Linux Format forums

[mediamgl]

I saw a colleague doing something very peculiar today. She was trying to create a workflow diagram using MS PowerPoint. Insane! Naturally, I felt obligated to intervene...

It turns out that she doesn't have any other tools, such as Visio or MS Project installed on her Windows XP machine; she was simply trying to make the best of what she had available.

I did a quick scan to find some free and open source tools that were readily available, stable, fit for purpose and work under Windows XP. I quickly came across a great little site, which I shared with my colleague:

Open Source Alternative: http://www.osalt.com

My colleague is trying out Dia, Open Workbench and a few others this evening. She found the site to be a great resource and wasn't even aware of free and open software existed. I took the opportunity to mention Linux and have promised to bring in a live CD or two tomorrow.

Anyway, I thought that I would share this website, as a resource, because it features software alternatives to commonly used commercial applications.

Cheers!

[JS]

Thanks, a useful site, now bookmarked!

[wyliecoyoteuk]

Disappointing, insn't it?
Most people will use the tools they have , rather than look for others, or even rather than learning other tools that they already have.
Especially in the education sector.

I know teachers who have used excel as a wordprocessor, and at least one who uses it as a drawing package. It is frequently used as a database.

My favourite, however, is the 18 year old council clerk, who was asked to produce a floormap for the local council offices. She used Word, word art, and cut'n paste.
Our copyshop PC, when asked to render 498 pieces of Word art in one A3 page, balked. (and who can blame it?) We did eventually manage to render it as a PDF and then print it.
I can only salute her ingenuity and persistence, and comment that the finished article was extremely accurate...Just think if she had a proper drawing program!
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