Obscure open source apps you wouldn't be without

[Ian Osborne]

We all love open source. VLC, Gimp, OpenOffice.org - the famous names are legion. But what about the not-so-famous names? What about the obscure-but-brilliant applications, games and whatever we wouldn't be without, but don't enjoy the massive publicity enjoyed by apps such as FireFox? What are the open source apps you wouldn't be without, but many computer users haven't even heard of? Let's share the wealth, on all platforms and operating systems...

I'll start the ball rolling with Senuti (www.fadingred.org/senuti). See what they did there? It's 'iTunes' spelled backwards, and for Mac users with iPods, it's a must. As you probably know, for copyright reasons, you can't transfer songs from your iPod to your computer straight out of the box. Senuti does just that, with an easy-to-use interface letting you copy your MP3s direct to your desktop, storing them using a similar folder structure to iTunes. Every Mac/iPod user should have a copy.

So what's yours? What are the criminally-obscure open-source apps you want to tell the world about? Windows, Mac, Linux, whatever - it's all welcome on this thread, as long as it's open source and not particularly famous.

[jimlintott]

They may not be too obscure but I couldn't live without (in addition to some you mentioned) Scribus, Amarok, Mplayer, the imagemagik library and dig.

Dig can be as handy as ping although neither are obscure.

[grmcdorman]

For Windows, Notepad++ (http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/). Also, VNC (http://www.realvnc.com) with Win2VNC (http://sourceforge.net/projects/win2vnc/), which lets me share one keyboard/mouse between multiple computers without hardware.

Password Safe (http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/) - primarily the brain child of Bruce Schnieir, a well known and highly respected security guru - is great for storing passwords and generating safe ones.

Tail for Win32 (http://tailforwin32.sourceforge.net/) is great for watching log files and the like (especially for developers; not so useful for the run-of-the mill computer user, though).

Sumatra PDF (http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/) is a light-weight, open-source PDF viewer.

The Portable Apps (http://www.portableapps.com) suite is also very useful for keeping personal apps & data on a USB drive instead of on my work computer. (Most of the apps are open source; they include the big ones, of course, specifically Firefox & Thunderbird.) Sumatra PDF comes in a portable version; Password Safe is also usable from USB drives, although it's not "officially" branded as a portable version.

ETA: Password Safe comes in a Java version in addition to the Windows version, and is therefore usable cross-platform.

[Floyt]

Freemind (http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page) and Stickies (http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/) have taken over all note-keeping tasks on my computer - the former for big, multilayered projects with links and stuff, the latter for reminders, jottings and scheduling. I'm especially sold on the Stickies, since the latest version lets you attach them to specific applications, only popping up when those are opened. Thus, for example, I keep my sig collection on a stickie that only rears its yellow head when the mail program is opened.
Who said using a computer does away with desktop post-it clutter :D

[strathmeyer]

I could live without the Gimp, I'd just have to go back to pirating Photoshop.

[a_unique_person]

For Windows, Notepad++ (http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/). Also, VNC (http://www.realvnc.com) with Win2VNC (http://sourceforge.net/projects/win2vnc/), which lets me share one keyboard/mouse between multiple computers without hardware.


UltraVNC is good, it also has a built in file transfer utility.

[MortFurd]

Testdisk and Photorec. (http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download)

Smartmontools. (http://sourceforge.net/projects/smartmontools)

Testdisk and Photorec are great for getting stuff back out of a corrupted files system, and Smartmontools are good for finding out if the corruption was caused by a bad drive or just software.

[Leif Roar]

screen -- there's just nothing more efficent than having finger-point access to all the console-based programs you use.

dia -- Simple, lightweight program for drawing diagrams.

LyX -- A Latex-based text editor that's simply unmatchable for writing structured text.

[PogoPedant]

Maybe not too obscure, but subversion (http://subversion.tigris.org/) has become surprisingly central to me, both professionally and privately.

