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The 10 Coolest Open Source Products of 2008
Posted by
timothy
on Wed Dec 31, 2008 03:11 PM
from the not-the-transom-of-the-novel-white-jazz dept.
from the not-the-transom-of-the-novel-white-jazz dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Open Source Software is about more than just the Linux operating system, and 2008 brought advances in the form of OpenOffice.org, IBM Lotus Symphony, Firefox and Android. But Linux is still the heart of the FOSS movement, and this year brought key developments in the operating system as well. Here's a look at the coolest open source products to come across the transom in 2008." Along roughly similar lines, davidmwilliams points out the year in review of the iTWire's "Linux Distillery" column.
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Submission: The 10 Coolest Open Source Products Of 2008 by Anonymous Coward
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Projects on the horizon:* (Score:2)
*Sorry, couldn't resist.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Even though the source code is ugly as sin (sorry comskip author, but it is, it's one big C file that's nearly impossible to dissect) -- a nice addition to CCExtractor is comskip.
http://www.kaashoek.com/comskip/ [kaashoek.com]
Zzzzzz (Score:5, Insightful)
Android *is* new - but is hardly newsworthy by now.
Re: (Score:2)
Put this into up-to-the-minute context. With ZUNEs going to comas around the world [msn.com], OSPs of any ilk shine, baby, shine - now, isn't that newsworthy!!!
Re:Zzzzzz (Score:5, Informative)
1 is Open Office, 1 is an open office derivative. 1 is a website. 1 is firefox 3. 1 is Android. The rest are linux distros.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I could write an article right now about what would be coolest in 2009
...
1. Ubuntu 9.10
2. Ubuntu 9.4
3. Fedora 10
4. Firefox 4
5. JeOS 2
6. Open Suse 11
And I wonder, why did they forget the service packs, IIRC Open Suse 10 SP2 was released this year.
TFA is a non-story.
Re:Zzzzzz (Score:5, Insightful)
Thanks for that. I tried to RTFA and found it was one of those "one paragraph and ten thoudsand ads per screen" sites so I didn't go any farther.
How can you trust any tech site with a gawdoffal layout like that? Pathetic!
Parent
Re:Zzzzzz (Score:5, Informative)
Plus Ubuntu's on the list twice. So here's the article reproduced verbatim, sans ads, just as a giant middle finger extended in the direction of CRN and all the other assbags using this format these days.
OpenOffice.org 3.0
The popular -- and free -- open source productivity suite hit its milestone 3.0 version in 2008, making it more clear than ever that its functionality and compatibility with Microsoft Office (including OpenOffice Impress, which is PowerPoint compatible) make it a force to be reckoned with. With an acquisition cost of between $150 and $200 less than Microsoft Office 2007, it could have a big year in a down economy in 2009.
IBM Lotus Symphony
IBM has taken great pains to position itself as more of a middleware company than a desktop productivity software company, but diverged from that path a bit in 2008. By launching and upgrading its IBM Lotus Symphony suite of productivity apps based on OpenOffice.org, IBM is once again using the Lotus brand to take aim against Microsoft on the desktop.
Firefox 3.0
Die-hard Firefox users showed thanks for the Mozilla community's efforts to eliminate memory leaks and other annoyances in the most recent iterations of the open-source browser. Features like its "awesome bar" are also helping it continue to gain market share against Microsoft Internet Explorer, even as it's fending off new challenges from Google's new Chrome browser.
Laconica
If microblogging site Twitter became the social networking smash of 2008, 2009 could be a great year for the open-source microblogging platform called Laconica. The best-known site using that code, Identi.ca, allows communication through browsers, e-mail and SMS messaging -- giving a powerful, free alternative to those seeking to build their own social networking or microblogging platforms.
Fedora 9
Test Center highlighted three intriguing aspects for Fedora 9: the new desktop schemes, the new package management system and back-end improvements to memory usage and performance. On the desktop front, Fedora 9 Beta offers GNOME 2.22 and KDE 4.0.2 as the defaults. GNOME 2.22 in Fedora 9 has better file system performance, security improvements and the ability to manage power right at the login screen (quite handy on a laptop). There's also better Bluetooth integration, especially for Palm devices.
Ubuntu 8.10
Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop Edition, nicknamed "Intrepid Ibex," provides so much functionality and ease of use, at zero cost of acquisition, that it is really impossible to ignore. For anyone or any business not tied to Microsoft legacy desktop applications, Ubuntu 8.10 may realistically be considered a smarter choice in many scenarios.
OpenSuSE 11
Novell didn't launch a new version of its SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop in 2008, but it did shepherd the OpenSuSE community that delivered OpenSuSE 11. OpenSUSE is powerful, and improvements in usability, performance and stability should attract and win back users from other Linux distributions. There is some business advantage to consider OpenSUSE instead of Ubuntu or Fedora because of Novell's relationship with Microsoft, such as the tweaks to OpenOffice.org that make document conversion and migration easier, as well as the hypervisor adapter support. OpenSUSE is probably best for power users, those who can take advantage of the virtualization support and those with more experience using Linux.
