Spreadsheets, advanced document preparation, database applications, high quality graphics, responsive web browsers ..... Do you want to avoid vendor contracts and lock-in, ensure you are using open standards for file formats, have ongoing support, and avoid using illegal, pirated software? Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) offers us the alternatives to proprietary lock-in with its up-front licencing costs, ongoing upgrade fees and closed formats. While the Total Cost of Ownership for reputable FOSS is lower than proprietary alternatives, the real benefits are in the open source of the code, open standards, and enhanced security through wide developer community input. The Internet has plenty of pro / con arguments on this topic .... first you need to cut through the marketing hype. Better to check for yourself....
My favourite FOSS productivity applications include the replacement for proprietary office suites, LibreOffice, Gimp image editing, Firefox browser, 7Zip compression, PostgreSQL database, VLC - the video player with much more ...
If you just want to try these without installing the program, try the versions at Portable Apps.
Tag: foss