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Programming Software Technology

What OSS Programs are Still Needed? 290

Posted by Cliff from the itches-that-need-scratching dept.
suso asks: "I was thinking yesterday about how much open source software is out there already. Most categories are filled, but I wonder about what pieces of software still need to be written. What programs would you like to see in OSS form that are currently not available?"
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What OSS Programs are Still Needed? More

What OSS Programs are Still Needed?

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  • Voting software. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Sierran ( 155611 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @07:52PM (#10771443)
    Anything to put Diebold out of business, thank you. Auditable, open-source, tested. Please. Before the U.S. Midterms.
    • Unfortunately, that would have to be a software AND hardware solution, to be anything remotely effective.

    • Re:Voting software. (Score:4, Informative)

      by np_bernstein ( 453840 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:39PM (#10772042) Homepage
      The Open Voting Consortium [openvotingconsortium.org] is doing a pretty good job. The program itself is written in python which is a good idea (despite being a perl guy) since there is always the risk that someone could keep additional code out of CVS for compile time, has paper verification w/ barcodes for quick recounts/auditing... all in all they're doing a pretty good job.

      I understand that there are hardware requirements for security as well, but this provides a good way for businesses to still sell and add value to this software.

      They are currently having a fund drive so if this seems like something important, consider giving them $10 (what they're asking for)

  • DRM (Score:4, Insightful)

    by sevinkey ( 448480 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @07:55PM (#10771497)
    Need a reliable open source DRM solution that can be proven trustworthy so we can finally have pay content that's not platform dependent.

    If you can build a linux box for $70 and call it a linksys router, then with a OSS DRM you should be able to create the equivalent of MCE2005 for $250.

    • Re:DRM (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Creepy Crawler ( 680178 )
      With an open system, copying the unencrypted stream is always possible (via /proc/kcore even).

      You need something secure from the driver up to support crap like Digital Restrction Management.

      There's 2 defences that the media companies have. One is the law. Two is heavy watermarking of movie files. If you cant guarantee to prevent copying, put the peoples' name and computer hardware information inside it.

    • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:37PM (#10772018)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • DRM relies on security by obscurity, either at the software or the hardware level. (Software that just won't do what users want, or hardware that withholds keys from the user.) In hardware, this is at least somewhat viable, because it's hard to get info from chips that don't want to give it. But for software, it's not viable, because any software can easily be modified. Open source solutions would be even more easily circumvented, because they can be even more easily modified.

      I think the best way for o

    • Re:DRM (Score:3, Interesting)

      by cgenman ( 325138 )
      Unfortunately, you can't open-source DRM. At a fundamental level, you can't prevent the computer from having enough information to decrypt a file, without the user also having enough information to decrypt the file. The only way to do that would be to store the key in the decryption hardware in a write/decrypt only location. Even then you'd have to have special hardware to intercept the decryption key as it is transmitted to the machine and before it hits the processor, in order to deflect it to the prop

  • A 100% functional and universal audio mixer (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Beatbyte ( 163694 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @07:56PM (#10771510) Homepage
    Having been on linux 100% for the last 3 years, I've never had an audio mixer work right (even on a sound blaster live! value) out of the box.

    The channels are not labelled correctly, the fader doesn't work on most of them, the inputs are changed on the back of the card (i.e. from rear out to line in!).

    The only reason this is so important to me is the 5.1 surround setup I have has no volume control. The volume is at whatever level the computer sends to it. I'm sure this is not the standard setup so it doesn't get much attention.
    • ALSA in modern kernels really has improved things a lot over that time, though. In my boxes, I didn't have any headaches at all. If you have a well-known card, there is probably at least a work-around. Channels with the wrong PCM names are easily fixed. Sending a report on the exact make & model of your card and the problems you're having may improve the .asoundrc used for your card in the future.

      Sound still isn't perfect, but it is a lot better than it used to be.
    • audio editing software. This includes programs like ProTools, FruityLoops, etc. While a little bit exists it all competes very weakly with the closed-source software.

  • Database (Score:5, Insightful)

    by adam mcmaster ( 697132 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @07:58PM (#10771535) Homepage
    I hate to say this, but a database frontend that's as good as MS Access would be nice - there are attempts at such applications currently in development, but nothing that's even close to usable.

