35 Cool Applications to install on Ubuntu 7 04

35 Cool Applications to install on Ubuntu 7 04

35 Cool Applications to install on Ubuntu 7.04

(Important : This Tutorial is For Ubuntu 7.04 To Read the Updated Article for Ubuntu 7.10 Read the Following Articles :

Cool Desktop Linux Applications(Part 1) : Internet and networking applications

Cool Desktop Applications(Part 2) : 25 Small and Simple Games for your Linux/Ubuntu Desktop

Ubuntu 7.04 is undoubtedly one of the most popular Linux distribution especially for Linux newbies , now overall it is extremely usable and good but a very limited number of applications are by default shipped with Ubuntu 7.04 . Now here in this article we look at a number of really good applications that are not shipped by default with Ubuntu as well as instructions on installing them : -


Installing/Enabling additional Repositories
Now many applications need additional repositories to be installed or some to be enabled in Synaptic package manager so before trying out steps given below ensure that repositories in order.

launch Synaptic Package Manager (System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager ) , then in Synaptic package manager go to (Settings -> Repositories ) you will find window like this . Ensure that all the check boxes are marked leaving source code(if you want to you can enable this also but you are not going to need this unless you are software developer) the dialog box should look like this .
Now you have to add additional repositories , close synaptic package manager and type the following command in the terminal window (Application -> Accessories -> Terminal )

�wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add - �

and

sudo wget http://medibuntu.sos-sts.com/sources.list.d/feisty.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

after completing above steps type

� sudo apt-get update �

Now your system should be ready for installing extra codecs .

IMPORTANT : In General i dont recommend adding unknown repositories it is risky and could pose a security risk to your computer , however the repository i am adding above is official repository(Medibuntu) whose reference i got from official Ubuntu website so you should not worry about adding repository i mentioned above .

Here is the offical Ubuntu documentation with reference to Medibuntu repository


1. Opera Web Browser

Opera is a excellent web browser available on a number of different platforms including Windows,Linux and Mac OS X . Now opera has a number of really good features it includes a download manager , bit torrent client has a excellent rendering engine and a number of other really good features .

To install opera type the following command in the terminal (Application -> Accessories -> Terminal ) window : -

wget http://opera.eurenet.net/linux/920/final/en/i386/shared/opera_9.20-20070409.6-shared-qt_en_i386.deb

and

sudo aptitude install libqt3-mt

and

sudo dpkg -i opera_9.20-20070409.6-shared-qt_en_i386.deb

After completing above step launch opera from (Applications -> Internet -> Opera )

2. Downloader For X

Downloader for X is a nice download manager that allows downloading files from Internet , pausing them and downloading them later . It also supports splitting file into number of segments so that files could be downloaded quickly . However one thing that i didnt like about is its interface is somewhat difficult as compared to some of the download manager available on Windows.

Anyways to install " Downloader for X " type the following command in the terminal window.

�sudo aptitude install d4x "

After installation is over launch �Downloader for X� by typing �d4x� in the terminal window , or by going to (Applications-> Internet -> Downloader for X )

This is how Downloader for X looks

3. AmaroK

Amarok is one of the most popular music player on the Linux Platform , it based on KDE libraries but still it can be used independently on ubuntu too with little or no problem.It features a extremely user friendly interface and is extremely feature rich .

To install amaroK type the following command in the terminal window (Application -> Accessories -> Terminal )

sudo aptitude install amarok

and after completing above step go to (Application -> Sound & Video -> AmaroK) to launch amaroK audio player.

AmaroK running on Ubuntu

4. Skype

Skype is a popular VOIP application , allowing one to make voice calls over the internet . To install Skype type the following command in the Terminal Window (Application->Accessories -> Terminal ),keep in mind that Skype is downloaded from Medibuntu repositories and not Ubuntu hence be sure you have activated the repositories correctly as described in first step of this article.

sudo aptitude install skype

After completing above step you could launch skype from (Applications -> Internet ->Skype)

Skype Registration page on Ubuntu

5. Scribus

Scribus is one of the most impressive Desktop Publishing application that is free and cross platform . Scribus is available on Windows , Mac OS X , Linux , OS/2 etc . It is highly suited for preparing file for professional quality image setting equipment .It has high end page layout features of the kind found in Adobe PageMaker, QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign.

It can also create animated and interactive PDF presentations and forms. Example uses include writing small newspapers, brochures, newsletters, posters and books.

