Innovative New Linux Programs

[FryerFox]

I find myself scouring the web every now and then to try to find innovative new Linux programs to make myself more productive (or waste time playing with), but I have yet to find a nice cite with a list of all the neat new stuff available for Linux.

Here's a list of things I think are relatively innovative (either from the perspective of coming from Windows or from an older Linux distro):

Beagle (http://beaglewiki.org/Main_Page) and Desktop Search: Near-instantaneous searching of file contents
iFolder (http://www.ifolder.com/index.php/Main_Page): Create shared folders that are kept synchonized (there's unison (http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/) too)
Tomboy (http://www.beatniksoftware.com/tomboy/): Hyperlinked note-taking application
XGL/Compiz (http://www.novell.com/linux/xglrelease/): Vista-like GUI candy
MythTV (http://www.mythtv.org/): Media center
InitNG (http://www.initng.org/): Faster bootup
F-Spot (http://f-spot.org/Main_Page): Photo manager
Epipheny's smart bookmarks (http://www.gnome.org/projects/epiphany/smartbookmarks.html): Tagging bookmark content
NTFSMount (http://wiki.linux-ntfs.org/doku.php?id=ntfsmount): Read/write NTFS
Xen (http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/Research/SRG/netos/xen/) and Qemu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QEMU): Machine virtualization (also VMWare Server (http://www.vmware.com/products/server/))


I thought I would share just in case some of you hadn't heard of some of these projects (or there was some fascinating new technology out there that I had missed).

[maxx_730]

Id add:
Mono: the free .net implementation around!
Wine: the best free win32 api implementation around!
Banshee: music playing at its easiest
Networkmanager: hassle-free connectivity everywhere

[henriquemaia]

iFolder. I particularly like this project.

The rest of the programs you listed are also interesting.

[FryerFox]

iFolder. I particularly like this project.

The rest of the programs you list are also interesting.
I found a post somewhere online that says they are adding this to the Dapper repositories. I don't know when this will happen, but it seems that it's already been accepted.

[nodanero]

The easiest solution for share a folder i think is avahi + iFolder

[Mathias-K]

Nice list. This is exactly the kind of programs i expect to be promoted with Edgy. The new avant garde bling features :)

[FryerFox]

Nice list. This is exactly the kind of programs i expect to be promoted with Edgy. The new avant garde bling features :)

You know, maybe I should have titled this thread Avant Garde Blinginess, because you're right - that's exactly what I was going for :)

Oh, and I guess that Avahi should be on the list too, but I just don't know enough about it to know if it's really cool.

[cleentrax]

I'm already a fan of F-Spot and Compiz. And I'm intrigued by Tomboy and Avahi. Nice list.

I have my eye on Wired (http://wired.is.free.fr/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1). Think of it as part Propellerheads Reason, part GarageBand.

Banshee is too feature-starved for me to consider it innovative. I'm using Amarok right now, but I would prefer to use Listen if it had crossfading.

In general, it would be nice to see additional focus on things where free/open software has an inherent advantage. Some suggestions:
1. A "Synaptic" for finding media. Imagine browsing through Creative Commons music and videos that you can download for free. This could be integrated with tools like Audioscrobbler to make suggestions.
2. Enhanced media sharing with tools like Avahi. Free/Creative Commons media could be flagged so that you could easily browse and share media across a network.
3. App Fetch: When you click on an unknown file type in Windows, you can choose to view a web page that will tell you what application you can use to open the file. Ubuntu could do much better -- it could actually give you a list of programs available in the repositories, and suggest installing one of them.

[zapcojake]

I realize before I say it that this will probably spark a debate but since xgl/compiz works just fine in Dapper and Edgy will most likely ship with it preconfigured should we call it Vista like or should M$ call their stuff a Linux like desktop? Seems like Ubuntu/Linux got it working first to me:)

[FryerFox]

I realize before I say it that this will probably spark a debate but since xgl/compiz works just fine in Dapper and Edgy will most likely ship with it preconfigured should we call it Vista like or should M$ call their stuff a Linux like desktop? Seems like Ubuntu/Linux got it working first to me:)

True, but there is a tendency to call it Vista-like since it's basically the only thing Vista has going for it. And MS is hyping the look and feel in Vista to the extent that is seems that it's all there is to it.

[henriquemaia]

I found a post somewhere online that says they are adding this to the Dapper repositories. I don't know when this will happen, but it seems that it's already been accepted.

Great! Looking forward to it.

[pyros]

the Exaile audio player seems like it has much in the way of promise going for it. it's only, what, about three months old and replaced amarok for me. lyrics lookup, guitartab lookup, random 100, just lots of little stuff

deskbar with beagle is the best thing I can find about gnome panel.

I really hope to see dashboard make a comeback now that beagle is shaping up.

[Hender]

the Exaile audio player seems like it has much in the way of promise going for it. it's only, what, about three months old and replaced amarok for me. lyrics lookup, guitartab lookup, random 100, just lots of little stuff

deskbar with beagle is the best thing I can find about gnome panel.

I really hope to see dashboard make a comeback now that beagle is shaping up.
Exaile looks interesting, though I personally think it looks too complicated for the average user (me) like Amarok.

As for dashboard ...

Summer of Code at Mono is going to revive the beast! :D Here's hoping they'll make it look nice, as opposed to what it used to. ;)

[stoffe]

As for dashboard ...

Summer of Code at Mono is going to revive the beast! :D Here's hoping they'll make it look nice, as opposed to what it used to. ;)
I don't see it: http://www.mono-project.com/Summer2006

Maybe it was only suggested?

[Hender]

I don't see it: http://www.mono-project.com/Summer2006

Maybe it was only suggested?
?

