Tech Remedy

Free is an amazing word! I decided to compile a list of 100+ of the very best free applications for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Not all of the apps listed work on all platforms…so make sure to look into it on your own. This list is broken down into 11 pages. Each page accounts for a software category. Feel free to leave additional free programs that you like in the comments!

Categories:

• Web Browsers
• Anti-Virus/Security
• Graphics/Photos
• Media Players/Converters/Streamers
• Bit Torrent Clients
• Programming/Development
• FTP/SCP/SSH
• System Tools
• Chat/Messengers/Social
• Archive Management
• Productivity

My friend Mike asked me to install Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx as a dual boot with Win7 on his brand new desktop PC. The PC has an Intel i5 processor with integrated Intel HD Graphics. During the installation, the flicker/shaking of the graphics on screen was so extreme that I couldn’t read most of the text during the install. I’m glad I’ve done about a million and a half Ubuntu installs, so I knew my way around pretty well. I figured that once the install was complete and we rebooted, the problem would go away.

Well, the problem didn’t go away. I started searching for other users having the same problem and came across many who complained about the screen flickering randomly or occasionally. Well, that wasn’t the problem I was having. My flicker/shake was constant. It was also much more noticeable on the right side of the screen than the left side.

I will note that the problem doesn’t occur in Win7, so it’s not a hardware problem.

I have posted my question on UbuntuForums.org and now I must wait for a response. In the meantime, I will continue trying to solve the problem myself.

Bash scripting is one of the best ways to fully unlock the power of a unix/linux computer. Bash scripting gives you the opportunity to combine many commands into one script and even allows for some programming. Below is a collection of the very best Bash Scripting Tutorials on the net. Enjoy!

1. LinuxConfig.org Bash Script Tutorial

2. Mendel Cooper’s Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide

3. Mike G’s Bash Programming Introduction

4. Steve Parker’s Unix/Linux Shell Scripting Tutorial

5. Vivek Gite LSST

6. IBM’s Bash By Example

7. The Geek Stuff – 5 Practical Examples

8. Going Linux – Shell Scripting Tutorials

9. USALUG – Bash Script Beginner Tutorial

10. jbsnake’s Intermediate Bash Script Tutorial

11. Linux.com – Writing a Simple Bash Script

12. HypeXR’s Getting Started With Bash

13. SiteGround – Advanced Bash Loops

14. Conditions in Bash Scripting

15. Lutus’ Bash Shell Programming in Linux

16. Advanced Bash Environment Variables

17. GNU Universal Bash Reference Guide

+1: Bash Pitfalls…How NOT to write Bash Scripts

by Tom Duffy

If you read this blog, you are no doubt familiar with my love for Linux. Most of the posts that I make regarding Linux are targeted at people who already have a knowledge of Linux and don’t need a lot of help with the basics. I thought it would be a good idea to list 10 easy tips to help you learn Linux.

1. Live CD’s/USB Drives

Many Linux distributions can be run right off of a CD or a USB thumb drive! The reason that this is my first tip is because a Live CD or USB stick allows the user to try Linux without installing it. Get a feel for it without having to partition a hard drive! I have two absolute favorite Live distros. The first one is Slax which is a modular distribution. You can actually “build” your LiveCD or USB stick with all of the applications that you want before even downloading it! Visit www.slax.org to build yours!

The second Live Distro that I absolutely love is Gentoo. Gentoo is an awesome distribution, but it takes an insane amount of patience and knowledge to install it on your system. That’s why it is great to see a LiveDVD version with KDE4 that you can run without installing. Visit www.gentoo.org to download the ISO.

2. Be Patient

I can’t stress this enough to new users of Linux! As you start diving into Linux, you will notice many things that are similar to other operating systems that you have used. However, you will also notice many things that are different. Don’t get frustrated! My general rule is this…If I don’t know how to do something, I will give myself the task of trying to figure it out on my own for a short period of time. If after 20 minutes or so I have made no progress at all, I will look into finding some documentation on the web. Google is a great place to find all kinds of Linux Documents and we will talk more about that later! Just don’t get frustrated when you try to solve a problem and you can’t figure it out. Know when to call it a night and try again the next day!

