Open source Microsoft Project competitor announced
Microsoft Project, on the whole, is a pretty annoying entity. It doesn't come with Microsoft Office, so you have to buy it separately, which is expensive and annoying, like a high-end mime. And it's not like it's the most advanced program in the world, even though it is pretty good at telling you how far behind you are. Thankfully those beautiful open-source nerds have saved us once again. They're like pale, lonely super heroes. Projity will release a public beta of OpenProj, a free open-source competitor. Reportedly, OpenProj works with Windows, Linux, Unix, and Mac OsX. Word has it that OpenProj can also open native Microsoft Project files.
The Beta will be released on August 7th, the first day of the LinuxWorld San Francisco show. If it works anywhere near as well as Microsoft Project, it'll be a wonderful little tool to download. Free software is better than not free software, financially speaking. And open-source is a wonderful alternative to pirating Project. Not just because pirating Microsoft Project is so much sadder than pirating something fun, but also because stealing software is wrong. Never do it. Ahem. Projity already has more than 50 customers testing the software, and likely won't take too long to get all the kinks worked out. This sounds like good news.












Comments
5
Subscribe to commentsscheckleyAug 7th 2007 12:01PM
Open Gantt has been around for ages. Might give this a try.
iamhoffAug 7th 2007 1:07PM
"They're like pale, lonely super heroes." Bwa ha ha ha ha!!!
Seriously, I will check it out. When I got Office 2007 for my new Vista machine, I just couldn't bring myself to drop another several hundy to get Project. But if OpenProj can work wtih native MS Project files (like Open Office), I'm in.
Mark WAug 9th 2007 1:02AM
http://ganttproject.biz/
Gantt Project has been around a while and while it's still a bit immature, I was able to get it to do what I needed it to do.
ShaneAug 22nd 2007 5:46AM
I've had a quick look at their site and am interested in the group product. Project on Demand. Lots of buttons to get you to sign up for a Free trial but I cannot find how much the subscription is after the free trial ends. Does anyone know?
PriteshSep 25th 2007 5:25PM
I'm searching for a system similar to Project Server, rather than a desktop project management tool. Any suggestions?