Sometimes you will find yourself in a situation when you don’t want the app to stop working when X is restarted or broken. Sometimes you just want a very light application, and nothing is faster than a text interface. For example, when I install the new nvidia drivers on Debian it sometimes breaks my system - but I want to listen to a podcast while doing the repair work. If I used Banshee, the thing would stop playing when I restarted X. By opening a virtual terminal, by pressing say Ctrl+Alt+F4, I fire up sox and play the mp3 in there. Works great and X does not interfere with the playback!

So what can new users do with the command-line while enjoying the GUI? There is a multitude of applications that do the same jobs as their graphical equivalents, but are not dependent on X. Using them is just a matter of learning a few simple commands. You’ll be up and running in no time.

Also, check out CLI-apps.org where you can find lots more!

1) rtorrent is a powerful CLI torrent client. While the interface itself is very “empty”, it can do most of the things other full-featured torrent clients do. Find the torrent file by pressing Return (or Enter) and navigating to your torretn file. rtorrent.rc configuration file, you can normally find an example in /usr/share/doc/rtorrent/examples/rtorrent.rc

Even though the program will warn you there is no such file on first start, you may use this exampel configuration file to setup rtorrent for maximum speed, IP masking etc.
You can find out more about configuring it and a few mroe tips and screens here. An alternative to rtorrent is a similar program called (Enhanced) ctorrent.

2) w3m is a great little web browser for the console. It features tables, tabs, frames, SSL connections, color and even inline images on suitable terminals.  When you are not in X, w3m becomes a great way of searching Google and forums when you are troubleshooting. The navigation is very easy when you get used to it and w3m renders pages surprisingly well, even Gmail. Emacs uses w3m to display pages in the text editor itself.

Note: w3m’s homepage hasn’t been updated, so I’m not linking it. Just Google w3m to find otu more about it. Also, every distribution should have w3m either installed or in the primary repos.

3) bashpodder As a podcast listener, I must not forget to add bashpodder to my list. It is an extremely simple and robust command-line podcatching client written by Linc from the Linux Link Tech Show podcast. While the setup requires you to do some manual work, the program itself actually uses wget behind the scenes and is the perfect client for older computers or people who just like it simple - you only need wget, sed and bash.

There are GUIs available for bashpodder, too (like the depicted KPodder).

4) finch is probably already on your computer, if you installed Pidgin. This surprisingly advanced CLI multi-protocol instant messaging client enables you to use most of the features you get in Pidgin, without the need of a graphical interface. The UI is pretty simple, but at the same time easy to understand. Just run ‘finch’ in the shell and try it out, if you already have Pidgin on your machine.

5) Mutt and 6) Alpine are email clients for the command-line. They are the ‘mammoths’ of email, as they have existed for almost about ten years now. Bot have their advantages and disadvantages (for instance, Newsgroups support is much better in Alpine). Personally I would recommend using Gmail in w3m if you already want to have email in the CLI, though many people use text-based email clients, especially Alpine, which is a descendant of Pine.

Read more about these two mail clients here, where the author is much more knowledgeable about them than me. Even though it is a ghastly translation of a German article, I believe you won’t have any trouble understanding it.

Do you still use any CLI apps? What do you think about CLI applications? Tell us in the comments.

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Cool Command Line Apps for GNU/Linux and other Unix Systems

Arch Linux

A distro I am currently playing with right now, Arch is focused on simplicity and elegance. A great Beginners Wiki Article guides you through the process of setting up your first Arch Linux system. There is a lot of manual editing in nano and other command line tools, but it is not very difficult and it is all explained in great detail and a very beginner-friendly manner. Arch’s pacman package manger system turned out to be a very lightweight and quality tool for managing the software installed on your system. If you cannot find something, just check the community repository. The resulting system is always pretty stable and fast. Plus, as it is a rolling-release distro, pacman takes care of your packages so you’re never behind on the newest in FOSS. Two thumbs up!

Slackware

While I am not very familiar with the original Slackware (I have used many derivatives, like SLAX and Vector Linux), Slackware also concentrates on a type of KISS principle, in part at the cost of user-friendliness. Many people run Slackware on servers, some even on laptops. What they like is the stability and the experience gained from using such a system. As for package management - Slackware’s can do the basic tasks, like remove, install and upgrade, however it cannot track dependencies, so it is up to you to solve them or you can use one of the many automatic dependency-resolving tools such as slapt-get.

