list of Linux must-have programs ,Browsers,Console Utilities

File backup software 

Unison
Unison is a simple, lightweight backup program. It is GUI-driven, which makes it well suitable for new Linux users. It is capable of backing up files and folders to local and remote locations (via SSH) and can run scheduled.

TimeVault
TimeVault is a snapshot software, which, when activated will create copies of all files and folders that change, retained a detailed archive of all revisions. It is very useful for keeping track of frequent changes to important files. It also guarantees easy recovery of lost data.

 Imaging software

CloneZilla
CloneZilla is a fast, light imaging software that runs from a CD. It is well suited for desktop use, as well as massive deployment in server environment. The program can backup and restore high-quality, high-compression images on a variety of disk, partition and filesystem types, including NTFS.

 Mondo
Mondo is a text-driven system backup & restore utility. It is reliable and works well with a range of filesystems. Mondo is the module responsible for creating backup archives. Mindi is the module that packages archives into bootable .isos, so they can be burned and used on any machine.

PartImage
PartImage is another powerful imaging software. It comes bundled with a large number of system rescue, recovery and backup distributions, like SystemRescueCD.

Remastersys
Remastersys is very handy application that allows you to clone and backup your Linux distribution, including root, home, other partitions, and all personal, custom configuration to a fully deployable, bootable live CD. Remastersys works for several distributions, including Ubuntu and its derivatives, like Linux Mint and Klikit Linux.

Browsers 

*Firefox

IEs4Linux

This is an excellent utility that enables you to run Internet Explorer on Linux, using WINE for emulation; it offers Internet Explorers 5 through 7, including Flash, making invalid the excuse of not switching to Linux because your favorite site only loads in Internet Explorer.

Opera:Opera is another solid browser. It is light, fast and includes built-in mail and a torrent client. 

Console (Terminal) utilities 

Guake

Guake is a semi-transparent drop-down console that you can use instead of your standard shell programs by having it always ready at the tip of your fingers. Guake allows you to work faster and with more fun. 

Terminator

Terminator is a console (terminal) utility that allows you to freely manage the layout of several windows inside a single frame, thus maintaining an unobstructed view of all workspaces. 

Yakuake : is a project very similar to Guake, except that is intended for KDE desktops.

Emulators 

DOSBox is an x86 PC emulator, complete with graphics, sound, mouse, and modem, allowing you to run old DOS-based games that are no longer supported by modern operating systems. It also supports IPX and Serial multiplayer modes.

QEMU is a multi-purpose processor emulator, with many additional features. For example, you can use it to create virtual machines or virtual hard disks and convert them. 

WINE is not an emulator, according to the official information. It is a translation layer or a program loader, capable of running Windows applications on Linux and other UNIX-based systems.

Encryption

TrueCrypt is a powerful, cross-platform real-time on-the-fly encryption software. It can be used to create encrypted volumes (file containers), encrypt entire partitions or drives, and even encrypt the entire operating systems (Windows only). TrueCrypt supports standard and hidden volumes and can run from portable devices. 

Forensic tools 

BackTrack is one of the more popular distributions in the white hat circles. It is specially suited for penetration testing, with more than 300 tools available for the task. Like both Helix and Protech, BackTrack is based on Ubuntu. This means good stability and hardware detection and a whole lot of software that can be easily obtained.  

Helix is a dedicated rescue, recovery and incidence handling distribution, with both pure Linux live CD and in-vivo Windows modes. Helix can be used for system diagnostics, profiling, auditing, security checks, data collection, malware analysis, and a range of other Infosec tasks. 

FTP clients

FileZilla is a fast, popular, cross-platform FTP client, although there's also a server module, albeit only for Windows. The program supports FTP, SFTP and FTPS.

HTML editing

Bluefish is a powerful, multi-language editor, intended for use mainly by programmers and web developers. It supports many programming and markup languages and focuses on dynamic and interactive websites. Some of the many features included are unlimited undo/redo, automatic tag closing for HTML and XML documents, syntax highlighting, and numerous external plugins.

