The European Commission wants You to give Open-Source Software a chance – Buy European no.1

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Buy European bulletin! We’re kicking off by shining a spotlight on free, open-source, and privacy-compliant software that everyone can use. This is where we begin our journey to reduce dependence on Big Tech, with the support of the European Commission and their Open Source Observatory (OSOR).

And to get started, here is the Interministerial Free Software Catalog, compiled by the French government and available in English, featuring 534 free software options for individuals. Type in their search engine the software you want to replace and its alternatives will appear. More often than not, these alternatives outperform their well-known, paid counterparts.

However, as their website is not fully translated, here are several highlights:

• LibreOffice: a comprehensive office suite similar to Microsoft Office and Google Workspace, but free, private, open to innovation, and based in Germany.
• Thunderbird: a versatile messaging application that’s easy to set up and customise, serving as an excellent replacement for Outlook.
• VLC: a video player made by French people (among many others) for the world to use. As the story goes, its project manager, Jean-Baptiste Kempf, has repeatedly refused offers worth millions of dollars to sell the software. All in the name of ensuring it remains ad-free.
• KeePass: a password manager for those of us who occasionally forget our passwords, supported by the European Commission.
• Jitsi Meet: a fully encrypted, free video conferencing solution that respects your privacy and doesn’t collect your data or recordings. The European Commission even promoted their plug-in for Outlook.

And that’s only the beginning. Start a challenge and de-couple from one paid or non-privacy compliant software today! See you next week.