3 Linux Apps You Should Get To Know

If you’re thinking about using Linux as your primary operating system, there are certain apps that no matter what distribution you’re using are in the must-know category.

Contrary to popular belief, most Linux distros run the same. Fervent Linux users will tell you there are MAJOR differences between one flavor and the next, but that isn’t so. The boot time is the same, the feature sets are similar, and they all come with more or less the same programs.

That being said, here are the apps you should get to know.

Browsers other than Mozilla Firefox

Firefox is a great browser and I don’t deny that. It is the primary one I use. But no matter what OS you use it in it will do weird things, such as bloat up in memory use for no reason, crash, have an add-on or two that just doesn’t agree with it, etc.

In the GNOME environment (which is default in Ubuntu), you should add in the Epiphany browser as a secondary. This runs very similar to Firefox and even has extensions (similar to FF’s add-ons). If using Ubuntu, this is available to download/install by searching for it via Add/Remove.

In the KDE environment, the alternative is Konqueror (pronounced like conqueror). This is in fact already installed in KDE as it is the default file manager in KDE, but also serves as a very capable browser.

Another alternative that is widely available in many distributions is Opera. You should not have to direct-download this as it should already be in the file repositories for your Linux of choice. For example, in Ubuntu it would be available by searching for it in Add/Remove.

Pidgin and Kopete

These are both multi-protocol instant messenger applications. If using Linux regularly, you’re most likely already familiar with at least one of these.

Both of them work very well for what they do, but bear in mind that since they are not native to the IM services they support, there will be periods where services won’t work at times.

For example, Pidgin 2.5.6 was working just fine with connecting to Yahoo Messenger until Yahoo decided to change their protocol (which was very recent at the time of this writing), and then it didn’t work. Pidgin 2.5.7 took care of that shortly thereafter, but the point is that you really have to stay on top of this stuff in the Linux environment.

The thing to know here is to always be running the latest version of whatever IM program you decide to use. Whenever something in the software decides to break and/or not connect to specific services, check for a new version.

OpenOffice Suite

I’ve been using OpenOffice as my primary office app suite in Windows for years now (ever since version 1). And in Linux environment this is the standard that you’ll always get.

OO really didn’t get modern until version 3, but when it did it finally got to a point where people were much more comfortable switching to it. You should learns the ins and outs of what this software can do and if possible specifically stick with the Open Document Format, labeled as ODF for short.

Why stick with ODF? Because you get the most features out of OO that way. If you “degrade” an OO file to a DOC/XLS/PPT or what-have-you, certain things may not work correctly.

Also bear in mind that popular online document editors such as Google Docs do import ODF files easily.

It’s not so much about choice as it is just using stuff that works

You should not pigeonhole yourself into any specific app to get things done, because you tether yourself at that point. If you’re tethered and that app breaks, you’re screwed because you have no alternative.

Any app you use in Linux usually has another offering that’s similar. And even if you don’t plan on using the other app, you should have it installed anyway just in case.

With OpenOffice Writer the alternative is AbiWord, with Pidgin/Kopete there’s aMSN (for MSN specific connectivity), web-based versions of those messengers, and so on.

The idea here is to know the options and have them readily available. In Windows this is easy because it’s widely known what there are for alternatives. In Linux, not so much only due to the fact it isn’t used as often as Windows.