Open Source software in general is developed by groups of talented individuals (sometimes amateurs, sometimes professionals who work on Open Source in their spare time).

Probably the most well-known Open Source project is OpenOffice.org - essentially a completely free version of the Microsoft Office suite containing much of the same functionality and usability as the Microsoft version. Not only is this product popular with individuals who simply cannot afford to pay hundreds of pounds for the original, but thousands of major companies, government agencies etc worldwide are already using OpenOffice.org.

As small-business specialists, etl often recommends the use of Open Source software, giving further value to our clients.

Here is a list of the most popular Open Source projects at present... feel free to download and install the software. If you require any assistance, etl can work with you to implement such software professionally into your business.

OpenOffice.org  Web Site
A completely-free version of Microsoft Office suitable for individuals and businesses large or small. Contains a suite of programs including a word processor (Word compatible), spreadsheet (Excel compatible) and a Powerpoint compatible presentation system.

AbiWord  Web Site
If you don't require something as comprehensive as OpenOffice.org but still require a professional Word Processor, we recommend AbiWord. AbiWord is a free word processing program similar to Microsoft® Word. It is suitable for a wide variety of word processing tasks.

Audacity  Web Site
Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.

Thunderbird  Web Site
Thunderbird is a powerful e-mail program which is an excellent replacement for Outlook Express. It contains all the features you'd expect from a professional e-mail program and is well worth a try.

Firefox  Web Site
From the same team as Thunderbird, Firefox is an extremely capable and secure internet browser which you can use instead of Internet Explorer.