3. Google

In all of my experience with Linux, I’ve learned a few “truths”. One of those truths is that no matter how bizarre and complicated the problem I’m having with my OS, odds are, someone else has gone through the same thing! Be specific with your searches to find solutions for your problem. If you are getting an error message, you should search for that error message. If the message isn’t very specific, try putting the error message in quotes in your search and then after the quoted error type the distribution you are using and the application that is giving you the error. For example, let’s say that when running OpenOffice Write on Ubuntu 10.04 an error message pops up that says “Open Source Error! This error can be freely distributed!” In order to search for a solution, I would type this into google:

"Open Source Error! This error can be freely distributed!" Ubuntu 10.04 OpenOffice

4. Learn the Command Line!

This is where the rubber meets the road! In order to truly experience the power of Linux, you have to learn the command line. In order to learn the command line, you need to start simple. Open up a terminal and try typing “help”. Try some basic commands such as “ls” or “pwd”. You can also use the Man Pages for different applications. A “Man Page” is just an instruction manual for an application. For example, to read about how to use the curl command, open a terminal and type “man curl”. Sounds silly, right? Don’t bother typing “man woman” though…I’ve tried. There’s not an instruction manual on Earth that can explain that level of complexity!

5. Dedicate a computer to Linux

After you have become comfortable enough with Linux through LiveCD’s and some basic instruction, try installing Linux on an old computer that might be sitting around collecting dust. You’d be surprised at how much life Linux can breathe into an old computer! Try installing several distributions until you find one that you like. Going through the install process is a great learning experience in and of itself! I’d stay clear of distributions like Gentoo and Slackware at first. The best ones to start with are Ubuntu, Fedora Core, and OpenSuse.

6. Use Linux Every Day

Learning a new Operating System isn’t an overnight thing. The important thing is consistency. Try to use Linux as often as possible. At the very least, try to use Linux at least once a day.

7. Make A Problem List

As you use Linux more and more, keep a list going of little quirks and issues that keep popping up. Your list should include everything from simple annoyances to full blown errors and crashes. Don’t make this list in your head. Create a new text document dedicated to this list. Keeping the issues written down will help you to solve them later!

8. Make A Common Tasks List

If you notice that you are doing some tasks every time that you get on your Linux machine, write them down! Create another text document and dedicate it to your common tasks. If every time you fire up Linux, you open a Torrent program to seed ISO’s of Linux Distributions, write that down. If you find yourself frequently downloading a file from the same place, write that down. The purpose of keeping a list like this is to later figure out which common tasks you can simplify or even automate. Wouldn’t it be nice if every time you turned on your computer half of the things you normally do were done automatically?

9. Automate Common Tasks

Using the list from Tip Number 8, try to figure out which tasks can be automated. Do you always open the same applications when you turn your computer on? Why not have them automatically start for you at boot up? Learn everything you can about automating tasks on a timer with the crontab command. Many of the automation features of cron can be used from the GUI! If you keep at it, a lot of your tasks will be simplified or even done for you!

10. Solve The Problems in your Problem List

In Tip Number 7, I suggested making a list of annoyances, errors, and other problems that you have with Linux. Now is the time to start problem solving! Go through your list and try to pick out problems that seem like they won’t be too complicated to solve. Try to solve them on your own at first, but don’t allow yourself to get frustrated! If you are running into a wall, use Google to help you find the right solution. Solving problems is fun, but the most important thing is to never delete problems from your list after they’ve been solved! Instead, type [SOLVED] next to them. Write the solution that you used in there as well! You never know when you might come across someone having the same problem! Sharing your experience and knowledge with other users is what Linux is all about. Someone was kind enough to post the solution that you used…return the favor!

I know this list isn’t anything ground-breaking or cutting-edge, but I think it could be useful. A lot of people who want to learn Linux don’t even know where to start. I think this little list of tips is the perfect place to start!