“In this context, “simple” refers to the viewpoint of system design, rather than ease of use. Most software in Slackware uses the configuration mechanisms supplied by the software’s original authors; there are few distribution-specific mechanisms.”

Gentoo

By the way, I would like to hear a Gentoo user in the comments explain some more about what the benefits of Gentoo Linux are. Most of the newer Linux users connect Gentoo with compiling apps locally. I personally like to use other distros, because I mostly just use binaries (Gentoo has some binaries too) for some programs and in other cases compile my apps when I really want to, which I am already able to do in any other distro. So, why would you choose Gentoo? Well, first if you would like to learn how compiling works, Gentoo is an excellent choice. You will be able to get a distro specifically tailored for your system (brings in a slight increase in overall speed). The package management system is called Portage with the emerge tool (I think it is written in python), based on Ports in the BSDs (what is different is that Portage contains ebuilds). Compiling everything enables you to have softer dependencies, more bleeding-edge packages and you can install the system in three different “Stages”, depending on how much of the system you wish to compile yourself (only Stage 3 installs are officially supported!).

• Stage1: System must be bootstrapped and the base system must be compiled.
• Stage2: System has already been bootstrapped, but the base system must be compiled.
• Stage3: System has already been bootstrapped and the base system already compiled.

Well, I hope this short article made you at least a bit curious about how it is to use these distros. Why not give them a try? At least visit their homepages and take a look at some more information. Is there anything you’d want to add? I’d love to read some comments from users and people new to Linux!

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Advanced Linux Distributions You Should Try

Zemanta

Zemanta is very useful for bloggers, because when you write a post, Zemanta browses the Internet for related pictures and links you can add to your post. We all know that 50% of a blog post is searching for pictures and links to link the words you want, but Zemanta makes it really easy for you. It also features other cools stuff, such as re-posting content you find on the Net. It integrates especially well with Wordpress. Just open an editing tab with Zemanta on, and see what happens

DownThemAll!
An awesome Download Manager. Speeds up the downloads a bit and enables you to resume them, also has a cool “DTaOneClick” feature, that makes it easy to download files to desired directories with just one click. It also doesn’t bug you like the default Download Manager.

BugMeNot Firefox plugin

Every wanted to just check out some text or a part of content in a site that you’re not registered on, but requires you to be? Save time with the Bugmenot extension.

“BugMeNot will log in for you automatically using user-submitted passwords. Features: multiple login attempts, failure reporting, and auto-submittal.”

Yeah, it simply synchronizes bookmarks. BUT! Now it can also store passwords and share them between Firefox setups. You unlock them using your PIN. It’s not that safe, but I believe many people will find it very useful. Of course, there’s always Weave if you need more functions.

RoboForm

Another time saver, especially if you have to sign up for different thins very often:

“If you use RoboForm for web form filling, site logins, and/or password management, be sure to use the extension for Firefox.”

Runners-up:

• FireFTP
• ScribeFire
• AdBlock Plus

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5+ Über - Useful Firefox Plugins You Should Use Too

And by Jean-Luc Picard, what a wondrous list it is!

There are also short descriptions, where deemed necessary. My favorites are in bold letters.

Disclaimer: I’m too damn lazy to sort them, I’m not one of those Mashable guys. Yeah, there’s a whole lot of Ubuntu stuff. Anyways, I hope you find something you need!

