Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Microsoft GitHub

Microsoft acquired GitHub in 2018. Although GitHub is the largest repository of open source code, version control, and issue tracking, ironically enough, GitHub itself is not open source...

There are lots of alternatives to GitHub, and the one's listed in the article linked below are all open source themselves.

See Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Microsoft GitHub - LinuxLinks

#technology #opensource #alternativeto #GitHub

This series looks at the best free and open source alternatives to products and services offered by Microsoft.

https://gadgeteer.co.za/best-free-and-open-source-alternatives-microsoft-github

Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Microsoft GitHub - LinuxLinks

This series looks at the best free and open source alternatives to products and services offered by Microsoft.

A Beginner's Guide To Free and Open Source GIMP For Windows, macOS and Linux - Watching A Few Videos Really Gets You Going More Easily

One of the most popular pieces of free and open source software is Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program). It is the free and open source alternative to things like Adobe Photoshop. It is very powerful, but many find the interface a bit confusing. Obviously, "practice makes it easier" but it is well worth watching a few videos to understand the interface and what sort of effects and techniques can be applied.

I've been using Kdenlive to do all my video editing and quick titling, but I can see I can certainly improve the titling by rather using a dedicated image editor.

Watch A Beginner's Guide To Gimp

#technology #GIMP #opensource #alternativeto #crossplatform

One of the most popular pieces of free and open source software is Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program). It is the free and open source alternative to things like Adobe Photoshop. I've used Gimp fo...

https://gadgeteer.co.za/beginners-guide-free-and-open-source-gimp-windows-macos-and-linux-watching-few-videos-really-gets

A Beginner's Guide To Gimp

One of the most popular pieces of free and open source software is Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program). It is the free and open source alternative to things like Adobe Photoshop. I've used Gimp fo...

Free and Open Source LibreOffice 7.2 Office Suite for Linux, Windows and macOS Is Now Available for Download

Highlights of the LibreOffice 7.2 release include a new command popup HUD (“Heads-up display”) to search for and execute actions, a new LibreOffice Dark theme, Fontwork panel in the Sidebar, scrollable style picker in the NotebookBar UI, a new list view for the templates dialog, native support for Apple M1 chips, and a built-in “Xray”-like UNO object inspector.

Once again, a lot of effort was made to make the LibreOffice office suite more compatible with proprietary, closed-source formats of the Microsoft Office suite, which still use a deprecated ISO standard that contains a large amount of hidden artificial complexity, causing all sorts of issues.

Writer gets bibliography improvements, label and business card paper data for Japanese users, better support for merged cells in the Word-compatible table border painting, improved PDF exports for documents containing links between anchors and footnotes or endnotes, and support for list format strings in ODT files.

For LibreOffice Calc, there’s the ability to filter by color in AutoFilter, support for captions in HTML tables listed in the External Data dialog, mixed date format for cell format in Japanese locales, support for the Kahan summation algorithm, ‘fat-cross’ cursor in the options, and the ability to select the type in “Moving Average” trend lines.

For LibreOffice Impress & Draw there are several new templates available in the LibreOffice 7.2 release, including Candy, Freshes, Grey Elegant, Growing Liberty, and Yellow Idea, support for multiple columns in LibreOffice text boxes, and the ability to directly access the scaling factor via the status bar.

See LibreOffice 7.2 Office Suite Is Now Available for Download, This Is What's New - 9to5Linux

#technology #opensource #libreoffice #alternativeto

LibreOffice 7.2 open-source and cross-platform office suite is now available for download with improved support for MS Office formats, and more.

https://gadgeteer.co.za/free-and-open-source-libreoffice-72-office-suite-linux-windows-and-macos-now-available-download

LibreOffice 7.2 Office Suite Is Now Available for Download, This Is What's New - 9to5Linux

LibreOffice 7.2 open-source and cross-platform office suite is now available for download with improved support for MS Office formats, and more.

