Mac Open Source - The Best Free Software for Your Mac

The term Mac Open Source Software refers to the development of a piece of software, where the software is freely available for anyone to use, view the source code, and then modify it if they so desire.

The idea is that these modifications to the source code, are then fed back into the project so that all users benefit. Open source has become very popular over the last few years with thousands of projects being started.

So what if you're not a software developer, and not interested in viewing or modifying the source code. Then all you need to do is find the software that meets your need, download it, and use it.

What is the Best Mac Open Source Software?

Most open source software projects are aimed at Linux or Windows users. But a growing number have been ported across to the Mac.

Due to the sheer number of open source projects it is inevitable that some software will be lacking in quality, and some might be riddled with bugs.

So, what is the best Mac Open Source software currently available? We have picked out a few titles that we have either used ourselves, know are popular, well managed, stable, with regular updates and improvements being made constantly.

Because we expect this page to grow over the coming weeks and months. We have created an indexing system by category. Simply click a category or scroll down the page.

• Internet
• Graphics
• Productivity
• Developer Tools

Mac Open Source Internet Software

FireFox - A Fast Web Browser for Mac OS X

As a mac user you will be aware that Safari is the web browser application bundled with Mac OS X. It is a well written app with a number of nice features, but still some users just don't like it!

As with all software these days, you always have a choice of an alternative, and web browsers are no exception. In this case it is the Mac Open Source community that comes to the rescue.

Firefox, like all open source software, is free. Simply download it, install it, and away you go!

Versions also exist for Windows and Linux, so you might have already used it in a previous life! Interestly you can also get a mobile version of Firefox for your iPhone or iPad.

The screenshot below shows Firefox in use on my Mac, displaying the projects home page. As you can see it looks just like any other Mac application.

The FireFox Web Browser

Firefox is developed by a non-profit organisation called Mozilla, whose mission is to promote openess and innovation on the web.

So what does Firefox offer us? The bullet list below summarises the main features.

• The App Tab - a home for your favourite web pages.
• Private browsing - protect your browsing history.
• Tabs on top - makes viewing sites easier.
• Website ID - click the site icon for more information
• Awesome bar - quick and easy site navigation.
• Add-on manager.
• Password manager.
• Customise the toolbar.
• Use personas to change themes.
• Sync both desktop and mobile versions.
• Bookmark button.

The 'Pin as App Tab' option allows you to keep a frequently visited web site as a permanent tab, moving it to the left-hand side of the tab bar and indicated by the sites favicon.

Have you ever wondered if the website you are visiting is legitimate? Firefox allows you to see in-depth site information by clicking on a sites favicon, the little icon often displayed at the side of the web site address.

The list of features is impressive, with our favourite, or should that be one of our favourites, is the ability to install add-ons.

Otherwise known as plug-ins, this feature allows third party developers to extend the capabilities of Firefox.

One of our favourites is called Firebug, and is a great tool for the web developer who wants to analyse their site designs, particularly when something isn't right.

Firebug allows you to display and edit CSS, HTML, and JavaScript in any web page. It is a really great way to debug your website designs. The screenshot below shows Firebug in action.

The Firebug Plugin for Web Developers

Thunderbird - An Powerful Email Client

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If the current version of Mail is not your favourite piece of Apple software then help is at hand in the form of a Mac Open Source project called Thunderbird. The screenshot below shows the main mail window.

Like FireFox it is a very active project with regular updates. It is an attractive email client offering many powerful features including the following features;

• Address Book
• Phishing Protection
• Spam and Junk Filters
• Smart Folders
• Message Archive
• Tabs
• Message Search

When you first start Thunderbird it will try to autodetect your account settings from some basic information. For our accounts this failed but it was an easy matter to correct it.

The Thunderbird Email Client

Once you have the software set-up and running it is a very pleasurable experience. It is fast, reliable, and has been very well thought out.

You may not realise this but Thunderbird is written by Mozilla, the same organisation responsible for the Firefox web browser that we looked at above.

As with Firefox, Thunderbird can also make use add-ons including for example add-ons to handle contacts, mail merge, and personal organisation. Thunderbird is very versatile and well worth a look.

Cyberduck - FTP Client

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Cyberduck is not a piece of software that everyone will need, but if you have the need to transfer files between various computer systems and as a result understand what FTP stands for, then this software is probably for you.

Cyberduck has been my favourite FTP client for many years. It is the only one that I have ever needed on my Mac for transferring files to my servers. Very powerful and very easy to use.

The following list is a summary of the connection types that it can handle;

• FTP and SFTP
• WebDAV
• Cloud Files
• Google Docs
• Message Archive
• Amazon S3 Browser for Mac & Windows.

The Cyberduck FTP Client

The developer of Cyberduck, David Kocher, has found a different way of raising funds for the project. Cyberduck is available as a free download via the website, but also through the Mac App Store.

Mac Open Source Graphics Software

Gimp - Image Manipulation Program

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Gimp is another Mac Open Source project that has been around for many years. I first used Gimp when I was into Linux and was pleased to see a version that would run on Mac OS X, when I started using a Mac computer.

Gimp is now available for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, and Sun OpenSolaris. This makes it ideal if you are moving from using it on Windows to say Mac OS X.

