Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Linux equivalent of Windows programs. Your fave?

by MrKassner Sep 16, 2009 1:21PM PDT

I (finally) got Linux Xubuntu 9.04 installed and for the most part customised how I like it, and now I'm wondering, since I'm working on ditching Windows and even showing friends the benefits of Linux so they may switch too, what is everyone's favorite Linux equivalent of these Windows programs...

uTorrent (Torrent downloader)
Windows Media Player (Media player for every type of media)
Windows DVD Maker (Basic DVD video creator)
Windows Sidebar (Desktop gadget tool)
CCleaner (Cleans out files from the hard drive that aren't needed anymore, like the temp folder, browser cookies, etc.)
DvdVideoSoft YouTube Downloader (YouTube video downloader)
MSN (Windows Messenger, I'm assuming use Pidgin? Anything better then that?)
SpeedFan (System monitor including temperatures, fan speeds, and hard drive SMART readings)

That is all I can think of off the top of my head... If their are any other programs that you would like to recommend feel free to, just say what they do.

Also I've been making a lot of posts lately in the Linux forum and wanted to say sorry for that, I've just had a lot of questions and this place is the fastest and easiest to get answers.

Discussion is locked

5 Posts
- Collapse + Expand Details
- Collapse -
What I like is what I like - and not what you might like...
by arochester Sep 16, 2009 6:51PM PDT
- Collapse -
Thanks for the links,
by MrKassner Sep 17, 2009 2:02PM PDT

they helped a lot with finding some programs, but I was wondering what everyone's favorites were out of curiosity.

- Collapse -
my favorites
by GODhack Sep 18, 2009 12:30AM PDT

uTorrent (Torrent downloader) - rtorrent, sometimes ktorrent
Windows Media Player (Media player for every type of media) - mplayer and kmplayer frontend.
Windows DVD Maker (Basic DVD video creator) - I do not use this type of soft maybe Avidemux something similar.
Windows Sidebar (Desktop gadget tool) - KDE 4.x plasmoids (maybe not 100% alt. to question, but I like them)
CCleaner (Cleans out files from the hard drive that aren't needed anymore, like the temp folder, browser cookies, etc.) - Linux generally do not need this type of software. Maybe old packages (about same as program setups) may accumulate, but this is very distribution specific.
DvdVideoSoft YouTube Downloader (YouTube video downloader) - youtube-dl
MSN (Windows Messenger, I'm assuming use Pidgin? Anything better then that?) - many, but I do not use them. Only web based mail and kmail. Sometimes friends aks me to turn Skype on but I do not like Skype use it just because of my friends.
SpeedFan (System monitor including temperatures, fan speeds, and hard drive SMART readings) - conky

- Collapse -
My favs..
by FrankQC Oct 5, 2009 7:10AM PDT

uTorrent (Torrent downloader) Transmission Client

Windows Media Player Rhythmbox

MSN Emesene , Pidgin , Finch , Kopete Messenger

- Collapse -
Similar applications
by Porch-a-Geese Oct 6, 2009 4:42PM PDT

utorrent::ktorrent. There is also wget which is a personal favorite of mine to use. Not as fast but reliable.
Windows Media Player:: mplayer, xine, noatun,xmms with codecs. Add kaffeine to that.

Windows DVD Maker:: brasero, k3b,
CCleaner: This is a completely separate subject by itself. I suggest you download and install virtualbox and do some learning on a virtual computer so that you won't regret if you mess up. The system is made to access and rewrite every part of it- save proprietary- by the user. Like I said, don't do anything on the real machine before you learn it on a virtual one.
MSN messenger:: Protocol such as aim. This is a protocol so you need a front end. Kopete, pidgin, amsn.
Speedfan:: hardware monitoring can be anything from limiting what uses resources to kernel modules to binaries to shell scripts to service controls. This also requires a completely separate section by itself.

Try asking for help in the Linux forums such as ubuntu or linuxquestions.
A few tips on asking questions in the named forums:
make the post title short but to the point,
state exactly what went wrong and what you did to remedy it,
research don't refute advice and see if it had worked in a situation similar to the one you have,
there is as much of a difference between windows and linux-gnu as there is between riding a skateboard and riding a bike, be sure to be open minded at all times,
you will always have trolls, sphincters, jokers, etc just ignore them,
and finally...
buy a book for xubuntu/ubuntu and keep that around as a useful guide.

Back to Linux forum

CNET Forums

Operating Systems
Software
Electronics & Gadgets
Hardware
Tablets & Mobile Devices
General Help
Brand Forums
Roadshow Autos
Off Topic

Other Forums

Forum Info