Because open source offerings aren't wedded to a proprietary operating system, a developer's goal is to serve Windows, Mac and Linux users equally. While smaller outfits may not have the resources to do that, the major solutions are almost all available in versions that work as nearly the same as possible on multiple platforms.

Some minor differences are unavoidable, as when Apple won't make some keys available for applications to use in shortcuts. But on the whole, switching between Mac and PC is seamless for open source users.

Video players and e-books

VLC Media Player has a place on every computer we set up. It's lightweight, simple and seems to handle every kind of medium and file type you can throw at it: files, disks, streams, MP3, MPEG, DivX and the rest.

We searched it out long ago when an expensive video program couldn't handle a file we'd been sent. VLC played it without complaint and since then we've found no argument against appointing it as default video player. It's available for an amazing range of platforms including, believe it or not, IBM's ancient OS/2 operating system, a brave but failed 1990s attempt by IBM to edge out Windows.

Free office suite LibreOffice does all we want and its Writer module works better than Word. Supplied

VLC is also available for mobile devices but the developer hit a road bump in a reported licensing dispute with Dolby Digital. The iOS version no longer includes a decoder for the widespread AC3 audio format, hobbling it as a movie player.

Calibre e-book manager is an open source Swiss army knife for e-book users. At heart is a library management system. It's like iTunes for books, but easier to use.


Onto that, developers have grafted a book viewer, simple tools for converting books from one device format to another, easy synchronisation with portable readers and even an e-book editor. There's also an integrated web server, so you can access a library remotely through a browser or even share publications with a select audience like staff in an enterprise or students at a school.

In general, copyright issues won't arise because works with Digital Rights Management (DRM) controls won't open on unauthorised devices, but any would-be library publisher should check each title to be sure.

VLC Media Player has a place on every computer we set up. It's lightweight, simple and seems to handle every kind of medium and file type you can throw at it. Supplied

The open source treasure trove seems bottomless. We use FileZilla for FTP file transfers, Audacity for audio recording and editing, and Wordpress for publishing blogs. Often these solutions are best of breed and they only survive by being, at worst, good enough for most users. And to boot, you're welcome to grab as many copies as you like. We have Writer running at home, throughout the office, on a Macbook and several virtual machines, all at the cost of a $100 voluntary donation to support development.

Peter Moon is a technology lawyer with Cooper Mills. peter.moon@coopermills.com.au