Looking for a substitute for WinZip, FrontPage or Norton Ghost, either because of the price, or to support the open source community?  Over at WHDb is a list of 50 common programs and an open source alternative, plus a huge amount of comments with suggestions for alternate programs.  Some of the choices on the list may not be the ones you would choose, and it is inconsistent in mentioning if some software is Linux only, but it is a great time saver for anyone looking for popular alternatives for software.

“Not every proprietary program can drive a person crazy, right? Some, like Norton Ghost, are superb tools for anyone to use. But, the fact that these tools are proprietary can drive open source fanatics up a wall. It’s not the price of the software that makes the real difference (although it’s a reason to migrate from one software to another for many people); it’s the idea that proprietary software comes with boundaries that keeps the user experience confined to…well, being the user. That’s enough to drive any developer crazy.

The following fifty proprietary programs are listed in no particular order within broad categories along with their open source alternatives. In some cases you could probably write your own book on frustrations with the proprietary programs shown here. In other cases, you’ll discover that the open source alternative isn’t quite up to snuff yet. And, in other cases still, you’ll learn that some proprietary programs are real gems, but that the open source advocate can replace those gems with equally shiny objects from the open source repertoire.”

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