In many cases, people are reluctant to switch from their paid apps to open-source apps because they fear not getting the right programs and applications for their daily tasks. Furthermore, there is a general belief that
“A paid service or project would be more reliable than a project that falls under the category of free and open-source software (FOSS)”.
If that were true, maybe there wouldn’t be a project called Linux, or even Android today and you wouldn’t be reading this post right now. Only true GEEKS know that there are alternatives to almost every project available for Linux and more.
FOSS Apps
The following alternatives are more reliable, less buggy, more secure, easier to upgrade, and easier to install. They have a huge fan base among users and they don’t crash as often as their paid counterparts. Prepare to change the prevailing perception as you read this article.
Office
If you have experience with Windows, you are definitely familiar with Microsoft Office. It is an office suite used to create or edit a formatted text document, spreadsheet, or presentation. However, you must purchase Microsoft Office separately because this Office suite does not come with the Windows operating system.
LibreOffice
LibreOffice is an open-source office suite that is developed and maintained by a large international community. It includes all the necessary plugins, such as the built-in PDF converter, to make working with documents of various types easier, it doesn’t get squashed too often, and it comes as a standard office suite on many Linux distributions (Debian for example). It can also be installed on macOS and Windows.
LibreOffice is based on the Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF), so a file created in MS Office can be opened and/or edited in LibreOffice, but not the other way around. Still, LibreOffice is the choice of many Linux users due to its wide range of editing features and more than 115 available languages.
Notepad-like Apps
Notepad is another standard program available on the Windows operating system. It is a fast and easy word processor that is essential if you work a lot with simple texts.
Some of the best alternatives to Notepad for Linux are as follows:
Photoshop
Why should you use a program that costs too much processor and money when the FOSS software alternative is low on the processor and gives you more tools and is very easy to use? Gimp is a very good alternative to Adobe Photoshop.
Gimp is written in C and GTK + and Photoshop is written in C ++, which makes Photoshop a good tool, but its limitation is that it is a tight source code program that costs too much cost and processor overhead. Gimp comes with almost all Linux distributions and is free to install on Windows/macOS as well.
Other alternatives are:
Adobe Acrobat Reader
To view a portable document file, a Windows user must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on their system. Well, if you’ve used the above, you might know that Adobe asks you to download and install updates every other day for no reason, and you have the same software from the day you install it to the day you install the 100th update.
Also, it allows you to display only the portable file. Just switch from proprietary software to Foss and try the packages listed below. At least one of them comes pre-built and installed with almost all Linux distributions and can be installed on other operating systems.
Adobe Premiere Pro
While Adobe products dominate the commercial market, there are numerous high-quality FOSS products for those on a smaller budget or wanting something different.
Many free alternatives to Adobe Premiere work under the GNU open license system and are therefore available for free at a wonderful price.
KDENLive
An open-source non-linear video editing suite, first released in a similar era to Cinelerra, shares its focus on impressive features and compatibility.
Kdenlive is still in active development with the latest software and support for various formats. Kdenlive is a great choice as a mid-range package that lacks some professional features but is still extensive enough to meet most needs, while at the same time being a bit easier to handle than some.
OpenShot
Openshot is probably the most actively developed open source project in the world of video editing and has an impressive range of features, including easy ways to integrate advanced elements like the Ken Burns effect to add still images to a movie, a title with all functions. editor and supports a wide variety of video formats.
Built from the ground up for HD video, Openshot lacks some of the more technical elements a professional might need, but as a complete and easy-to-use package, it represents the best product available to most users.
Media Player
Windows Media Player comes with the Windows operating system, but the same appearance for years, often resulting in BSOD (blue screen of death), errors, and poor codec support, are the downsides of Windows Media Player.
VLC is a very convenient alternative for Windows Media Player and all other media players for all platforms. VLC is updated regularly, resulting in fewer bugs, lots of codec support, and a sneak peek.
Another great option is Clementine, an open-source cross-platform music player with a fast and intuitive user interface.
Simply put, the best Windows Media Player alternatives are:
Microsoft Edge
Browsing the Internet is the most common task performed by a computer. Windows ships its operating system with Microsoft Edge as the standard browser. Before saying anything about Microsoft Edge, a quote that is too funny and shared is: “Microsoft Edge is the best browser available to download any other browser.”
You will rarely find someone using Microsoft Edge, even on the Windows platform (Bill Gates himself uses a different browser for his personal computer).
The alternatives to Microsoft Edge are Firefox, Chrome, and Opera.
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a program that is used primarily to send and receive email. However, it can also be used to manage various tasks, including calendar appointments, contacts, notes, etc. Microsoft Outlook is not free as you have to buy it or pay for a subscription.
Probably the best Linux alternative to Windows apps Microsoft Outlook is Geary. It is an open-source cross-platform email client that is available for free. Geary supports POP and IMAP protocols and has excellent email filtering and management capabilities.
Some other alternatives to the Microsoft Outlook desktop for Linux are:
Teams
If you think Microsoft Teams was designed solely for corporate communications and large team collaboration, that’s not entirely true. It works great for personal purposes too, and you can use this app for audio and video conferencing, chatting, calendars, and file storage.
If you are looking for a Linux alternative to Windows apps Microsoft Teams, there are several options you can try, with Jami being probably the best app. It is an open-source cross-platform for video/audio calls and messaging that uses advanced encryption and does not require a server to transfer data between users.
Try other alternatives to Microsoft Teams for Linux:
uTorrent
A general user encounters torrenting more frequently and Utorrent, closed source can be a good option, but there is certainly a better plan.
Try Transmission, qBitTorrent, Deluge, or WebTorrent.
This is the power and popularity of open-source software that one project has multiple Alternative Foss projects. Therefore, our competition does not take place with other platforms, but within the same platform, which allows us to select the use without bottlenecks.
This healthy competition is a sign of a bright future for Foss World, but certainly a threat to other platforms.