Software Alternatives,
Part V:
Application Software
By Teela James, M.A. program, University of Georgia
Figure 1: The interface of OpenOffice word processing is very similar to Microsoft Office functionality. Users will encounter few problems learning the applications.
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Previous parts of the software alternative series have focused on free utilities useful for the office. The conclusion of our software alternatives series presents a set of free applications useful to landscape architects that replace expensive industry applications?EUR??,,????'?????<
Prior to discussing individual packages, a general discussion of open source products versus commercial products is warranted. Obviously, one of the big advantages of using free products is cost; in addition to the up front cost of commercial products, there are upgrade costs and support costs. Furthermore, because of the up-front investment and because commercial products may make it difficult to export your data, users can get locked into a specific application. Another benefit is simplified installation and maintenance due to the absence of licensing overhead. The biggest drawback I have experienced in using these products is interfacing with other users?EUR??,,????'?????<
Furthermore, some proprietary file formats will not be supported, or some advanced features of those formats may not be supported. There are other differences between open source and proprietary software, including release frequency, feature sets, product support and reliability; the differences in those factors will vary from application to application. There are stable, well-supported products with tons of features in both the commercial and open source realms, and, similarly, both have their share of lemons.
Linux
Next, let's do a whirlwind tour of some free products, starting with Linux, a free operating system. Linux has a number of strengths, in addition to being free?EUR??,,????'?????<
One of the biggest stumbling blocks in using Linux is whether the software you want to run is available under Linux, and, if not, whether available alternatives meet your needs. In particular, AutoCAD, which only runs under Windows, has created a significant obstacle to switching to Linux for users in the design professions. There is some support for running nonnative applications (such as Windows applications) under Linux, but not every application may work, or slightly older versions of software may be more robust. According to reports, as of this writing, AutoCAD 2010 is not usable, AutoCAD 2008 is usable but has some bugs, and older versions work very well (see http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?appId=86).
While there is a great deal that can be said about the relative merits of different operating systems, our purpose here is to present freely available alternatives. In this respect, Linux is a viable alternative to commercial operating systems. While there is some learning curve in moving from one system to another, a great deal of effort has been put into making Linux systems easy to install and use.
OpenOffice
Moving from operating systems to applications, OpenOffice is a popular free alternative to Microsoft Office that runs on Windows, Linux and MacOS. It is a productivity suite that includes a word processor, a spreadsheet, a presentation application, a database application and a vector graphics editor. It is easily substituted for Microsoft Office and users can save to Microsoft Office file formats, allowing exchange of files with users who do not use OpenOffice.
OpenOffice functionality is very similar to Microsoft Office functionality and users will encounter few problems learning the applications.
Figure 1 shows the familiar looking interface of the OpenOffice word processor.
GNU Image Manipulation Program
A variety of products for image and layout editing exist that can be used in place of Adobe Creative Suite or similar commercial products. The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is a mature photo-editing product that can be used in place of Photoshop. One of the biggest issues with GIMP is the lack of CMYK support, although there is a plug in to provide that functionality. The GIMP interface is not identical to the Photoshop interface, but it does have generally equivalent features and is fairly easy to learn?EUR??,,????'?????<Figure 2). GIMP does support the psd format (among many others), so it is possible to open and save Photoshop documents in GIMP.
Figure 2: The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is a mature
photo-editing product that can be used in place of Photoshop. GIMP lacks
CMYK support, although there is a plugin to provide that functionality. The
GIMP interface is not identical to the Photoshop interface, but it does have generally equivalent features and is fairly easy to learn. Users should have
little trouble switching.
Inkscape
Inkscape is an open source vector graphics tool similar to Adobe Illustrator. Inkscape users generally find the product to be similar to Illustrator, although some users complain Inkscape does not have CMYK support and the gradient mesh feature.
Scribus
Scribus is a desktop publishing application, similar to Adobe Pagemaker or Adobe InDesign, that can create PDFs. Scribus supports CMYK colors and ICC color management. However, Scribus does not read or write commercial file formats from InDesign, Microsoft Publisher or QuarkXPress. While I have generally found the quality of these programs to be sufficient to my needs, I do miss the interoperability between applications that Adobe Creative Suite supports.
Figure 3: QGIS supports many of the same formats as ArcMap.
Quantum GIS
Finally, if you are a GIS user and are looking to save money on software costs, consider Quantum GIS (QGIS). While there is the potential for considerable savings here, expect to put in significant time learning an alternate GIS application?EUR??,,????'?????<Figure 3 shows the QGIS interface. QGIS supports many of the same formats as ArcMap.
The applications mentioned herein are a small sampling of free software. As a cost-conscious student, I have used many of these products successfully while completing my MLA. While there are specific pros and cons to different products, I have generally found the commercial products did not provide enough extra functionality to justify both the purchasing costs and the hassles involved in dealing with licensing. Furthermore, the open source products are constantly releasing improved versions; current versions are very usable, and continue to increase their feature set and interoperability. While many designers have had disdain for open source applications based on past experiences, it is time for a second look.
Free software applications useful to landscape architects that replace expensive industry applications.
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