KompoZer is a simple, lightweight WYSIWYG HTML editor, a continuation of the Nvu project. KompoZer solves a number of bugs that existed in the previous incarnation and introduces new features. It is very easy to use, even by people who have little knowledge of web languages.  

Image manipulation

Digital cameras

gtkam
gtkam is a simple utility that supports numerous devices. In most cases, you should just plug your camera and start using it.

Image suite

GIMP
GIMP is a powerful, comprehensive image manipulation program. It offers an extremely wide range of tools for graphic editing of images, although it does require extensive knowledge to be fully utilized.

Viewers

F-Spot
F-Spot is a photo management program for Gnome desktops; the program supports numerous file types and allows easy editing and tagging of photos, simplifying cataloging of large batches of images.
GwenView
GwenView is a fast, east-to-use image viewer for KDE desktops, with quick-edit features that make it ideal for lightweight manipulation of images, compared to the more serious GIMP. GwenView also allows you to tag your images, rate them or present them in a slideshow.

Web cameras

Cheese Webcam Booth
Cheese is a very simple, powerful web camera utility that should work well and out of the box with most camera devices, including built-in gadgets in laptops. It takes very little effort to setup and configure, it can capture stills and add custom graphics to pictures.

Instant Messaging & Video conferencing

Ekiga (formerly GnomeMeeting)
Ekiga is a Voice over IP (VoIP), IP Telephony, and Video Conferencing application that allows you to make audio and video calls to remote users with SIP or H.323 compatible hardware and software. It supports many audio and video codecs and all modern VoIP features for both SIP and H.323. It also integrates nicely with web camera devices.

Kopete
Kopete is an Instant Messaging program for KDE; Kopete supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, IRC, Gadu-Gadu, Novell GroupWise Messenger, and more, as well as message encryption and archiving. Kopete also works with web cameras

Pidgin (formerly GAIM)
Pidgin is a multi-protocol client and will allow you to connect to several networks, without using several (often) bloated and unneeded IM programs. GAIM supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo!, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, Silc, GroupWise, SameTime, and Zephyr networks.

Skype
Skype is a VoIP, video conferencing and instant messaging software that uses a proprietary format for communication. In return, it offers encryption and good quality of service.

Conversion tools - all categories 

ffmpeg is a Jack o' all Trades conversion utility, available on Linux and other operating systems, capable of converting just about anything to anything. It is a command line utility.

Desktop recording & presentation software

recordMyDesktop
recordMyDesktop is a simple, friendly movie recording software, which allows you to easily create high-quality, impressive animations of your desktop.

XVidCap is another interesting, useful desktop recording software.

Wink is a tutorial and presentation creation software. It allows you to capture screenshots of the actions you take on the desktop, wrap them into an animation and export them as beautiful, classy Flash, PDF or even executable packages.

Players - Audio 

Amarok is an excellent media player. Although it is mainly intended for KDE desktop, it will work well on other platforms. Some people argue whether the Amarok 2.0 is indeed better than the older Amarok 1.4, so you should check for yourself before deciding. 

Rhythmbox. 

This is another great Linux music player. It works with a range of media formats and will naturally "plug in" to Web radio stations. For example, you can stream music from Last.fm directly into Rhythmbox.

Players - Video 

MPlayer  is a highly versatile media player for Linux, with a very good support of audio and video formats. It will play most MPEG/VOB, AVI, Ogg/OGM, VIVO, ASF/WMA/WMV, QT/MOV/MP4, RealMedia, Matroska, NUT, NuppelVideo, FLI, YUV4MPEG, FILM, RoQ, and PVA files, supported by many native, XAnim, and Win32 DLL codecs. You can watch VideoCD, SVCD, DVD, 3ivx, DivX 3/4/5, and even WMV movies. 

Players - all categories

 Miro

Formerly known as Democracy Player (which featured in the last collection), Miro is a good-looking Internet TV platform; the player incorporates video RSS feeds, automatic downloads of videos, BitTorrent, and other exciting features

VLC is an amazing open-source, cross-platform player, supporting a staggering collection of supported media formats, including Audio, Video and Flash. It should be one of your top choices whenever it comes to playing any sort of media. It is also a region-free DVD player. 