Mastodon now has an official iPhone app

Mastodon is the improvement over Twitter with open source decentralised hosting, with posts federating across the whole Fediverse of social networks

See Mastodon now has an official iPhone app

#technology #mastodon #alternativeto #opensource #ios

There’s no hard timeline for an Android app yet.

https://gadgeteer.co.za/mastodon-now-has-official-iphone-app

Mastodon now has an official iPhone app

There’s no hard timeline for an Android app yet.

Alternatives to Big Tech Social Media Networks

This webpage has been created for those seeking alternatives to Big Tech run Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, etc.

There are many reasons for people seeking such alternatives:
* They can be dissatisfaction with the terms and conditions that must be complied with
* Or that a particular network is a walled garden not allowing outside viewing
* Or they want to separate their work/family/social lives
* Or a dissatisfaction with how their metadata or posts are shared with advertisers or third parties
* Or that the feed algorithms are manipulated to show adverts or other posts they don't follow
* Possibly they've been banned already from a network
* Or that a large centrally hosted service is under scrutiny from their government
* Or possibly certain such sites are even censored or banned in their country

The list is actually endless, and the aim of this page is to highlight a few worthy alternatives to consider. These are mostly all sites that I actually use myself, and I will try to highlight any particular aspects that stand out.

See Alternatives to Big Tech Social Media Netwoks | Gadgeteer

#technology #socialnetworks #alternativeto #BigTech #decentralised

This webpage has been created for those seeking alternatives to Big Tech run Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, etc. There are many reasons for people seeking such alternatives:

https://gadgeteer.co.za/alternatives-big-tech-social-media-networks

Early Skype developer Jaan Tallinn splashes cash in latest funding for Matrix-based instant messenger Element - Decentralised comms is where it's at

Remember when Skype was peer-to-peer, and it just felt more secure (no middle man) and robust (no central server to switch off)? Well open source Matrix is a decentralised end-to-end encrypted real-time communication platform, with Element as its client for mobile and desktops. The funding announcement comes hot on the heels of the news that Germany's entire healthcare system is to adopt Matrix-based communications.

As for what the money will be spent on, "Element's funding means there's continued significant investment in the Matrix protocol, which hugely benefits the entire Matrix ecosystem," said Matthew Hodgson, CEO of Element and technical co-founder of Matrix.

Certainly as far as decentralised secure instant messaging goes, Matrix/Element is one of the easiest and most adopted, and one that we've seen governments themselves adopting for their own use. For increased security they often host their own server without federating to other Matrix servers.

See Early Skype developer Jaan Tallinn splashes cash in latest funding for Matrix-based instant messenger Element

#technology #matrix #security #sceuremessengers #alternativeto

Decentralised comms is where it's at

https://gadgeteer.co.za/early-skype-developer-jaan-tallinn-splashes-cash-latest-funding-matrix-based-instant-messenger

Ramble is a privacy based Reddit-like platform available through a variety of networks such as normal web, Tor Onion, I2P, Lokinet, and Yggdrasil

I've covered Lemmy before (a federated open Reddit alternative) but Ramble is an effort to also promote the use of alternative internets ie. not just https regular web.

The great thing about their setup is that it allows users from various anonymity networks to actually interact with one another in a seamless, transparent fashion. Someone browsing their Onion Service may be responding to a post made from the clearnet, and have their response upvoted from someone who agrees with their comment from the I2P eepsite while a Yggdrasil user is creating a forum. Regardless of the method you choose to access the Ramble website, you'd be interacting with people from outside of your network in a relatively unique fashion. You can login to your account through any network that you wish. Post on your phone using the clearnet website, come home, and hop on the I2P eepsite and you'll have everything right there.

Another interesting feature is a fully transparent moderation log, showing any banned users or other deletions made (a bit like Aether does) with a reason. You only need to choose any username and password to get going, no e-mail or phone number requested to register.

