• What is Open Source Software?

  Contrary to popular belief, and common misconceptions, free software (usually referred to as freeware) is not necessarily Open Source. So what exactly is Open Source? Open Source is the term used to describe software, of which the high-level code is supplied free of charge to whoever would like it, by definition, they are permitted to:

  • Use the code for whatever they wish
  • Edit and modify the code to suit their needs
  • Redistribute the code to whoever they wish
  • Improve the software, and redistribute it in its modified form

  When all these conditions are met, software is considered truly Open Source.

• What are Vanilla recommended Open Source software and tools?

  Explore our collection of the best Open Source software and tools.

  WEB BROWSERS:

  Mozilla Firefox
  The most powerful and most secure browser to date. A perfect replacement for Internet Explorer, and everything else! Fully customizable, with a wide range of skins, themes, and extensions. You can download Firefox.

  Midori
  Midori is a lightweight, fast, and free web browser. It aligns well with the Xfce philosophy of making the most out of available resources. It is also the default browser of the beautiful elementary OS. You can download Midori.

  EMAIL CLIENTS

  Mozilla Thunderbird
  From the same people who brought us Firefox, Mozilla also develops an email client. A perfect alternative to Outlook. You can download Thunderbird.

  Mailbird
  Mailbird is more than just an email client. It’s an amazing tool where all the apps and tools you already use to communicate, plan, and more can work together. You can download Mailbird.

  GRAPHICS EDITING

  GIMP
  GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, and is a perfect Open Source alternative to Photoshop, and has functions surpassing the mighty Adobe package. You can download GIMP.

  Inkscape
  Inkscape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X. You can download Inkscape.

  MEDIA APPLICATIONS

  VLC Media Player
  VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, avi ...) as well as DVDs, and VCDs. You can download VLC.

  MPC-HC
  VLC and MPC-HC can both play just about any media file under the sun, thanks to a ton of built-in codecs. In the rare instance that one of them doesn't work, the other almost certainly will. You can download MPC-HC.

  ARCHIVE TOOLS

  7-Zip
  7-Zip is an Open Source file archiver with a higher compression ratio than even the leading proprietary software - WinRAR. A perfect replacement for WinZip or WinRAR. You can download 7-Zip.

  OFFICE TOOLS

  OpenOffice
  OpenOffice is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is a perfect Open Source alternative to Microsoft Office. You can download OpenOffice.

  LibreOffice
  LibreOffice is a powerful office suite – its clean interface and feature-rich tools help you unleash your creativity and enhance your productivity. LibreOffice includes several applications that make it the most powerful Free and Open Source office suite on the market. You can download OpenOffice.

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