Over the years, I have heard people going on and on about the shortcomings of open source software. Frankly, they are generally made by people who have tried poorly created applications and then decided to offer up their opinion as fact to describe the all applications that make their source code available to the public. It’s a tired statement and today, I am hoping to put it to bed.
Myth: Open source software is just for Linux users!
Truth: Sure, those of us using Linux love the free applications that are provided us with point and click installations. But I assure you, open source apps are not just for Linux users. Today I am going to show you a real world publishing program that can produce pro-level documents in both the print world as well as the virtual one. The name of this application is Scribus. Best of all, Windows users can enjoy it today from the comfort of their existing OS.
Since it was first conceived, Scribus was an example of open source done right. It mirrors the quality of amaroK, Firefox, GIMP, Thunderbird and K3B. But Scribus is available for Windows (XP is the best) and OS X (PPC only), not just Linux.
Myth: Open source applications can never compete against the monetary resources being thrown at those of the close source variety.
Truth: Actually, I can think of a few open source concepts that have really begun to pump some steam against alternatives with larger bankrolls. Firefox comes to mind as does Linux on both the server and mobile platforms. And even desktop Linux, still just a babe in the woods, has shown 2006 to be a year of change. By 2008, I believe it will have shown growth comparable to that of mobile Linux – just watch. Moving on.
Now there have been some concerns about the quality of material that can be produced with a program like Scribus. How good is it “really”? I’ll let real world publishers share their thoughts on the matter.
So is Scribus for you? Maybe, maybe not. In some cases, it may be worth your while to spend the money on another software option. Because to be honest, Scribus is not for everyone. But I will tell you one thing. On my Ubuntu box, Scribus has proven to be stable, powerful and the price can’t be beat!
[tags]amaroK,Firefox,GIMP,Thunderbird,K3B,open source,scribus,linux,OS X,windows,publisher[/tags]