[illogical]

cdrtools -- DOS and Win32 from bootcd.narod.ru
HTtrack -- web spider
arprec and exp math toolkit -- high precision library
penggy -- aol dialer
Bochs, MESS -- emulator
dlxlinux, tomsrtbt, freesco, and other mini distros
win32 ports of console apps (cleaner than Cygwin)

[grmcdorman]

win32 ports of console apps (cleaner than Cygwin)
FYI, that's GNUWin32.sourceforge.net (http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net). Using Cygwin has issues; in particular, it tries to enforce Unix-style paths on everything (which even causes a slight performance hit). GNUWin32 doesn't do that, although it still has oddities.

[asmodean]

screen -- there's just nothing more efficent than having finger-point access to all the console-based programs you use.

dia -- Simple, lightweight program for drawing diagrams.

Second these two. DIA is awesome (but I am still kinda attached to (x)fig) and screen I couldn't live without.

tintin(++) for mudding.

Bloodshed for my windows coding (OpenGL mainly). too bad development seems ot have stopped on this.


LyX -- A Latex-based text editor that's simply unmatchable for writing structured text.

Mmm, tried out LyX when writing my thesis. Never warmed up to it. Vi + vanllia latex (oh, and bibtex ofc) is good enough for me. =)

[MortFurd]

FYI, that's GNUWin32.sourceforge.net (http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net). Using Cygwin has issues; in particular, it tries to enforce Unix-style paths on everything (which even causes a slight performance hit). GNUWin32 doesn't do that, although it still has oddities.
Yeah, but with Cygwin, you can get X and do insane things like run KDE on your windows desktop. Cygwin also gives you a LOT more GNU software than gnuwin32. Cygwin also does some pretty cool stuff. For example, it makes the Windows registry visible a file system - you can navigate the registry using any kind of file browser (cygwin based.) That includes using ls on the command line. Changing values is then also pretty trivial, just use echo to over write whatever value. Pretty flipping cool if you ask me.

[MortFurd]

Sharp Develop. (http://www.icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SD/) Free IDE for C# development.

[grmcdorman]

Yeah, but with Cygwin, you can get X and do insane things like run KDE on your windows desktop. ... snip ...There's a native (non-Cygwin) port of X to Windows, Xming (http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Xming). Works pretty well; I use it.

[scribble]

x2x (like Win2VNC, except without the annoying Windows - or VNC)

sshfs

[grmcdorman]

x2x (like Win2VNC, except without the annoying Windows - or VNC)Except that x2x isn't cross-platform. (At least, isn't cross platform unless the target is running X).

There's an x2vnc (http://fredrik.hubbe.net/x2vnc.html), by the way (can be used in combination with x11vnc (http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/) or a Windows VNC server). I've contributed patches to x11vnc; don't recall if I have for x2vnc. (Used to use x2vnc, until I figured out how to get Solaris to recognize a mouse wheel via x11vnc - this is at work, where I have a Solaris SPARC system and a Windows system.)

[nimzov]

Does something like freemind exist that is not an application that runs on a browser but a standalone app ?

(A compiled program).

Thanks

nimzo

[illogical]

grmcdorman -- thanks. i had tried unxutils? 4DOS (now open source!) for command interpreter, TCI for console replacement, MKS utilities, but the last two are not OSS.

yeah, there's a lot of apps that are going to be easier to get running on unix "layers". but trying to do system commands in ActivePerl meant i had a crazy command line containing both cygwin (unix) syntax and cmd (windows) syntax. but i'm not a programmer, and i haven't taken the time to learn VBS, WSH, and all the Microsoft ways to get things done.

windows console sucks, and i should try Putty/ssh or Poderosa.

[illogical]

if you fine people have found any ways to write books, i'd love to hear them. dia, xfig, the pdf editor whose name i forget, postscript, latex, mathml, and ...

nimzov, i don't know how to convert an applet into a compiled app.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mind_Mapping_software

[geni]

ffmpeg2theora

[grmcdorman]

Does something like freemind exist that is not an application that runs on a browser but a standalone app ?

