First Open Office, then Firefox, now what?

[321Mike]

I'm a little behind the times. It took me forever to download Open Office and dump Microsoft Office. Last week I finally tried Firefox and I love it. Goodbye Internet Explorer.

So now I'm wondering where else I'm missing the boat. What other open source programs should I be using instead of the crap Microsoft is churning out?

[C-Dog]

It depends what you want to do. You can use 7-Zip for compression. Clamwin for Antivirus, and GAIM for instant messaging. If you are on an open source kick.

C-Dog

[fluxrad]

[ QUOTE ]
AVG for Antivirus

[/ QUOTE ]

Fixed your post.

[C-Dog]

I am not sure who told you AVG is the be all end all, but it just isn't. And it was an open source post, and ClamWin is an open source virus scanner. AVG is free, but that doesnt make it open source. A lot of people like Avast free over AVG as well. But do what you like.

C-Dog

How about Linux? /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[splashpot]

I use BSPlayer or VLC player instead of Windows Media Player.

[cwsiggy]

It's all about Foobar for music playback.

[obsidian]

I don't believe it is open source but BSPlayer (http://www.bsplayer.org/) for video playback.

[321Mike]

Thanks everybody. I'm feeling more hip and modern already.

By the way, is Linux a good idea for somebody that's not a wiz with computers? I'm not a big fan of Windows, but I worry that I'll have to deal with things like software compatability issues if I switch to Linux. Is that a realistic concern or am I just living in the 20th century?

[StevieG]

[ QUOTE ]

By the way, is Linux a good idea for somebody that's not a wiz with computers? I'm not a big fan of Windows, but I worry that I'll have to deal with things like software compatability issues if I switch to Linux. Is that a realistic concern or am I just living in the 20th century?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a realistic concern. There are lots of good things out there for Linux, but you'll be limited for online poker and conventional PC gaming, for instance. For most home users, Linux is probably not a good idea.

[fluxrad]

[ QUOTE ]

I am not sure who told you AVG is the be all end all, but it just isn't.

[/ QUOTE ]

I told myself AVG was the end all be all after having used it. Although, I'd certainly like to hear your arguments as to why the others you mentioned are superior. I did miss the open source part of the question, however, so I'll go ahead and withdraw my nomination.

The the OP's later question about Linux: I'm a linux system administrator and have been a user since the days of RedHat 5. If you're not that technical, I'd stay away from Linux. It's a phenominal operating system, and one that will eventually be ready for grandma's desktop, but that's not the case right now. For example, simple things like getting a printer working can take hours. If you're feeling adventurous or curious, then by all means install it and play; I'd recommend Suse or Fedora if you're starting out. But if you just like to surf the web or play poker, I'd stick with Windows.

[C-Dog]

AVG may well be the best, I dont think so. I have used several free, and they all seem sufficent to me. As for Linux, online poker players shouldnt use Linux as most sites wont work (barring WINE of course, but let's be honest if someone isnt already on Linux, then getting them on and using WINE for poer is a bit much).

Personally though on the the AV front, I always felt like AVG was a bit more intensive than Clamwin. Though not that much.

C-Dog