Useful Software

Useful Software

Springfield is very proud to be the only school in the city to have a computer suite dedicated completely to open source software. This means that all software used in the Learning Centre is available absolutely free of charge.

Springfield does not just use open source software in the Learning Centre. Open Office is deployed all over the school as an alternative to Microsoft Office, and Graphics and ICT lessons consistently feature Inkscape, Gimp and Audacity.

Below are some examples of open source software we believe to be a serious alternative to commercial products.

	Fedora Fedora is a Linux based operating system that is used on the computers in the Learning Centre. It can be downloaded from here.
	Open Office Open Office is the free alternative to Microsoft Office. It can be downloaded for here.
	Mozilla Firefox Mozilla Firefox is the leading competitor to Internet Explorer. It claims to have better security and better customisation. It can be downloaded from here.
	Google Chrome Google Chrome is a new browser from Google. It claims to be faster and simpler than either of the leading packages. It can be downloaded for here.
	Inkscape Inkscape is an open source vector graphics editor, available from here.
	Gimp Gimp is used for touching up photos and graphic designs. It is freely available from here.
	Audacity Audacity is a free multi-track sound editing program, used for sound recording and editing. Audacity can be downloaded here.
	VLC VLC is a free video player that claims to play anything, from DVDs and CDs to downloaded videos of any format. It can be downloaded from here.
	Kompozer Kompozer is an open source website editing package, ideal for non technical users. It can be downloaded from here.

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