Novell JeOS
SUSE Linux Enterprise JeOS (pronounced "juice"), the beta "Just enough" operating system from Novell is a lightweight and barebones version of the company's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. The code base is SLES 10 Service Pack 2. The stripped-down operating system is intended specifically for virtual appliances. Applications certified to run on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server will carry that certification onto the JeOS
Parent
Re:Zzzzzz (Score:5, Interesting)
Thanks for that. I see that half of their coolest ten are all Linux. Not run on Linux, but ARE Linux!
I wish slashdot would quit posting interesting summaries of mediocre websites and stories.
Parent
Re:Zzzzzz (Score:5, Interesting)
Thanks for that. I see that half of their coolest ten are all Linux. Not run on Linux, but ARE Linux!
...and two of them are just different versions of Ubuntu. WTF?
How about OpenSolaris for Christ's sake? The first Sun supported Solaris LIVE CD for desktops, had it's initial 2008.05 release and a new 2008.11 release this year. That's just not as cool as Ubuntu, and... newer Ubuntu I guess. What in 2008 did these Linux distros do that rates being in a top 10 OSS list anyway? OpenSolaris had it's _FIRST_ release at least, I would expect that at a minimum. Two f'ing Ubuntu's...
I wish slashdot would quit posting interesting summaries of mediocre websites and stories.
It NEVER ends.
Parent
Lotus Symphony (Score:5, Informative)
The list fails. Lotus Symphony isn't OSS, though it is based off OpenOffice 1. They based it off OpenOffice 1 as opposed to the trunk for 3 at the time, because IBM didn't want to have Symphony a GPL product.
Parent
Re:Lotus Symphony (Score:5, Informative)
The list fails. Lotus Symphony isn't OSS, though it is based off OpenOffice 1.
Indeed. Seeing Lotus Symphony on the second slide was enough to make me realise that these folks haven't done more than a minute of research, and that it's time to stop reading /., go outside, and make the most of the sunshine ...
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Who here has actually tried Lotus Symphony? (Score:5, Informative)
I wonder, who here has actually tried Lotus Symphony?
I have; it's part of Notes 8 which I use at work. After about two minutes of acquaintance with it, I reinstalled OOo3: They actually managed to break some things that OOo gets right (CSV import/export in Calc) and completely omit (WTF?!) other parts (Draw).
I have no idea why they would do that. But it certainly makes the whole experience more, um, Lotussy. (If only that were a good thing!)
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Re:Zzzzzz (Score:5, Funny)
Article has wrong title, should be: "1 Cheesy Way To Drive Up Your Ad Revenue"
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Even if they were new, five are Linux distributions. And that's not counting Android.
Yeah, Linux is cool, distributions are cool, but you'd think they would show some variety. Coolest one I've seen all year -- that is new -- is Archaeopteryx [blogspot.com]. Perhaps not a big deal, but weren't they doing the 10 coolest projects, not the 10 most important projects?
Android is cool but... (Score:4, Informative)
Android is cool but does anyone know why they took out some of the beta functionality (like being able to get driving directions which are now expressly forbidden by the terms of service for the Android google maps API key)?
It seems like it would be fairly trivial to write a turn-by-turn voice app for Android if they still had the API to request driving directions. By knowing the location of the phone the program could easily find what segment of a route it's on (if any at all), see how far it is until the next instruction and then read the instruction using the text2speech library someone has already made.
As it stands, the only way I see of implementing such an app would be to have a webserver somewhere that would forward direction requests from the phone to google using the standard google maps javascript API and then return the directions back to the app. Very much a PITA if you ask me and might violate the terms of use of developing software on Android for all I know.
Parent
More Importantly (Score:3, Insightful)
These are all projects with mainstream corporate backing.
In my opinion the list should include projects done by people who don't have vast sums of cash to back them.
TFA could use more in depthness (Score:5, Interesting)
2 Ubuntus, 2 SuSes, a new Fedora.. and a host of applications that just version incremented this year, and a twitter clone.
Meh.
Not dissing the applications.. I think OO3 is a vast improvement, and newer versions of an OS is probably a good thing.. I was just hoping for stuff that wasn't just 'Newest release of MyFlavourHere linux based OS'
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More in depth? Heck they couldn't even bother themselves to add a link to the products. If they're that lazy a link to Distrowatch would've covered over half the entries.
I was going to say this is the first site I've seen that has more ad and navigation space than article space, but no, I've seen that before.
Spoiler (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Damn that FOSS, I tried to find a FOSS app named "ice" but google failed it. Ruined a perfectly good joke.