Linux is powerful. VERY powerful. The limits are unknown! What is the most effective use of this power you ask? Well, synthesizing a guitar tuner with the command line of course! Here’s how it’s done:

Step 1. Install SoX using a package manager or downloading the source here.

Step 2. Start simple. Let’s start with the following command which will give you an A:

play -n synth sine 220

To stop the tone, use your break key. Usually Ctrl – C.

Step 3. Step it up a notch. Now, let’s try a nice one liner that will give you each of the notes from the low E to the high E and then stop:

for n in E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4; do play -n synth 4 pluck $n repeat 2; done

Well, there you have it! Let me know in the comments section if you come up with any other cool uses for SoX!

I was checking out the LaunchPad of nUbuntu (a network security variant of Ubuntu) and I came across the funniest bug I’ve ever read. Make sure to read the comments as well! Here you go:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/nubuntu/+source/apt/+bug/56125

There are a lot of things to love about Linux. Security…Stability…Cost…Customization…the list could go on forever! There aren’t a lot of people that talk about the look of a Linux desktop though. When you first install your favorite distro, it usually looks a little on the bland side. KDE 4 looks really nice out of the box, but it is still a little boring for my taste. The ability to make your desktop look exactly the way you want it is truly an awesome feature of the Linux platform. My taste tends to lean towards elegant simplicity combined with powerful usability. I wanted to share these screenshots of what a Linux system can look like after a little tweaking and customizing. This system is running Ubuntu. The dock is cairo-dock. Compiz handles the 3D cube desktop.

The last screenshot shows me running a script that I wrote…It’s a bash hacking simulator game. So, don’t worry, I’m not actually trying to break into the NSA’s web server! Please feel free to comment on the screenshots!

Stumbling around the internet today and I came across this awesome little comic strip! It made me laugh, so I felt like sharing it here. Enjoy!

Source: http://www.linuxhaxor.net/2009/03/29/lh-strip-2-getting-priorities-right/

by Tom Duffy

I would like to start by saying that I have made a lot of posts in the past that rip on Windows and M$ products. That being said, my perspective has started to change in regards to this. I personally prefer Linux and BSD over Windows or OSX (yes, I know that OSX is based on BSD), but that doesn’t make Linux and BSD BETTER. If you are a reader of my blog then you no doubt understand that I LOVE Linux and that I LOVE freedom. But what exactly is freedom? To me, freedom is the ability to make choices. If nothing were left but Linux, would we truly be free?

I feel very strongly that M$ products serve a very important role in today’s society. Businesses all over the world would stop working if they suddenly didn’t have Windows. Graphic designers who depend on Photoshop and Illustrator wouldn’t be able to do their jobs without OSX or Windows. I know that these apps can run under Wine, but let’s face it, they don’t run very well!

The role that Linux is currently playing is the right role. A combination of geeks, programmers, scientists, thrifty students, and adventurous folks all get to enjoy Linux. Do I think that Linux will one day rise above M$ in market share? Probably not. But the point is that we have a variety of choices! This is what freedom is all about. My drive in the past years has been to tell everyone I know that Linux is better. Not anymore. I feel I’m doing the Linux community a disservice by doing that. My new drive is to tell everyone I know that there are options. Choices to make. “Sure, you are using Windows now, but have you checked out Fedora?” Or the flip side of that, “Well, if you are having so much trouble playing games under Ubuntu, have you tried other distros? If you’ve tried other distros and you are still unhappy, maybe you should try Windows!”

This new mentality seems fresher to me. Gone are the days of Linux fanboy. Let’s be critical thinkers here! If everyone I know started using Linux, a LOT of them would have trouble and would be very confused. The fanboy mentality often makes the Linux community seem immature, egotistical, elitist, and annoying. As Linux users we should merely SUGGEST the option of Linux rather than “Preach the Gospel of Linux”. So let’s go out there and raise awareness of the choices that we have in this technological society! Open mindedness is essential to any campaign to raise awareness. And here’s an idea…Let’s learn everything we can about Windows so that when we come across someone who’s struggling with Linux, we can offer the choice of Windows!

