Seriously? Have you developed in both? Actionscript, the programming language behind Flash, is capable of so much I can’t even begin to sum it up in a little blog comment. Can Synfig stream media like videos? Can it parse XML? Can it interact with scripting languages like JavaScript or PHP? Can it POST and GET variables? Detect browsers? etc., etc. From video players, to interactive web features found on sites like NYTimes, Flash is hands down superior to Synfig. Does Synfig even support user interaction? Sounds like Synfig would be better compared against something like Maya.

As for your other CS substitutes… I have my doubts. Audacity is nice for basic stuff, and I’m guessing that most of them are at best very limited alternatives to the real thing.

I’m all about free and open source alternatives, but there’s a tremendous difference between a Kia and a Ferrari… same holds true here. If you want to be a developer and compete in the market… you need first class equipment. This is a reference list for hobbyists and beginners. Anyone that wants to take things to the next level will definitely need more powerful apps., though.

Also what’s with the these companies not having linux versions?

Create PDF is a free Windows utility to creat pdf files, merge pdf files, combine pdf to different formats.You may print to pdf file and email them. Convert any format file to adobe pdf format.
……

Inkscape and Scribus rock.

I prefer Eclipse PDT 2.0 for my html editing. Kompozer screws up the internal markup to its demise. Eclipse has tons of plugins and comes ready to handle most every web format out there.

As a mac user (imac, 2gb memory, 250 gb hard drive) I can say that inkscape does not work! I’ve downloaded it seven times trying to use it instead of illustrator and no dice!

Kompozer is a viable alternative to Dreamweaver, but does not do everything that Dreamweaver does.

I use Gimp everyday for graphics and print material. If you are not able to afford Illustrator or Photoshop, then use Gimp! I’ve printed business cards, flyers, album covers, and wonderful handouts and never had a problem. The one it is lacking (besides a cmyk profiler) is crop marks!!

Yes, there is a freeware (maybe opensource) distiller named “FREEDIST”, which does great on PS2PDF conversions.

Other than that, this was a great article.

Thank you.

However, if you plan on doing design professionally, there is no way you can survive with Gimp, Scribus or Inkscape. They just aren’t up to the task of full time professional work (believe me I’ve tried … and as Creative Director of a small publishing company I get paid better when I can save the company money.)

My two cents ….
1. I use Outlook 2007.. I have used Thunderbird for quite a while.. TB has a simple interface and does a great job with showing emails and good granular configurations.. Used it for over a year and half with Lighning.. My take.. Outlook does “my” requirements better.. The planner facilities of Outlook with seamless integration of email,calendar and contacts is truly wonderful.. Something is lacking in TB that the ease is not there beyond just emailing and just calendaring..We use Zimbra email …

2. PDF writer.. I agree that PDF Creator is an awesome product.. I have loved it and adopted it since I discovered it 2 years ago… I have deleted all the acrobat crap from my sys.. ver8 of the reader literally killed my machine with its load… Foxit is fantastic reader thgh not open source.. It has the ability of text viewer which literally bypasses the copy controls !!! Try reading knowledgestorm documents to understand what I mean.

3. While Foxit and PDF creator does a neat job with the spooling and viewing, a good pdf editor is still missing.. I use Foxit Editor / Nitro ( Commercialware).. do chip in if u know of a good OS editor I can substitute with.

Thx.