J_K9 @ Linux

10 Applications Every Linux User Should Have

January 3, 2006 on 7:08 pm | In Linux, Articles |

Ray Bayley and I have worked together to produce this list of excellent applications which every Linux user should have on their system. Ranging from web browsers to security tools, these are the applications that should definitely be in your menu. Of course, there are far more Open Source applications available than the ten mentioned in this list, but Ray and I have tried to choose only the “criticals”.

Office Suite - OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org is a fully-featured office suite which supports many proprietary and Open Source document formats. It has rapidly become one of the most popular office suites available, and its simplicity makes it enticing for any user - without dropping any of its more powerful components.
Music Player - JuK

JuK is an audio jukebox, and its music management facilities are second to none. It performs almost all the functions you could ask from a music player, and it does so with style and elegance. It is also very easy to use, and the more advanced tasks are usually at hand within a couple of clicks. A brilliant choice for any music-loving user!
Multimedia Player - MPlayer

MPlayer supports more multimedia formats than any other player of its kind, many different output drivers for videos, and is highly configurable (as shown by its Wikipedia page). MPlayer is very stable, and although there are other options available (such as VLC and xine), this is the one you will always come back to.
Web Browser - Mozilla Firefox

Firefox is a fast, secure web browser, and more and more people are turning in favour of it every day. It is themable and brings an embedded rock-solid search function, but its most prominent feature is probably “Extensions”, which allows programmers all around the world to cooperate with Mozilla by producing plugins for Firefox. These extensions range from your local weather forecast to an inbuilt blogging feature, and they make for a more exciting and user-friendly browsing experience!
Email Manager - Mozilla Thunderbird

If you’re looking for a simple yet extendable email manager, then we suggest you take a look at Thunderbird. Copying the Extensions capabilities allowed by its sister app Firefox, you can configure Thunderbird to be as powerful as you would like it to be. You can also theme it, and it incorporates a stunning set of spam filters which will make sorting email a breeze. A must!
Network Protocol Client - Azureus

We found it quite hard to choose an application for this category, as our options went from LimeWire to KBear, but we eventually settled on Azureus. We chose Azureus because it is not just a BitTorrent client - its plugins make it superior to other network protocol clients. It is fast and sleek, and its logo very much demonstrates what it is - a killer networking application.
Cool App - SuperKaramba

SuperKaramba is essentialy an eye-candy tool for your desktop. It allows you to run widgets on your KDE desktop which display the weather, calculator, system monitors, currently playing songs, and other useful things. A beautiful addition to your screen, and another process to hog your memory!
Relaxation App - Armagetron Advanced

This was another tough choice - we narrowed it down to two games: Armagetron Advanced and Frozen Bubble. Ray was hooked on the former, and I on the latter - so which one was it going to be? I decided to give Armagetron a try, and I liked it a lot too - it is basically a 3-dimensional version of the old Tron game, and it’s great! So, while Armagetron Advanced wins, Frozen Bubble does receive the commendable “1^st Runner-Up” position!
Instant Messaging Client - Gaim

When it comes to Instant Messaging clients, the best will always be the one which supports the most protocols, is the most stable, and is configurable to a certain extent - which is why we chose Gaim. Its cross-networkability is found in no other IM client, and with release 2.0 on the horizon, it is only going to get better.
Security App - Bastille-Linux

Finally, a security application: Bastille-Linux is a hardening program which locks down a system by stopping some unneeded services and configuring it to be much more secure than it previously was. Bastille-Linux is essential because it will ensure that your system is far less likely to be compromised, and it only takes a few minutes of your time. Currently supported distributions are: Red Hat (and Fedora), SUSE, Debian, Gentoo and Mandriva.

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For some reason, I approve of this list
Let’s sit back and watch the, erm, “heated debate”

Comment by ray — January 3, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Linux
Heh - I wonder why!

Comment by J_K9 — January 3, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Windows XP
I wish the list was a top 100.

Comment by Double-Z — January 3, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Windows XP
Double-Z - That would’ve taken slightly longer to compile…

Ray - Are you feeling up to it?

