All Free Software Experiment

[Chasealicious]

So it's about time for my annual "erase and install" just to keep things fresh, and I've decided, out of curiosity, to try something new.

When I wipe the drive and reinstall OS X, I want to see if I can survive a month using nothing but free software.

No Microsoft Office or Photoshop, only what comes with OS X, iLife, and software that can be legally downloaded and installed for free. (Open Office, Gimp, etc.)

So the question I ask from all of you now: what totally free and totally awesome programs do you use? I'll need everything from video conversion utilities to FTP clients to office apps and games. Go!

 

[TheAnswer]

Hmm...Adium multi-service chat client, Vienna RSS reader, Inkscape for vector graphics, Blender for 3d, the Journler organizer program is donationware, Cyberduck for FTP, Growl system notification, Quicksilver to rock the casbah, Perian Quicktime component, Flip4Mac WMV component for Quicktime, VLC media player, Handbrake, MactheRipper, Aurora alarm clock, krank and quinn games...hmmm...anything else you need?

 

[grapes911]

Question #1: May I ask "Why?" You spend $1000+ dollars on a computer and you go cheap on the software. I guess I just don't understand the reason behind he experiment.


Question #2: Why do you annually wipe your drive? I only reinstall when a new OS is released. And even then I do an "Archive and Install".

 

[Scarlet Fever]

handbrake - DVD ripping app
iSquint - movie comverting app
SizzlingKeys4iTunes - global iTunes control.
FuzzyClock - a clock, but different to the rest

good luck with it

 

[72930]

VLC player - Plays loads of file formats

NeoOffice - Like OpenOffice, but MUCH nicer as it does not require X11

Adium - Instant Messenger
Mercury Messenger - Not as nice, but with video

Chocoflop - A paint-like program

The Unarchiver - For extracting files

Copernicus - A screen capture program

Inquisitor for Safari, or Firefox if you prefer

 

[Chasealicious]

Question #1: May I ask "Why?" You spend $1000+ dollars on a computer and you go cheap on the software. I guess I just don't understand the reason behind he experiment..

It's pretty much just for fun. People talk about free programs on these forums a lot, but I've never really used any - and since I was expecting Leopard by now, I'm itching to try SOMETHING new. I want to see how long I can last, and what (if any) productivity or features I miss out on from the standard commercial products we're all used to.



...and, I may feel a tinge of guilt about regularly using programs that I didn't actually purchase.

 

[xyian]

I think this is a great experiment. It's kind of a stance against the need to purchase things and also is a way to support the developers out there!

 

[72930]

I think this is a great experiment. It's kind of a stance against the need to purchase things and also is a way to support the developers out there!

I recently purchased Sixtyforce, before that all my software was freeware...