Five apps that provide more performance using less resources

By Jack Wallen May 7, 2013, 5:24 AM PDT

Image
1
of 10

Five apps that provide more performance using less resources

AbiWord 1

ntThis gallery is also available as a post in the TechRepublic Five Apps Blog.

ntThere’s a huge shift going on in the business world. That shift is from the standard desktop metaphor to a very web-based model. But for those that still want to hold on to the desktop model while saving some space and increasing speed, there are plenty of small footprint applications that allow just that. From nearly every corner of the business workspace, you can enjoy the small footprint; even within the realm of productivity. No matter the need, there’s probably a tiny tool waiting for you to try out.

ntIn fact, I’ve found five such tools that fit the bill for various needs. Although the tools might not offer feature-for-feature replacements for their bigger brethren, they all do a stand up job (while taking up very little space).

ntnn

ntCredit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic

AbiWord 2

ntFive Apps

nt1. Abiword

ntAbiword has been around for quite some time and has never really had the attention it deserves. Outside of being the default word processer for some of the lighter-weight Linux distributions, Abiword has hung out in the shadows of Microsoft Word and LibreOffice Writer. But if you’re looking for a stand-alone word processor, with a small footprint, Abiword is the tool you want. It has a simple to use interface, plenty of features u2013 most important of which is the ability to open and save in .doc (though not .docx) formats. Abiword is available for Linux, Windows, and Mac.

ntCredit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic

Gnumeric 1

nt2. Gnumeric

ntGnumeric is another little-known, cross-platform, small footprint productivity tool. In this case, the tool is the spreadsheet. Most users are happily surprised at how powerful this spreadsheet application is and that it doesn’t sacrifice speed and reliability. Gnumeric can open most all popular spreadsheet files (including 100% functionality with MS Excel). Other features include support for financial derivatives, 154 functions not found in Excel, inter-sheet dependencies, and much more. Gnumeric is available for Linux and Windows.

ntCredit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic

Gnumeric 2

ntCredit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic

Jarte 1

nt3. Jarte

ntJarte is a free word processor based on the Microsoft Wordpad word processing engine and offers more features than the built-in Windows version. With features like a tabbed interface, ability to open .rtf, .doc, and .docx files, touch screen support, and click-less operation. Jarte can be run portably, has spell checker, template support, and can export to HTML or PDF. There is also a Jarte Plus version ($19.95 USD) that adds keyboard shortcut support, a printable PDF manual, customizable quick bar, background spell checking, auto correct, and much more.

ntCredit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic

Jarte 2

ntCredit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic

Evince 1

nt4. Evince

ntEvince is the default document viewer for many a Linux distribution u2013 and also happens to have a version for Windows. Evince is primarily a PDF document viewer, but can also view multi-page TIFF documents, Postscript files, and even has planned support for MS PowerPoint files. Evince also features: Search, thumbnails, document indexes, printing, encrypted file viewing, bookmarks, full screen and presentation viewing modes, and much more.

ntCredit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic

Envince 2

ntCredit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic

Pegasus Mail 1

nt5. Pegasus Mail

ntPegasus Mail is one of the Internet’s longest-serving PC mail system (since 1990). One of the biggest benefits to Pegasus Mail (besides having a small footprint) is that it is immune to ALL other exploits that affect other email clients. Pegasus Mail features: Multi-pane viewing, Bayesian filtering, multi-user/identity support, full-formatting editor, SSL support, MailMerge, and much more. Pegasus Mail is available for Windows only (and even has a DOS version available).

ntCredit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic

Pegasus Mail 2

ntBottom line

ntIf you’re looking for productivity applications that won’t devour your C: drive or your system memory, look no further than the apps listed here. Sure they might not fill every office need, but what needs they do fill, they fill them well.

ntAlso read:

nttFive productivity apps to make the BYOD experience more productive

nttWindows 8 apps for the productive Desktop user

nttFive must-have open source productivity tools

ntCredit: Images by Jack Wallen for TechRepublic

By Jack Wallen

Jack Wallen is an award-winning writer for TechRepublic, The New Stack, and Linux New Media. He's covered a variety of topics for over twenty years and is an avid promoter of open source. For more news about Jack Wallen, visit his website jackwallen.

Account Information

Contact Jack Wallen

Your message has been sent
|
See all of Jack's content

Poor mental health can affect work performance in the form of burnout, absenteeism, turnover, workplace violence and substance abuse. On the other hand, when workers have good mental health, they are better able to cope with the stresses of life, realize their own abilities, learn and work well and contribute actively to their communities. The ...

As worldwide energy needs and concerns about climate change continue to increase, environmentally responsible business practices are critical for the successful future of a company and the markets in which it operates. This IT Data Center Green Energy Policy, from TechRepublic Premium, is intended to meet green standards for IT data center operations, which includes ...

For many businesses, cloud services have become the de facto standard for quickly developing and deploying networks, applications and other technological infrastructures. This quick glossary of common cloud platform terms from TechRepublic Premium will help you get a handle on the vocabulary, so you can understand how these services may affect your business. From the ...