Help forum for replacing Windows software?

[michaeljt]

I have brought up this idea a couple of times in various forms, but here goes again - it would be nice to have a new help forum for people who are only using Windows because they need one or two particular pieces of software which only exist for Windows. They could explain their woes on this forum, and helpful people could try to suggest software available for Ubuntu (single packages or combinations) which might do the trick for them.

Who should I put this suggestion to?

[KingTermite]

Seems like to narrow of a topic for a whole sub-forum to me, but perhaps a good FAQ thread would be good and if something is not listed, people could use that thread to ask about <app x> or <app y>.

[KingTermite]

Forgot to mention, that if you want to request it, I'm guessing the "Forum & Feedback Help" sub-forum would be the place.
http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=48

[damis648]

See http://www.osalt.com/

[KingTermite]

See http://www.osalt.com/

Yup! I was going to post that too, but couldn't remember the URL off the top of my head.

There is also this site:
Top 50 open-source alternatives
http://whdb.com/2008/the-top-50-proprietary-programs-that-drive-you-crazy-and-their-open-source-alternatives/

www.osalt.com though is probably more thorough.

[madjr]

http://linuxappfinder.com/alternatives

[aktiwers]

See http://www.osalt.com/
Was going to post that as well.. or this one:
http://www.linuxalt.com/

[michaeljt]

The sites posted above are not quite what I had in mind. They provide Linux alternatives for a lot of popular Windows software, but one of the reasons I am always hearing why a lot of people can't make the switch is that they are dependent on some low-volume applications written for a particular field which only work on Windows. Of course, these people could try Wine or VirtualBox with Windows inside, but native applications are always nicer.

[Cope57]

The table of equivalents / replacements / analogs of Windows software in Linux. (http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html)

[kahlil88]

What software are you looking for GNU/Linux alternatives to?

[rickyjones]

What software are you looking for GNU/Linux alternatives to?

I thought that I would pop in here and see if I can join the discussion. I'm currently attempting to move my business to all open-source software. Ubuntu 8.04.1 works great on my laptop. However there are two pieces of software that I must have.

1. Personal accounting package
2. Business accounting package

For 1 I currently use Quicken 2007 Home and Business. It is smart, keeps track of all my bills and gives me reminders. Paints a picture of income/expenses so I can see where all my money goes.

For 2 I currently use Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2007. This keeps track of customers, vendors, invoices... It allows me to email invoices, create custom invoices using Word templates, bulk email customers, create letters to customers, etc... All normal accounting functions including accounts receivable (plus overdue), check printing, inventory management, purchase orders, etc....

I've found several packages to replace #1 (please don't say GNU Cash... Last time I used it I did not find it very functional or intuitive, and I don't believe it has the same functions as Quicken) however I haven't dived in too far yet. Any recommendations?

For #2 I have yet to find a fully suitable replacement. The closest I have come so far is Quasar but it leaves a couple of things out. For one it is not fully localized for America, as it is built in Canada. It feels very clunky when using it. Not the most intuitive interface (I have to dig into a menu to find the customer list and then from there I have to add my customers). There is no ability to email invoices or create custom templates that I can see. No ability to email customers in bulk or write form letters to them. Customer ID#s will not auto-increment and when asked about this functionality they told me that they would not code that because it would be too much work.

Any recommendations?

Industry standard, capable, customizable and intuitive accounting packages are sorely lacking on Linux. I may switch to Ubuntu primarily and bring up a VM with Windows XP running my current accounting package (planned on this until year end anyways for a clean switch) but I'd like to do this as open-source like as possible.

Thanks!

-Richard

[kahlil88]

My good friend Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Linux_accounting_software) helped me find a some potential candidates. I haven't used any of these, so I don't know how good they are:

GFP (http://gfd.sourceforge.net/)
GnuCash (http://www.gnucash.org/) (oops!)
Grisbi (http://www.grisbi.org/)
HomeBank (http://homebank.free.fr/)
jGnash (http://jgnash.sourceforge.net/)

[rickyjones]

My good friend Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Linux_accounting_software) helped me find a some potential candidates. I haven't used any of these, so I don't know how good they are:

GFP (http://gfd.sourceforge.net/)
GnuCash (http://www.gnucash.org/) (oops!)
Grisbi (http://www.grisbi.org/)
HomeBank (http://homebank.free.fr/)
jGnash (http://jgnash.sourceforge.net/)


Thanks - I'll take a look at these (minus GNUCash :P ).

I'm really looking for recommendations from others that have been in a similar situation or who are actually running a small business on only opensource software.

For some background, I am a computer consultant. I sell my services and I also sell hardware that I purchase. Hence I don't keep an active inventory but I do need to purchase hardware, bill it against a job with a percent markup. I also need to track customer and vendor accounts.

Someone on these forums has to have been in a similar situation...

Thanks,
Richard

[keiichidono]

Try looking through my Linux Alternatives to Windows Software (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=856854) guide?