The Open Source Solution

I've been getting a lot of questions about what the 'best' or 'easiest to learn' 3d modeling program is. After further discussion, it usually turns out that the person really wants to know what the 'cheapest' or 'easiest to obtain' program is. My answers to these people usually come in the form of some sort of open source solution. I've been really surprised at how few people actually know about these solutions or even the open source concept in general.

From the Open Source Initiative homepage: Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.

Open source allows users to contribute to the development process by writing, reviewing, and optimizing source code. Non-developer users can also contribute by providing bug reports, reviews, or financial support. Everyone gets the advantage of a freely available product that often has less bugs, is easier to use, and has more of a support community than its commercial rivals.

Following are some of my favorite open source solutions. Give them a try and remember to contribute where you can!

3d Modeling/Animation

Blender - Blender Tutorials

K-3D - K-3D Tutorials

Raster Image Creation/Editing

GIMP - GIMP Windows Installer

Vector Image Creation/Editing

Inkscape

Office Tasks (word processing, accounting, etc.)

OpenOffice