Open Source Centre

OpenOffice.org is an open-source, multiplatform and multilingual office suite comparable with MS Office. It is compatible with all other major office suites and is free to download, use, and distribute.OpenOffice comes with OpenWriter - a word procesor, OpenCalc - a spreadsheet and OpenImpress - a presentational package.

I like this software because it is really useful.I hope you would try it too.This open source software can help you a lot and is very reliable.I like it.

Linux (pronounced LIH-nuks) is an operating system for computers, comparable to Windows or Mac OS X. It was originally created starting in 1991 by Finnish programmer Linus (pronounced LEE-nus) Torvalds with the assistance of developers from around the globe. Linux resembles Unix, an earlier operating system, but unlike Unix, Linux is both Free Software and open source software -- that is, you can not only download and run it on your computer, but also download all the source code the programmers created to build the operating system. You can then modify or extend the code to meet your needs.

Linux runs on a wide variety of hardware platforms, from huge mainframes to desktop PCs to cell phones. It is licensed under the Free Software Foundation's GNU Project's GNU General Public License, version 2, which lets users modify and redistribute the software.

You can think of Linux as having two parts -- a kernel, which is the basic interface between the hardware and other system software, and the functions that run on top of it, such as a graphical user interface (GUI) and application programs.

About Linux.com

Linux.com did not create and does not sell Linux. We simply write about Linux and other open source software. We're part of SourceForge, Inc., which also maintains SourceForge.net and Slashdot.

No single company sells Linux. Because it's open source software, anyone can package Linux with some programs and utilities and distribute it. The different "flavors" of Linux are called distributions. You can get information about some of the most popular distributions from our distributions page. A comprehensive resource for distributions is DistroWatch.com.

Many Linux distributions are designed to be installed on your computer's hard drive, either as a sole operating system, or in a dual boot configuration with another OS, which lets you choose which operating system to run every time you start your computer. Others are designed to run as live CDs that boot from removable media -- typically CDs, but there are also live DVD distributions, and even ones that boot from diskettes and USB storage media. Live distributions can be useful because they let you run a different operating system without affecting any of the contents of your hard drive.

If you're a Windows user to whom Linux is completely new, trying it out might sound daunting. For you we explain in a separate article how you can test Linux without altering your Windows computer, how to install Linux while preserving all of your Windows programs and files, and how to choose what Linux flavor suits your needs best.
The Linux desktopPart of what makes Linux useful on your computer is its graphical user interface. The GUI gives Linux a "look and feel" with clickable icons and widgets, as well as screen borders, scroll bars, and menus that the user can manipulate and customize. This "point and click" environment makes the operating system more intuitive by presenting interface options in an attractive visual layout that doesn't require knowledge of textual commands. Without the GUI, Linux (or any operating system) requires users to type commands in a procedure that is known as the Command Line Interface (CLI).

While most operating systems don't let you choose the user interface you want, Linux gives you a choice of several. Most of them are more than just graphical interfaces -- they are truly complete desktop environments that come with tools, utilities, games, and other applications to make the user's computing experience a richer one. Two of the most popular desktop environments that work with Linux are KDE and GNOME.

KDE stands for K Desktop Environment. KDE runs on any Unix operating system, including Linux. All of the source code for KDE is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, which means that anyone can access and change KDE to suit specific purposes. KDE comes packaged with most Linux distributions and includes standardized menus, toolbars, and color schemes, as well as a complete help system, networking tools, graphics and multimedia applications, and a complete office productivity solution, and dozens of other software tools. The entire KDE project is supported by the free software development community and is provided to Linux users at no cost.

GNOME (pronounced guh-NOME), the GNU Network Object Model Environment, is another ubiquitous GUI or desktop environment for Linux. It is also licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, which means it is freely available, along with the source code, for use on any Unix-based operating system. GNOME comes packaged with just about every Linux distribution. It is a part of the GNU project, which created the GNU operating system, parts of which are included with all standard Linux distributions.

Like KDE, the GNOME desktop environment includes more than just toolbars, icons and menus. Help files, networking tools, games, and productivity applications like GNOME Office round out the free software offering.

Other GUIs that work with Linux include:

XPDE desktop environment - "tries to make it easier for Windows XP users to use a Linux box."

Xfce - "lightweight desktop environment for various *NIX systems. Designed for productivity, it loads and executes applications fast, while conserving system resources."

Enlightenment - "advanced graphical libraries, tools, and environments."

IceWM - "The goal of IceWM is speed, simplicity, and not getting in the user's way."