    • Re:Database (Score:2, Informative)

      by megabyte405 ( 608258 )
      GnomeDB Mergeant [gnome-db.org] ?

  • CAD (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ikeleib ( 125180 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @07:59PM (#10771557) Homepage
    Serious CAD software. There are a few projects that do some 2D drafting. That is not sufficient. A serious CAD package can not only serve as an end application, but the backend to many tools.

    I have thought on more than on occasion of starting a foundation to get such an effort off the ground. I felt then as I do now that there are many places that would contribute serious money to the effort of an OSS CAD. Organizations spend serious money on CAD. Additionally, there is lots of out of work talent that would be willing to devote serious time to such a project if it were financially possible for them.
    • what software does this on other platforms? Can you give us some names? In general you're not going to get specialty software written with the OSS model. The people who use the software must be the authors. Either by writing the code themselves or by hiring others.
      • CAD--Computer Aided Drafting, such as AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Mechanical Desktop, etc. is the sort of specialty software I think WOULD be OSS. (1)It is a technical product--a few of the engineers who would use it would also have the skills to code it. (2)It is fairly simple to steal components from rendering programs and other existing programs that are already F/OSS. (3)It could be extended for use by FEM programs that academics & others who have more time and freedom to develop F/OSS would absolutely

      • ME-10 and ME-30 are a good example of how to do 2-d drafting right, and Solid Designer is very nice for 3-d models. Solid modeling is definitely the way to go. Construction lines for CAD is a nice concept as well. AutoCAD is a good example of what not to aspire to.

        Note: I worked for HP for a summer helping out int their drafting department, but I haven't done any CAD since then (about 7 years ago), so my knowledge is a bit dated. AutoCAD might be a tolerable product now.

        -jim

    • Amen!

      And to agree with the AC above me - THE reason I have not switched to Linux is Autodesk Land Desktop - period.

      A good, OS, 3D CAD program would be a godsend.
      I do realize how many millions of man-hours must be incorporated in AutoCad 2005, much less Land/Architectural/Mechanical Desktop. It must be a high hill to climb, for any new project - not to mention all all the plug-ins/add-ons available for AutoCad...

      I could be tempted to switch from Windows if there was something with only R14 or Microstatio
    • Open CASCADE [opencascade.org] is a 3D CAD. It started out as high end CAD software, didn't keep up, was bought, and turned open source. Please not it is made available under a special license that, while resembling the LGPL, has (AFAIK) not been approved or even submitted for OSS certification.

      • Open CASCADE is an ingredient in a CAD system. From their web site: Open CASCADE Technology can be best applied in development of numerical simulation software including CAD/CAM/CAE, AEC and GIS, as well as PDM applications.

        I would fully expect an OSS system to use Open CASCADE. As far as I know, there is no other geometric engine that is anywhere near as advanced in the OSS space.

        • Re:CAD (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Noksagt ( 69097 )
          Salome [salome-platform.org] is one such LGPL program that is built on Open CASCADE and other F/OSS projects. Looks quite promising.

  • A Simple, End-User Oriented Database (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dragonmaster Lou ( 34532 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:00PM (#10771566) Homepage
    Something along the lines of Access (though with a better DB engine that Access), FileMaker, Paradox, etc., would be nice.

    It should use local files (so you don't need to have a server running, although that could be an option) and have an easy to use form layout system. I don't want to have to administer a database daemon, and I don't want to have to have to hand-hack code for a simple database.

    I have mucked around for a while looking for something like this. The closest I've seen in Rekall, but it looks like it still needs to hook up to an external database of some kind, as best as I can tell.

  • Cross-Platform Game Design Studio (Score:5, Interesting)

    by xanderwilson ( 662093 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:01PM (#10771576) Homepage
    I know I'm probably dreaming, but I'd love something like an Open Source alternative to Director or Flash.

    Alex.

    • Re:Cross-Platform Game Design Studio (Score:4, Informative)

      by Geoffreyerffoeg ( 729040 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:22PM (#10771863)
      If OOo Impress gets a bit more polished and a bit more capable (even more than PPT) with respect to custom animation, especially motion paths and the like, it will probably suffice. It has an "Export to SWF" option. I've done some cheesy yet impressive Flash-like animations in Microsoft PowerPoint, and I know OOo can support everything I used.

      Maybe Impress should be further developed with this goal in mind, in addition to presentation-making.

  • WYSIWYG web design (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Johnny Mnemonic ( 176043 ) <mdinsmore@NoSPaM.gmail.com> on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:04PM (#10771629) Homepage Journal

    I've tried netscape etc, but I would sure like to see a web designer that will allow me to drag a picture anywhere inside a box, and build a table that positions it correctly relative to the other elements in the page. For instance something like this [softpress.com]. If OSS can design a PhotoShop killer (GIMP), why not a truly WYSIWYG web designer?

    Oh, and while we're dreaming, how about a desktop HIG standard? So each time I load a new distro I don't feel like I'm learning a new OS? While that's cool for hobbyists, it hurts corp adoption because Linux continually feels "unpolished." Why can't some consortium develop, decide on the lowest common denominator, and make it a standard that shrinkwrap developers and trainers target? And then you can leave the other stuff for preference panels.

    • Done and done. (Score:5, Informative)

      by sethadam1 ( 530629 ) * <ascheinberg@gmai ... minus physicist> on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:08PM (#10771690) Homepage

      Nvu [nvu.com] is your answer.
    • "I would sure like to see a web designer that will allow me to drag a picture anywhere inside a box, and build a table that positions it correctly relative to the other elements in the page"

      The '90s called. They want their table-based layouts back.

  • A development kit that helped people migrate from Pronto, DataFlex and the like to something open would be good. Likewise a more comprehensive VB-to-real-language translator that did stuff like retrieved the dialogs and forms would be most helpful.

  • QuarkXPress/InDisign replacement (Score:3, Insightful)

    by rekrutacja ( 647394 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:08PM (#10771685) Homepage
    DTP on linux is simply impossible. Scribus doesn't work (yet?) for most of us...
  • Until my manager can create/update project plans under Linux, it will not even be considered as a replacement on the desktop.

  • Collaborative calendar app... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by cjpez ( 148000 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:14PM (#10771773) Homepage Journal
    ... that's cross-platform and lets you reserve conference rooms, schedule meetings, etc, etc, etc. Haven't found anything quite like that yet, not that can be used on coworkers' windows machines too, anyway.
    • I agree and am suprised that no one else mentioned this. We have decent (not great, but passable) word processors and spreadsheet programs. Good web browsers. Very good networking and server level stuff. But when people talk about why they use Windows, it's because of Outlook and the calendar. If there was a "firefox" of calendaring it would be really nice. It's more than a client though (unless you can manage to get Exchange calendaring working), so you have to get the server, and it has to operate w
      • But when people talk about why they use Windows, it's because of Outlook and the calendar.
        Have you seen [novell.com] Evolution? I'd say it was "there."
        If there was a "firefox" of calendaring it would be really nice.
        Eventually, there will be mozilla sunbird. Still has a long way to go, though.

  • _all_ FOSS software "still needs to be written" (Score:3, Insightful)

    by LeninZhiv ( 464864 ) * on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:16PM (#10771787)
    The simple fact that the lion's share of a given niche is clearly held by one F/OSS offering (think LAMP), does not mean that there aren't parts of every F/OSS application that cannot be improved upon by anyone. Look at the bug trackers and todo lists of the projects that interest you; contributing, even to a well-entrenched project, is not impossible!

    Dreams of geek celebrity status aside, making Linux/Apache/OO.org/YourFavouriteProject better does just as much for 'advancing the cause' as starting a new "killer app" from scratch does (and in 99% of cases, probably more).

  • How about... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by r3m0t ( 626466 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:17PM (#10771804)
    CAD
    Good IDEs
    Movie/animation editing
    Professional DVD menu editing (Look, it's complicated [doom9.org])
    Graphical LOGO
    Macromedia Flash or Shockwave editor (or editor of something similarly good)
    Vector-based drawing
  • A konqueror plugin that automatically retrieves logins from bugmenot.com.
    Man am I sick of being bugged by registration sites.

  • I got one... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Tumbleweed ( 3706 ) *
    The Internet-enabled 'Remote BitchSlap.' Bad manners, a thing of the past!

    I'm jus' sayin'...

  • My vote: (Score:3, Interesting)

    by BrokenHalo ( 565198 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:29PM (#10771926)
    An equivalent to Endnote that interfaces with OpenOffice. That would be a big plus for those of us who write scientific documents on linux machines in a MS-based world, where BibTex is not an option.

    Oh, and while we're at it, a gui-based stats package along the lines of PASS or SPSS would be nice too.

    • On the same subject:

      A version of Maxima that's user-friendly, has a reasonable pretty-printing IDE, has Mathematica/Maple compatibility mode, has good online help, etc.

      Something that will pretty-print an equation in a given format, either TeX, MathML, or just well-formed math expressions with written functions for sqrt(), etc., and will turn the output into PNG. This would be so nice to hook up to an instant messenger to discuss math problems and such. (Yeah, I'm a math-team nerd.)
  • To really make it take off in business, it needs a groupware system. Not a crazy kludge of different packages, not a web based system. But a groupware server, that supports different clients on different os's. A single administration console, and quick easy setup. all in one little package. Hell, charge $5 a user for it, people will buy it in droves to move off of exchange/outlook.

  • Mapping! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Geoffreyerffoeg ( 729040 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:32PM (#10771959)
    I have a Macintosh and I've seen no good modern mapping software for either Mac or for OSS Unix-likes (I don't mind BSD/X Window). In theory, it should be easy to take the USGS TIGER roadmap data set and combine it with local road data from governments and user-submitted manual road additions.

    Especially if it's open source, there are some interesting possibilities with it: automatically download USGS's free satellite photos (probably hosted by a certain company's TerraServer), add GPS tracking and maybe automatic road additions, add routing and proper speed-limit data, make a nice 3D perspective view from some point, etc.

    • Re:Mapping! (Score:3, Informative)

      by josecanuc ( 91 ) *
      We sort of have something like that in the Xastir [xastir.org] project.

      It true purpose is a client for the APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) used by Amateur Radio operators to do object tracking, but as a side-feature, it supports a multitude of map formats.

      We're currently partway through integrating GDAL/OGR, which will add a couple dozen new map formats, including TIGER. TIGER support exists if you compile in GDAL/OGR, but it currently doesn't allow customizing of line widths/colors per layer. Fortunately, so
  • The one thing missing in order for OSS to be on a par with the offerings from Redmond is a really good solitaire program! Currently, Windows is hands-down the best operating system to run if all you want to do all day is sit around playing solitaire! Yes, that's Windows(TM), the choice of computer solitaire players everywhere!

  • Pr0n Indexer (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:35PM (#10771992)
    I need a program to index all my pr0n!!!
  • no biggies--can you have that by next year? :)
  • The rest of ReactOS [reactos.com]. Sure, it's not philosophically pure, but it'll help a long way in OSS adoption to have a Free operating system that's binary-compatible with MS Windows. E.g., in our school system, we've standardized on a particular gradekeeping software, and I cannot forsee the adoption of Linux partially for this reason, that InteGrade won't run on Linux (and WINE seems, by its basic premise of pseudoemulation, too potentially unstable for the administration to trust with grades). Someting that can ru
  • We've got talented graphic designers among us; get them to design a nice window interface, and then implement this one skin for as many display systems as we can. (Use an open interface so another graphic design can plug in easily.) Too often, the display system is unprofessional at best and confusing at worst.
  • I won't get into what Photoshop does that GIMP doesn't, but probably the main thing that keeps photographers from considering Linux is the lack of color management software.
    I realize that patents are involved, but any field that depends on people agreeing on the way something looks ( separated by space or time ) can't use Linux as it stands.
    Sure you can create or edit content on Linux, but if you need a Windows box or a Mac or maybe a SGI or Sun to look at it or print it, what's the point?
    I'm on the verge
  • Can I please have a spreadsheet program that doesn't limit me to 64,000 rows? If anyone knows of an easy way to do this please let me know! I've been searching for years. Otherwise please build it into gnumeric, OO, etc, please!

    • Re:Spreadsheets (Score:4, Interesting)

      by magefile ( 776388 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @10:34PM (#10773010)
      WTF? If you have 64,000+ rows, doesn't that suggest that gnumeric/OO/Excel are not the right tool to be using?

      • Re:Spreadsheets (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Matt Perry ( 793115 )

        If you have 64,000+ rows, doesn't that suggest that gnumeric/OO/Excel are not the right tool to be using?

        They are the right tool as they meet all the requirements except for the arbitrary limitation on the number of rows. If you have a single table of data with a lot of records, why resort to a RDBMS to deal with that? Spreadsheets are perfect for displaying that single table of data and then looking at it in different ways, or editing parts of it quickly and saving back out.

        With a RDBMS you'd have t

  • clarity (Score:5, Insightful)

    by elliotj ( 519297 ) <slashdot AT elliotjohnson DOT com> on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @08:57PM (#10772243) Homepage
    oss needs clarity. think about the mac. everything is immediately obvious to the end user. apps are sensibly named, things make sense. look at .net on windows. again, this is an easy to understand system.

    oss is great, but since it's a voluntary collaboration, things are named after inside jokes or poor conventions. the "k"rap naming of kde stuff for example. or "vi", "gawk", "sed" etc. come on.

    I know this will be flamed, but I think some kind of clarity council should be setup to provide consistency and simplicity across applications, tools and platforms. with a bit of this kind of organization, linux could really make a dent on the desktop, and new developers and users wouldn't face such a high barrier to entry.

    • Re:clarity (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Gilk180 ( 513755 )
      I agree that clarity comes in handly, but I think the main issues you may have are with the distributors.

      I use Fedora (bring on the flames) at home and a Mac at work. Everything I can think of on the Mac is easy to find on my Fedora box. Whatever you have chosen for email is labeled email. web is "Firefox Web Browser". Text editor is "Text Editor".

      As for programs like vi, gawk, sed, etc. anyone whoe needs to use or knows how to use any of these as well as grep, lex, bison, emacs knows the commands righ
  • 1. Some decent games that can grow in popularity (Yes I know there are issues other than people "just doing it.")
    2. A good (cross-platform) Winamp alternative w/ a comparable plugin system
    3. Something for retagging and organizing an mp3 collection (possibly even something w/ a database to identify songs against)
    4. Anti-virus
  • Last week I was poking around the web looking for good music theory/ear training software. Seems like a perfect thing for OSS, and in fact GNU Solfeg exists. The non-OSS competition is lots of shareware and crapware. But finding the OSS program was hard and the crapware was abundant.

    This kind of stuff is perfect for OSS: it's pretty straightforward (no real innovation required), tends to be loosely coupled, benefits immensely from depth/thoroughness, and the competition doesn't tend to be super-slick.

  • Heres something... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by spreerpg ( 530354 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @09:10PM (#10772369)
    A Mathematica replacement, please.

  • Digital A/V (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Apreche ( 239272 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @09:17PM (#10772427) Homepage Journal
    Digital Audio and Video editing. Stuff like Premiere. Acid Music. Reason. CoolEdit. ProTools. iMovie. Doing audio and video editing should be as good on Linux as it is on a Mac.

    Also, burning of optical disks. Yes k3b exists. yes, technically you can burn just about anything. But nothing linux can do comes close to Nero. I need all the perfect functionality of Nero in linux.

    Steam. The only pc game I play other than puzzle pirates, which is java, needs to run better on linux. Using cedega I can only get the resolution up to 800x600. Anything higher drops the framerate from perfect to less than 1 fps.

    Someone else mentioned audio mixers. Alsa is very good, and is about as good as I can expect, but not as good as I can hope for. I have an SBLive! Value with the latest alsa kernel drivers. It works and plays music very well. But if I use winamp in windows with directaudio not only does the mixer work properly and is labeled correctly, but the sound quality is imporoved tenfold. I don't know what the difference is, but even my non-audiophile self can hear a noticeable difference. All my friends hear it too. It's the same hardware, it should work the same regardless of OS.

    That's really what linux has to do now. Firefox and 2.6 brought us to the top of the hill, we're just nearing the peak of the mountain. We have support for most hardware and enough software to replace windows as a non-gaming desktop machine that is technologically superior in almost every fashion. But a lot of the hardware support is existent but non-perfect. Sound works, but not perfectly. CD burning works, but not as simple and perfect and beautiful as nero. ATI cards work, but are a pain in the ass. Nvidia cards work, but with closed source drivers. It's like everything works 90% perfectly, we need to push it to perfect, then linux will have smooth seas.
    • Hear, hear. Reason and Cakewalk Sonar are two programs I use on a daily basis.

      So those, and a good software/driver installation program that works using a standard interface. Yes, I -can- manually install and compile when necessary, and yes, I -can- roll my own kernels and whatnot, and I do. But I really really really really really would love to have a program like InstallShield or WISE to make it easier. Dreaming...
  • GNUCash is great, but has a lot of dependencies & some aren't used to double-entry. We need a simpler Money/Quicken clone. Checkbook Tracker made a fast start on something like this, but we don't really have a Money-killer the way we have an Office-killer.
  • It actually came as a surprise when I looked over my desktop and menu to see what I might add to the list. I can't find much on my PC that isn't already OSS, freeware, or shareware.

    Sure I'd like an OSS mail client as good as Pegasus, but it' still free so that's not an issue for me.

    Beyond that the only decidedly non OSS/free package that I use a lot is Dremaweaver. Oh, and Palm software of course.

    Honestly, of the major apps that I rely on day in and day out, almost nothing is store bought.

    And that's a p

  • Before you reply with a knee-jerk reaction telling me about the Evolution Connector (originally by Ximian), it is useless unless your company runs OWA (Outlook Web Access).

    What we need is a module similar to Connector that works via MAPI, not HTTP, for the majority of companies out there who do not run a web server for email.

    I would _love_ to be able to run Linux on my main work computer, but unfortunately I have to stick with MS-Windows for that system to be able to communicate with the rest of the compa
  • business deals are the problem. You need to make the right business deals with the right people. Get on that okay?

  • Games (Score:3, Insightful)

    by j1m+5n0w ( 749199 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @10:57PM (#10773153) Homepage Journal

    Given how many people dream about writing games, it's surprising how few good open source games there are. Perhaps what's lacking is a good framework - few have the time and abiblity to implement a whole high-quality game from scratch.

    I'm quite impressed with stratagus [sourceforge.net], though. It seems like a reasonably hackable RTS game framework.

    -jim

  • ...no, not urdu to engrish or klingon, I mean GUI to CLI then to AUI. I'd really like to see a program that would let me see what any random button mashing or input in a GUI interface *does* in the form of a normal scripting command and also to see the hierarchial tree of files accessed in real time. It can be "focus" based on the other apps. This is a learning tool. An exploration tool. A linux useability and make-more-practical tool.

    And I'll second the request from down the thread, a speech to text and t
  • Lotus Improv [wikipedia.org].

    We are already doing a good job of replacing and improving all the software that made it. How about taking some good ideas from the past which didn't quite make it in the commercial space and giving them new life as OSS?
  • Needs a business model that works.

    And someone to demonstrate it.

    I know it sounds ugly but there are lots of projects which can't be developed under opensouce because there is no room for liscencing costs etc, if there was a plausible businessmodel which generated even limited revenue they could use that money to smooth some of the area's that only money can smooth.

    Such as liscensing fees.

  • It's been mentioned before, (Score:3, Interesting)

    by MoOsEb0y ( 2177 ) * on Tuesday November 09, 2004 @11:57PM (#10773552)
    but I would really like to emphasize this. Linux needs decent quality DVD authoring (read GUI... not dvdauthor) and transcoding software. K3b is probably the easiest place to integrate transcoding (they already have support for DVD -> DivX), but I am talking about MPEG2 -> MPEG2 to make dual layer DVDs fit on 4.7 Gigs. This is the place where I feel that linux is lacking the most. That and ATI's drivers suck, but that's not our fault, right? ;)
  • A way to manage licensed software, using nodelocked or floating licenses.

    Products like FlexLM cost a lot of money. But you release a version of your product and then the next day somebody in Bulgaria is selling cracked copies for $50. I'm not saying that an OSS product could do better, because a clever hacker can work around any type of protections... But if you're getting a leaky boat at least you'd rather get it for free...

    It may seem strange to produce a OSS license manager, designed only to help ot

  • Simple graphics editor (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ted_nugent ( 226799 ) on Wednesday November 10, 2004 @02:07AM (#10774207) Homepage Journal
    Going from TuxPaint to the Gimp is literally like jumping between kindergarten and college. Is there nothing inbetween for simple drawing and photo touch up?

  • DVD authoring! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Frodo420024 ( 557006 ) <(kd.nrognaf) (ta) (kirneh)> on Wednesday November 10, 2004 @05:02AM (#10774796) Homepage Journal
    Something easy that I can use to whip out my holiday movies in a few hours. Ulead MovieFactory comes to mind, or their DVD Workshop for more complex projects.

    DVD authoring with OSS still takes a computer science degree and LOTS of time to get right.

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