1. GHANA-INDIA KOFI ANNAN
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN ICT
Prince A. Kpasra
Business Development Unit
Advanced Information Technology Institute

2. Open Source Tools Today
Can open source tools replace all
closed source software? That is, are
open source tools – freely
downloadable software – really just as
good as software you have to pay for?
Open Source Tools TodayOpen Source Tools Today
Want proof?

3. In a lot of cases, the answer is yes. In
fact, in some cases, open source tools
offers features or performance benefits
that surpass their commercial
counterparts.

4. Audio?
Amarok iTunes
This audio player lets you listen to music, creates playlists, displays lyrics and cover art, and integrates
with a number of Web services. The interface seems a little text-heavy, but easy to use, though not as
attractive as iTunes. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
OTHERS: Songbird :http://getsongbird.com/

5. Browsers
Chrome Internet Explorer
Chrome Replaces: Internet Explorer
● The big advantage Google's browser offers over the one from Microsoft is speed. It's fast to start up,
fast to load pages, and fast to run Web apps. Unlike other browsers, it uses a combination Web
address/search bar and simplifies the browsing experience in other ways as well. Operating System:
Windows, Linux, OS X.
● Firefox Replaces: While not as fast as Chrome, Firefox offer faster performance than Internet
Explorer, as well as excellent security features. It includes a lot of personalization features and more
than 6,000 add-ons so that you can make your browser work the way you want it to. Operating
System: Windows, Linux, OS X.

6. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
SugarCRM Replaces: SalesForce.com
Like SalesForce.com, SugarCRM is cloud-based and combines sales, marketing, customer service
and reporting features. While the free community edition include basic functionality, in order to use the
more advanced features, you'll need to pay for a subscription to the professional or enterprise edition.
Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X
OTHERS: Alfresco, MindTouch

7. ● E-mail/Collaboration/Groupware
● Zimbra ● Replaces: Microsoft
Exchange
● Zimbra messaging and collaboration suite comes in desktop, server, and hosted Web client versions.
It includes e-mail, contact management, shared calendaring, and voice communications capabilities.
Operating System: Linux
OTHERS: Evolution, Thunderbird, Group-office, Collabtive

8. Database
● MySQL Replaces: Microsoft
SQL Server, others
Downloaded or distributed more than 100 million times, MySQL (now owned by Oracle) is the most
popular open source database software in the world. It's used by a number of well-known companies,
including Yahoo!, Alcatel-Lucent, Google, Nokia, YouTube, and Zappos.com. Operating System:
Windows, Linux, Unix, OS X
OTHERS: Firebird, Kexi, MySQL,

9. Graphics/Drawing
● Inkscape ● Replaces: Illustrator,
CorelDraw
● A vector drawing program, Inkscape offers professional-quality features (markers, clones, alpha
blending, etc.) for graphic designers. The site now also features an open clip art gallery that you can
use in your drawings. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
OTHERS: Archimedes, Dia, Gimp, Paint.net (Paint.Net only work on Windows.... this is a huge
challenge)

10. Office Productivity
OpenOffice.org Replaces: Microsoft Office
One of the best applications for people who have never used open-source before, OpenOffice.org
includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation creator, and database that read and create
Microsoft-compatible files. Unlike Office, it also comes with a drawing program and a mathematical
equation creator, and of course, it's free. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X, others.
OTHERS: StarOffice, NeoOffice, Koffice, Gnumeric, AbiWord, Freemind

11. ● Video Tools
VLC Media Player Windows Media
Player
This media player supports most audio and video file formats, and it can play from files, physical
media (DVDs, CDs, etc.), TV cards, and streaming media. It can also convert files from one format to
another and act as a streaming server—all without the need for external codecs. Operating System:
Windows, Linux, OS X, others.
OTHERS Avidemux, XBMC Media Centre, Pitivi

12. Financial Management
● TurboCASH ● Replaces: QuickBooks
● TurboCash invites small business owners to compare it to commercial accounting packages with a
handy checklist that compares features. While it doesn't have some of the features you'll find in
QuickBooks, like check printing andmulti-currency capabilities, it offers some features its more well-
known competitor doesn't have, like XML support and remote access. Operating System: Windows.
OTHERS: Buddi ,Money Manager Ex, GNU Cash,

13. ●Web Site Creation
● Bluefish Adobe Dreamweaver,
Microsoft Expression
Web
While it's not quite as user-friendly as its commercial competitors or the other open-source options
listed here, Bluefish offers a very fast WYSIWYG HTML editor that doesn't use a lot of system
resources. Aimed at coders more than designers, it also includes support for a number of other
programming languages. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X, others.
OTHERS: XML Copy Editor, Drupal, NVU, SeaMonkey

14. School Management
● Moodle ● Replaces: Blackboard
Both of these course management systems make it easy for instructors to conduct online courses,
but Moodle offers the distinct advantage of being available for free. It's currently used on nearly
50,000 sites in more than 200 countries. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
OTHERS: OpenSIS

15. Hidden Users
● Google (BSD, SSH,
Apache software)
● Microsoft Bing
(hadoop, hbase)
● Mac OS X ( apache,
bsd,openSSL)
●
● Facebook (thrift,
hive, cassandra)
● Twitter (cassandra,
mysql, hadoop,
bootstrap)

16. Facts about OSS
Costs: staff, support, training...
50% companies deploying more than 25 open
source products, > 20% savings in IT budget [1]
InfoWorld
SAVE MONEY, MAKE MONEY, INVEST MONEY

17. You may register your creative work
under these!
Freedom to grow!

18. Thank you
Contact us on
● princekpa@aiti-kace.com.gh
● kpasra@gmail.com
● Facebook: Kpasra
● Twitter: Kpasra
● Skype: kpasra