Joys of Linux - Assignment 1

In modern times, an Operating System (OS) is only as good as the applications it supports. Look at the major OS's, they've all been able to thrive because of the applications developers have been able to build - the Microsoft Office Suite being a major player - in fact, industry experts have pinpointed Microsoft Office as a major contributor to the success of Apple's Mac OS (we don't hear that on Apple's Mac vs. PC commercials).Unix isn't the main reason behind the grass roots success of Linux, sure it is a driving force - CS majors who had gotten used to Unix in their computer labs now have the power of a Unix workstation on their desktop - but the average end user could really care less. The open source community behind Linux is the main reason. For those of you unfamiliar, the Open Source community develops and distributes applications with their source code. If they choose, the end user has the ability to view/modify/redistribute any application licensed as Open Source. This license is the main driving force behind Linux. People can view the source code for any paticular component of Linux - want to write a 3D game engine? Review the code for the device drivers that control the video card. Want to write a sound mixing station? View the mp3 player code and the sound card device drivers and write your own.Most users, though, prefer to just go out buy the necessary software they wish to use instead of writing their own. With Linux and the Open Source community, there's no need to *buy* - you scour the net, find what you need, and download it. No worries about spyware or viruses - why? Because, you have the source code, you can review it to be sure there is no malicious intent.So for our first assignment, we're going to have a scavenger hunt on the Internet.

On Angel, under Content (Angel->Content->Assignments->Assignment 1:Scavenger Hunt, there is a list of software applications I have installed on my Windows box, see if you can find Open Source equivilants for Linux.