{"id":11449,"date":"2025-08-13T01:02:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T05:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.both.org\/?p=11449"},"modified":"2026-02-04T13:51:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T18:51:22","slug":"begin-the-journey-finding-a-practical-starting-point-with-free-open-source-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.both.org\/?p=11449","title":{"rendered":"Begin the Journey: Finding a practical starting point with Free Open Source Software"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Editor\u2019s note: This article was originally published on 2025-07-20 at https:\/\/beardystarstuff.net\/<\/a> and is reproduced here with the author\u2019s permission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I\u2019m writing this post it\u2019s 85\u00b0F with 80% humidity at 8:30pm after a very hot, humid day in Missouri. There was no breeze at all today, just the sun bearing down with its relentless gaze. Do you know what provides the sweetest relief to this kind of stifling heat? A shady swim in the chilly waters of a woodland creek, that\u2019s what.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mention that to begin this post because it helps to set the story that free, libre software provides as a contrast when set against the never-ending efforts by Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and others to constantly control our computing with ever expanding digital restrictions management and proprietary software. A small but recent example from my own experience two days ago when I booted my Mac after a system update and was notified that Apple had taken upon itself to change one of my settings to not just download updates but to automatically install them as well. I had to reset it to download only. It seems like a small thing but it\u2019s just another of many small acts of contempt by the company that owns and controls the operating system. It\u2019s not the first time that Apple decided to over-rule one of my decisions and it won\u2019t be the last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving to Free\/Libre Software, even if just in small ways and in small steps, add up over time to something significant. Such acts are in direct opposition to the accumulation of acts of contempt by companies that, year by year, add new restrictions to their DRM as they reduce our own ability to control the computers that run their software. Getting started with Free\/Libre Software can begin with just one app or with installing an entire OS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of us has different use cases, tasks and access to different hardware, you\u2019ll need to think about your own set-up and where you would like to go with it. Also, outside of your current actively used set-up, do you have any older unused computers sitting on a shelf or in a closet? Many older computers are great candidates for an install of GNU\/Linux and are another opportunity to learn and explore. My first GNU\/Linux install was on this 2012 Mac Mini that had been sitting on a shelf for two years and is now my daily work machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve considered your personal ethics<\/a> and decided that you need to begin a change in your computing, don\u2019t think you have to jump in head first. This isn\u2019t a \u201cgo big or go home\u201d scenario. Taking small steps that add up to gradual but steady progress is equally significant and is better than making no progress. If you\u2019re not sure about what defines free\/libre software I\u2019d suggest starting with this overview: Free Software Is Even More Important Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dipping your toes in<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An initial approach can be very simple. Many Free\/Libre applications are available for all the desktop platforms. You can get your start with no risk or long-term commitment. Maybe start with a web browser. Most have heard of Mozilla\u2019s Firefox and may already have it installed. But you may not be aware of forks of Firefox. For example, LibreWolf<\/a> which is focused on security and privacy offers a Windows version<\/a> and one for macOS<\/a> as well. The Mac version comes as a disk image and looks to be available for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dipping in a bit further<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another step that might take a bit more time is trying out Mozilla\u2019s Thunderbird email client<\/a>. This is what I use on GNU\/Linux but I\u2019ve also installed it on my Mac. Set-up of accounts was easy. I only boot that computer up to install updates every so often but in the few minutes I\u2019ve used it there it works exactly as expected. It\u2019s fairly different in terms of visual design when compared to Apple\u2019s Mail app but it\u2019s a robust application and I\u2019ve found I can easily manage all of my email with no problems. I\u2019m a fan of saved searches and Thunderbird\u2019s saved search feature is easy to set-up and works very well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thunderbird isn\u2019t just a mail app, it also includes an address book, calendar and task manager. I\u2019m using them all and, like the mail app, they\u2019ve all proven to be robust and dependable applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to wade in a bit deeper?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Office productivity software is an important category of applications you may want to explore. If you\u2019re a regular user of Microsoft\u2019s Office applications or Apple\u2019s iWork apps, consider trying LibreOffice<\/a>. It\u2019s a fully featured suite of applications with years of development and all the Office apps you would expect. No, it\u2019s not identical to Microsoft and Apple\u2019s offerings, it does require some effort to learn. This is true of all powerful applications when we use them for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the few months of using LibreOffice I\u2019ve had no problem opening files in the usual format from Microsoft Office. Word, Excel and Powerpoint files all open easily and are also easily exported from LibreOffice. Apple\u2019s files from Pages, Keynote and Numbers are another story. In some cases it works, on others, not so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Need an online, secure collaborative office suite to replace Google\u2019s offerings? I\u2019m a big fan of CryptPad<\/a>, a suite of free\/libre apps. This is a great project and well worth using and supporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free\/Libre Software for Graphic Design and Coding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you have need of graphic design software there are some really great apps that you can explore, available not just for GNU\/Linux but Mac and Windows as well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n