Open Source Resources

After a great Tech Day on Open Source last week, I have found a lot of helpful sites to get you started on your open source journey. Also, make sure you check out the Tech Day recap post. If you were there, find links you may have missed during presentations. If you weren’t able to make it, you can almost pretend you were there. Several presenters provided their presentation files, and you can also find a massive list of all the software and websites demoed during the lightening rounds.

Here’s just a few articles I’ve stumbled upon recently. At the end of this list are links to websites that list a variety of open source software, organized in several ways, including alternatives to commercial product, operating system type (Mac and PC), and software category.

1. Is There Such a Thing As Free Software? The Pros and Cons of Open Source Software–Thomas J. Trappler, Educause Quarterly. The article is from a higher education perspective, but still lays out a lot of the general arguments that people bring up with open source software.
2. 50 Excellent Open Courses for Techie Librarians–Sarah Russel, Best Colleges Online.com. Access free courses on topics such as Open Source, Open Access, Information & Research, Engaging Library Users, Technology, Books & Writing, Law, Education, Communication, and Operations. It’s kind of like WebJunction Courses, except you’re taking them from actual universities, like MIT! Pretty cool. For more Open Course ideas, check out iTunesU, part of the Apple iTunes Store (you’ll need iTunes installed to access iTunesU).
3. 5 Free Online Open Source Books for Beginners–Sam Dean, OStatic. Just getting started with Open Source? Check out these 5 free online books that introduce you to several basic open source software packages, including GIMP (Graphics); Firefox (Web Browser); Blender Basics (3D Rendering); OpenOffice (Office Suite); and Linux (Operating System).
4. Linux courses from WebJunction. Make sure you login through the Kansas WebJunction portal, to guarantee you can take the course for free, thanks to the State Library’s sponsorship!

Open Source Software Recommendation Lists

1. Open Source Living. Find Open Source software based on various software categories.
2. Open Source for Windows. A basic list of Open Source software for Windows machines.
3. Open Source for Mac. A basic list of Open Source software for Mac machines.
4. OSAlt.com. Find Open Source Alternatives to almost any type of software. Try using one today.