LibreOffice
Ubuntu 10.10 comes pre-loaded with the now defunct OpenOffice.org productivity suite. As there will no longer be any updates to this software, I highly recommend ditching it for LibreOffice.
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| LibreOffice |
LibreOffice is basically the next generation of the OpenOffice project. It started as an offshoot and ended up being so successful that it took over completely. LibreOffice does pretty much everything that OpenOffice did with a few improvements - most notably the ability to save documents and spreadsheets as Open XML (.docx, .xlsx, etc.). This really comes in handy if you're going to be editing docs and spreadsheets on both Linux and Windows machines, as all of the newest versions of MS Office use Open XML formatting by default.
Installation instructions after the jump
To install LibreOffice, you must first remove OpenOffice. Open up a terminal and type the following command. Answer Y when prompted and the purge of OpenOffice will begin.
sudo apt-get purge "openoffice*.*"
Once the purge is complete, run the following commands to install LibreOffice in its place.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install libreoffice libreoffice-gnome language-support-en
You might want to go make yourself a sandwich or something. This process will take a while as there are quite a few files to download and install, and Linux prohibits users from installing more than one package at a time. I'll be here when you're done.
Sound and Video
By default, Ubuntu comes with Rhythmbox for your music and Movie Player for your videos. There's also a disc burning utility called Brasero and a Sound Recorder application. Honestly, all of these applications work perfectly fine and I have no qualms with any of them. I use Rhythmbox quite regularly and Movie Player is my default video player. I also burn all of my discs with Brasero. But if you're looking for alternatives that offer possibly more features or different layouts that you find more appealing, there's an abundance of choices out there to try. I'll list my favorites here.
VLC Media Player
You may already be familiar with VLC, as it's also an extremely popular media player for Windows. The main attraction here is that VLC comes loaded with tons of codecs so that it can play almost any audio or video file you can throw at it. I know it doesn't look like much, but it's a really powerful application that's handy to have around if you often deal with unpopular audio or video formats.
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| VLC Media Player |
You can install VLC from the Ubuntu Software Center.
Banshee
Banshee is a full-featured iTunes style media player. It offers a large number of plug-ins and extensions, including an indicator icon that allows you to control Banshee from the top panel, the ability to shop for and download MP3s from the Amazon.com store, Last.fm streaming, Apple device support, Youtube, Wikipedia, and Lyrics context panes, and more. If you're looking for a music player with more power and versatility than the default Rhythmbox, this is probably your best bet.
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| Banshee |
To install Banshee:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:banshee-team/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install banshee
Audacious
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| Audacious |
You can get that Nautilus script, which is contained in a zip file with many other useful scripts, here. Just download the .zip file, extract it, and then copy the contents of the extracted folder to your Nautilus scripts folder (browse to your home folder, then press Ctrl+h to show hidden files. Find the folder ".gnome2" and then the sub-folder "nautilus-scripts." This is your Nautilus scripts folder). Make sure to restart Nautilus with nautilus -q so the changes will take effect.
To install Audacious:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8 sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install audacious
Note: If you've already added this repository when installing Nautilus Columns, there's no need to add it again. You can just skip that first command altogether.
Cheese Webcam Booth
Cheese is Linux's take on Mac OS' Photobooth software. It allows you to take photos or record videos using your webcam and then add fun or fancy visual effects. It also has a countdown timer for photos and a Multi-Burst mode, which takes multiple photos in succession, just like a real-life photobooth. If you have a webcam, you absolutely need to install this software. Get it from Ubuntu Software Center.
Desktop Recorder
Desktop Recorder is the application I use to create demonstration videos for this blog. It does exactly what it says - records a video of your desktop. It's user-friendly and intuitive enough that even the most novice user would be right at home using this software. You can install it from Ubuntu Software Center.
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| Desktop Recorder |
Graphics
GIMP Image Editor
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is Linux's answer to Photoshop. If you do a lot of advanced image editing, this should be your first stop. Those hardcore Photoshop veterans out there may find GIMP to be a bit lacking, but for most users it will get you where you need to go. I use it regularly to manipulate images and have never run into a problem.
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| GIMP Image Editor |
Install GIMP from the Ubuntu Software Center.
Pinta
Pinta is another image editing program that's perfect for the average user who doesn't need all of the extraneous features found in GIMP or Photoshop. Pinta is my go-to editor for basic jobs. The program is modeled after Paint.NET.
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| Pinta |
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8 sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install
Again, if you installed either Audacious or Nautilus Columns from this PPA, you can skip the first command.
Inkscape
Inkscape is an Adobe Illustrator style vector graphics editor. This is one of those applications I could just sit down and play with for hours. Though it doesn't have quite the number of features you get with Illustrator, it's easy to use and versatile, and will get the casual user where he or she needs to go. I highly recommend installing Inkscape and then just play around and see what you can create. You might find yourself a new hobby.
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| Inkscape |
You can install Inkscape from the Ubuntu Software Center.
