Ubuntu – What default Windows Software Alternatives does Ubuntu have!

migrationsoftware-recommendationwindows

This former Windows user is all set with a new Ubuntu installed to his box. And now I'd like to know what default applications I have in my system? And esp. for these categories:

  • Audio
  • Video
  • Graphics & Design
  • Internet & Network
  • Torrent client
  • Office Packages (Word Processors, Spreadsheet, etc.)
  • System and Administrative tools
  • command line emulator

Best Answer

A little about Ubuntu...

Ubuntu is a Debian-based Linux operating system, with Unity as its default desktop environment. It is based on free software and named after the Southern African philosophy of ubuntu (literally, "human-ness"), which often is translated as "humanity towards others" or "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity".

Development of Ubuntu is led by Canonical Ltd., owned by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. According to Canonical, the Ubuntu project is committed to the principles of open source development; people are encouraged to use free software, study how it works, improve upon it, and distribute it.

Homepage: ubuntu.com

Recommended links for intro. about application search and installation process in Ubuntu:

Here's the list of some default applications (along with some alternatives):

(The applications that are default or have been default in the past are marked with an asterisk (*).)

GUI Program installers

These are some great graphical front ends for package management. Categorized applications list with description, screenshots, ratings, etc. is really helpful to search and install the application that meets your need.

Audio

Audio Player [Alt. to Winamp; Windows Media Player]

Audio Editor [Alt. to SoundForge; Adobe Audition]

Stream Browser

CD Ripper

Video

Video Player [Alt. to BSplayer; Windows Media Player; VLC]

Video Editor [Alt. to Adobe Premiere]

DVD Ripper

Screen Capture

Video/Audio format converter/transcoder

[Alt. to FormatFactory, Total Video Converter, etc.]

Graphics & Design

Image editor [Alt. to Adobe Photoshop]

Image Organizer [Alt. to Picasa]

Vectorgraphics editor [Alt. to CorelDraw]

3D Modeler [Alt. to 3D Max; Maya]

Computer Aided Design [Alt. to AutoCAD; MathCAD]

Internet & Network

Internet Browser [Alt. to Internet Explorer]

E-mail [Alt. to Outlook Express, Outlook]

Usenet/Newsreader [Alt. to Outlook Express, Forte Agent]

RSS Feed Reader

FTP Client [Alt. to FileZilla; WS_FTP]

Instant messenger [Alt. to AIM; ICQ; MSN; Yahoo!; Jabber; Gadu-gadu]

Internet Relay Chat [Alt. to mIRC]

Torrents

Download Manager/Accelerator

VoIP [Alt. to Skype]

Graphical User Interface

Desktop Environment [Alt. to Explorer, Aston, GeoShell]

Development

Web [Alt. to Dreamweaver]

IDE [Alt. to MS Visual studio]

  • KDevelop
  • NetBeans
  • Anjuta - Anjuta is a versatile IDE for C and C++, written for GTK/GNOME
  • Eclipse - An extensible frameworks, tools and runtimes for building, deploying and managing software across the lifecycle
  • Eric - Python IDE
  • Qt
  • Geany

Office

Office Suite [Alt. to MS Office, Adobe Reader, etc.]

Calendar [Alt. to Ms Outlook]

Text Editors GUI [Alt. to Notepad]

System tools

File managers

[Alt. to Total Commander]

[Alt. to Windows Explorer]

CD Burners [Alt. to Nero]

Partition Managers [Alt. to Partition Magic]

X Terminal Emulator

Other Utilities

Dictionary

  • Artha
  • Dictionary (gnome-dictionary)*

Cleaning temporary/unwanted/duplicate files [Alt. to CCleaner, etc.]

System Monitor (gnome-system-monitor)* [Alt. to Task Manager]

Disk Utility (gnome-disk-utility)*

Disk Usage Analyzer (baobab)*

Archive Manager (file-roller)* [Alt. to WinRAR, 7zip, etc.]

Source of the list: ubuntuguide.org

Also visit: Ubuntu's Application Guide

More links for suggestions on Windows/MacOS X app alternatives:

(Courtesy: falconer, wilf, Jason R, Steelsouls, Kunal Sangwan, number5 for suggestions with applications and links.)

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