| S
& P Enterprises Open Source Software |
|
| Telephone | 01594 861780 |
| Mobile | 07977 024022 |
| E-Mail |
Enquiries@spent-it.co.uk |
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Software Provision
We have been involved in the development, distribution and
deployment of Open Source software for more than 10 years. We have
extensive experience of deploying and using Linux servers along with
open source software development on the PC platform.
What is Open Source Software?
Open source software sprang out of the development in the
1970's by Richard Stallman and a group of talented postgraduate
students of the TeX typesetting system. The source code for this
software was made publicly available and an interest community of
mathematicians expanded and developed the software. Tex and its
successor LaTeX is still the most widely used system today for the
production of mathematical journals, theses and books.
In the intervening years many software development projects
have followed the lead set by Richard Stallman and his TeX pioneers.
Open Source software projects provide high quality software for a
diverse range of business needs, these include -
- Server operating systems - The Linux operating system is one of the most widely known Open Source software projects.
- Publishing - Alongside the TeX typesetting system the open source community is at the forefront of XML, PostScript and PDF software development.
- Web Services - The Apache Foundation web server is still the most widely used server on the internet.
- Database Development - SQL the language of high volume databases was developed on a college campus. There are two mature Open Source SQL Servers that can compete very well against similar products from Oracle and Microsoft.
- Office Productivity - Two open source projects provide similar functionality to Microsofts "Ms-Office" product. Both of these products can exchange documents with MS-Office.
Open Source software is provided free of charge and may be
freely re-distributed as long as the original distribution is also
provided. This means that you can use the software legally on any
computer you own and even legally provide
the software to your colleagues and business associates. You may even
change the way the software works, however you cannot distribute a
changed version of the software without making your changes available
to the community (This is a simplification of the basic terms of most
open source software licenses).
Our Software Library
We have a large library of open source software suitable for a range of business uses. We provide this software to our clients free of charge. In order to get you up and running quickly we will install any of our titles on your computer for a fixed fee and can provide in-house training on any software title we provide, Distribution CD's are available for a nominal duplication charge.
Back to top| Costs |
|
|---|---|
| Installation charge
(9:30am -
5:30pm) |
£40 |
| Out of hours Installation
Surcharge (6pm -
10pm) |
+ £10 |
| Training |
£100 per half day
(regardless of staff numbers involved). |
| CD Duplication Cost |
£30 |
| Title |
Purpose |
Complexity |
Training |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mozilla |
Open Source Web Browser (Equivalent to Microsoft Internet Explorer) Security experts CERT advise against using Internet Explorer due to the security issues with this product. Mail Client (Equivalent to MS Outlook) Web Page Development (Equivalent to MS FrontPage). |
Straighforward - Anyone
familiar
with Microsoft's tools should be able to use this software. |
1/2 Day 1 Day - If you want to learn to use the web page development tools. |
| Mozilla Firefox |
Open source web browser
(Like internet explorer without the security problems) |
Straighforward - very
similar in operation to Internet Explorer |
1/2 Day |
| Mozilla Thunderbird |
Open source e-mail client
from the developers of the most popular alternate internet browser in
the world. This is an excellent substitute for outlook express as it
does not have the security problems associated with Microsofts outlook
products. |
Moderate - users familiar
with e-mail software will find this program straightforward to operate. |
1/2 Day |
| Internet Security (Home
Users) |
We supply and install free
to use home user versions of popular internet security tools. Our
package covers (firewall protection, virus protection and spyware
protection). |
Mederate - Complex. For
users familiar with the software installed on your computer this
software is fairly straighforward to operate. If you are not sure what
software is installed on your computer you may need help in configuring
the firewall software. |
1/2 day - 1 day |
| OpenOffice.Org |
Office productivity suite
(Equivalent to MS Office) - Includes a word processor, spreadsheet,
slide show and a drawing package |
Moderate - Anyone who can
use Microsoft's Office applications should find this software
reasonably straightforward. |
1 day |
| GhostScript |
PostScript Processor -
This allows you to turn your documents from any windows application.
into CCIT/G4 fax format or PDF (The standard for portable document
exchange). Now you can store all of your documents on your computer and
get rid of your filing cabinets. |
Complex to Install (We do
this bit) Simple to Operate - Once installed the software behaves like any other printer on your system. |
1 day - Only
required if you want to change the software installation yourself. |
| PostGreSQL |
SQL Server - Lets you
share your databases with all of the computers in your office. This is
a backoffice application - You continue using MS Access etc for your
work and connect to the database manager instead of a local database. |
Complex - You will need a
server computer and an office network to use this product. |
1/2 day - Basic Operations. 1 Day - Database Administration (Basic). |