OStatic

The Audacity audio editor is a great program. Take that as you will: It's truly functional software. It's a great illustration of the power and versatility of open source. Audacity has been an active project for some time. But because it provides an esoteric service, it was only recently I had reason to sit down and use it.

Due to microphone-support issues in Linux, and a Windows machine that has trouble with its own weight, never mind throwing sizable files in the mix, I've used Audacity 1.3.5 on two of the three supported platforms. There are differences in feature set-up, not function. After a learning curve of two hours came weeks of declaring my undying love for the project to anyone who'd listen.

The web is exploding with new media, and more and more people are interested in open source tools for delivering and consuming webcasts, videocasts, webinars, streaming audio, podcasts and more. The good news is that the open source community has responded with all the tools you need to create and consume video- and audio-based rich media at no cost to you. In the world of commercial software applications, the proprietary equivalents can cost you thousands of dollars. Here are 15 great, free, open source tools that can make you a broadcaster.