Journal
I blame Ubuntu
January 15, 2009 4AM
Have you noticed a lack of new additions to the GUI/Skin Design category here at webWICKED? I mean, there hasn't been a new addition since April 2008! Well there is a good reason for this. And it's not laziness. It's Ubuntu.
I've been using Ubuntu for quite a few months now and I must say I'm loving it. So much so that I decided it was time to shout it from the rooftops. Or at least from the front page of my own little web site. I'm loving Ubuntu!
If you'd like to discover the applications that I've come across in recent months, read on. You too may discover that there can be life outside of Windows. And you might just like it.
The screenshot above shows my current desktop. You can see the dock I have set up and the applets I added to it (like the weather forecast). There are features that I have set up that you can not see in the screenshot. For example I have the corners of my desktop setup so that different things happen. Taking your mouse to the bottom-left corner makes all currently open windows hide so you can see the desktop. Going back into the corner again brings all the windows back up. Going to the bottom-right corner of the desktop tiles all the open windows allowing you to click on any of them to bring that window into focus. Very similar to the Mac Expose system.
Anyhow, let's get back to the story.
My early concerns with Ubuntu were all along the lines of “What will I do without 'application X'?!” There were certain Windows applications that I knew I would need a good replacement for if I was to stay in Ubuntu. Luckily for me, I work with someone who is very passionate about Linux and open source software in general. With his help I managed to create a desktop and computer environment I'm incredibly happy with. Here's a list of the programs I'm using and what they replaced in Windows.
- Screenlets—Screenlets give me the widgets I found useful when using WinStep Xtreme. Let me just say now that WinStep Xtreme is possibly the only application I miss in Windows. Why? Because it made Windows seem like it wasn't Windows!
- Avant Window Navigator—Avant Window Navigator provides the dock that I also used in WinStep Xtreme. Most people of course will see it as a Mac style dock
- DeVeDe—DeVeDe is an application that creates DVDs from your own AVI files. This is handy if you like to record people playing guitar terribly like I do. In Windows I used to use Nero Burning Rom for this. DeVeDe is the same with much less bloat. Oh, it's free too
- GnuCash—GnuCash is a free finance/accounting application. This is a great alternative to the MYOB Basic software I was using in Windows. Now I can create invoices and keep on top of my personal finances at the same time.
- LAMP—Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP (LAMP) is an application that gives you everything you need to create your own server for developing web sites using PHP/MySQL. You can get similar packages for other operating systems that do the same thing. There are plenty of resources online that show you how to set this up depending on the version of Ubuntu you're in.
- gedit—gedit is the text editor that comes with your Ubuntu installation. The difference being that you can edit it—see the link—so that it functions as a fully functional web development application. If you create web sites in code view, then this is all you'll probably need. And it's right there waiting for you to unleash it! Much cheaper than Dreamweaver.
- avast!—avast! is a free Linux anti-virus application. You probably know many Windows applications that this is replacing
And to think that the list above does not even include the applications which come free with the standard distribution of Ubuntu. Need an office application? Open Office is installed for free. Need some graphics editing software? Inkscape and GIMP are installed for you. There are plenty of installed (free) applications for things such as media playing, torrent downloading, instant messaging, game playing and more. I could go on forever. But I won't. Perhaps in another Ubuntu raving article.
Did I mention I love Ubuntu?
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