See Welcome to [RAMBLE]

#technology #alternativeto #reddit #ramble #privacy

Posted by Rambler admin | on December 9, 2020 at 3:10 PM in ramble (edited on December 9, 2020 at 3:11 PM) If you've not had the chance, take a gander over at our wiki as it will address in more detail some of what this post will cover. First off, welcome to [RAMBLE]. This place is a bit different than some other "similar" sites, but that's by...

https://gadgeteer.co.za/ramble-privacy-based-reddit-platform-available-through-variety-networks-such-normal-web-tor-onion

Welcome to [RAMBLE]

DuckDuckGo Announces Cross Platform Alternative to Apple's Hide My Email which will also strip out Tracking code

DuckDuckGo announced on 20th July its brand new Email Protection feature that will allow users to save themselves from being tracked by trackers embedded into emails by forwarding them to a free and personalized DuckDuckGo email before being sent to their actual email.

One of the largest cornerstones of DuckDuckGo's offering, compared to Apple's Hide My Email, is its cross-platform compatibility. Apple's Hide My Email will only work on Apple devices. At the same time, thanks to DuckDuckGo's browser extension and apps available on other platforms, DuckDuckGo's Email Protection is available no matter where a user chooses to browse the internet.

See DuckDuckGo Announces Cross Platform Alternative to Apple's Hide My Email

#technology #privacy #email #alternativeto #tracking

DuckDuckGo today announced its brand new Email Protection feature that will allow users to save themselves from being tracked by trackers embedded...

https://gadgeteer.co.za/duckduckgo-announces-cross-platform-alternative-apples-hide-my-email-which-will-also-strip-out

DuckDuckGo Announces Cross Platform Alternative to Apple's Hide My Email

DuckDuckGo today announced its brand new Email Protection feature that will allow users to save themselves from being tracked by trackers embedded...

My Video Overview of the IRC Real-Time Chat Network

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a real-time text chat social network that was created in 1988 in Finland, and is still in active use today.

In this video I talk about what it is and how it differs from other social networks, how to connect to it, I show what the user interface looks like, and end off with some tips on how to secure your nick ID.

It is often used for direct contact with technology project developers and other tech support, but there are also numerous social chat channels, or you can create your own channel in a few seconds if it does not already exist.

Watch at Overview of the IRC Real-Time Chat Network

#technology #socialnetworks #alternativeto #IRC #social

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was created in 1988 in Finland and is still in active use today. In this video I talk about what it is and how it differs from othe...

https://gadgeteer.co.za/my-video-overview-irc-real-time-chat-network

Chatwoot is an open source alternative to Intercom, Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, and other proprietary customer relations communications platforms

Chatwoot is an open source customer relationship platform built with Ruby and Vue.js. It was written from scratch to allow customer-relations teams to build end-to-end platforms for ticket management and support.

See Try Chatwoot, an open source customer relationship platform

#technology #opensource #customerrelations #alternativeto #helpdesk

Chatwoot is an open source customer relationship platform built with Ruby and Vue.js. It was written from scratch to allow customer-relations teams to build end-to-end platforms for ticket management and support. This article looks at Chatwoot's architecture, installation, and key features. Chatwoot's architecture Chatwoot requires the following components to function properly:

https://gadgeteer.co.za/chatwoot-open-source-alternative-intercom-zendesk-salesforce-service-cloud-and-other-proprietary

Try Chatwoot, an open source customer relationship platform

Chatwoot is an open source customer relationship platform built with Ruby and Vue.js. It was written from scratch to allow customer-relations teams to build end-to-end platforms for ticket management and support. This article looks at Chatwoot's...

How to Make LibreOffice Look Like Microsoft Office

LibreOffice is a free and open-source office productivity suite that provides you a complete collection of applications. It consists of a Word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet program (Calc), Presentation (Impress), and a drawing program (Draw). It also gives you a stand-alone database system LibreOffice Base while LibreOffice Math is a program that helps students, researchers to write formulas and equations.

If you can make LibreOffice look like Microsoft Office, then it is much easier for first-time users to adopt – mostly coming from Microsoft Office background. The look and feel play a big part in users’ minds including their muscle memory and familiarity of colors, menu items.

