Linux: Favourite Programs Revisted. November, 2009.

Welcome to the world of Linux, and if you’re not new — let me tell you what programs I use. The programs have varied through my experience with Linux, as well as distributions. As I’ve said in a prior blog post, I’m not using Ubuntu anymore, and that I’m using Debian 100% of the way now which is I think the best thing I’ve done thus far since I started using Linux 5 years ago. It might be longer now, I’m not really sure. Here’s a list of programs I use, and an outline of what they do:

So, I’ll go off by listing my Linux distribution of choice, which if you’re following this, you already know. I’m currently using Debian: Squeeze, which is Debian Testing, It’s not officially released yet, but will be the next release of Debian.I’m not totally sure when it will be release, but if the developers are still doing their same release cycle, it will be a long time before it is released. This reassures stability, maturity which Debian is know for.

My Desktop Environment of choice is GNOME just because it’s the thing I’m used to, and come accustomed to when dealing with Linux. If I wasn’t using GNOME, I would be using Openbox which is a Windows Manager. Openbox is generally highly configurable, just like any Desktop Environment, or Windows Manager, but there’s something about it I really like.. I would also like to think that if my hardware was a bit better than it is, or rather better supported — I would probably also use KDE4 since it looks quite nice, and I like the look. If KDE4 was released a lot sooner, my experience with KDE would have changed slightly too, I think. Just because it’s new and up to date, and a lot nicer than KDE3.5. They are very different in comparison. Google for some pictures in comparison, or even try the different version of KDE out, and tell me what you like.

For the generic programs I use with the distribution, as I said — they change from time to time. if something different, or something a lot more sound comes out, I’ll use that, and try to be content with it since use experience changes, and development of applications tend to be driven quick with new projects always emerging because of the user base, and developers. The system in place for distributions alike wiht different communities doing the same thing — trying to have free software with no point in proprieties. Or at least with any sane person nowadays. An act in community and common use.

Generally speaking, I do use most of the GNOME’s default programs, but there are others I use as well. So, the programs I use. Here’s a list and explanation on what programs I use currently. This list makes my other lists preceeded by this one:

Gnome Terminal: Which is indeed just a terminal emulator for all the BASH tinkering done. If you’re new at Linux, don’t be afraid of it — use the terminal as much as you can. I’m not saying to use a tty straight away, but some tasks are done faster with a terminal than pointing and clicking objectively.

Mozilla Firefox 3.5.5: A Internet Web Brownser: Basically, this version is completely beta, and in active development. Since Mozilla is quite strict on alpha, and beta releases — they frequently change when there’s significant change in the program. It happens quite often, and it’s also nice for Mozilla to have such a community following, just like Linux. When installing the Firefox betas, I usually put them in /opt/ and run from there in a separate folder, and just make an application launcher right on my Gnome Panel.

Mozilla Thunderbird 3.0b4: The version means I’m using Thunderbird version 3.0 beta 4 which is an EMail Client. Again, I download, and install the same way as Firefox, keeping it in /opt/ in a different directory, and just creating a application launcher in the panel pointing to the executable file to start Thunderbird. It’s also a huge improvement from the non-betas. I love the new direction Mozilla has taken, in creating such awesome applications to use with the community following. Being a community means helping developing, or developers develop the application by submitting bugs, suggestions, and possibly creating your own add-ons to submit to the Mozilla site where others like you can download, install, and use said add-on.

X-Chat: An IRC, or rather an Internet Relay Chat client that is simple to use, customize the layout and connect to multiple networks. There’s even a selection of networks you can configure to use. It supports all the newest fads in the IRC world. Some people like it, some hate it.

IRSSI: This brings me to a double post of a similar program, but the program is totally different, but does the same. It’s a lovely n-curses based program that will let you connect to IRC via a terminal emulator, or tty if XORG has a hiccup and you’re left in a tty. It’s also quite nice when used in Gnome Terminal. It has a slew of plug-ins you can use, and it’s generally an awesome companion when used with SCREEN a terminal multiplexer.

Empathy: This program is a multi-protocol chat client similar to Pidgin, but Pidgin is now deprecated because Empathy is far more superior and more Linux distributions are using it as default now. Telepathy is used as its back-end, which means that you can also use Telepathy with different clients, not just with Empathy. So develop a client that uses Telepathy and improve on Instant Messaging!

Gwibber: If you like social networking with people, making new friends and you’re running GNOME, check Gwibber out. It’s definitely a thing to get into, it’s also multi-protocol and can be used with different types of social networking. If Twitter hasn’t came to mind, then I suggest you get signed up to different social networking websites, and try this out. Even Facebook, and about 15 other services can be used with Gwibber.