Blackbox - "Blackbox is the fast, lightweight window manager for the X Window System you have been looking for, without all those annoying library dependencies."

Window Maker - "Window Maker is an X11 window manager originally designed to provide integration support for the GNUstep Desktop Environment."

FluxBox - "A fast compact window manager based on the Blackbox, but offering more features."
The command line

One thing all the desktop environments have in common is that they let users access Linux commands; you don't have to use a mouse to perform every operation. It may be faster and easier to perform some operations by typing in one or more commands, as users used to have to do on PCs under DOS 20 years ago.

Each desktop environment has a different way to get to a command prompt. Often, you'll open a window that lets you type commands. In GNOME, that application is called GNOME Terminal; in KDE, it's Konsole.

We've prepared a brief introduction to the command line. A good site for further learning is LinuxCommand.org.
Desktop applicationsLike any operating system, Linux supports a wide range of desktop applications. Typical programs include those for email, office software, playing music and video, personal information management, network communications such as instant messaging and Internet Relay Chat, and file sharing.
GamingLinux is no stranger to gaming. Linux distributions almost always include games; the GNOME Games package, for example, features 16 arcade and puzzle games, and the KDE Games Center includes games from the arcade, board, card, dice, logic, strategy, and toy genres. If the distributions don't contain what you're looking for, you can turn to commercial sites such as Linux Game Publishing and Tux Games, or you can buy games directly from small companies, independent publishers, and bedroom coders. If games designed for Microsoft Windows or home gaming systems are what you're after, several available emulators may be able to help. For more information on the numerous games available to Linux users and how to obtain them, see Enjoying games with GNU/Linux.

Linux is an operating system that was initially created as a hobby by a young student, Linus Torvalds, at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Linus had an interest in Minix, a small UNIX system, and decided to develop a system that exceeded the Minix standards. He began his work in 1991 when he released version 0.02 and worked steadily until 1994 when version 1.0 of the Linux Kernel was released. The kernel, at the heart of all Linux systems, is developed and released under the GNU General Public License and its source code is freely available to everyone. It is this kernel that forms the base around which a Linux operating system is developed. There are now literally hundreds of companies and organizations and an equal number of individuals that have released their own versions of operating systems based on the Linux kernel. More information on the kernel can be found at our sister site, LinuxHQ and at the official Linux Kernel Archives. The current full-featured version is 2.6 (released December 2003) and development continues. 

Apart from the fact that it's freely distributed, Linux's functionality, adaptability and robustness, has made it the main alternative for proprietary Unix and Microsoft operating systems. IBM, Hewlett-Packard and other giants of the computing world have embraced Linux and support its ongoing development. Well into its second decade of existence, Linux has been adopted worldwide primarily as a server platform. Its use as a home and office desktop operating system is also on the rise. The operating system can also be incorporated directly into microchips in a process called "embedding" and is increasingly being used this way in appliances and devices. 

Throughout most of the 1990's, tech pundits, largely unaware of Linux's potential, dismissed it as a computer hobbyist project, unsuitable for the general public's computing needs. Through the efforts of developers of desktop management systems such as KDE and GNOME, office suite project OpenOffice.org and the Mozilla web browser project, to name only a few, there are now a wide range of applications that run on Linux and it can be used by anyone regardless of his/her knowledge of computers. Those curious to see the capabilities of Linux can download a live CD version called Knoppix . It comes with everything you might need to carry out day-to-day tasks on the computer and it needs no installation. It will run from a CD in a computer capable of booting from the CD drive. Those choosing to continue using Linux can find a variety of versions or "distributions" of Linux that are easy to install, configure and use. Information on these products is available in our distribution section and can be found by selecting the mainstream/general public category. 
Additional InformationIf you're interested in learning about Linux, need help with some aspect of its use or are enthusiastic about it and want to help foster its adoption, you may want to get in touch with a Linux User Group in your area. There are groups in practically every country, region and city in the world, so there is likely to be one near you. 

Each day, Linux use is increasing in every sector of our society. We have information about Linux deployments in government, industry and the arts. 

Linux has an official mascot, Tux, the Linux penguin, which was selected by Linus Torvalds to represent the image he associates with the operating system. Tux was created by Larry Ewing and Larry has generously given it to the community to be freely used to promote Linux. More information on use of the image can be found on his webpage. More links to variations on the image and alternative logos can be found on our logo page 

Many people are not sure of the pronunciation of the word Linux. Although many variations of the word exist, often due to native language factors, it is normally pronounced with a short " i " and with the first syllable stressed, as in LIH-nucks. You can hear how Linux creator Linus Torvalds pronounces the word in Swedish and in English .

