My list of must have linux applications.
The following list consists of applications that I must have on my linux computer. When I install a distro, I always grab these applications first. Some of these applications do have a windows counterpart, and by no means am I saying that these are linux-only applications.
Unison
Unison is a directory comparison tool. With this application you may compare various directories to check and be sure you have your files properly synchronized.
INSTALL: To install from command-line in Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install unison unison-gtk.
PACPL
A great little program for converting audio files from one format to another. This is my preferred tool for audio conversion. An example from the PACPL man-pages is:
INSTALL:
HOMEPAGE:
pacpl --to ogg -r -p /home/mp3s --outdir /home/oggs
in the example above, let's assume the directory structure was:
/home/mp3s/Alternative
/home/mp3s/Alternative/New
/home/mp3s/Rap
/home/mp3s/Country
/home/mp3s/Techno/
the output directory will now contain:
/home/oggs/Alternative
/home/oggs/Alternative/New
/home/oggs/Rap
/home/oggs/Country
/home/oggs/Techno
with all files in each sub-folder converted to ogg.
In the above example, this is what the options mean:
--to is the file format to go to
-r is a recursive scan
-p is to preserve
Meld
Meld is also a synchronization tool. I like Unison but I prefer Meld because Meld allows me to sync files or directories. I don't recall Unison being able to sync directories, but I could be wrong about that.
 |
| Image courtesy of Meld.Sourceforge.net |
INSTALL: To install from command-line in Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install meld
HOMEPAGE: http://meld.sourceforge.net/
Clementine
My new favorite music player is Clementine. I have tried them all folks. I have used Rhythmic for a long time, switched to Banshee for a spell, and flirted with Sonata, Listen, Exhaile, Aqualung and many others.
It has a lot of fun options. For example, it will create a playlist for you based on songs never played, or songs just added. These features aren't new to many audio applications, but the features plus the consistancy make this the audio player of choice.
It has a lot of fun options. For example, it will create a playlist for you based on songs never played, or songs just added. These features aren't new to many audio applications, but the features plus the consistancy make this the audio player of choice.
INSTALL: Download package from: http://www.clementine-player.org/downloads or
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:me-davidsansome/clementine sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install clementine HOMEPAGE: http://www.clementine-player.org/
Shutter
Shutter is one of those applications I just could never, ever live without. Shutter is a screenshot tool. It helped me make this blog article and has been useful numerous times. I especially love the ability to, at the click of a button, do some basic editing to my screenshots.
INSTALL: Synaptic or Sudo apt-get install shutter
HOMEPAGE: http://www.shutter-project.org
More of my must-have programs will appear here soon...
