How do I work with “open-source” programs?


i want to download and use KWORD as a word processor instead of MS Office because my trial expired for that, but i dont understand how to download KWORD. I read that its an open-source program and all i find to download for it are source files with extensions like .tar.bz and .tar.gz/.tar.gz2 and its really confusing. i just want to use Kword, i dont want to configure it or anything! can someone please explain this to me?

3 Responses to “How do I work with “open-source” programs?”

  • The Phlebob:

    "Open source" programs provide the raw computer code. You have to have a compiler to turn the code into a runnable program on your machine. If you’re not into programming, this is not the way for you to go.

    And the .tar files aren’t the open-source themselves. They are container files with lots of source code files inside them.

    Hope that helps.

  • Madman6510:

    Check the site, is there an option for an installer package or executable (.EXE file)? What you’re downloading is the source, which you would have to compile yourself.

  • Shae S:

    I suggest you use OpenOffice.org. It is a much more pollished product. Go to www.openoffice.org to download.

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