Chris @ Olstrom (.com)

Let’s waste some time, and explain why exactly I’m doing this. If you don’t care, just skip it and read the reviews.

I have some free time, and I like playing around with software. It’s fun to try different programs, and find what I consider to be the best tool suited to the task. I don’t review Windows software, even though some of the things I do review may run on Windows. This isn’t meant to be an “Omigawd, convert to free software” rant, because if you know me, you know that I don’t really care what you use. The opinions presented herein are mine, and if I can expose a few people to some software that they end up enjoying, that’s great. Comments are welcome, and encouraged.

Yes, I use Linux exclusively. Yes, I think that the majority of people are fully capable of doing so, if they can overcome their fear of change, and the perception that Linux is even remotely difficult to use. My 9-year old brother uses Debian GNU/Linux, and has no problems with it. Both of my younger sisters use variants of GNU/Linux, and they aren’t especially tech-savvy (then again, they aren’t idiots, either).

If you think I’m delusional, and that Linux is not ready for the desktop, you are entitled to think that. Go ahead and call me a dreamer. There’s a funny thing about dreams: If you keep accepting it as nothing more than a dream, that’s all it will ever be. It is only when we start accepting it as a reality that we can begin to make it one. In decades past, the concept of a computer in every home was dismissed as nothing more than a dream. An industry of so-called ‘dreamers’ believed it could be a reality, and look where we are today. My dream, and that of a community of like-minded ‘dreamers’ is that users will no longer be bound by the chains of restrictive licensing. It won’t be considered ‘immoral’ to share software with your friends, and young programmers will have access to the code for all of their favourite software, to learn from, and to build on. The quality of software will be determined not by the corporate investment in it, but by the communities built around it, and the people interested in bringing quality to that software. And finally, we may step away from the greed-driven mindset our culture has adopted, and society will have a chance to evolve from the “how can I use what I know to benefit me?”, to a more altruistic “how can I put my skills to use in such a way that they will benefit the most people?”. Is it a dream? Maybe, but if we don’t try to make it a reality, it never will be one.

This issue reviews some free software in mainstream usage (Firefox, Gaim, OpenOffice.org), and a few known-but-less-common ones (X-Chat, Drivel). Enjoy!

Internet -> Mozilla Firefox

“Firefox is a redesign of the Mozilla browser component, similar to Galeon, K-Meleon and Camino, but written using the XUL user interface language and designed to be lightweight and cross-platform.”

I first switched for Firefox back around 0.6-0.7, if I recall, because it was an open-source alternative, and Mozilla itself was (and still is) just too bloated. Honestly, if I wanted a web browser that checked my email, my RSS feeds, and had an integrated IRC client… I’d use emacs. Now, with all the other browsers out there (Mozilla, Opera, Galeon, Epiphany, Konquerer, Links, etc) what does Firefox offer that makes it so special?

Popup Blocker

Popups: we’ve all dealt with them. Surfing a site, and BAM. A window appears, and covers what you were doing. At best, it’s some web monkey’s idea of a ‘helpful navigation tool’, or more likely, it’s an ad. Maybe some dancing animated GIF that makes you want to claw your eyes out, or a horrible flash animation, complete with theme song. Maybe it’s just a quiet banner telling you to enlarge your penis. Whatever it is, it’s annoying, and it interferes with your ability to browse in comfort. Firefox puts you back in control, and blocks popups, alerting you whenever it does, and allowing you to see only the popups you decide you want to see.

Tabbed Browsing

I think the Firefox site explains this one best, really…

“Tabbed Browsing is a powerful feature that makes surfing the web faster and more convenient. Managing multiple web pages within a single window helps to keep your desktop and taskbar free from clutter; and allows you to keep reading while other pages load in the background.”

Live Bookmarks

We all know bookmarks. A convenient way to remember those sites we like, and get back to them often. Sites that support RSS feeds and other forms of syndication can be accessed with Live Bookmarks, which pulls the latest headlines directly from the site, and into your bookmarks. As the site is updated, so are your bookmarks!

Smart Search

A lot of people add search bars to their browsers, often one for each engine they use. Google, Yahoo, and others…. it can clutter your browser pretty fast. Firefox comes out-of-the-box with several popular search engines accessible from one conveniently located search box, and Google set as the default. Your favourite search not on the list? A few clicks can usually solve that, just select whatever engine you desire from a list of hundreds of additional search plugins.

Themes

Browser doesn’t match your wallpaper? Your mood? Your icons? Firefox themes are easy to install, just find one you want (usually on the Themes site), and click ‘Install Now’.

