Is the code Open Source? Pretty niche market, writing software for not-for-
profit arts groups. Suppose your third party vendor goes out of business.
Who's going to fix the bugs, do the updates, add in the features you want?
Ask them to deliver the code to you with an Open Source license. That way
you can get any software company to competitively bid to make those changes--and
you're not at the mercy of the market, if your vendor happens to go broke.
Free as in Freedom
Ultimately, Free Software is about more than just inexpensive, quality solutions. It's about the Freedom to use, share, and modify software. Like the Internet, Free Software developers fervently believe that basic software should be Free for everyone.
And why do they do this? Why do they spend long hours, late at night, hacking furiously at a keyboard? Because they are driven to create; because they think that maybe they can change the world; because it is what they must do--for all the same reasons you and I have gone into the theater.
Their passion can change the way you do business. Maybe it can even change the world.
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Jens Porup is a playwright and computer programmer. A one-time Chicago actor and writer, he now lives and writes in Melbourne, Australia. He can be reached on jens@porup.com.
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