Comment by J_K9 — January 3, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Windows XP
I was compiling a list of Debian app recommendations on my forum some time back.

Maybe this list can help you?
http://harishankar.org/index.php?topic=10.0

Comment by hari — January 4, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.4 on Windows 98
Nice list Hari, it’s a good roundup of apps - although I don’t think we’ll be doing a top 100 list anytime soon

Comment by J_K9 — January 4, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Windows XP
I think a top 100 would become strained. We’d end up having to split sections - say, networking/ftp/p2p - just to get to 100. 10 is a nice round number and easy to get to.

Comment by ray — January 4, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Linux
I used Juk for a while and switched over to Amarok. Amarok is a far better app. It can do pretty much everything Juk can do as well as integrate even more features. By making use of Kparts, it does so without extra glut.

Comment by Will — January 5, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Linux
What about a top 50 then? I’ll be glad to contribute to the list if we could maintain it somewhere… I think it’s well worth compiling because newbies to linux often keep asking “what’s the best app for this and that” and we could always use the list as a ready reckoner for pointing them in the best direction.

Comment by hari — January 5, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.6a1
Ray - What you said, and it would take ages!

Will - I don’t know what to say really. I used to use AmaroK, but then I took a look at JuK and found that I liked the interface more - but for my needs both are just as good. Maybe it’s because tagging is about the most advanced thing I do with MP3s…

Hari - Top 50! Alright then - I’m in, but we better start categorising it… Do you have IM? That would make this much easier

Comment by J_K9 — January 5, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Windows XP
Where’s The Gimp?

Comment by trickykid — January 6, 2006 #
Using Opera 8.5 on Linux
No gimp here. Move along now, nothing to see

Comment by ray — January 6, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Linux
Hi, J_K9,

I would find it hard to chat, since I’m off line most of the day and it would be difficult to coordinate together that way. Maybe I will put up a page on my blog where entries can be made for the top fifty. We can probably have 5 cats and the top 10 apps in each cat.

Say:
1. Basic Productivity
2. Internet
3. Programming
4. Multimedia
5. Other random, but interesting stuff

I would suggest adding more cats only if we need them and also we’ll limit the apps to desktop Linux for a basic list.

Your suggestions are always welcome in this regard!

Comment by hari — January 6, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.6a1
Ah come on Ray. The Gimp has to be in everyone’s top ten. How is everyone expected to create cool graphics and logos for their websites?

Comment by trickykid — January 6, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Linux
Drew - Well…the average desktop user doesn’t make cool graphics and logos for their website…
Hari - Ok, I’ll take a look at it on your site - how will I add to it though? By comments? Oh, and Ray and Drew - if you want to join, that’d be great! The more opinions the better…

Comment by J_K9 — January 6, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Windows XP
Drew - we should all be using x-paint I didn’t say the gimp because I rarely use it, for my graphics needs, one of the simpler programs is fine.

Comment by ray — January 6, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.0.7 on Windows XP
I’m having some problems with my computer at present. It’s constantly switching off and I think something is wrong with the CPU or motherboard. So once I get this fixed, I’ll be able to spend a little more time on this… At present I’m unable to use my computer for anything since it’s so unreliable.

I’ll roll out a page for this top 50 list as soon as I can sort out this problem.

Comment by hari — January 7, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.0.7 on Debian GNU/Linux
xpaint.. I can’t believe you just said xpaint…

Comment by trickykid — January 7, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Linux
Hari - No probs, and I hope it gets fixed!

Ray - Xpaint?! Wow, I haven’t seen that app in ages… hehe! And I don’t particularly want to…

Drew - ^^

Comment by J_K9 — January 7, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Windows XP
Well alright then, KolourPaint. As I have no artistic skill whatsoever, the simpler the tool the better!

Comment by ray — January 8, 2006 #
Using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Linux
[…] Readers of Max’s Blog will have seen that we recently put together a list of the 10 Applications Every Linux User Should Have. A list you can agree with or not. […]

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