Ubuntu Linux Utilities

Ark

via TechRepublic

The Ark application is often overlooked, especially by Linux veterans. Ark is an archival manager. When you click on an archive package link (.tg, .tgz, etc) in your browser, you typically can either save the file or open the file with Ark. Most users just save the file and then drop into the command line and use the tar utility to unpack the archive. Ark can handle the same task quickly and cleanly? When efficiency becomes a necessity, tools like Ark should not be overlooked, even by expert users. One nice aspect of Ark is that you can open an archive and extract a single file from the package without actually unpacking the file. This can be done from command line but it’s much easier (for most) to have a GUI that lets you right-click a file and select Extract.

Floola

via TechRepublic

Floola isn’t an open source application, but it does run on Linux (as well was OS X and Windows). Floola takes music management (in particular, synching iPods) one step further. With this application, you can download and convert YouTube videos for playback on your iPod. But unlike some other applications, Floola does this seamlessly and simply. No commands to enter; it’s all GUI. There is one catch - before you can add videos from YouTube, you have to install ffmpeg on your Linux box. Floola uses ffmpeg for the conversion process.

Floola doesn't have all the functions that iTunes has. Floola offers Photo support, Snarl (Windows only) support, Growl (Mac only) support, Notes, repair iPods, export lists to HTML, language support, lyrics, duplicate and lost file search, artwork support, video support, Google calendar support, playlists, podcast, lastfm 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.

Nano

via TechRepublic

Nano has become a favorite editors for many that used Pico, until Pico was crippled by licensing issues. Nano took Pico’s place. Nano is an ncurses-based text editor that is far easier to use than either vi or emacs. Nano takes Pico and improves it, offering UTF-8 support, better color syntax highlighting, copy text without cutting, verbatim input, repeat last search, spell check, indent marked text, search within file browser, and more. Nano works within any terminal window, has a very small footprint, and is reliable. Nano is simple to install on nearly any distribution.

Tea

via TechRepublic

Tea is a text editor for programmers and handles most languages. Tea was created with bits of GPL’ed code from a number of other applications to create a one-stop-shop for coders. Tea supports built-in file manager, spell check, built-in search, tabbed layout, multiple encodings, code snippet/session/template support, OpenDoc, RTF, Kword, Abiword, OpenOffice support, SRT-subtitle preview, text analyzer, key customization, HTML tools, bracket matching, Wikipedia/Docbook/LaTeX support, string-handling functions, bookmarks, and more.

Transkode

via TechRepublic

Sticking with the multimedia theme, Transkode is a front end for the highly flexible, modular command line toolset Transcode [with a 'c' not a 'k']. Transcode 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 get a bit overwhelming for the average user. Transkode remedies this by employing a user-friendly interface that makes the complex business of converting multimedia format files as simple as it can be.

Transmission

via TechRepublic

Transmission is a reliable and efficent bit torrent client that makes for simple torrent management. To seed the client, you simply have to click the torrent link to open up Transmission. In enterprises where large-scale data transmission is a must, employing applications like Transmission can enable end users or clients to download large pieces of data much more easily. We can only get our updates of Red Hat and Fedora Linux reliably by Bit-Torrent. A client like Transmission is a must.

TinyCA

via TechRepublic

The command-line creation of certificate authorities requires serious accuracy at the keyboard. The TinyCA application takes care of all of that typing for you. With TinyCA, you can create unlimited CAs and SubCAs, server and client certificates with multiple language support. If your IT department needs a CA management tool, you should look at TinyCA first. TinyCA is open source, written in Perl/Gtk, and works with OpenSSL.

Shutter

via shutter-project.org

Shutter is a feature-rich screenshot program. You can take a screenshot of a specific area, window, your whole screen, or even of a website - apply different effects to it, draw on it to highlight points, and then upload to an image hosting site, all within one window.It is with a new development team that is clearly working on ease of use and user interface from release 0.7 onwards.