Anyways , to install scribus type the following command in the terminal (Application ->Accessories -> Terminal )

sudo aptitude install scribus

and after completing above step launch scribus by typing "scribus" in terminal window.

Scribus on Ubuntu

6. VLC Media Player

VLC Player is another of popular video player available under Linux . It is released under GNU General Public license and is available for different platform including Windows,Linux,BeOS,Mac OS X etc. VLC player is based upon free open source libraries like libdvdcss,FFMpeg for decoding various video formats.One Important feature of VLC Player is its ability to play files over NetWork Protocols. The Frontend of VLC player is created using wxWidgets toolkit and its appearance can be changed by using different skins. One Popular feature of VLC Player is its ability to play files that are incomplete/broken or partially downloaded , making it useful for previewing file while downloading on file-sharing networks.

To install VLC Player type the following command in the terminal window : -

sudo apt-get install vlc

and after completing above step launch vlc player from

7. Google Desktop

Google Desktop allows one to full text search of a users e-mail, computer files, music, photos, chat, and Web pages viewed,OpenOffice documents , PDF files and more .

Now similar tools already existed on Linux like beagle (supported by novell ) , meta tracker etc . However Google Desktop search is not based on any of these tools and uses its proprietary algorithms to search for files on the computer ,also being 1.0 release and more stable then these products it could be preferred over tools like beagle .


To install type the following command in the terminal window : -

wget http://dl.google.com/linux/google-repo-setup.sh

and

sudo bash google-repo-setup.sh

Now after completing above steps to install Google Desktop Search type the following command in the terminal window : -

sudo apt-get update

and

sudo apt-get install google-desktop-linux

After completing above step logout of gnome session and relogin you would find the following dialog window

select the appropriate option : -


Now after choosing appropriate option you would find Google Desktop icon in the bar at the top of the screen , now it would automatically scan and index files on computer and store it in local database which could be searched using web browser .


8. Google Picasa

Google Picasa is an extremely professional good looking photo management application available on Windows ,Linux and Mac OS (??) . Now Google Picasa has a number of features that many photo management software on Linux dont have further Google Picasa looks very user friendly as compared to similar open source application available on linux . Now Google Picasa for Linux is not a native linux application but runs on Linux thru application layer called wine which allows many windows application to run flawlessly on Linux.

Now to install Google - Picasa type the following command in the terminal window

wget http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/pool/non-free/p/picasa/picasa_2.2.2820-5_i386.deb

and

sudo dpkg -i picasa_2.2.2820-5_i386.deb

After completing above step launch Google Picasa from


Some Tips to consider before running picasa (taken from google picasa website )

Tips

• If you use NFS, when Picasa first starts, tell it to scan just your desktop! Otherwise Picasa gets real slow while it scans all your NFS directories!
• To get Picasa to see pictures on your hard drive, click "File / Add Folder" (NOT "Import").
• When adding a folder to Picasa, the default action is to remove the folder from Picasa. You have to actively choose Scan once or Scan always.
• Picasa is not supported over remote X connections.

9.Thunar

Thunar is a file manager which is shipped by default with XFCE and is an integral part of XFCE desktop environment . It is similar to Nautilus but uses less resources as compared to Nautilus , and in fact one of the goals of creating Thunar was to create a file manager that was fast , clean and easy to use . It is much more responsive as compared to some other file managers available on Linux including Konqueror (KDE) and Nautilus (GNOME) . By default it is quite small and does provide a limited set of functionality , however its functionality can be extended by using various plugins.

" sudo apt-get install thunar "

To install thunar type the following command at the command line (assuming you are running Ubuntu)

after completing this process you can launch thunar by going into (Applications -> System Tools -> Thunar File Manager )

This how thunar file manager looks : -


10. Adobe Reader

On Ubuntu/Linux a number of good pdf reader exist that are quite functional and less resource hungry as compared to Adobe Reader , However if you still want to install Adobe Reader 7.0 you can either download package from adobe website or type the following command in the terminal window .

However note , the following command would only work if Medibuntu repositories are configured properly so be sure you have installed it correctly as described in the beginning of article .

�sudo aptitude install acroread �

11. aMule

aMule is alternative to popular eMule program on windows platform , amule supports/works with eDonkey2000 Network or Kadnetwork and allows P2P sharing of files . aMule is available on number of platforms , Current supported systems include Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Windows and Solaris.

