some software is worth paying for

Posted 3 months ago at 10:26 pm. 0 comments

as open source software development continues to grow in popularity, many have found free alternatives to the expensive closed source applications that were once considered essential. however, despite this progress, there are still programs out there that have not yet been bested by the offerings of the FOSS community. here a few of them:

Quicken 2008 - while alternatives do exist (see GnuCash), you will be hard-pressed to find a more feature-rich money management program. I especially like the built-in financial calendar and the CashFlow summary features.

Photoshop CS3 - I have never found another tool as powerful and versatile as Photoshop. Many will protest that GIMP is a suitable open source alternative to Adobe’s expensive software, but, in a side-by-side comparison, it is clear that GIMP doesn’t hold up against the pure power of PS.

Microsoft Office Suite - Depending on your needs, Office may or may not be worth the money. If you are just looking for some basic word processing and an email client, then save the cash and go open source with Open Office and Thunderbird. However, if you plan on using advanced feaures, crafting presentations or creating databases then you should proabably opt for Office. (Open Office’s databasing component is dreadful)

Encarta - This one may strike you as a bit superfluous, but Encarta 2009 is one of my favorite new programs. Despite the availability of huge online encyclopedias like Wikipedia, I prefer to use Encarta because I find the info it provides to be better-written and more authoritative. I also appreciate it’s desktop integration and massive multimedia components.

My Advice: Save money where you can and support open source software, but always remember that you get what you pay for…