“There is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance – that principle is contempt to investigation.”

-Herbert Spencer

by Tom Duffy

I can’t stand Microsoft. I really can’t. That being said, I have personally been Microsoft-Free for well over a year now. This is truly a wonderful feeling! I have four different computers that are all completely free from ANY Microsoft products. I would like to share with you how you can become Microsoft-Free in 30 days or less!

First of all, let me share with you what I run:

Desktop: Intel Core2Quad dual booting Slackware Linux and Fedora 9 (Sulphur)

Laptop 1: Intel Pentium 4 running Xubuntu Hardy Heron

Laptop 2: AMD Athlon running usb boot Slax

Laptop 3: Apple PowerBook running OSX Tiger

It is important to note that just running Linux or OSX doesn’t free you completely from Microsoft. A lot of Apple users run MS Office and other Microsoft products even though this is totally unnecessary. So, now let’s talk about how to start freeing yourself from Microsoft. Let’s take the following example: A PC user is running Windows XP Professional with the following additional Microsoft products installed: Microsoft Office 2007, Windows Media Player, and Microsoft Money. Okay, now the most difficult Microsoft product to free yourself from will be the operating system itself. So I recommend starting by replacing Office, Media Player, and Money.

In place of Office, you have some options. My personal preference is OpenOffice which can be downloaded here. Once downloaded and installed, OpenOffice provides a feature-rich replacement for Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Powerpoint, and Microsoft Database. It doesn’t however, replace Outlook. For Outlook’s replacement, I recommend Mozilla Thunderbird which can be downloaded here.

To replace Windows Media Player, I recommend MPlayer which can be downloaded here. Don’t forget to download codecs from the site as well. This is what will make it play all of your different media types.

To replace MS Money, I recommend GNUcash which can be downloaded here. GNUcash is a great piece of software that can handle personal and small business finances with a ton of cool features.

Now that we’ve replaced the software installed on your Windows computer with open source alternatives, let’s start the process of replacing Windows itself. I personally recommend the Linux Distrobution called Ubuntu which can be downloaded here. Once you download the ISO file, go ahead and burn the image to a blank CD.

Okay, now all of the above can be done in a matter of hours. So why does it take up to 30 days to become truly Microsoft-Free? Well, it is because of the transitional period that comes with learning a new operating system. The Ubuntu CD that you just burned can be used in many ways for you. There are two transitional steps that I recommend before you actually format your drive and completely replace Windows.

The first step is to insert the CD while running Windows. Ubuntu includes a cool new feature that allows Windows users to install Ubuntu as an application within Windows to try it out. Go ahead and use the Wubi Installer to install Ubuntu on your Windows partition. Spend some time using Ubuntu every day. Get used to the differences. USE GOOGLE TO GET ANSWERS! I can’t stress this part enough. When you transition from Windows to Linux, you are going to hit some walls. There is a TON of help available out there. Use google to find it!

After you have gotten used to using Ubuntu within Windows, it is time for the next transitional step. This step consists of installing Ubuntu onto its own partition and dual booting between Ubuntu and Windows. The reason that I recommend this is that when you are in the Ubuntu partition and you come across something that you can’t quite figure out, you can always reboot into Windows to take care of it. This process is annoying though which will eventually lead you to trying harder to solve problems within Ubuntu rather than rebooting into Windows.

Now that you are fully comfortable in Ubuntu and have figured out how to take care of all of your daily tasks, it is time to back up all of your data for a completely clean Ubuntu only Install! The partitioner within the Ubuntu installer is very straight forward. Again, if you have problems, use google to get answers. I also recommend joining the Ubuntu Forums. There are some absolutely awesome people on there who are ready and willing to answer questions. Of course, if you have questions, you can always just email me! Send questions to tom (at) techremedy (dot) net. I hope this helps at least ONE person become free from the Microsoft stranglehold!