Ack!

http://code.google.com/soc/beagle/about.html

Summer of code at Beagle.

I stand corrected.

[stoffe]

?

Ack!

http://code.google.com/soc/beagle/about.html

Summer of code at Beagle.

I stand corrected.
Ah, thanks! :)

[kiddo]

I'm shamelessly suggesting my own app here, but it is up to you to decide if it is innovative or not. It currently works (CVS version), but you cannot "clear" watches yet. That's the primary missing feature until I can do a first release for Specto (http://specto.sourceforge.net). If anyone likes poking around new apps, I'd like to get as much feedback as possible.

[Warlon]

I'm shamelessly suggesting my own app here, but it is up to you to decide if it is innovative or not. It currently works (CVS version), but you cannot "clear" watches yet. That's the primary missing feature until I can do a first release for Specto (http://specto.sourceforge.net). If anyone likes poking around new apps, I'd like to get as much feedback as possible.


I have to admit, that sure looks promising. Gotta test it later.

[chadk]

Specto looks cool! Keep that up!

-- I wish I could figure out how to get ifolder to install. Same for initng.
Initng has some ubuntu install instructions but it doesn't work... The following packages have unmet dependencies:
initng: Depends: libc6 (>= 2.3.6-6) but 2.3.6-0ubuntu20 is to be installed
E: Broken packages


Anyway... good list. I'll keep trying.

[luckylukeskywalker]

InitNG works fine here, on the latest and greatest Edgy. I followed the instructions on their site, but at first it didn't work. Their FAQ said i had to use alt+F2 to bring up my loginscreen. Tadaa :)

The only thing is i have to activate my network manually :(

[FryerFox]

I'm shamelessly suggesting my own app here, but it is up to you to decide if it is innovative or not. It currently works (CVS version), but you cannot "clear" watches yet. That's the primary missing feature until I can do a first release for Specto (http://specto.sourceforge.net). If anyone likes poking around new apps, I'd like to get as much feedback as possible.

Specto looks cool, and it's quite a clever idea. Oddly enough, someone just posted looking for a program just like it:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=1195152#post1195152

I'll refer him to your site. :)

[kiddo]

Wow, it's cool knowing that some people were actually looking for that feature ;)

[littleiffel]

hi what about http://www.hamachi.cc/ this tool. It really sounds useful. But have not tried it yet, but want to try soon.

[FryerFox]

Hey, I found a pretty cool site where people list their favorite Linux (specifically, Ubuntu) programs:

http://diveintomark.org/archives/2006/06/26/essentials-2006

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Wow, it's cool knowing that some people were actually looking for that feature ;)

The SourceForge page for Specto says there are no files to download. So, when you click on "Click here to download Specto," it leads to a page that says there are no files. I guess the developer has to add them.

Is there a .DEB for Specto yet?

[risbac]

InitNG: Faster bootup

If I remember what I read somewhere, a new boot manager will be used for Ubuntu asap, but it won't be InitNg, as it's not meeting all the requirements from the dev team. There is a post in this forum about this, seems they will write it from scratch. BUt anyway, a better boot is needed.

[kiddo]

The SourceForge page for Specto says there are no files to download. So, when you click on "Click here to download Specto," it leads to a page that says there are no files. I guess the developer has to add them.

Is there a .DEB for Specto yet?

No, sorry, there is no .deb yet, but I'm planning for a release soon I hope. However, I don't know how to make .debs from a python installer. If you want to try out specto, you can use this: http://specto.ecchi.ca/Manual/Installing

Oh, and I just updated a little bit the main website (http://specto.sourceforge.net), it did not have any reference to the wiki before. If you have any problems, you could try to catch me on IRC (nekohayo) or on the jabber conference room, I usually hang in there.

[mirak63]

mythtv is really horrible to configure.
I use it and thinks it's the best for what it's doing, but it's really not out of the box thing.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

No, sorry, there is no .deb yet, but I'm planning for a release soon I hope. However, I don't know how to make .debs from a python installer. If you want to try out specto, you can use this: http://specto.ecchi.ca/Manual/Installing

Oh, and I just updated a little bit the main website (http://specto.sourceforge.net), it did not have any reference to the wiki before. If you have any problems, you could try to catch me on IRC (nekohayo) or on the jabber conference room, I usually hang in there.

The problem is that the tarball is not available on SourceForge. Please see the following page:

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=135582

I should be able to find the tarball on that page, but it's not there. Can you please add it?

Also, when I try to type anything beginning with "cvs" into the terminal, the terminal says it doesn't recognize something called cvs. Don't know what CVS is, and I am not sure if it is something I have to install first.

[RAOF]

There's now a deb of this evening's CVS of specto in my repository (with deb-src, if you're interested in seeing how easy it is to package python with CDBS kiddo :)). Look in the misc section:
http://raof.dyndns.org/falcon/dists/dapper/misc/

[zAo]

F-Spot may be innovative, but is nothing more than alpha software; d&mn slow and unstable.

[kiddo]

H.E. Pennypacker, this is normal, that's because we have not done a release yet. You have to either use the CVS method (it's pretty much the same... you need to do sudo apt-get install cvs before that though), or you could try out RAOF's deb file.

RAOF: zomg? How easy is it? Show me how! :) or if you want to be a packager for specto, that would be cool also. I noticed your package handled correctly dependencies, that's better than me with checkinstall :mrgreen: I'm interested in learning how to do that. Maybe automate the process.

[RAOF]

The deb's now on the mirror that doc.horn has kindly provided me. For faster downloads (and better uptime ;)) try http://ubuntu.moshen.de/dists/dapper/misc/

Tomorrow I'll go through a step-by-step howto of packaging that with CDBS ;)