Programmers, get on that ICE project, ok?
not quite The 10 Coolest Open Source Products Of (Score:2, Interesting)
I didn't even read the the rest, dos not seem worth it. Why can't these list articles have sofware like this. [yorku.ca]
not a 2008 project but (Score:3, Interesting)
WinDirStat is my #1 favorite OSS by far and above anything else. This year I have used it a ton, and I even have a contribution budgeted for Feb. It's small, fast, useful and beautiful. Thank you WINDIRSTAT!
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WTH? (Score:5, Insightful)
5 of the 10 are just Linux distro's. Ubuntu 8.10 AND 8.04 were both on the list as seperate entries!?!? And Lotus Symphony, a version of OOo, was listed along with OOo as seperate products. For the most part this could have been condensed down to:
Linux, Firefox, OpenOffice, Android
Which is so boring a list that it's of no use to anyone actually using open source already.
transom? (Score:2)
why is open source crawling through the transom?
still cant get a key eh?
Top ten list (Score:2)
hidden in 500 adds. That site just made my blacklist.
Completely worthless (Score:5, Informative)
This list is entirely without any redeeming value. More than half of the "coolest" products are new versions of operating systems and applications (OMG they released Fedora 9! I may wet myself with glee!), and the rest of it includes useless things like what appears to be a Twitter clone and something IBM's branded as Lotus. Hell, they put Android on there, and that's a hardware platform that doesn't even have a killer app yet.
Ubuntu's on it twice for goodness' sakes! And the second time is the long-term service distribution, which is about as exciting as growing grass!
Normally I don't complain about the stuff that makes it to the front page, but this list is just a complete waste of absolutely everyone's time.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
And the second time is the long-term service distribution, which is about as exciting as growing grass!
I think you mean about exciting as watching grass grow .
Growing grass on the other hand, is quite exciting to a lot of people; eg. drug dealers, pot heads, the DEA.
Re:Completely worthless (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
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...they put Android on there, and that's a hardware platform that doesn't even have a killer app yet
Android is an OS, not a hardware platform.
5 Distros, 2 being Ubuntu? (Score:3, Interesting)
Flock [flock.com] (released v2)
KDE Released 4x series, abysmal at first, but it's great now.
BasKet [kde.org] Probably doesn't belong on a Best Apps Ever list, but it is pretty useful. This existed before, but I just found it this year and it's great, and it has become a lot more stable for me through the year. Someone help get them to qt4!
There are lots of great apps out there that deserve some love this year.
Clojure (Score:2)
Clojure seems at first as Yet Another Lisp or Yet Another JVM Language or the general Yet Another New Programming Language, but once you scratch the surface you will discover it's an amazing engineering feat with groundbreaking design.
Arduino (Score:3, Insightful)
Great Linux Innovations Of 2008 (Score:5, Interesting)
Asterisk (Score:4, Informative)
Asterisk has also inspired some other open source PBX projects. Asterisk doesn't necesarrily need to be only a IP pbx either, but in the VOIP field there are loads of exciting products that are revolutionizing telephony.
Surely one of those products is at least worth a mention instead of putting linux in the list 4 times and open office in there twice.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I think.
Re:I don't get it... (Score:5, Insightful)
Which brings me to the fact that the real key to having the oft-heralded Year Of Linux, is to have a Year of the Office Replacement first. (I'm not sure that Open Office is currently anywhere near that happening). MS Office / Exchange are the whole key to Microsoft's dominance, not the OS. Find a viable solution for that, and Linux will follow.
Parent
Re:I don't get it... (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:I don't get it... (Score:4, Insightful)
Try IBM's version.
I don't really have any problem using OpenOffice, but it's kludgey. and pretty slow.
Lotus Symphony, on the other hand, seemed very polished to me, and significantly quicker.
It's still not Office 2000/2003, but it is worlds better than the pile of excrement that is Office 2007. Which, by the way, I have not heard more than 5 people say they like, including the previous side-post.
I would even say that, personally, I like the spreadsheet application in symphony better than excel in most instances; They have quite a bit of experience with those, so it makes sense.
Parent
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Training is expensive, and there would be a re-productivity curve for employees too, and thus a resultant increased cost again.
Actually, our organization recently upgraded MS Office and had to go through the retraining costs because of those stupid "ribbon" interfaces. The newer release is rather radically different from older releases, so the issue of retraining costs is moot.
In addition to that, Open Office actually maintains a better user interface compatability with older releases of MS Office than Office itself does.
Re:I don't get it... (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
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1)Export from JDE (yes this can do CSV, not nearly as useful)
2)Export from GL reporting package (no real alternative provided)
3)Addon for Excel that's basically a macro package into the JDE financial, again no ready replacement
4)Edit functionality in our Enterprise Content Management system
5)Export functionality from our fixed asset software, no al
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
I think that says that 200 - 0 = 200 (so the OO.org costs less than Microsoft Office... with about $200)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
We pay $400 per license for MS Office here at work.
Re:I don't get it... (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent