Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Best Completely Free Software, and what they're alternatives to

 Check out my fonts article aswell, just like that one this one's updated whenever i feel like it.

Operating Systems - If You Wanna Live The Completely Free Life

ReactOS - Windows 9x

ReactOS is a open source operating system that aims to be the most similar to Windows, and as of right now, it's not doing a bad job at it. It's interface may immediately trigger your Windows 95/98 nostalgia, as most builds of the system look nearly identical to that of Windows 95. A great feature rarely found in libre operating system like this is the .EXE support - meaning it can run any Windows program you throw at it, at least if Windows can run it as well. With support for such a system specific file type in such a used system, it's no wonder programs rarely provide support for ReactOS and go with the flow.
I recommend it, and if it has a Windows XP theme too i'd buy it- and yes it does.

helloSystem (and any other open-source BSD) - Mac OS X

So sadly i couldn't really find a Mac clone like ReactOS, but i DID find the actual ancestor of Mac OS X! And yes, it's open source!
BSD is an operating system based on the likes of Unix. Originally it is source-available, and then open source, but the system was last updated in 1995, so if you want to have an actually updated one, then try (the most ironically named) FreeBSD. Aswell as being the base for the paid Mac OS X, you may have a little bit of code from it in your Windows installation too. Microsoft used at least part of the TCP/IP code in creating later versions of Windows. Also used in the operating system of Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. Even big companies can't resist open source code.
Anyways, helloSystem is YET ANOTHER BSD derivate that actually aims to look like Mac, and is not just a Mac ancestor. Likely not compatible, but gives a heavy Mac OS X vibe.

MS DOS is officially open source now

MS-DOS 1.25 and 2.0 have their official source code hosted on Microsoft's GitHub. All of the code is now under the MIT (OSI) license, meaning you can fork the project and even make your own free (maybe even paid) derivative.
If you're not convinced, don't bother; just try out FreeDOS! and speaking about that...

Software

Paint.net - MS Paint?

Ok - MS Paint IS free - but it's only on Windows. Anyways, i chose this because it has a simple, user friendly interface that allows you to create good looking photos in minutes. Most people should get the interface atleast by their 5th open.

Friday, May 21, 2021

High-Quality Free Inspired Alternatives to Paid Fonts!

 No money? These will be the only fonts you need for design after you download them!

Updated whenever i find good open source fonts!
Also, these are not digitizations of normally paid fonts, but i recommend Libre Franklin and Clarendon if you're in that path.

Fraunces - Cooper Black, Windsor, New Kansas


Fraunces is a font that will succeed in almost any need for serifs! It's a revival of the "Old Style" genre, as well as the muddy black serifs from the 1970's! So, where does the "Cooper Black/Windsor" vibe come in? Well, check out "Fraunces SuperSoft Black". I recommend any size below 72pt, because the x height gets pretty low when you go over that weight. It also has beautiful italics, and even the signature Cooper F. If you don't have a program with advanced OpenType Features that's okay, you can also download a static version of all the sizes, softnesses, and weights instead of getting the variable version.

Besley* and Jost* - Clarendon and Futura

I decided to put these in the same section because they're both by the same foundry.

Besley is a beautiful redesign of Clarendon that contains italics! It comes in many weights, even  fatface! Maybe we need a few more serifs than Fraunces, but this is a slab serif, not a normal serif --- okay?

Jost is a font that tries to maintain the cool geometric attitude shown in fonts like Futura, while making a whole new font from scratch! If you miss the beautiful lowercase a in Futura, you can get it as an stylistic alternate- sadly only if you have OpenType features though.

Inter - Univers and Helvetica


Inter is a  nice Google font alternative to Helvetica. It has a clear inspiration from the neo-grotesque designs of the 1950s. It also seems to draw inspiration from the glyphs of Univers. There is also a version called Inter V, and we couldn't find a difference- maybe it's the kerning?
Roboto is also a good Google Font for Helvetica.

Bpreplay and Jellee - Rounded Fonts

Bpreplay seems to draw inspiration from VAG and Futura Rounded (even though they're identical fonts) and Jellee likely draws inspiration from Helvetica and Arial Rounded, especially with there being only a bold weight.
Try 'em out on their respective pages;

Times Newer Roman - remove the "er"



I couldn't resist adding this - It's not Nimbus Roman, so i guess it's inspired and not a direct copy.
Times Newer Roman is a cool modification of the Times New Roman design that modifies the x height and makes characters 5-10% wider. 
It says it also saves the amount of words used in a 12pt document. I don't have any proof of that, but that sounds pretty good online.
Now you know Times Newer Roman exists, you're likely gonna ask; What's Times Old Roman? 
And gladly, i have an answer for that- it's just called Times.
(Also, i just found out this is a modification of Nimbus Roman. Technically, i should scrap the first paragraph.)

Gidole - DIN


Gidole is a modernized version of the good ol font DIN, likely what indestructible type would do with the font. It doesn't look bad and is sadly only in one weight.

D-DIN - FF DIN


D-DIN is a font commissioned by the company Datto to Monotype. Gladly they have agreed to make it open source, making it free for everyone to use. Despite the name, this is not a digitization of DIN. Think more FF DIN, a completely new and different design with the odd style of the DIN typefaces.

RAILWAY - Railway humanist fonts, and Gill Sans

As the name implies, RAILWAY is a humanist font inspired by the London Railway fonts, and the very similar design of Gill Sans.

Vremena, Vremena Grotesk and Pressuru - Arial, Times, and Impact

All of these fonts are very nice tributes to Times, Arial, and Impact. They all have a distinguishing feature which is a Russian-style K (not 

Best Completely Free Software, and what they're alternatives to

 Check out my fonts article aswell, just like that one this one's updated whenever i feel like it. Operating Systems - If You Wanna Live...