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Internet
Although the variety of activities on the Internet is limitless, the vast majority of them rely on a single piece of desktop software: the web browser. Along with e-mail applications, web browsers dominate the Internet experience of education users. Operating systems come with built-in web browsers, but these programs do not always follow established standards for web content. In an attempt to increase the capabilities of the software, these built-in programs sometimes also create significant security holes. Open Source Internet applications offer schools a way to offer standards-based web browsing, e-mail use, and web authoring while minimizing their exposure to viruses and other malicious code.
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| Firefox Web Browser |
| Perhaps the most widely used Open Source program for end users, the Firefox web browser has established a considerable user base on both Windows and Macintosh OS X (as well as other operating systems). In addition to providing a more secure web browsing environment than the built-in browsers, Firefox implemented advanced features like tabbed browsing before the built-in browsers attempted to catch-up. Firefox enjoys a tremendous developer community that has created a wealth of plug-ins and accessories for Firefox. |
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| Thunderbird E-mail Client |
| Thunderbird is the e-mail companion to Firefox. It features a simple interface to facilitate easy searching and organization of your e-mails. Thunderbird can trace the history of messages in a thread and allows you to tag messages as belonging to different color-coded user categories. It also features a robust set of security and privacy features to protect you from scams, viruses, and unsolicited messages. |
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| KompoZer Web Editor |
| KompoZer offers an easy-to-use environment in which to create web sites. Although it lacks some of the complex features of its commercial counterparts, most users will never notice the difference. KompoZer is the continuation of the popular but no longer developed project Nvu. KompoZer features WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editing, site management, and a powerful CSS (cascading style sheets) editor. Unlike many commercial applications, KompoZer creates code that is compliant with web standards. KompoZer is a web editor that can grow with new web designers as they improve their skills and it is perfect for teachers and students. |
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| Bluefish Web Editor |
| Bluefish is a streamlined and powerful code editor. If you are already familiar with HTML and would like to create web sites by hand, this is the tool for you. It features syntax highlighting (not just for HTML, but other scripting/programming languages as well) and robust search-and-replace capabilities. |
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