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Ubuntu is arguably the most popular Linux distribution
available. It's solid, stable, and well packaged. On top of that,
the developers have made some
 good
calls about the software that they package with Ubuntu.
There's a lot of software for Ubuntu (and other Linux
distributions). A lot of it's good, some of it's OK, and there are a
few duds. But the five applications that this TechTip covers are
great additions to anyone's installation of Ubuntu.
Note: Some of the software discussed in this
TechTip can also be installed on other
Linux distributions.
Ubuntu Tweak
 There
are many different ways you can modify or just fiddle with the
configuration of Ubuntu. You can edit configuration settings in a
little application called gconf-editor. You can mess with
configuration files in a text editor. Or you can choose one of the
options from the System > Preferences menu. A
better option is to use
Ubuntu Tweak.
Ubuntu Tweak, as its name implies, lets you change the configuration
of an Ubuntu system right from a single user interface. With Ubuntu
Tweak, you can install a number of popular or third-party
applications, change the look and behavior of your
window manager, set up shortcuts, and more.
Two of my favorite features of Ubuntu Tweak are the third-party
software installer and the package cleaner. While you can install a
lot of software using
Synaptic Package Manager (the default software
installation tool for Ubuntu), there's a lot of interesting software
that you can't get through Synaptic. The third-party installer lists
some of these – like
VirtualBox and the
Chromium browser – and installs any additional software
or libraries that they require.
The package cleaner frees up space on your
hard drive. Whenever you install a new piece of
software using Synaptic, Ubuntu saves a copy of the installer
(called a package) and information about that package on the drive.
The thing is, though, that you don't need those packages. With
Ubuntu Tweak, you can clear all of that out easily.
Epiphany
Firefox is the default Web browser for Ubuntu. It's a great
application that has some nifty features. But the problem with
Firefox is that it's fairly large and can be quite slow. If you want
to speed up your Web browsing, then
Epiphany is for you.
Whereas Firefox is plodding, Epiphany is lean, fast, and mean. In
fact, it's almost spartan. The browser window contains a set of
menus, a button bar, and an area in which to type Web addresses.
That's it. No search box and no other eye candy. If you want to do a
search, just type the term that you want
 to
find in the address box and press Enter. You'll be taken to a Google
page with the search results.
What you'll notice, though, is that Epiphany can do everything that
Firefox can do. Only faster. From clearly rendering Web pages to
logging into secure sites, Epiphany does it all.
While Firefox comes with a massive array of add-ons (which extend
the features and functions of the browser), the pickings for
Epiphany are
pretty
slim. There's an ad blocker, one that lets you
subscribe to an RSS feed, and one that lets you look up text that
you select with a bookmark.
Epiphany's not everyone's cup of tea. Some people who try it are
frustrated by its lack of features. But if you want to see how fast
Web browsing can be then give Epiphany a look.
Ubuntu One
Sharing files between computers can be a chore. Emailing files or
copying them to a
USB flash drive gets really tedious really quickly. A
more efficient way is to share your files online. Shortly after the
release of Ubuntu 9.04 in April, 2009
Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) opened a service
called
Ubuntu One to users by invitation only.
 Ubuntu
One is an online service that enables you to upload, share,
synchronize, and store files. You install the Ubuntu One client on
your computer, and it integrates with Nautilus (the file manager for
the Ubuntu desktop). You can copy files into the Ubuntu One folder
in your /home directory, and the client synchronizes them with the
Ubuntu One Web site.
On the Web site, you can specify which folders to share and with
whom. At the moment, service is in beta testing which means there
may be a few problems. But it looks like it will be quite useful.
And you get 2 GB of free storage, which isn't too shabby.
Note: An upcoming TechTip will look at online
storage and file sharing services.
GNOME Do
Inspired by a Mac utility called
Quicksilver,
GNOME Do is a very powerful utility that lets you start
applications, search for items on your computer and on the Web, and
a whole lot more. Once you've given GNOME Do a shot, you'll find it
indispensable.
 When
you start it, GNOME Do sits out of sight. You launch it by pressing
the Windows key (also called the Super key) on your
keyboard along with the space bar. From there, you type
the command or search criteria that you want to execute and press
Enter. GNOME Do then fades into the background.
While GNOME DO is a powerful tool, it gets a lot more power and
flexibility from its array of
plugins. There are dozens of them – some you can
download with GNOME Do itself, and others which have been created by
enthusiastic users. These plugins do a lot of things, like allowing
you to access your files in
Google Docs,
microblogging, searching for files on your computer,
shortening URLs, and looking up words in a dictionary.
GNOME Do can do a lot. And it's fun exploring the application's
capabilities.
Guake
One persistent myth about Linux is that it's all
command line (also called the terminal). Or, at least,
you need to use the command line as much as the graphical user
interface. Nothing can be further from the truth. I know several
Linux users who've never gone to the command line.
That said, using the command line can enhance your experience with
Ubuntu (or any other Linux distribution). For an interesting
perspective on why you should learn the command line, read
this article.
To get to the command line in Ubuntu, you'd normally select
Applications > Accessories > Terminal. That's a lot of
work. I like to have the command line at my fingertips. Literally.
Which is why I love
Guake. Whenever I need it, I just press a hot key (in
my case, F9) and Guake literally drops down from the top of my
screen. I do whatever I need to do, and then press F9 again to make
the Guake window disappear.
You can tweak Guake in a number of different ways. You can change
the size of the window to best suit your
LCD monitor, set the transparency and background of the
window, change the font, and modify the keyboard shortcut to call
Guake. You can even configure the behavior of tabs. Yes, you can
have multiple terminals in a single Guake window.
Conclusion
Ubuntu really shows the flexibility and potential of the Linux
desktop. And the various applications – like the five discussed in
this TechTip – add to that flexibility.
Are you an Ubuntu user? If so, what are some of your favorite
applications? Leave a comment and share your favorites. |