Office applications

 LaTeX-based text processors 

Kile is a KDE frontend for the almighty LaTeX text processing language. The application look good and has many useful features. Using LaTeX allows you to create stylish, professional-looking documents in half the time it will take you by conventional means of office utilities.
LyX
Alongside Kile, LyX is another tremendous, powerful LaTeX GUI. It allows you to create impressive documents in HTML, PS or PDF format rendered with unbeatably beautiful Computer Modern fonts. LyX is also available for Windows and is a little less difficult to use, in my opinion.

Office programs & suites

AbiWord
This little word processor is much more powerful than it seems. It is lightweight, fast and has lots of rich features. AbiWord supports numerous file formats, including DOC, DOCX, ODT, and RTF. It is also extensible with plugins. Best of all, AbiWord comes with the ultra-sexy Computer Modern fonts included by default!
OpenOffice
OpenOffice is a powerful office suite, with word, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, database, and other applications. It runs on Linux, but you can also use it on Windows as a replacing for Microsoft Office. Like Firefox, OpenOffice has extensions, which further enhance its capabilities.

Partitioning software 

GParted is a partitioning software that can be run from live CD or inside installed systems. It can be used to create, resize, move, delete, reformat, or check partitions, including NTFS filesystem. GParted is robust, reliable and safe. I have written a thorough, detailed tutorial about GParted.

Peer-to-Peer sharing

aMule is the Linux version of eMule, a highly popular and successful P2P sharing application. While it may not be as fast as most BitTorrent clients, you're more likely to find less popular, older content than anywhere else. Using aMule takes patience, but it is rewarding. aMule uses ED2k servers and the KAD network. 

Rescue & Recovery

Super Grub Disk
Super Grub Disk is intended to run from a floppy disk or CD and is used for system rescue. Most importantly, it can be used to restore boot loaders, including GRUB, LILO and even Windows boot loader.

SystemRescueCD
This is a live CD specifically geared toward rescue and recovery. The tools package includes some of the most important tools available for Linux user, like GParted, PartImage, Grub, Lilo, sfdisk, TestDisk, and more.

Network scanners

nmap is probably the most popular network scanner in the whole world. It was even used with surprising accuracy by Trinity in Matrix against a Windows 2000 in a successful attempt to discover vulnerable services and gain entry. nmap is a command-line utility, but it can be used with a GUI; there are several versions available, including zenmap and others

Rootkit tools 

chkrootkit
chkrootkit is a shell script that can check the system binaries for signs of rootkit modification. It is a useful tool in an environment that requires lax firewall rules and multiple installations from external sources.
rkhunter
Like chkrootkit, rkhunter can be used to check system files for unwanted changes. The two tools complement each other nicely.

Traffic sniffers 

Wireshark (formerly Ethereal)
Wireshark is a powerful packet collection and analysis suite, capable of capturing network data on all levels of the TCP/IP stack. It can collect data from Ethernet, IEEE 802.11, PPP, and loopback, supports hundreds of protocols, has rich traffic analysis filters, and can be enhanced with plugins.

Virtualization

Kiwi
Kiwi is a system imaging software for openSUSE. It is a tremendously versatile program that allows you to create custom-build images of openSUSE or other Linux distributions and convert them to virtual machine images, live CD/DVDs, bootable USB images, PXE thin install, OEM preload images, Amazon machines, and even migrate existing physical installations. Kiwi uses the extremely simply Image Creator and Product Creator wizards to manage image building, making it a breeze for just about anyone to roll professional custom distributions in a matter of hours.

VirtualBox
VirtualBox is a versatile, cross-platform virtualization software that allows you to run multiple guest operating systems on top of your existing desktop. VirtualBox is a must for software enthusiasts, testers and researchers, or people who want to try new operating systems without altering their existing setups. One of the possible uses is to run Windows software that has no alternatives on Linux.