Extensions

This feature alone is enough reason to be hooked on Firefox, for many users. Is the browser missing a feature? Extensions are as easy to install as themes, and can add any feature you want. Want to disable JavaScript everywhere you go? Grab the NoScript extension. Tired of non-popup ads? The Adblock extension can help! Want to have more control of your search experience with Google? CustomizeGoogle is the extension for you. For those of you that missed Mozilla’s IRC client, there is a ChatZilla extension for Firefox. Chat on IRC and surf the web, all from one application!

Score: 9.5/10

If the interface had greater compliancy with Gnome’s HIG, and if features like Adblock were included out-of-the-box, I’d give it a perfect 10.

Internet -> Gaim

Gaim is a multi-protocol instant messaging client. It supports Jabber, AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, Gadu-Gadu, Groupwise, SILC, and other protocols, all from one application.

It’s quite convenient to be able to log into multiple accounts (with different protocols!) simultaneously. No more having amsn, ICU, and other clients filling up my notification area, and memory.

“Gaim supports many features of the various networks, such as file transfer, away messages, typing notification, and MSN window closing notification. It also goes beyond that and provides many unique features. A few popular features are Buddy Pounces, which give the ability to notify you, send a message, play a sound, or run a program when a specific buddy goes away, signs online, or returns from idle; and plugins, consisting of text replacement, a buddy ticker, extended message notification, iconify on away, spell checking, tabbed conversations, and more.”

Adding the Gaim-Encryption, and Off-the-Record Messaging plugins can protect your conversations from interception on the wire, and the optional HTML-logging feature makes it convenient to find information lost in old conversations (an address, shipping number, birthday, etc).

Score: 7/10 (8/10 with Gaim-Encryption and/or Off-the-Record Messaging)

Webcam and voice chat support are essentially non-existent. However, it has been said that these things will be available in the 2.0 release. Additionally, the IRC client really doesn’t satisfy me. It lacks decent scripting capabilities, and it just feels clunky compared to some.

Internet -> X-Chat IRC

“XChat is a graphical IRC Client with a GTK+ GUI. It has a look and feel similar to AmIRC for the Amiga. Special features include the mIRC extension DCC RESUME and mIRC color, multiple server/channel windows, dialog windows, and a plugin API.”

What can I say? X-Chat is without a doubt, the most reliable, enjoyable IRC client I’ve ever used. It just works (TM). On top of that, the scripting and plugin support is awesome. It doesn’t use some language unique to itself (*cough* mIRC-script *cough). Rather, it supports the use of widely-used languages for extending it’s functionality. With Perl, Python, Tcl, and Ruby for scripting, and C / C++ for plugins, the potential for adding features is limitless.

Score: 9.5/10

The only thing preventing a perfect 10, is the inability to position windows-within-windows, mIRC-style. Also, if I recall, the interface is not Gnome HIG compliant, but there is an addon to solve that, so I can’t really dock points for that.

Office -> OpenOffice.org 2.0

“OpenOffice.org 2.0 is the productivity suite that individuals, governments, and corporations around the world have been expecting for the last two years. Easy to use and fluidly interoperable with every major office suite, OpenOffice.org 2.0 realises the potential of open source.”

“With new features, advanced XML capabilities and native support for the OASIS Standard OpenDocument format, OpenOffice.org 2.0 gives users around the globe the tools to be engaged and productive members of their society. “

Score: 9/10

While improved, the memory footprint is still a bit heavy. If that gets fixed, and support for GPG-signing documents, and optionally encrypting them were added…. I’d give it a 10.

Internet -> Drivel Journal Editor

“Drivel is a LiveJournal.com (and other web based journal systems) client for the GNOME desktop. It supports all livejournal-based servers, and allows you to perform most functions that are supported by the server (posting, friends editing, friend page checking, post editing etc). It is designed to utilize the new features of GNOME 2.0 including GConf and GTK 2.0.”

Probably the least mainstream of the software reviewed this issue, Drivel is what I use to make these posts, so it seemed fitting to discuss in this first issue. It’s easy, convenient, and it’s what I use to make all blog posts. I don’t really know what to say, other than it’s like blogging from your desktop, without the hassle that most blog-style sites have. A convenient drop-down box to select mood, another that attempts to detect the music you’re listening to. A shame that it only seems to detect XMMS, which I don’t use. Hmm… gonna have to drop the score for that.

Score: 9.5/10

Drivel needs to support detecting songs playing in players other than XMMS, for it to get a perfect 10. I’d also like to see things like supporting GnuPG signatures, and maybe even public-key encryption. Friends lists are great, if everyone you want to read it uses the service too. If they don’t, you force them to register, just to view your post, or you make the post public. GnuPG support could provide a solution.

This writing was originally featured here, on LiveJournal.