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Ten obscure Linux applications you need to try

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Linux

Jack Wallen Tech Republic

Published: 18 Mar 2009 17:42 GMT

Ten obscure Linux applications you need to try

With thousands of Linux tools available, it is inevitable that some of the best ones get lost in the crowd. Jack Wallen introduces apps that more admins should know about.

Search for Linux applications on Freshmeat and you'll get more than 11,000 hits. Of those thousands of applications, which are worth using? Certainly not all of them. Still, buried within that grand total you will find gems that get no publicity, but are worth trying. Here are 10 of those little-known apps, which range from multimedia to certificate authority tools, and anything and everything in between.

1. Floola
Floola is not an open-source application, but it does run on Linux, as well as OS X and Windows. Floola takes music management — in particular, synching iPods — one step further. With this nifty application, you can download and convert YouTube videos for playback on your iPod.

However, unlike clunkier alternatives, Floola does this seamlessly and simply. No commands to enter, it's all GUI. The only possible catch is that before you can add videos from YouTube, you have to install FFmpeg on your Linux box. Floola uses FFmpeg for the conversion process.

Don't expect Floola to have all the bells and whistles available with iTunes. Floola offers Photo support, but Snarl support is Windows-only, and Growl support is Mac-only. Floola also offers Notes, repair iPods, export lists to HTML, language support, lyrics, duplicate and lost file search, artwork support, video support, Google calendar support, playlists, podcast, Last.fm support, and more.

Floola is simple to use in Linux, as it comes in an executable binary that you can simply copy to the /usr/bin directory and run with the command Floola.

2. TransKode
Sticking with the multimedia theme, TransKode is a front end for the highly flexible, modular command-line toolset Transcode, which is one of the most versatile audio and video-converting tools available.

Transcode has both a graphical and a text-only interface and supports a vast number of formats including DV, Mpeg-2, Mpeg-2 Part 2, H.264, Quicktime, AC3 and any format included under Libavcodec. Transcode can import DVDs on the fly and record from Video4Linux devices.

The problem with Transcode is that the commands can become a bit overwhelming for the average user. TransKode remedies that problem by using a user-friendly interface that makes the complex business of converting multimedia format files as simple as it can be.

3. Giver
This is one of those brilliant little pieces of software that you won't be able to live without once you've sampled it. Giver allows you to drag and drop files to users on your network. It will also automatically detect other Giver users on your network.

When you drag a file, or multiple files, to a user represented by an avatar on the Giver window, the files are automatically transferred. The recipient of the files is warned that a user wishes to send files. The user can accept or decline them. The only downside to Giver is that there is only a candidate available for Ubuntu.

I have tried to install the software on both Fedora and Mandriva with no luck. Ubuntu installation is as simple as apt-get install giver. This application makes transferring files literally as simple as drag and drop. A must-have for company file-sharing....