VMware Player
VMware Player is a simple, adequate virtualization solution for desktop use. It is less powerful than either VirtualBox or VMware Server (see below), but it allows home users to test new operating systems or new software for their existing platforms in guest machines, without altering their base setup. It also comes included in numerous repositories, so it is quite easy to install and maintain.

VMware Server
VMware Server is another powerful desktop virtualization software. Alongside VirtualBox, it makes a great combo for exploring and testing new stuff. VMware Server has many useful features, including the ability to connect to remote machines, a mighty network stack, and offers 3D support for DirectX on Windows guests, complementing OpenGL on VirtualBox.

credits:http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/new-cool-list-linux.html

 

 

 

 

 

Mageia : A New Linux Distribution

• Mageia is a fork of Mandriva Linux, supported by a not-for-profit organisation of recognized and elected contributors. 
• Further than just delivering a free, secure, stable and sustainable operating system, the goal is to set up a stable and trustable governance to direct collaborative projects

Forking Mandriva Linux? Yes.

Forking an existing open source project is never an easy decision to make, and forking Mandriva Linux is a huge task.
It was not an impulsive decision. We all spoke a lot before: former employees, Cooker contributors and users' communities. We collected opinions and reactions in the past weeks as we needed to get some kind of global agreement and to gather, before going ahead.
We believe a fork is the best solution and we have decided to create a new distribution: Mageia.

Community.

We understand the Mageia community as:

• users,
• makers (designers, developers, packagers, translators, testers, etc.),
• advocates.

Those can be individuals, organizations, companies from all over the world.
There are challenges here; so many countries, so many languages, so many cultures, so different needs. And that's great.
We've seen with the Mandriva Assembly experiment that it's not an easy task. We believe we can make it better yet.

Credits: http://www.mageia.org/en/about/2010-sept-announcement.html

 

Kubuntu Linux Gets New Sugar Daddy

Kubuntu — the version of Ubuntu Linux that uses the KDE desktop interface rather than the standard Unity desktop — has a new sponsor.
Open source outfit Blue Systems will take over the project after Ubuntu sponsor Canonical said it would no longer pay for the development work on Kubuntu. Open source projects such as Kubuntu and Ubuntu typically require ongoing funding from for-profit ventures.
“Canonical needs to make money, and after dropping support for Gnome, support for KDE couldn’t be far behind,” read a blog post from Jonathan Riddell, lead developer for Kubuntu, referring to the two desktop interfaces dropped from the Ubuntu project. “Then I got e-mails from companies, governments, and individuals saying they depend on it, use it every day for themselves, their clients and their families. It turns out Kubuntu is very popular and important, people really use this KDE stuff I’ve been working on for the last decade.”
Riddell said that with the new-found sponsorship, Kubuntu would soon branch out into ARM chips, the low-power processors that power many smartphones and tablets. He even hinted that Kubuntu could be transformed into a server operating system.
“With this new sponsorship we will have the independence to give the project new wings and take the excellent KDE Software to new audiences,” read a statement from Riddell on the official Kubuntu website. Blue Systems sponsors other open source projects such as NetRunner and Linux Mint.
The name Kubuntu derives from the Zambian language Bemba and translates roughly to “towards humanity.”

Credits:http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/04/kubuntu-blue-systems/

Cloud Foundry aiming to be 'the Linux of the cloud'

 Credits : http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/04/12/cloud_foundry_linux/

Cloud Foundry aiming to be 'the Linux of the cloud'

One year in and VMware adds new features

By Iain Thomson in San Francisco 

Steve Herrod, CTO of VMware, has high ambitions for the company's app development platform Cloud Foundry, saying he wants it to be the Linux of the cloud.
Speaking at the one year anniversary of the Cloud Foundry rollout, Herrod said that the company was betting on open source and open cloud management as the future of the sector, and introduced a new range of features designed to make the platform much more scalable and easier to use on a variety of platforms.

"We really are aspiring for this to be the Linux of the cloud," he said. While VMware is continuing to add to the Cloud Foundry code base, he reported that the majority of code for the platform was contributed by third parties.

