Ubuntu, another choice

Here is the list of the free utilities compiled in categories according to alphabetical order. These utilities represent an excellent alternative to the commercial programs, some of them are even better. Freeware Utilities - Downloadpedia

ImageMagick ® is a software suite to create, edit, and compose bitmap images. It can read, convert and write images in a variety of formats (over 100) including DPX , EXR , GIF, JPEG, JPEG-2000, PDF, PhotoCD, PNG, Postscript, SVG, and TIFF. Use ImageMagick to translate, flip, mirror, rotate, scale, shear and transform images, adjust image colors, apply various special effects, or draw text, lines, polygons, ellipses and Bézier curves. The functionality of ImageMagick is typically utilized from the command line or you can use the features from programs written in your favorite programming language. Choose from these interfaces: G2F (Ada), MagickCore (C), MagickWand (C), ChMagick (Ch), ImageMagickObject (COM+), Magick++ (C++), JMagick (Java), L-Magick (Lisp), NMagick (Neko/haXe), MagickNet (.NET), PascalMagick (Pascal), PerlMagick (Perl), MagickWand for PHP (PHP), IMagick (PHP), PythonMagick (Python), RMagick (Ruby), or TclMagick (Tcl/TK). With a language interface...

The developers behind the GNOME project have gathered in the Netherlands this week for the annual GUADEC conference . During a meeting that took place at the event, the GNOME release team made the difficult decision to delay the launch of GNOME 3, the next major version of the popular open source desktop environment. The new version has been deemed unready for mass consumption and will need another round of refinements before it can achieve the level of maturity and robustness that is expected by the software's users. Although the news will likely disappoint some enthusiasts, it is consistent with the GNOME development community's conservative approach to release management and strong emphasis on predictability. GNOME consists of open source applications and development frameworks that form a complete desktop computing stack. It provides a number of the core components that make up the default user experience in many mainstream Linux distributions...

Many Linux enthusiasts associate desktop Linux with their repetitive daily routine. Same old, same old. Looking to mix things up a little, I thought it’d be fun to take a more entertaining look at what we can do with our Linux boxes. I’m listing ten noteworthy Linux applications that I find very fun to use. After all, Linux is more than a mere efficient platform. It can also provide a great deal of entertainment as well. Top Ten Apps That Make Linux Fun To Use

The recent history of the Amarok music player is like a scaled-down version of KDE's recent past. Like KDE 4, the Amarok 2 series was greeted with a user revolt that has only gradually quieted. And just like KDE 4 inspired Trinity KDE for those who preferred KDE 3, so Amarok 2 inspired Clementine , a fork of Amarok 1.4. The supporters of both Trinity KDE and Clementine make similar claims for their preferences: in both cases, the retro-apps are described as faster, easier to use, and outfitted with a better feature set than the most recent versions. But is that so? An examination of basic features suggests that reality -- as usual -- is more complex than the claims. For one thing, Clementine is only at version 0.4 -- hardly, really, out of alpha release. Its feature set is incomplete, so it is handicapped in a comparison from the start. For another, despite Clementine's unfinished state, both music players fulfill their functions extremely well. In fact, a...

Mythbuntu is a community supported add-on for Ubuntu focused upon setting up a standalone MythTV based PVR system. It can be used to prepare a standalone system or for integration with an existing MythTV network. Unlike similar projects, Mythbuntu keeps close ties with Ubuntu and all development is given back to Ubuntu. This architecture allows simple conversions from a standard desktop to a Mythbuntu machine and vice versa. The development cycle of Mythbuntu closely follows that of Ubuntu, releasing every six months along side Ubuntu releases. Mythbuntu

Maybe the command line isn’t your favourite place to hang out, but to be an effective Linux admin, you need to be able to wield a few essential commands. These 10 commands are guaranteed to simplify your Linux admin life. I understand that many of you don’t want to use the command line in Linux (or in any operating system, for that matter). But the truth is, to be a good administrator, you have to know the command line. Why? Well, with Windows there are times when the command line is the only thing that can save your skin. With Linux, the command line is vast, reliable, flexible, fast ... I could go on and on. And of the 2119 possible commands from the /usr/bin directory (in Mandriva Spring 2008) and the 388 possible commands from /usr/sbin/, a few are indispensable. Here are 10 of them that might make your Linux admin life — or your introduction to Linux — a whole lot simpler. I could make this easy and go with the most used commands (cd, ls, rm) but instead, I am going to go wit...

By Nixie on July 21st, 2009 It’s easy to learn the basics of video editing, especially in Linux! This software is based on the FFMPEG and MLT frameworks so it can handle almost any video file format you throw at it. This quick tutorial will teach you how to put together a video complete with titles, transitions and effects, the program I used is called Kdenlive ; It’s like Sony Vegas, except it’s free and open-source! Linux Tips, Tricks, Tools News and Howtos

During my years of Linux advocacy , I am usually asked a very basic question “what makes Linux better than [insert OS here].” The answer is a result of years of developing and honing the perfect answer to a non-technical person. I usually start with explaining that there are two fundamental schools of thought in the programming world. One that conceals and forbids any changes in functionality, while the other is open and encourages customization to fit ones needs. The conversation naturally goes from there to giving examples of Open Source programs this person might be using unwittingly. Here are 7 programs that the whole Open Source community is very proud of. Daily Artisan » 7 Apps Every Open Source Enthusiast Should Brag About

Welcome to Linuxsecurity.com's WebLinks Resource Archives. Scroll down and find resources ranging from Cryptography to Security sources, to Network Security and everything in between. Many articles are on the older side, but are still very useful. But don't stop here. When your done in this section, take a look at our Features section including some of our most recent and detailed HowTos. Or why not check on recent Advisories to track your distribution of choice. Whether you're new to Linux and security, or you're a seasoned developer you'll find a wealth of security information for Open Source here at Linuxsecurity.com. If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to email us at info_at_linuxsecurity.com. Resources - The Community's Center for Security

Ubuntu Tweak is an application to config Ubuntu easier for everyone. It provides many useful desktop and system options that the default desktop environment doesn't provide. With its help, you will enjoy with the experience of Ubuntu! Download Now! Ubuntu Tweak - Let's rock with Ubuntu

Sometimes the GUI is just too slow. Learn how to resize images, add drop shadows, splice mp3s, clone hard drives and more with the command line. Here are a few tasks that you might want to consider using the command line for. 7 Tasks You Shouldn’t Use a GUI For

Many new comers are afraid of that “haunted Terminal”. Why open a console when you can do it via GUI? This article is not against the use of terminal but for noobs (and pros too) these GUI tips may prove more productive. How many times have you thought to “configure the boot menu” or “change mount points” but afraid of it because you have to enter that “Haunted Manson”. 1, 2, 3 are packages and can be installed via Synaptic Package Manager (another helpful GUI for managing packages) and then searching for it. 5+1 GUI tips to make Ubuntu still easier | yabBLOG

At the request of our readers and because today is Independence Day in the United States, we have decided to revive our old desktop customization tutorial for the Ubuntu OS and other major Linux distributions powered by the GNOME desktop environment. This step-by-step tutorial was created for the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) operating system and it will teach you how to change the looks of your Linux desktop into an eye-candy, practical, simple and modern one. In other words, to pimp your desktop and change its looks Ubuntu 10.04 Desktop Customization Guide - Step by step tutorial with screenshots - Softpedia