OpenOffice.Org: Generally speaking, if you’re into making letters, spreadsheets or doing genereally productivity work with text — you should check this suite out. It has everything you need, and you can kiss Microsoft goodbye. Even if you like doing presentation, there’s presentation software in the suite. If you’re generally a busy-body using what you can, there’s an actual shortcut that will bring you to an applet and give you a selection of programs within the suite so you can choose from there. It’s quite genius to be fair.

Shutter: A screenshot utility that goes a lot farther than that. You can add text, select what you want to take a screenshot of, make thumbnails within a screenshot, add borders and do a lot more things. Shutter is an excellent screenshot tool if you’re trying to illustrate something in a screenshot, or trying to discover User Interface bugs and want to show people what has happened within a program.

Unetbootin: If you still love to install via a graphic installer and your distribution of choice has a Live CD, well, you can use unetbootin which will let you put an ISO of a distribution on a USB thumb-drive, and install from that provided you have your BIOS set proper and if it has that option to do so. I love using it because I can have a no waste policy since I don’t have to burn CDs, or DVDs and throw them out AFTER a newer version of the distribution has came out and you’re left with a coaster. Simply, load up the partition editor such as GParted, format into ext2, rename the partition if you want, load up unetbootin load the ISO onto thumb-drive.

Brasero: A default program if you want to create audio, video, or data CDs for backup or other personal use. But again, why waste CDs when you can buy a 32gb thumb-drive and just backup on that? Save yourself, and the environment some stress!

MyPaint: A painting program that will let you paint with paint, charcoal, crayons, different types of paint, watercolour, anything under the sun. You can even change the type of paper. It has unique keybindings that lets you paint a lot faster, and the quality is very nice. A tablet is needed to paint with the program. You can change opacity, size, and erase with a keybinding while having your stylus in hand. This increases productivity to a level where you’ll become a better artist is more time, and learn how to paint with a tablet if you’re of student level, as I am.

Alchemy: Basically, it’s a program where you paint/ draw spontaneously which is good for the mind, and spirit and makes your mind start to flow better with creativity. You basically select different settings you want, start by pressing the stylus to the tablet, and spontaneous shapes will appear. Shapes, lines, different copying methods, mirrored methods, etc.. It generally is quite a neat program that you’ll love. If works in PNG, PDF, JPEG, and other formats in layers as well.

Inkscape: Which is a vector graphics program that is awesome for what it does. It has every option in the book, and has a huge following of users.

The Gimp: Gimp is a photo-manipulation program that will help you with your photography needs, and you can also draw with it. You can use a tablet if need be.

Pencil: If you need to make some animations, by that I mean figure, logo, or scene animations — check it out! You can use a tablet with this program too. It’s generally based on drawing animations, and things similar. The program is limited, but it’s nice when it works. The interface is also great. If you’re looking for a upfront timeline, it has it.

Banshee: A music player with attitude, it can do a lot of things.. It has support for mid-sized playlists, video, radio, mp3 player support as well. It’s you’re all around goodness when it comes to sound. It’s quite large, but it’s really nice.

MPD & Sonata: If you want something for LARGE playlist support, I’m talking making a database for fast retrieval, network play, and a very fast player, check MPD out. MPD stands for, Music Player Daemon. MPD is the back-end of the player which supports many different clients. My client of choice is Sonata because the interface is so small, but it also can be maximized. It also supports radio stations, and playlists. It’ll take a bit for you to set it up, but the customization will only be worth it. It also has n-curses clients, too.

CMUS & MOC(P): Both on the same scale, they are n-curses music programs that work in the tty, or terminal emulator like Gnome Terminal. The user interfaces are different, but very similar. Keybindings work, too. These types of programs generally are very very light, and will make you love n-curses program all the more. I bet you didn’t think this stuff was possible in the terminal!!

Well, I think this concludes this lengthy blog post. Don’t be afraid to use google to check the programs out. Also a good idea would be to look them up on YouTube. YouTube will provide you with experienced users demonstrating the programs at hand and will give you a general idea in what you’re getting into. So, please, make use of what I’ve said. Leave a comment, or question and I’ll be glad to answer.

Have a good one.

Linux: Best Programs That Suit Me.

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I haven’t updated this blog in a while, and I guess this is a good time to do so with a post of the current programs I use. Since the release of Ubuntu: Jaunty Jackalope my program selection hasn’t really changed. But, I mean, I do relatively use the same programs I did before. Here’s a list of them:

Internet Browser:

I like both Firefox, and epiphany-browser. I mainly only use Firefox because of the add-ons it has. In another post I’ll update you on what add-ons I use.