VMware was adding a major part of the code base with BOSH components that enabled large scale deployment of the system over multiple cloud vendors. The new code would take Cloud Foundry into the large scale deployment field he promised, without tying the code to a particular vendor.
"This is not a collection of shell scripts or pile of Perl," said Mark Lucovsky, VP of engineering at VMware. "It's built for large scale clusters using hundreds of VMs and useful for small multi-node and tier clusters."
VMware was also speeding up the process for testing and deploying code on Cloud Foundry Lucovsky explained. The testing procedures had been streamlined to allow for better code checking and faster deployment. While VMware was still contributing code, it had been outpaced by third parties developing their own forks, he said.

Ubuntu Linux 12.04 'Precise Pangolin' Reaches Final Beta

With just a few weeks remaining before the final release of Ubuntu Linux 12.04 “Precise Pangolin,” Canonical on Thursday released the second and final beta version of the free and open source operating system.

Version 12.04 of Canonical's popular Linux distribution is a notable one for several reasons, including not just the fact that it's a Long Term Support (LTS) release and thus a particularly suitable choice for businesses, but also that it's the first to feature Canonical's new Head-Up Display (HUD) interface.

We already got a taste of HUD in the first beta version, which debuted earlier this month. Now, this second beta release adds a few more features while fixing numerous bugs, according to the official announcement from Ubuntu Release Manager Kate Stewart.

1. A New Kernel

2. The Latest LibreOffice

3. An Updated HUD

4. Additions to Ubuntu One

5. Tweaked for Tablets

6. The Latest OpenStack     

Credits: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter

Linux Powered Real Star Trek Tricorder

If using a Star Trek Tricorder in real life is in your all time wish list, then probably its time to put a check mark in front of it. Peter Janson, a PhD student of cognitive science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario has created his own Tricorder device which much or less works same as the Star Trek Tricorder. It is an open source project, so you can also make your own Tricorder!

 Peter started the tricorder project in 2007 and he has developed several models till now under TAPR non-commercial hardware license. First model named Tricorder Mark 1 was the preliminary experiment whose domain was limited to take atmospheric, electromagnetic and spatial measurements. The next model i.e. Tricorder Mark 2 was more sophisticated as it was powered by Debian Linux which runs on ARM920T based Atmel micro controller. It also featured OLED resistive touchscreen panel and a rechargeable lithium polymer battery. Reportedly plan for Mark 3 was dropped due to some reasons and currently Peter is working on Tricorder Mark 4. On the official website of “the Tricorder Project”, Peter wrote, “I think for me, it’s really about curiosity.  And helping to find ways to see and intuitively visualize the world around us, to help share that curiosity, and get folks excited about science.”

Full story:http://www.crazyengineers.com/linux-powered-real-star-trek-tricorder-it-is-so-real-2011/

Second Edition Linux Book Released

TSTC Publishing announces the release of the second edition of the Guide to the Secure Configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, which provides security recommendations for the RHEL 5 operating system for system administrators. Readers may also want to buy the book bundled with Introduction to Linux: A Hands-On Guide. 

Guide to the Secure Configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 made its second edition debut on March 21. The book provides security recommendations for the Red Hat Enterprises Linux (RHEL) 5 operating system for system administrators. The guidance provided is applicable to all variants of the system including desktops, servers and advanced platform. The book includes chapters on system-wide configuration and services. Screen shots are included with the majority of directions to help the reader to better understand.
The book also can be bundled with Introduction to Linux: A Hands-On Guide (also available separately), which offers an inside look at computing for those who are acquainted with the basic system administration skills for Unix-like systems, as well as those with some familiarity with documentation and administration conventions for the RHEL 5 operating system.
Introduction to Linux: A Hands-On Guide begins with a history of Linux and includes chapters on file systems, processes, networking, and sound and video. At the end of every chapter are exercises and chapter questions to assist in clarifying the material.
Features of the books include numerous screenshots, detailed instructions of everyday tasks and information written by a Linux audience for a Linux audience.

More on:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/3/prweb9347448.htm