SnarkysGuide to Open Source for Educators

Welcome
This site provides you with information on Open Source Software and Education resources in the form of links. Here and there you will find articles.

Office Application Guide

An Office Suite or "productivity suite" provides users with a basic set of business applications that work together. Most suites include a word processor, spreadsheet, slide presentation design, and database program. In some cases not all are included in the suite and you need to buy them separately. Microsoft Office is the most widely used suite used by clerical and knowledge workers; however, that does not make it the best package. Images/OOlogonew.gif OpenSource.org is the provider of OpenOffice a comprehensive Office Suite. We need to be able to compile, synthesize, produce, and disseminate information, models, and other creative works using technology tools. With a demand for creative programs the OpenOffice Suite offers program to help you create multimedia presentations with special effects, animation and drawing tools like Draw. There is also a Math function program.

A graphics program is a computer software that enables a user to modify or view graphics files. Computer graphics can be classified into two distinct categories: raster graphics and vector graphics. Before learning about computer software that manipulates or displays these graphics types, you should be familiar with both. Many graphics programs focus exclusively on either vector or raster graphics, but there are a few that combine them in interesting and sometimes unexpected ways. It is simple to convert from vector graphics to raster graphics, but going the other way is harder. Some software attempts to do this. Most graphics programs have the ability to import and export one or more graphics file formats.

General Information

In the complex world of graphics software, a good starting point for finding information about the graphics software that is best for your needs can be any one of the many graphics resources online.

Bitmap graphics software is used for manipulating graphics files that are composed of many individual "dots" or pixels. Paint, photo editing, and other image editing software are all examples of bitmap graphics programs.
Vector Graphics Software Vector graphics software is used to manipulate graphics composed of lines, curves, and shapes.
CAD (computer-aided design) software is used by drafting professionals, designers, and architects for creating complex 3-D objects or models. CAD software often incorporates functionality from both vector and 3-D graphic software packages.

GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. This is a great image editing program for tasks such as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It works. You can produce simple diagrams and with programs like GIMP, they can perform tasks such as photo retouching. http://www.gimp.org And there are tutorials too This is an even better tutorial and you can pick up some cool themes for seamonkey!

IF YOU ARE USING LINUX - THERE ARE SOME REALLY GREAT NEW PRODUCTS

Xara Xtreme on Linux will not only bring a leading-edge graphic tool to the platform, but with community assistance, has the potential to become the world's most powerful, easiest-to-use and simply the world's best graphics program. If we get it right this could bring the Linux desktop into whole sectors of the market that is has not been able to address before. http://www.xaraxtreme.org/

inkscape is an open source vector graphics editor similar to Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Freehand, or Xara X. What sets Inkscape apart is its use of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), an open XML-based W3C standard, as the native format. In contrast to raster (bitmap) graphics editors such as Photoshop or Gimp, Inkscape stores its graphics in a vector format. Vector graphics is a resolution-independent description of the actual shapes and objects that you see in the image. A rasterization engine uses this information to determine how to plot each line and curve at any resolution or zoom level.

Genesis3D is a real-time 3D rendering environment for all of your real-time 3D needs. With a large online community, free online forums, and many links to Genesis3D developers...you will find all the support and tools that you need to begin developing world-class, real-time 3D applications today. If you are new to developing with Genesis3D, the current version of the Software Developer's Kit is 1.1. Use the tutorials found on our linked pages, and ask questions on our forum. The engine is free to download and play with. Also make sure to download GDemo1, an impressive example of Genesis3D in action. Some stipulations apply!

Wiki on Open Office

Web Site Development

In the simplest of terms web development is creating and managing website pages. A web development application will held you to build a web site. A web site can be basic or complex depending on the developers goals. If you are new to building web pages you will want to start simple and work your way up as your skills increase. with a straight forward easy to use program you will soon be able to build a more sophisticated web site. You will want a program that can help you:

• Store web pages and images in the same directory

• Manage images [.gif, .jpg, and .png are usable on the web]

• Learn basic sites building skills

You should also visit some of the tutorials on the Web to learn basic web page creation. NVU (pronounced N-view, for a "new view") makes managing a web site a snap. This is a complete Web Authoring System that rival programs like FrontPage and Dreamweaver. With Nvu anyone can create web pages and mange a website with no technical expertise or HTML know how.. Nvu will help you create and manage your web site. I use it for my site and I have found program easy to use. http://www.nvu.com Web Browsers Open< Source is so many things ... just click on the icon to go to the site Mozilla Suite Mozilla.org is home to

Firefox browser, Thunderbird email, and as well as Mozilla Suite a complete collection of Internet tools. Mozilla also offers Seamonkey Internet suite! Go get it now!! seriously go- http://www.mozilla.com http://www.mozilla.com Images/FFimages.jpg

A Better Web Experience Firefox 1.5 has an intuitive interface and blocks viruses, spyware, and popup ads. It delivers Web pages faster than ever. Easy to install and import your favorites, and useful features like tabbed browsing, Live Bookmarks, and Search bar, Firefox will change the way you experience the Web. http://www.mozilla.com TBimages.jpg Full-Featured Email Simple to use, powerful, and customizable, Thunderbird is a full-featured email application. Thunderbird supports IMAP and POP mail protocols, and HTML mail formatting. Easily import your existing email accounts and messages. Built-in RSS , powerful search, spell check, global inbox, and advanced filtering round out Thunderbird's features.http://www.mozilla.com/products/download.html

The SeaMonkey project is a community effort to deliver production-quality releases of code derived from the application formerly known as "Mozilla Application Suite". Our group of dedicated volunteers works to ensure that you can have "everything but the kitchen sink" — and have it stable enough for corporate use.http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/

The most full-featured Internet power tool on the market, Opera includes pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, integrated searches, and advanced functions like groundbreaking E-mail program, RSS Newsfeeds and IRC chat. You can customize the look and content of your Opera browser with a few clicks of the mouse. http://www.opera.com/index.dml

Yes there's still more... Safari, Konqueror and..…

Here's the WIki List of Browsers

Linux distributions: Download Linux Distributions and ISOs DistroWatch.com: EduLinux

Online Guides

For More Information

List of Linux distributions From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tips for picking software

There is no one best way to find FOSS projects that will best serve your needs. There are several rules of thumb you can use to help you make informed decisions.

* Do you already have something that will do the job well?

* Does the program do what you want?

* Do you care about the ideologies behind free software and open source software?

* Do you know other people that already use it?

* Is the current version over a year old?

* Are there user support mailing lists you can join?