Xubuntu Essential Applications
July 11th, 2006 by 
jay
With all of the Ubuntu grokking going on you wouldn't even know Xubuntu existed. Well for those of you that are looking for the ultimate light weight, super fast Linux Distro then Xubuntu with the Xfce Window Manager is your answer.
For those of you that have found Xubuntu but feel it is lacking applications or if you were a Widows user and you want to use apps that are similar then here is your answer.
The first thing you need to do enable the Unoffical/Unsuppoterd repsoitories:
1) Click Applications-> System-> Synaptic Package Manager
2) Enter your password
3) Click Options-> Repositories
4) Scroll down and slect the "community" Repositories
5) Close
6) Click "Reload"
7) In the bottom left click "Sections" and then select "All" from the list.
Look for packages that do not have the Ubuntu Icon
Done.
Now let's soup this puppy!
* Requires either extra GNOME or KDE Libs.
Almost all of these apps acan be installed via Applications-> System-> Synaptic Package Manager then search for app name or through a shell with apt-get.
Multimedia
First get EasyUbuntu "gives the Ubuntu user the most commonly requested apps, codecs, and tweaks that are not found in the base distribution - all with a few clicks of your mouse"
I am starting to like Amarok* due to the 60+ Gigs of music files I have collected. It beast iTunes all to snot and it's better than trying to run Jinzora locally.
-
$sudo apt-get install amarok
Kino*: For managing Digital Video Cameras. It beats the bat-sh*t out-a Pinnacle Studio
-
$sudo apt-get install kino kinoplus
VLC: for when you can't get Kaffeine Player* to play that special video.
-
$sudo apt-get install vlc
Kaffeine Player and the Firefox plugin
-
$sudo apt-get install kaffeine kaffeine-mozilla
XMMS for times I don't feel like waiting for Amarok to load.
Internet
Firefox with Web Developer and Google Toolbar.
Thunderbird the best email client.
I have yet to find an Linux alternative to SmartFTP for Windows but I have been using these:
Kasablanca* works ok for the quick FTP job but when I am getting serious I like gFTP
-
$sudo apt-get install kasablanca
-
$sudo apt-get install gftp
Wireless/Networking
Wireles and Linux is truly a pain-in-the-buttocks but once I did get it working Linux Wireless Resources I found that Xubuntu lacked any installed tools.
Wireless Assistant*: very easy to use is is very much like the Windows Wireless/Broadcom Utility.
WiFi Radar is another very handy tool.
-
$sudo apt-get install wifi-radar
And for those of you who have no scruples:
airsnort for times that you "misplace" you WEP key.
-
$sudo apt-get install airsnort
aircrack when airsnort doesn't work.
-
$sudo apt-get install aircrack
Productivity
Bluefish HTMl Editor: I have been using this for years (like 1999 I think) and it rocks. It light weight, it has just enough features and it loads fast.
-
$sudo apt-get install bluefish
OpenOffice is just like MS Office; it's your only choice.
-
$sudo apt-get install openoffice.org
k3b* is like Nero for you Linux CD/DVD burning needs.
-
$sudo apt-get install k3b
Anti-Productivity
Super Tux I sold my Super NES years ago and I really miss Mario.
-
$sudo apt-get install supertux
Abuse-SDL for some classic late 80's side-scrolling action.
-
$sudo apt-get install abuse-sdl
And that's it for now.
Tips N Tricks Xubuntu
Posted in Linux, Xubuntu, Tips N Tricks | 
July 13th, 2006 at 5:31 am
I do wonder if it's worthwhile running Xubuntu, which is GTK-based if you're going to run Qt (KDE) applications on it. It means you'll always have both the Qt & GTK/+ libraries loaded and consuming memory. It kinda defeats the purpose of using Xubuntu a bit, I think.
July 13th, 2006 at 9:54 am
I agree with Nlogax. Why not install KUbuntu? It already has most of the applications you listed installed by default.
The purpose of XUbuntu is to create a lightweight desktop for old or low-end machines, as well as thin-client networks. With the goal of using GTK2 applications when available to maximize efficiency. (xubuntu.com)
July 13th, 2006 at 10:14 am
Yes the point of Xubuntu is to have a lightweight OS for older machines but I found Kubuntu (and Ubuntu) sucked on 3 year old AMD (1 Ghz) w/ 768MB RAM(512+256).
Also the thing I didn't point out is the performance difference between Kubuntu and Xubuntu w/KDE apps. I found that the Xubuntu /w KDE set up runs faster. I also found that Kubuntu does not render GTK as as well as Xubuntu does in apps like Firefox.
Do you know of any good alternatives to the KDE apps that I listed?
Thanks
jay
July 13th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Hmmm...
You could try Banshee as an AmaroK replacement. For the rest, no idea.
July 13th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Really, the purpose of running Xubuntu is it being lightweight. So, there is an alternative to OpenOffice - it's called Abiword. Whenever I write documents that should be opened by MS Word I use OO, but when it's not necessary I prefer abiword - It is much faster.