To install aMule type the following command in the terminal window : -

sudo aptitude install amule

After completing above step launch aMule from (Application -> Internet -> aMule )


12. Nvu/Kompozer
Nvu is one of the most popular WYSIWYG HTML editor available on Windows and Linux and is open source and free . Nvu is based on Composer component of Mozilla Application Suite . Nvu allows novice or beginners who have little or no knowledge of CSS/HTML to create attractive web pages .Nvu was started by Linspire . As of now Nvu development has ceased and there is a project called Kompozer which if fork of Nvu and is unoffical bug-fix release of Nvu .

To install Kompozer type the following command in the terminal window : -

wget -c http://internap.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/kompozer/kompozer-077-i686.tgz

and

tar -xvzf kompozer-077-i686.tgz 

and

sudo mv kompozer /opt/

and

sudo ln -s /opt/kompozer/kompozer /usr/bin/kompozer 

After completing above steps type : -

kompozer

In the terminal window to launch Kompozer .

Kompozer in Action

13. Leafpad
Leafpad is extremely lightweight and simple text editor written using GTK 2 . As development focuses on keeping weight down to a minimum, only the most essential features are implemented in the editor.Leafpad is simple to use, is easily compiled, requires few libraries, and starts up quickly.

To install Leafpad type the following command in the terminal window :-

sudo apt-get install leafpad

and after completing above step launch Leafpad from (Application -> Accessories -> Leafpad)

Leafpad in action

14. gLabels
gLabels is a program for creating labels and business cards for the GNOME desktop environment. It is designed to work with various laser/ink-jet peel-off label and business card sheets that youll find at most office supply stores.

To install gLables type the following command in the terminal window : -

sudo apt-get install glabels

After completing above step launch gLabels from (Application -> Office -> gLabels )

gLabels in Action

15. Dia

Dia lets you create and edit technical diagrams and plans. Whether its wiring diagrams, simple maps or a plan of your kitchen, Dia has all you need to produce a precise, professional-looking graphic.

To install Dia type the following command in the terminal window : -

sudo apt-get install dia

And after completing above step launch Dia by typing "dia" in the terminal window

Dia

16.Pingus

Pingus has started at the end of 1998 with the simple goal to create a Free (as in freedom, not as in free beer) Lemmings^tm clone.if you dont know Lemmings^tm, here comes a short introduction. Its a puzzle game developed in 1991 by DMA Design. The player takes command in the game of a bunch of small animals and has to guide them around in levels. Since the animals walk on their own, the player can only influence them by giving them commands, like build a bridge, dig a hole or redirect all lemmings in the other direction. The goal of each level is to reach the exit, for fix multiple combination of commands are necessary. The game is presented in a 2D site view.

To install type following in terminal window : -

sudo apt-get install pingus

then to launch pingus go to (Applications -> Games ->Pingus )

17. Super Tux Kart

SuperTuxKart is an enhanced version of TuxKart, a kart racing game, originaly done by Steve Baker, featuring Tux and a bunch of his friends.

To install type the following command in the terminal window : -

sudo apt-get install supertuxkart

After installation launch it from (Applications -> Games -> SuperTuxKart )


18. Pysol

PySol is an exciting collection of more than 200 solitaire card games. Its features include very nice look and feel, multiple cardsets and table tiles, samples and background music, unlimited undo/redo, load/save games, player statistics and log files, hint system, demo games, support for user-written plugins, integrated HTML help browser and lots of documentation

To install type the following command in the terminal window

sudo apt-get install pysol

after completing above step launch pysol from (Applications -> Games -> Pysol )

Pysol in action

19. Super Tux
SuperTux is a jumpn run like game, with strong inspiration from the Super Mario Bros games for Nintendo. Run and jump through multiple worlds, fighting off enemies by jumping on them or bumping them from below. Grabbing power-ups and other stuff on the way.

To install Super Tux type the following command in the terminal window .

sudo apt-get install supertux

after completing above step run supertux from (Applications -> Games -> Super Tux )

20. Google Earth

To install Google Earth type the following command in the Terminal Window (Application->Accessories -> Terminal ),keep in mind that googleearth is downloaded from Medibuntu repositories and not Ubuntu hence be sure you have activated the repositories correctly as described in first step of this article.

�sudo aptitude install googleearth"

After downloading is over you will get a screen like this press �Yes� to accept the license agreement and complete software installation.