1. HOWTO: Minimal Debian Install (w/ Minimal GNOME)
2. Old/crappy pc/laptop users, come chat and share here!
3. Building a highly functional desktop with lightweight software
4. Linux App Finder’s mission is to catalog useful GNU/Linux programs and provide a great resource to discover new apps.
5. Free Software Sticker Book This book includes a set of stickers related to free software projects. Now you may remove the Microsoft sticker from your computer (computers are not designed only for Microsoft Windows) and choose a sticker from this book with which to replace it.
6. The table of equivalents / replacements / analogs of Windows software in Linux
7. osalt.com helps recommend a open source software alternative or replacement for commercial products and even shareware.
8. Linux Reality is a podcast aimed at the new Linux user. Lots of tips and software-specific episodes.
9. Things to know before using Linux
10. http://fabrizioballiano.net/2008/08/12/beautiful-designs-for-ubuntu-810-intrepid-ibex/
11. Ten Tips for KDE 4.0 Beginners - Valid with later versions of KDE4
12. Imitate the look of OS X on your Linux Desktop
13. A Guide through the Linux Sound API Jungle < A MUST READ!
14. Ubuntu Community Documentation for the MacBook (also Santa Rosa)
15. Seven Different Linux/BSD Firewalls Reviewed
16. Installing RPM packages on Ubuntu
17. Debian Package of the Day
18. The Linux Documentation Project is working towards developing free, high quality documentation for the Linux operating system.
19. Gnome-Look.org
20. Box-Look.org
21. 20 Linux Apps You Can’t Live Without, by TechRadar UK
22. LinuxChix - I put it in just because they claim that these so-called ‘women’ are using GNU/Linux.
23. LinuxHomePage - You’ll immediately find out why it’s the only Linux News Site in this list.
24. LinuxSecurity’s Resource Page
25. Whistle while you work to run commands on your computer.
26. Pen-drive Linux - Boot and run Linux from a USB flash memory stick
27. 10 icons sets to customize your GNU/Linux desktop
28. Linuxartist - a directory of resources for artists using Linux
29. FreshRPMs
30. Custom NimbleX - easily generate a customized NimbleX Linux CD
31. Unix Tutorials
32. Use Ubuntu Live CD to Backup Files from Your Dead Windows Computer
33. Linux on Laptops
34. Index of Documentation for People Interested in Writing and/or Understanding the Linux Kernel
35. How to make Ubuntu Extremely Fast
36. 130+ Ubuntu (and Debian Tutorials)
37. 13 Of the Best Linux Tutorials and OpenCourseWare on the Web
38. Linux File Structure
39. http://bashcurescancer.com/10-linux-commands-youve-never-used.html
40. Linux Commands - a Practical Reference
41. Interactive Map of the Linux Kernel
42. Top 25 Linux Games
43. Ultimate Linux Reference Guide for Newbies
44. Flyback a Time Machine-like tool for Linux
45. 10 Great Walls for Linux Geeks
46. Appnr - awesome Ubuntu Apps Site
47. GetDeb.net - well.. get some debs
48. Convert video files for your PDA/PPC/PSP/iPhone/iPod
49. Linux Distro Chooser
50. Linux Package Management Cheat-Sheet
51. Ubuntu Kung FU - a Digg-like tutorials site
52. LinuxTracker
53. The Linux Link: Portal To Linux Web Radio Shows
54. HowtoForge, probably one of the biggest collections of Linux howtos on the Internet
55. Playdeb is a gaming repository for Ubuntu
    

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50+ Resources For Your Linux Setup/Desktop/Machine/Brain

System Hardware Rating

This is a new idea I got just a few days ago: wouldn’t it be cool if a new user popped in A Ubuntu LiveCD, which would quickly analyze the your system and grade its performance? If it were good enough it would continue with the launch, and in the case of a bad ’system grade’ it would pop up a warning that the system isn’t good enough for optimal performance and that if you want you should maybe download Xubuntu or a lighter OS?

Disclaimer: I have no idea if this is even doable.

Compiz Settings Manager installed by default

There is no doubt that Compiz Fusion is extremely popular nowadays. Is the Settings Manager really that big of a package that they cannot include it in the default install? I think many users would enjoy being able to tweak Compiz instead of having only the basic functions. I don’t get the “you’re just here for the eye-candy” argument due to the fact that compiz is being shipped in the default install. Why not go all the way then?

Less complicated user Lockdown Tools / Parental Controls

Not only useful in schools, but also at home, Pessulus and Kiosktool just don’t cut it. I’m being optimistic about the Guest Account option, although it would be nice to see a very school- or public-computer-specific settings tool in Ubuntu or the Edubuntu add-on. I bet many parents would like to be able to easily (as in: non-command line) restrict the time of Game/Internet usage. A desktop OS is not used exclusively in a business environments.