Firefox? I agree that it's the best. But maybe Xubuntu users should try Epiphany. It's a lot lighter. I ran Xubuntu under 256 MB and Firefox makes things really slow here.
I see lots of discussion regarding Music Players. Amarok is amazing, I agree. I would really like a GTK gui. But since Amarok is heavy on memory, I prefer XMMS or GTK stuff, such as Totem - ok, this is kind of a personal choice. Very few people actually use Totem to play songs, but I like it.
July 14th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
About the "GTK doesn't look good on Kubuntu", it just doesn't have any themes because Kubuntu is KDE based. Install the "GTK2 Theme Selector" or something like that off Adept, and add some themes from Gnome-Look or art.gnome.org .
September 3rd, 2006 at 12:35 am
Hey thanks for the Xubuntu tips! Hard finding good stuff for xubuntu in particular.
Otoh, I like it that way because it doesn't get the press that the other buntus get. I see that as a good thing in a way... makes me feel like I have the Desktop more or less to myself.
December 16th, 2006 at 11:00 pm
Dude, you're not running Xubuntu! You're running Kubuntu with The Xf window-manager!
Kino,
Amarok,
K3b,
Kaffeine,
Kasablanca,
Are you kidding?
December 22nd, 2006 at 9:02 am
I love Xubuntu but i hate to use Qt apps (i`m forced to use it because i need qcad and scribus (for that i need qt 3 runtime lib)). On the other side i dont like Abiword because it can not handle with complexand graphic documents very well
There is no compromise with OO and Firefox. It`s the best and it should be in default installation of xubuntu (now in 6.10 you musd use alternate disk for OO). Also they could add dvd burning option to xfburn.
Here are list of alternative apps:
mplayer
Audacity
xmms
lives
nvu (i know that it`s not that powerfull like bluefish but there is no dependencies for it and for bluefish you mus use some gnome libs but we dont wana use them right?)
Also i use:
gnome ppp (i will find some replacement since i dont wana use gnome nor kde apps (only qcad and hydrogen and scribus))
gtk-gnutella
blender
inkscape (soon i will try xara)
spe
And sugestions on this? SOme other app (in my list there is some apps that uses gnome and kde libs but i realy need just qcad... rest is not important) or some like that?
December 22nd, 2006 at 9:46 am
Thank you for all of the comments on this post. Weather positive or negative the important thing is communicating with one another.
I tried nvu but I am hooks on bluefish and have been since it found it way back in 1999!!
Thanks
Jay
December 22nd, 2006 at 12:04 pm
I need to ask you something (since here people love xubuntu
): what program to use as replacement for gparted?
btw i replaced inkscape with xaraxl, qcad with sagcad and hydrogen with jackbeat (but i`m still searching for better replacement (here i need to start jack server but i hate console work ))
sorry for bothering
p.s. i`m still learning to write english :I
February 5th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I've just installed xubuntu and think it's rubbish. Yes, it's fast. But wireless support? Crap. Default music player? gxine!!! Are you kidding? That's the worst POS that's ever been coded! xubuntu - a distro you can't even play a CD with.... let alone get online.
March 9th, 2007 at 9:43 am
That's it tickettyboo, blame the OS not the operator. Wireless support usually must be set up manually, just like windows. But it sounds like you expect everything to be done for you, without any work on your part. It's not that complicated, well maybe it is for you....dunno.
April 29th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Zing!
I'm about to try it on a creaky celeron 1.7ghz with 96mg ram. Wish me luck!
Elsewhere, I'm running Edgy Eft with full eye candy on an old pentium, so I've got a degree of confidence in the platform!
May 1st, 2007 at 9:50 am
1.7 Ghz! You're loose man! Here it's working great on a 500 Mhz Celeron! I guess it will work also with 96 mg of ram, but it'd sure work better with at least 256. I have 320 mb here and just Xubuntu takes about 120 (It was a bit more, but I had launch and closed a few programs already). I found that it manages my 320 mg total ram memory quite better than Windows 98SE. With 3 tabs in firefox, openOffice Writer, Thunderbird mail and a preference window open, it ran smooth using 210/320 mg, while on Windows 98 it's almost satured with just firefox! (Swap was merely used also). Have fun with your Xubuntu!
June 20th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! vndvtjjufflowf
August 24th, 2007 at 4:15 am
The Xubuntu Logo is terrible ! I took that rat out and put a skull in instead. Much COOOOOOOLer !!
http://picasaweb.google.com/AztecanOverlord/Xubuntu
put it in as your upsplash instead if you like its all about sharing.
October 6th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
7.10 stable is out in 10 days! My computer students setup and ran all the Ubuntus (plus a number of other flavors) on old 500MHZ/256Mb Gateway machines. Weve had half a dozen to a dozen boxes up at one time. Most liked Xubuntu best. Its not going to run on 128Mb on these boxes. I've pretty much made the transition from XP totally myself. Wish xorg.conf was easier to manually configure, but then I didn't like the old way either.