Following on from our article on the top ten FREE applications for Windows and Macs, we thought we’d have a go at compiling a list of our top ten free applications for Linux. As soon as we started we ran into a problem though: Most Linux distributions already carry a pretty hefty library of decent free applications upon installation, it’s very difficult to find applications for Linux that are better than those pre-installed as part of the distribution. What’s more, all the distributions carry different applications and use them in different ways, so it’s difficult to define a particular application as “better” than others. However, difficult does not mean impossible, so check out our picks below:
1) Banshee
Banshee is a media player application along the lines of Windows Media Player or iTunes. In short it manages your media library and allows playback of the same. There are other media players available for Linux, but Banshee appears to be the more developed offering. It will allow syncing and transfer to MP3 players, including some iPods (anything pre-iPod Touch should work fine). It also supports internet radio and streaming from uPnP servers. Banshee is the default media player on some Linux distros, but if it’s not installed by default, it’s definitely worth a look.
2) Audacity
Audacity is an audio file editor, most people who use it do so to convert their old records and tapes to MP3′s or another audio format. The principal of it is quite simple; it captures audio from any source that’s attached to your computer (like a microphone or a record deck) and lets you play around with it before saving it as a file of your choice. You can also manipulate audio files that are already on your computer, splicing them together or extracting sections, etc.
3) GIMP
GIMP is a free photo manipulation program available for most PC platforms, though it started out on Linux. It’s still just about the best free imaging program out there, and has many features comparable to Adobe Photoshop Elements. It’s been included in many Linux distributions through the years, and like many applications can be found in the Ubuntu Software Center under the latest Ubuntu releases (10.04 onwards).