Tablet support

I love drawing and doodling with my Wacom Bamboo Fun. It’s much better than paper. I just twitch a little when I have to run an instance of XP to use the GIMP with a tablet. There is a great guide on the Ubuntu Forums. Sadly, it works only 70% of the time and an update broke it for me. There is this Linuxwacom project. OK, well maybe working on the Wifi support is much more important than this, although I know a lot of fellow artists like to use the GIMP but can’t make the switch because their little tablet doesn’t work on Linux.

Fix Pulse Audio!

Nuff’ said.

Error/Bug Reporting Advice

We have to admit that you encounter a lot of errors when trying to do something advanced in Linux. I don’t like Windows’ & Firefox’s way of sending Crash Reports (what use do people with out an Internet connection have of it?). What Ubuntu could do, it could give you the standard error message and underneath it tell you what you can do with it if you want to report the bug (with a link to Launchpad or something similar).

Do you have any cool features you would like to see in 9.04? Tell us in the comments!

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Features I’d Like to See in Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)

After a very painful WP upgrade, I’m back on track.

I’ve been talking a lot about window managers and desktop environments. Nowadays most major distros simply go for KDE or GNOME, but it is not very common to see a distro use XFCE. This is a very sleek and useful little desktop environment, which provides great GTK compatibility and increases speed. Today we’ll take a quick look at which distros you should choose if you wish to have an instant Xfce experience.

Don’t be lazy, try Xfce out and see if it fits your needs. I assure you, if you find all the apps you need, you’ll never look back.

Linux Mint - XFCE Community Edition

I’m not a freedom hater. Sometimes I just don’t have the time to fiddle with the settings, download plugins & codes or to recompile something. Linux Mint has won my attention a long time ago. Only recently have I noticed that there is a number of derivative ‘community editions’ available. All the Ubuntu goodness, combined with excellent out-of-the-box performance and Xfce. Everything I’ve been asking for in one ISO. Full of win.

Vector Linux

One of my favorite Slackware-based distros (slapt-get helps) also uses the Xfce desktop environment. It is heavily themed, although some characteristics remain.  I personally like Vector’s Xfce setup due to the fact that many people don’t find the ‘panel’ on a vanilla Xfce install very attractive. An alpha of version 6.0 has been released a month ago.

Xubuntu

Some of you are going to wonder why I didn’t put Xubuntu in first or second place. Make your own list then xD Everyone who likes a nice Debian Sid base and wants to have a very solid Xfce setup on a system where all of our beloved Ubuntu tutorials work, should go for Xubuntu.

Zenwalk

It is based on Slackware, but uses a strict ‘Zen’ approach, which means: no more than one app for each task. Sadly, one combination of apps doesn’t always work. Let’s put that aside though, because the important thing with Zenwalk is its speed and a great Xfce setup.

Debian + Xfce

This one is on the bottom - Debian doesn’t really use Xfce as its primary desktop, they also have a special Xfce CD available. Never had any problems, works very well, is stable. And the negative? Stock stuff

Do you use Xfce? What do you think about it? Which distros did you try with Xfce?

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The 5 Best Xfce - based Linux Distributions

The freedom which FOSS gives us, enables everyone with a specific goal in their mind to create their own Linux distro. Most of the time, the goals/philosophy are cool and interesting, but it often happens that the “product” of the project, the one that should take you to the creator’s goal, turns out to be less than nothing. And we have quite a few examples of this in the Linux world. Let’s take a look at our Hall of Fail.

3.) gOS

I’m starting with gOS on the bottom, because I think it wasn’t half bad in the beginning. Most of the coverage came due to the low price of the gPC, the supposedly “tight” integration with web services (if you can call a basic installation of Google Gears and shortcuts to websites “tight”), badly copying OS X (along with the stupid dock).I checked out the last version of gOS, and again it s a meaningless pile of installed packages already available for every other major Linux distro out there. It’s slow, the boot-up screen is ugly, the wbar dock is too basic (the version with AWN is too demanding for low-end PCs, their main target), the window buttons are too small and indistinguishable… and I still don’t know why all the Web 2.0 guys are so excited about a few Google Gadgets and some Facebook and other social network icons which simply open a browser window ( so instead of clicking Firefox and Facebook, you click Facebook and get a retarded browser window. I don’t see any Gears there).