Music Player:

I’ve switched around a lot, but I’ve found common ground with Banshee. I liked exaile for the longest time, but I haven’t used it in a long time. The last time I tried it, the program was acting really strange. The UI wasn’t looking proper, no EQ support and it was complete utter non-sense. With Banshee, everything seems to work wonders, even videos! Sometimes, I’ll use MOC too. It’s an ncurses program that is used in a terminal. It plays streams as well as MP3’s, and I’m sure other song formats too.

Torrents:

I Strictly use Deluge now. I used Transmission for the longest time. I liked it, still do, but I find I like Deluge a lot better. It’s a little more heavy than Transmission, but it does similar things.

Mail:

I’ve always used Thunderbird. It may be overkill with options, but I only use it with basic IMAP usability with GMail. It’s an easy system to use, and once it’s set up proper, it’s set up. No fussing around needed. I’ve heard ClawsMail client is also really good, and a lot lighter than Thunderbird. But, I like the Mozilla suite.

Here’s something you could also try out: In Linux, try installing prism. “sudo apt-get install prism” Prism is simple XULRunner based browser. Once set up, go into the menu, click on the menu option, tell it to go to gmail.com. Now, you have GMail right on your desktop with no configuration required. It can be done with any other site, too. They even have selected WebApps for certain utilities now, too. “sudo apt-get install prism-google-mail” and you’ll have the same thing you just did.

Graphic Design:

Not sure if I’ve included this in my other, “best of”, blog posts, but, I’ll assure you, it’ll be quite expanded.

GIMP has always been with me since the first day I used Linux. Eventhough it’s multi-platform, GIMP is a nice substitute for Photoshop, and other expensive photo manipulation software. GIMP is free too.

For vector editors I’ve always used Inkscape, but Xaralx is also very nice. A bit heavier in resources but it’s never ceases to amaze me. It’s a really nice application. Pencil is also a vector, and bitmap editor, but it’s mainly used for animation since it has a nice timeline to render to. It’s an excellent application for vector animation.

I’ve recently stepped into the 3D world of making objects just for the hell of it, and I can say I quite enjoy it. It’s quite a challenge, even with Wings3D. The Wings3D UI is basically good if you like clicking your mouse a lot. There are some shortcuts, but it’s not exactly like Blender where there are many shortcuts and once you memorize the Blender shortcuts, you’re good to go, and you’ll be making things with ease. I’ve yet to get a handle of Blender, but Wings3D is a lot easy to use at least for me. A bit more time consuming, but I like it. The nice thing about the 3D applications is that I can make something in Wings save it to a non-proprietary format, import in Blender, and render with Blender’s engine(s) which are far more superior. A lot of people do it like that.

Another small program I like is Agave. Agave is an eyedropper program. If you want to find out what colours people are using on a website, or in a theme, or another wallpaper you can use the program like a swatch to save the colour variants. Just click the eye dropper on the colour and the swatch saves for later use in the program. It’s not really hard to use, and it’s really useful.

Instant Messaging:

For a long time I used Pidgin as a multi-platform instant messenger, but, I don’t really like it now. I mean it has nice cosmetics, but I like to use empathy now. It’s far more better. It’s a lot more stable, and I’ve had no problems with it so far. It can do Jabber, XMAPP, MSN, IRC, ICQ, and others. Pretty well any popular protocol. Mics and webcams work under it too!

Bitlbee is another multi-platform instant messenger. But people use it for commandline interface usage. It’s best used with screen. Last time I tried it, it pretty well had an intuitive interface, but I’m sure once you’ve learned how to use it, it’s not so hard and it comes naturally.

Internet Relay Chat:

Since my introduction to Linux, I’ve always whole-heartedly used irssi, and I still do! I love the program. It’s one of the best programs I’ve ever used, and hopefully it doesn’t change for a very long time.

Screen Multi-plexer:

This is a whole category on its own, and I think there’s only one of its kind. It’s quite awesome even though I don’t use it. I don’t really have a need to. The screen multi-plexer used is called, “Screen”. What it does is, when you open a terminal you have a CLI. With screen, if you’re only running CLI, or a terminal you can minimize, close, or hide screen instances while they’re still running. So, you want IRC hidden, you can hide it.

Firewall:

I’ve used Firestarter for a long time. I remember trying to use it when I first started learning how to use Ubuntu. To be truthful, it was really hard to use. It was for me anyway. I couldn’t really use it because there was quite a learning curve. But, I can lay that to rest because gufw is here. Gufw has a simple interface, and ufw is the backend of it which is already installed. I’m assuming Firestarter used the ufw backend. I could be totally wrong on that though.

Anyway, that’s the end of the list of programs I mainly use. If you find any others worth using, leave me a comment. I’m always looking for the best programs for the GNOME Desktop Environment.