Comix
Comix is a comic book reader, so if you're like me and read a lot of digital comics, this is a must have. It has plenty of features including bookmarks so you can pick up where you left off and a library to help keep things organized. You can also install Comix from the Ubuntu Software Center.
Note: Since most digital comics are compressed as .cbr or .cbz files, which are actually RAR files, you will also need to install RAR from the Software Center before you can read your comics.
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| Comix |
Accessories
Ubuntu has tons and tons of available accessories, so I'm only going to hit the major highlights here. I strongly encourage you to do some research on your own and see what else is out there that might interest you. You never know what you might find.
Shutter
Shutter is an advanced screenshot application in the vein of Snag-It! for Windows. I've been using Shutter to take all of the screenshots seen in this blog. It allows you to take screenshots of the whole desktop, a single window, a manually selected area, menus, websites, all workspaces, tooltips, and more. You can choose whether or not to include the mouse pointer in the image, and you can also set a delay (I have mine set to a 5 second delay so I can move my mouse where I want it and make sure everything looks good before the screenshot is actually snapped). You can edit the images in Shutter as well.
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| Shutter |
To install Shutter:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:shutter/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install shutter
Pastie
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| Pastie |
For example, for these last two blog posts, I've been having to copy and paste a lot of PPA addresses, blocks of html code, images, and snippets of text that I'm editing or moving around within the article I'm working on. With Pastie, I don't have to worry about going back and manually copying and pasting that snippet of text or block of code every time I need it. I can just click the clipboard icon in the top panel, select the item I want to paste, and then paste it where it needs to go. It's a huge time-saver and makes working on documents far less painful.
By the way, you can make the history go as high as 100 items, and you can use it for copying files as well.
To install:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hel-sheep/pastie sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install pastie
Activity Journal/Zeitgeist
Activity Journal integrates with a robust logging software called Zeitgeist. If you took my earlier advice and installed Synapse, then you should have already installed Zeitgeist as well. If not, go ahead and do that now:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:zeitgeist/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install zeitgeist
Zeitgeist is a service which logs the user's activities and events (files opened, websites visited, conversations held via IM, etc.) and makes the relevant information available to other applications. Activity Journal uses that information to create a daily journal of your activities. Hover your mouse over a video you watched earlier today and it will start playing in a small preview window. Hover your mouse over an image you were working with on Tuesday, and you'll get a thumbnail of that image along with its current location. And don't worry, you can blacklist certain items from showing up in your journal if you want to keep them private.
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| Activity Journal |
sudo apt-get install gnome-activity-journal
System Tools
Ubuntu Tweak
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| Ubuntu Tweak |
Ubuntu Tweak is one of those applications that every Ubuntu user really needs to install. It conveniently takes all of the most popular configuration options for Ubuntu (some of which are really difficult to find otherwise) and makes them all accessible from the same place. You can add/remove PPAs, install software, update software, clean up unnecessary package and configuration files, customize your login screen, change a few basic Compiz settings, determine which application opens a specific file type, and the list goes on and on.
To install:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tualatrix/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak
Y PPA Manager
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| Y PPA Manager |
Y PPA Manager is a simple application that allows you to add or remove PPAs, scan for and remove duplicate PPAs, list all packages in a PPA enabled on your computer, and even search in all Launchpad PPAs (every application installed from a PPA on this blog so far has come from a Launchpad PPA) for a desired application. If you've been following along throughout this process, you can see how an application like this might come in handy. I use it quite frequently myself.
To install:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/y-ppa-manager sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install y-ppa-manager ppa-purge
Déjà Dup
Déjà Dup is a backup tool that supports local, remote, or cloud backup locations (e.g. Amazon S3), schedules regular backups, and encrypts and compresses your data as it's being backed up. Everyone needs to have a good backup tool, and I can vouch for Déjà Dup personally.
To install:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deja-dup-team/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install deja-dup
Bleachbit
Bleachbit is a disk cleanup utility that removes unnecessary files to free up space and keep everything nice and tidy. You can choose what types of files to scan for, and if you have a bit of free time on your hands, perform a deep scan that will crawl over every inch of your file system looking for thumbnail.db files, temporary files, .ds_store files, and backup files and give you the option of disposing of them. If you have a drive with limited space or just like to keep things clean, you can install Bleachbit from the Ubuntu Software Center.
And we've come to the end of Part 2. This is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all of the awesome (and free) applications that are available for Ubuntu. If you've heeded my recommendations, you should have a nice, solid software base to work with. You can browse the internet, download torrents, create and edit documents, draw and edit images, listen to music and watch videos, make use of your webcam, browse your files in a powerful and dynamic file manager, perform basic system maintenance, and even read comic books.
Take some time to familiarize yourself with these applications. Next up is the really fun part - customization. We'll talk about panel customization, Gnome themes, icon themes, Conky (you'll see), Screenlets, using Avant Window Navigator to make your desktop look incredibly awesome, and more. Until then...
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