Info Tech Guide

There was a crowd of people that once thought, and still do, that computer software should be a free service. They created something very inspired- put simply, open source software was designed so that others could continue to improve upon the original design of a program, thereby republishing and offering an improved product for the customer.

This software is often available for free, but occasionally has a cost much lower than alternative programs. Plus, it offers flexibility and more frequent updates and technology gurus continue to improve upon the existing model. In fact, you, yourself, could make changes to this type of software to make it do exactly as you please. That is if you are an expert in the field.

There are many uses for open source software. Currently programs can be found for word processing, to measure business productivity, manage clientele, email, instant message, and browse the web. Each has the ability to be adjusted to fit personal needs and wants. And, those are just a few from a long list.

Imaging and printing are not left off that list. Along with specialty printer drivers, there are also a multitude of imaging and graphics editing software available, and document translation programs to create readable documents from those that are coded for internet and other purposes.

The most popular of these open source software programs are found in a family of programs entitled GNU tools, which can be accessed at directory.fsf.org/GNU/. This group includes GIMP, which is a photo editing and image authoring program. The tools in this package are nearly limitless, could be used to replace nearly every program on the average person's computer, and best of all- they are FREE!

Knowing that other photo editing software can be very pricey and drivers can be glitchy, added to the constant availability of updates and flexibility with open source software, why would anyone turn their head on this free alternative?

As always, with anything so good there must be a downside. That is that open source software can be difficult to load and use. Furthermore, it is often incompatible with other software or operating systems. For instance, GNU's word processing site can be accompanied by a Word Viewer application (also free), but this program only allows a person to view documents sent as.doc or.docx files. He would not be able to make any changes to that text.

So, if you are about to undertake a new hobby in photo imaging, or are considering a new printer, or perhaps you are a longtime user of both, open source software may be something to consider. As with anything else, though, it would be wise to "do your homework" and fully understand the benefits and possible negative consequences should you make the leap to unrestrained software freedom.