Firefox: An update on what add-ons I use

Well, today has been quite a long, boring day. I didn’t get too much accomplished, but I did give Firefox 3.0 a facelift. Ever since the beta versions of Firefox it has been hell trying to get add-ons. But as of lately, a lot of add-ons are beginning to show up and I’m happy to say that Firefox 3.0 now looks similar to what I had before with Firefox 2.x.x.

Firefox is quite advanced to how Netscape, or Internet Explorer used to be. Now that I’ve seen the new internet explorer it makes me want to vomit. The user interface may be minimal, but it just doesn’t comparable to how Firefox is. I like the approach Firefox has. Once you download and install or have a clean slate Firefox the user interface isn’t really minimal, but it has the basic user interface you’d expect it to have. From there, you can navigate to the addons part of the Firefox website from the browser and start downloading all the addons you want. Internet Explorer in the meantime starts off minimal to the point where you don’t really know where to start customizing, or using their basic interface. I’m sure it’s a lot harder for a basic user to learn how to use just because of the minimalistic view. I had a hard time after using Firefox for so long, and I’m quite the advanced user.

I really like the UI, and how I can customize it the way I want it to be. If I want it to be cluttered, I can just open my All-in-One sidebar, and toggle my Bookmark Bar and have instant clutter. Not only that, but I can also get rid of the clutter by simply hitting the toggle button to get rid of the Bookmark Bar, and hitting the toggle part of the All-in-One Sidebar, and be happy if I’m just surfing around on the internet. If I’m actually serious about the topic I’m looking for, I don’t have to be distracted by the bulky UI options. If I want to blog about something and need internet references, I can open up Scribefire and it opens half way up my page, and I can still read what I’m blogging about. Another thing I like is that I can bookmark with an icon instead of either dragging the website’s favicon into my sidebar, or going into the menu and adding the website to the browser. I do two of the three things accordingly. I either drag the favicon into the bookmark sidebar, or use the icon. It really depends what I’m doing.

By this time I’m sure you’re asking yourself what selection of add-ons I use in my Firefox. Well, here’s a list what I currently use.

• Addblock Plus – Blocks ads to website’s you don’t want to see.
• All-in-One Sidebar – A multiple-listing, customizable sidebar. You can view your bookmarks, history, downloads, add-ons, and so much more.
• ColourfulTabs – When you use or open tabs, you will different different coloured tabs that will display. It helps when you’re going tab-crazy.
• CustomizeGoogle – You can enhance Google searches, and also block ads, get other search engine results, and be more secure with mail, and other such things Google. It’s nice to have.
• DOM Inspector – The add-on is textbook. Not sure what it does, but it’s enabled by default so it must be a must-have.
• Feed Sidebar – Instead of having live bookmarks as an icon, you can use a sidebar to display the live feeds, and give little descriptions much like a feed reader does. It will also give you an option to open it up in the all-in-one sidebar which makes it even more better.
• Flashblock – Blocks un-needed flash ads, or content. Which can be re-enabled to see on a per site basis.
• GoogleEnhancer – Similar to the CustomizeGoogle add-on. I will probably remove this now that I look at it.
• Hyperwords – It makes every work on the internet interactive. You can highlight any piece of text in the browser and do a search on it.
• Menu Editor – Customize application menus. You can not only customize your basic menus, but also your right click menu
• NoScript – Allows JavaScript, Java and other plug-ins to work on trusted websites or domains of your choice.
• Scribefire – Full-featured blog editor that integrates well into Firefox, and where I’m writing this entry at the moment. The user interface is a lot better than any other blog interface I’ve used in linux. Both, BloGTK(Not a firefox add-on) and Scribefire take turns. I can’t seem to pick just one.
• Stumbleupon – Toolbar that will let you browse for selective content based on keywords and topics. It integrates well into Firefox since I can put it onto my bookmark bar and hide my bookmark favicons as well as the bar that holds the favicons and stumbleupon bar.
• Tiny Menu – Replaces the standard menu bar and enables me to have a one minimized menu pop-up. This also works well with the Menu Editor since you can limit the items in the pop-up menu.
• Toolbar Buttons – This add-on adds more toolbar buttons, and is very useful with a minimal user interface.
• Ubuntu Firefox Modifications – Ubuntu Firefox Pack. I haven’t looked at it, but it was preinstalled.

There are a lot of add-ons, but it has enabled me to have an awesome full-futured customized browser with all the add-ons I want. Although, there is one add-on that I really want, and soon enough it will be updated to use on Firefox 3.0. Ubuntu Forums Menu. This enables me to view the forums main menu and context. If you’re searching for a selected topic for a program, this add-on makes it a lot more easier, and helps to bring Ubuntu topics closer to you. This of course will work with the Tiny Menu as it did in Firefox 2.x.x.

Thanks for reading my post, here’s a picture of my browser.
-J

With Clutter

Without Clutter