See An Attempt to Make LibreOffice Appear Like Microsoft Office [Tutorial]

#technology #opensource #libreoffice #alternativeto

We made an attempt to make the LibreOffice suite look like Microsoft Office. Is it possible? Let’s find out. LibreOffice is a free and open-source office productivity suite that provides you a complete collection of applications. It consists of a Word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet program (Calc), Presentation (Impress), and a drawing program (Draw). It

https://gadgeteer.co.za/how-make-libreoffice-look-microsoft-office

An Attempt to Make LibreOffice Appear Like Microsoft Office [Tutorial]

We made an attempt to make the LibreOffice suite look like Microsoft Office. Is it possible? Let’s find out. LibreOffice is a free and open-source office productivity suite that provides you a complete collection of applications. It consists of a...

Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Google Earth Pro

Google has a firm grip on the desktop. Their products and services are ubiquitous. Don’t get us wrong, we’re long-standing admirers of many of Google’s products and services. They are often high quality, easy to use, and ‘free’, but there can be downsides of over-reliance on a specific company. For example, there are concerns about their privacy policies, business practices, and an almost insatiable desire to control all of our data, all of the time.

What if you are looking to move away from Google and embark on a new world of online freedom, where you are not constantly tracked, monetised and attached to Google’s ecosystem.

They cover:
* Marble
* WorldWind
* OpenStreetMap
* QGIS

See Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Google Earth Pro - LinuxLinks

#technology #opensource #alternativeto #googleearth

Google Earth Pro lets you fly anywhere to see satellite imagery, 3D buildings, 3D trees, terrain, Street View, planets and much more.

https://gadgeteer.co.za/best-free-and-open-source-alternatives-google-earth-pro

Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Google Earth Pro - LinuxLinks

Google Earth Pro lets you fly anywhere to see satellite imagery, 3D buildings, 3D trees, terrain, Street View, planets and much more.

IRL (In Real Life) is a new social network taking on Facebook groups - The SoftBank-backed social network already has 12 million users

Do people want an app specifically for discovering events and messaging as a group? That’s the bet behind IRL, a young social network that has been quietly growing over the past year and just attracted an eye-popping amount of money to take on Facebook.

The two-year-old startup is betting that a post-pandemic world will fuel its mission to help people “do more together,” usually by meeting up in real life — you know, IRL. The idea has attracted the deep pockets of the Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank, which is the biggest investor in a new $170 million round of funding that values IRL at roughly $1 billion.

It is a much simpler interface without all the clutter that Facebook has. It seems to revolve around posting to Events and Groups (not Profile walls), with Groups just have a simplistic chronological chat stream with text, photos, polls and emojis (a bit like a modern IRC). But I get that most people will want to focus on the actual chat with their friends, so really a hundred 3rd party add-ons is not what most people are after.

So a lot will depend on what their monetisation vs privacy there finally is. We actually don't lack options for alternatives to Facebook but it's more about what ends up going really viral with traction as all the existing alternatives are actually going well in their own rights already.

See IRL is a new social network taking on Facebook groups

#technology #socialnetwork #alternativeto #IRL #deletefacebook

"We’re building Facebook groups and events for the generation that doesn’t use Facebook."

https://gadgeteer.co.za/irl-real-life-new-social-network-taking-facebook-groups-softbank-backed-social-network-already-has

IRL is a new social network taking on Facebook groups

"We’re building Facebook groups and events for the generation that doesn’t use Facebook."

A more complete list of alternatives to Goodreads

There are already loads of Goodreads alternatives out there. They're all doing different things, which means you now have 'choice'! Good to also see Bookwyrm (open source federated application) is also listed.

These are all services with a website access, so app only ones are not included.

See Alternatives to Goodreads

#technology #reading #alternativeto #goodreads #books

There are already loads of Goodreads alternatives out there. They're all doing different things, which means you now have 'choice'!

https://gadgeteer.co.za/more-complete-list-alternatives-goodreads

Goodreads alternatives

There are already loads of Goodreads alternatives out there. They're all doing different things, which means you now have 'choice'!