I was first excited about gOS. It promised to offer a real ‘cloud’ operating system, but what they have now is a weird greenbuntu which still needs OpenOffice to do some real work. Now I think their main goal is just to copy the Mac as well as possible.

gOS devs: take another look at your goals and separate the bling from the functionality!

2.) ZeBuntu / ZevenOS

I reviewed this distro a while ago and I though it’s cool that someone is aiming to create a distro in the spirit of BeOS. Looks like the developers didn’t hear the last part. It said ‘philosophy’ not ‘theme’. When I booted into zevenOS I got a very ugly net-book interface (why? It didn’t say that it was for net-books), although they have IceWM. The desktop background is very bad, so is the choice of software. Yeah, the version I tried was a late beta, but betas are finished products which need to remove bugs, not stuff that pops up German menus when you choose the English language. Anyways, now I know why Mark Shuttleworth doesn’t want the name Ubuntu to be associated with low-quality products.

ZeBuntu devs: Your goal is awesome, but you will have to work very, very hard!

1.) Linux XP

“As of September 24th 2008, their web site does not have a way to obtain a serial number to register the OS, and they do not respond to emails sent to them. It is not known if the distribution is dead, or Linux XP is only being registered in Russia.”

I’m still wondering whether this distro is violating the GPL. For Pete’s sake they have a 30-day TRIAL. Linux XP is a Fedora re-spin with a Vista skin, Wine and some other front-ends. It is being sold, you can also obtain a serial number.

Check out this ‘feature list’ from the site. Are they trying to sell Fedora here?!

• The most user-friendly interface ever made for Linux
• Simple and clear installation and Windows-style setup tools
• Full set of applications for work in the Internet.
• Support of Microsoft Office document formats (WORD, EXCEL and others)
• Useful tools for working with Windows networks and VPN
• Full control of your computer, data and applications
• Stable, dependable and without any reinstallation
• Absolutely virus-free environment
• Free updates through a simple but useful interface (no RPM knowledge is required)

Linux XP devs: seriously, wtfiddlesticks

Do you know any distros whose developers sadly didn’t fulfill the promised goals? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Top 3 Bad Linux Distros

How many features will they cut? Will this version of Windows be more than just a security update with touch-screen support? Where is the innovation?

I just got a tech update from ZDNet with a screenshot for the new Windows 7 (Milestone 3, I believe). So here’s the screenshot:

And here’s the first screenshot of gedit I found and on Ubuntu, which is one of the ugliest distros. It’s not really new.

Wow, Microsoft. Congrats. Shipping in 2009 you say? At this rate gedit will probably have a time travel function by then -_-

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Windows 7 versus Generic Linux Distro

Here is a collection of some of my favourite GNU/Linux pics.

The ultimate winner:

http://ralree.com/images/MacPCLinuxTruth.jpg

http://blog.omega-research.org/uploads/2007/09/ubuntu-linux-very-friendly-circle-of-friends.jpg

One of my creations

http://media.brajeshwar.com/i/technology/linux.jpg

http://www.commodore.ca/misc/jokes/Linux-vs-Microsoft.jpg

http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2008/03/HP_Media_Vault_Review_1.jpg

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Cool Linux Propaganda Images

I’ve been rambling on and on about the productivity and/or visual boost which one can get from Compiz Fusion, the Live-CD function that enables you to try out Linux before installing it, etc. etc. etc.!

But what about you?

Many Linux users know why they use Linux, everyone has a reason they chose the Linux Desktop. Some of the qualities of Linux are speed (because of good, open code) and most importantly, choice.

I like the fact that you can work even if you don’t have a graphical desktop, I like being able to launch everything by typing very short commands (which is way faster than point-n-click). I like that you can re-spin the whole system and make your own flavor of GNU/Linux. Software freedom is also extremely important and Linux has probably developed faster, but I cannot say that Linux being Free Software was my main reason for using it. Let’s not forget, there is a multitude of other operating systems out there which are under open source licenses.

And let’s not forget the great apps that are Linux only. Sure, there are some things that are still not available on the Linux desktop, but with WINE and all of the other cool software we love (Geany,  Banshee…) gives us the power we need.

So, my question goes to everyone who uses Linux as their main desktop. Why do you? Is it the freedom? The apps? The speed? Tell us!

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What Things About Linux do You Like Best?