The Gimp is an image manipulation program. You can edit using a vast range of now standard editing tools like cut, paste and select.

But you can also use advanced photo enhancement tools, with the ability to save your work in anyone of several different file formats, including JPG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, and PSD, with many more being supported via plug-ins.

Gimp Image Manipulation Software

Serious graphic designers enjoy using hardware tools, such as tablets, in their work. So knowing that Gimp has support for many of the most popular types of tablet is an added bonus.

Scribus - Desktop Publishing Software for Mac OS X

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Scribus is powerful desktop publishing package that has been used by a large number of real world projects, including CD artwork design, magazine layout, as well as hundreds of newsletters and brochures.

Scribus has a very easy to use graphical front end, and comes with a range of templates to get you going.

Scribus is very much aimed at professional projects by boasting about several features that are attractive to businesses who are watching their budgets tightly, including.

• Colour seperations.
• CMYK and spot colour support.
• ICC colour management.
• Versatile PDF creation.

The screenshot below shows the graphical user interface with a new project open based on one of the bundled templates.

Scribus Desktop Publishing Software

If you run into trouble using Scribus you will find a very good community in the forums, as well as a Wiki and support from the development team.

Mac Open Source Productivity Software

LibreOffice - Office Suite

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Recently there has been a trend set where large computer companies such as Sun and Oracle decide to take control of and support an open source project.

They think that there is money to be made from support services or even from forking the project and creating a commercial version.

It is not as easy as that! Oracle inherited OpenOffice from their takeover of Sun. But the community were not happy with the way things were heading and recently forked the project to become a true independent open source project which was named Libreoffice.

Libreoffice is another quality piece of software which is not just available for Mac OS X, but also for Windows and Linux. The screenshot below shows the first screen that you see upon starting Libreoffice from the Macs Application menu.

The Libreoffice Office Suite

There are six main software tools including a wordprocessor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, drawing tool, database and formula. Each one runs standalone and are powerful applications in their own right.

Mac Open Source Developer Tools

Eclipse Classic - Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

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The Eclipse project is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in November 2011. During this time it has grown from offering a simple Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for programmers, into offering a whole range of different tools for development, modelling and testing.

Here we are looking at the project now known as Eclipse Classic. This is the standard IDE for developers which includes the Eclipse platform, Java development tools, the plug-in development environment, and all documentation.

Eclipse Classic

BlueGriffon - WYSIWYG Web Editor

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BlueGriffon is a new WYSIWYG content editor for creating quality web site designs for the world wide web.

Powered by the same rendering engine as Firefox 4, ensures that Blue Griffon designs look exactly the same as they would appear in the web browser.

This piece of Mac Open Source software is actively developed with frequent updates and supports many of the latest web standards, including, but not limited to HTML 5 and CSS 3.

BlueGriffon is ideal for both beginners and advanced users alike, with it's intuitive user interface.

Like many open source projects, BlueGriffon can be enhanced by using add-ons. Available add-ons include CSS Editor Pro, Project Manager and Table Layout to name just a few.

The BlueGriffon Web Editor

This piece of Mac Open Source software is actively developed with frequent updates and supports many of the latest web standards, including, but not limited to HTML 5 and CSS 3.

Using Package Management Tools

The software that we have looked at above are just a glimpse into the world of open source software. In reality there are thousands of software titles available.

But if you decide to fully embrace Mac Open Source software. How do you keep track of the software you have? How do you handle updates? How do you delete software that you have finished with?

Well, one approach is to use some software called a 'Package Manager'. This approach has been used in the Linux community, for years, to manage software on servers.

The good news is that these software tools are finding their way into Mac OS X. Thousands of software titles are being ported to Mac OS X and are made available using package management software, which itself is open source software.

The two big names in this area, who provide solutions for Mac OS X, are 'The Fink Project' and 'MacPorts'.

Lets take a look at both.

The Fink Project

The Fink projects aim is to bring the entire world of Unix open source software to Mac OS X. They take the source code for a piece of software, compile it for Mac OS X, and release it for us to use.

Their ports, as they are called, are managed using two software tools called 'dpkg' and apt-get to provide a powerful binary package management system.

These tools have been used successfully by Debian Linux for many years, so you are inheriting a tried and tested system.

As of the 6 November, 2011, the Fink project has ported 12457 packages, in 25 sections.

MacPorts

MacPorts has a similar aim to the Fink project, but go about it in a completely different way.

MacPorts have developed their own software for compiling and installing their ports, into a single software tree making administration much easier.

As of the 6 November, 2011, MacPorts has ported 12431 packages, in 95 categories, with support for both Mac OS X Snow Leopard and OS X Lion.

Compatibility with Mac OS X Lion

Porting software to a different platform is a non-trivial task. It requires patience, reliable tools and a stable operating system with a minimal of changes being made to the core functionality.

Apple made significant changes to the way that Mac OS X Lion functions. This is inevitable and to be expected.

As of Sunday, 6 November, 2011, both the Fink project and MacPorts have updated their software and systems to be compatible with OS X Lion (10.7). The Fink project is reporting that some packages are missing for Lion, and that there is currently no support for XQuartz.