Arch Linux (or Arch) is an operating system intended to be lightweight and simple. The design approach of the development team focuses on "simplicity", elegance, code correctness and minimalism. "Simplicity", according to Arch, is defined as "...without unnecessary additions, modifications, or complications.." and is defined from a developer standpoint, rather than a user standpoint.

Inspired by CRUX, another minimalist distribution, Judd Vinet started Arch Linux in March 2002. Vinet led the project until 1 October 2007, when he stepped down due to lack of time, transferring control of the project to Aaron Griffin. The Arch in Arch Linux is pronounced [ɑːrtʃ] or [aːtʃ] (as in archer or parchment).
What is Arch Linux? 

Arch Linux is an independently developed i686/x86-64 optimized community distribution, based on a rolling-release package model and targeted at competent GNU/Linux users. Development focuses on a balance of minimalism, elegance, code correctness and modernity. Version 0.1 (Homer) was released March 11, 2002. 
Advantages Arch provides a minimal environment upon installation, (no GUI), already compiled and optimized for i686/x86-64 architectures. Arch is lightweight, flexible and simple. Its design philosophy and implementation make it easy to extend and mold into whatever kind of system you're building- from a minimalist console machine to the most grandiose and feature rich desktop environments available. Rather than tearing out unneeded and unwanted packages, Arch offers the power user the ability to build up from a minimal foundation without any defaults chosen for them. It is the user who decides what Arch Linux will be. 
Unique Package Management Arch is backed by an easy-to-use binary package system - pacman - that allows you to upgrade your entire system with one command. Pacman is coded in C and designed from the ground up to be lightweight, simple and very fast. Arch also uses a ports-like package build system (Arch Build System) to make it easy to build and install packages from source, which can also be synchronized with one command. You can even rebuild your entire system with one command. Everything is done quite simply and transparently. The rolling release model allows one-time installation and continuous seamless upgrades, without ever having to reinstall or perform elaborate system upgrades from one version to the next. 
ModernityArch Linux strives to maintain the latest stable version of its software, based on a rolling-release system. We currently support a streamlined core package set for the minimal i686 and x86-64 base systems, thousands of additional, high-quality binary packages among both developer and user maintained repositories, and many thousands of PKGBUILD scripts, for building and packaging from source. Arch provides non-patched, vanilla software; packages are offered from pure upstream sources, how the author originally intended it be distributed. Patching only occurs in extremely rare cases, to prevent severe breakage in the instance of version mismatches that may occur within a rolling release model. Arch incorporates many of the newer features available to GNU/Linux users, including modern filesystems (Ext2/3, Reiser, XFS, JFS), LVM2/EVMS, software RAID, udev support and initcpio, as well as the latest available kernels. Simplicity The Arch Way is a philosophy aimed at keeping it simple. The Arch Linux base system is quite simply the minimal, yet functional GNU/Linux environment; the Linux kernel, GNU toolchain, and a handful of optional, extra command line utilities like links and Vi. This clean and simple starting point provides a rock solid base for expanding the system into whatever the user requires. 

Arch's simple init system is heavily inspired by the *BSD way of incorporating calls from a single file, (etc/rc.conf), rather than a convoluted directory structure containing symlinks for each runlevel. 

System configuration is achieved through editing simple text files. 


Further Reading 

Arch's home page is at http://www.archlinux.org/ where you can also find links to the user forums, official documentation, and everything else that is Arch. You can also read The Arch Way for a bit more insight in case you missed it here.

Open source software (OSS) began as a marketing campaign for free software. OSS can be defined as computer software for which the human-readable source code is made available under a copyright license (or arrangement such as the public domain) that meets the Open Source Definition. This permits users to use, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified form. It is very often developed in a public, collaborative manner. Open source software is the most prominent example of open source development and often compared to user generated content. A report by Standish Group says that adoption of open source has caused a drop in revenue to the proprietary software industry by about $60 billion per year.

Open source , which offers practical accessibility to a product's source (goods and knowledge). Some consider open source as one of various possible design approaches, while others consider it a critical strategic element of their operations. Before open source became widely adopted, developers and producers used a variety of phrases to describe the concept; the term open source gained popularity with the rise of the Internet, which provided access to diverse production models, communication paths, and interactive communities.

The open source model of operation and decision making allows concurrent input of different agendas, approaches and priorities, and differs from the more closed, centralized models of development. The principles and practices are commonly applied to the development of source code for software that is made available for public collaboration, and it is usually released as open-source software.