(A compiled program).

Thanks

nimzoAre you referring to freemind (http://freemind.sourceforge.net) at SourceForge? That is a standalone application, albeit in Java. If that's not it, what's the web site?

[nimzov]

Are you referring to freemind (http://freemind.sourceforge.net) at SourceForge? That is a standalone application, albeit in Java. If that's not it, what's the web site?
Yes thanks I have installed it and it looks fine.

I thought it was an application that ran within a browser and that it might be slow.

Sorry I should have checked first. :boxedin:

nimzo

[PixyMisa]

Nethack. :D

[Kilgore Trout]

VirtualDub (http://www.virtualdub.org/) is a great open source video capture/editor.

[Admiral]

Quicksilver (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quicksilver_(software)) and Eclipse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_(software))

[PixyMisa]

VirtualDub (http://www.virtualdub.org/) is a great open source video capture/editor.
Dang, yes. If you want to do something simple, VirtualDub is hugely more efficient than anything else.

[Ian Osborne]

Another couple for Mac users, both designed to rid yourself of those irritating Mac registry files which get everywhere, and aren't invisible on devices running anything other than OS X...

CleanArchiver (http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/17207) - zips your files and folders but deletes the registry crap first. This is especially important if you're making a file for a comic book reader, as some PC readers will come to a dead stop when they reach a non-jpeg file like a registry file.

FinderCleaner (http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/16996) - does a similar job, but on removable media such as USB drives and memory cards. Ideal if your digital camera/mp3 player/whatever has trouble dealing with Mac registry files too...

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

The FileZilla FTP application.

~~ Paul

[MortFurd]

There's a native (non-Cygwin) port of X to Windows, Xming (http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Xming). Works pretty well; I use it.
Yeah, but still no KDE. :)

[nimzov]

I have started exploring freemind and I have a question.

I want a text hyperlinks to open multiple web pages.

What is the character that seperates the urls ?

Example: in firefox I can have multipe homepage by separating each adress with the caracter |. For instance url1|url2|url3 in the homepage box will open the 3 web pages url1 and url2 ans url3. This character "|" does not work with freemind and could not find any information on this subject in the documentation.

Thanks

nimzo

[nimzov]

This is not an application that I use but it is quite interesting. And I contributed at the start of the project.

Dasher is a computer accessibility tool enabling users to enter text efficiently using a pointing device rather than a keyboard. It has been likened to an arcade game, since to use it you zoom through characters that fly across the screen. It uses a probabilistic predictive model to give priority to more likely character combinations.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasher

Dasher is an information-efficient text-entry interface, driven by natural continuous pointing gestures. Dasher is a competitive text-entry system wherever a full-size keyboard cannot be used.

The eyetracking version of Dasher allows an experienced user to write text as fast as normal handwriting - 29 words per minute; using a mouse, experienced users can write at 39 words per minute.http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/djw30/dasher/

IK5_QYv3kf0

3_-Na9x4EGs

nimzo

[nimzov]

I have started exploring freemind and I have a question.

I want a text hyperlinks to open multiple web pages.

What is the character that seperates the urls ?

Example: in firefox I can have multipe homepage by separating each adress with the caracter |. For instance url1|url2|url3 in the homepage box will open the 3 web pages url1 and url2 ans url3. This character "|" does not work with freemind and could not find any information on this subject in the documentation.

Thanks

nimzo
Please ignore as I have started another thread so as not to derail this one.

Thanks

Maybe mod will want to delete these 2 messages.

nimzo

[TobiasTheViking]

most obscure.. bitlbee .. it is an IM -> IRC gateway. i have an irc server with one channel in it, i connect to the server, join the channel, and all my msn, icq, jabber, IAM, gtalk, etc, contacts are in there...

Works with any irc channel.

Besides for that i use mplayer, bochs, screen, mutt, smartmontools a lot.

[Pipirr]

Freemind (http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page) and Stickies (http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/) have taken over all note-keeping tasks on my computer - the former for big, multilayered projects with links and stuff, the latter for reminders, jottings and scheduling. I'm especially sold on the Stickies, since the latest version lets you attach them to specific applications, only popping up when those are opened. Thus, for example, I keep my sig collection on a stickie that only rears its yellow head when the mail program is opened.
Who said using a computer does away with desktop post-it clutter :D


Thanks for Stickies!

I've been using it for a week now and I swear my productivity has just doubled :D

[Ducky]

Jahshaka is a realtively well done video editor/effects generator I use from time to time. I enjoy audacity for small quick edits. VLC is nice because it supports a true 5.1 audio output where OS X DVD Player does not support anything higher than stereo.

I am a fan of Quicksilver, iTerm (tabbed terminal windows for OS X), and adium.

The one I couldn't do without, however, is GeekTool, for which there are both Windows and Unix counterparts (check lifehacker.com) which I use to embed the output of specific log files and shell scripts on my desktop, as well as several sitemeter graphs for sites I administrate - all embedded to the desktop. handy when you just want some info at your fingertips while you work.

[Ian Osborne]

Hey Ducky, will Jahshaka let you edit the screen area on a piece of video? I have a piece of home movie which has black areas at the top and bottom of the screen, and want something that will let you box off the 'useful' part and discard the rest, a little like Photoshop's clipping tool.

Does Jahshaka do that, and if not, do you know anything that does?

[Ducky]

Hey Ducky, will Jahshaka let you edit the screen area on a piece of video? I have a piece of home movie which has black areas at the top and bottom of the screen, and want something that will let you box off the 'useful' part and discard the rest, a little like Photoshop's clipping tool.

Does Jahshaka do that, and if not, do you know anything that does?

Sure thing:

One of the most common needs for an editor is simply to 'trim' unwanted footage from a video clip.

There a couple of ways of doing this while in the Project page:

* LCD Trimming - there are 3 LCD displays labelled In, Out and Length respectively - In and Out are interactive and can be used in the same way as the Scrub Bar LCD described in the previous section - click and drag to change the values, or use the LCD Calculator. Double clicking on these will restore the values to the originals.
* Keyboard Trimming - you can use the I and O keys to set the In and Out points of the cut.
* Splitting - you can also use the S key to split the cut at the current point.
* Deleting - pressing the Delete key will remove the current cut. Pressing Ctrl and Delete will replace the cut with blanks.


http://www.jahshaka.org/

Give it a download and try it out. You have to sign up, however it's still a free download.


ETA:

Sorry I misread, and quoted you an editing trick, not a "trim" style cut down of the frame, as you wanted. However, you can do that also.

[Ian Osborne]

Yay! :)

Cheers, I'll take a look today.

[Leif Roar]

The FileZilla FTP application.

That reminds me of a couple of other programs I get incredibly frustrated if I have to do without:

ncftp -- a text-console FTP client, with proper tab-completion and lots of other low-key, practical goodies.

Midnight Commands -- text-console File manager. How can people endure Windows Explorer?

gnuplot -- program for plotting large amounts of data. Priceless for performance testing.

gnat -- The GNU compliant Ada compilator. Because C++ is an abomination in the eyes of Djikstra.

pan (most recent beta version) -- Usenet newsreader with unmatched handling of large, binary newsgroups. Beats Agent by a mile.

[lpetrich]

Some of mine:

Netpbm - command-line tools for manipulating images; has some convenient intermediate formats.

ImageMagick - useful for making text on images from the command line.

Inkscape - open-source vector-graphics program; uses SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) as its document format. SVG does not support embedding image files, it must be said; they are external documents.

NCAR Graphics - big plotting software library that I once used to make maps of the US and its states.

Biggles -- plotting library with Python interface.

numarray - matrix operations and linear algebra with Python interface.

[Axiom_Blade]

Krusader (http://krusader.sourceforge.net/) - Orthodox (two-pane) file manager

Nicotine+ (http://www.nicotine-plus.org/) - Peer-to-peer program for Soulseek network