Linux only: Want to have your system shut down at bed time, or restart while you’re away? GShutdown, a free Linux utility, lets you tell your system to turn off, restart, or log off at a specified time and date, after a certain delay, or upon a specific action being run. You can tell GShutdown to run a command before doing its thing, and users with older systems can specify the terminal command used to bring everything to a halt. GShutdown is a free download for Linux systems, available in many repositories and pre-packaged at the link below. GShutdown [via Kabatology]
Linux only: Convert audio files from inside your favourite music/playlist manager with transKode, a free plug-in for Amarok. If you’ve never installed an Amarok script, it’s simple—grab the package ending in .tar.bz from the link below, head to the Tools->Script Manager menu, then hit the “Install” button and point to where you put that package. The plug-in is highly configurable, being based on the Mplayer multimedia tool, and accessible by right-clicking a file from the playlist. transKode is a free plug-in for Linux systems running Amarok only.
Linux only: BillReminder might seem like an unnecessary tool in the age of ubiquitous calendars, but the free Linux app lets you determine exactly when and how you get reminded about your monthly obligations, and helps you visualise and keep notes on each one. Once you’ve set up your bills into colour-coded categories, you can set the amount due, leave yourself notes on how (or maybe why) they should be paid, and then have BillReminder tell you about them at specific intervals—in case you only need a day or two for electricity, but would like a week’s warning on that hefty cable charge. BillReminder is a free download for Linux systems only. BillReminder [via New Linux User]
Linux only: Dig into your genealogy with GRAMPS, a free software package that offers an array of tools to build and store your family history. GRAMPS gives you a lot of choices as to how you’ll build your tree, from standard database entries to multimedia diagrams, and offers a pretty convenient “calendar” view that lets you see birth (and death) dates for your extended clan. The real benefit of GRAMPS is that you can put as much or as little detail as you want into each entry, making it an amateur genealogist’s dream. GRAMPS is a free download for Linux only, although “experimental” installers are available for Windows and Mac OS X. For a Windows-friendly approach, try a Microsoft Word family tree template GRAMPS [via Sysad Linux Blog]
Linux only: Expand OpenOffice.org’s document opening, saving, and conversion powers to Office 2007 documents with the OpenXML Translator, a free plug-in intended for Ubuntu systems (although other Debian-based systems might be able to use it as well). Grab a package for your 32- or 64-bit system, install it (hitting the via link if you need help with that) and OpenOffice will be able to read and save files to the .docx format. Conversion from Microsoft Office-authored files remains hit-and-miss, but it’s a nice step forward for the free and open-source office suite. The OpenXML translator is a free download for Linux systems only. OpenOffice.org OpenXML Translator [via Hacktivision Lite]
Linux only: SSHMenu, a free taskbar application, makes Linux life a little easier for those who regularly make one or more SSH connections to remote machines on a regular basis. Once you’ve added the app’s repository and installed, you place the SSH menu button anywhere you’d like on your taskbars, and then click it to pull up shortcuts to your frequently connected clients. The real benefit here is client-specific colouring—you can have your home server terminal pop up blue, for instance, and an important work server with a red background, and you can have the app remember preferred window sizes and positions. SSHMenu is a free download for Linux systems only; hit the link below for help on getting the program set up. SSHMenu [via The Daily Ubuntu]
Linux only: We’ve seen how visualizing your hard drive usage can help you clear the biggest space-eaters and make room for more useful information, and KDE-based Linux users have a great tool to do that. Free download Filelight scans your hard drive and displays space usage on a colored radial, with details that pop up as you mouse over each segment. Directories closest to the system root are show on the inside, and Filelight seems to have few problems analysing mounted non-Linux-format partitions, such as Windows. For those who liked the looks of Baobob but try to operate in a clean KDE environment, Filelight is an attractive space-making tool. Filelight is a free download for Linux systems only.
Filelight [via FOSSwire]Ubuntu Linux only: Ubuntu Tweak is a small customisation tool that gives you a single access point to some of the interface and file browsing options tucked away in Ubuntu’s advanced preferences or text configuration files. Along with a few of the more common Compiz Fusion and interface preferences, Ubuntu Tweak lets you enable useful functions for CD burning, easily enable and change splash screens, make advanced power management changes, and even lock down certain tools for security reasons. Experienced users may know how to change a lot of things in this app, but for new installs, and new users, it’s a time saver. Ubuntu Tweak is a free download for Ubuntu Linux systems.
Ubuntu Tweak [via Linux.com]Linux only: Free open source backup utility FlyBack exists to offer part of the features in Mac OS X Leopard’s vaunted Time Machine—at least the part involving set-it-and-forget-it, time-stamped backups. Install and load FlyBack, tell it where your external drive is and which folders you want to back up and when, and the program sets up your Linux system’s cron scheduler to do it. The program is still in its infancy, but has come a long way since a buggy version I gave up on in early November, and I prefer the pared-down interface edges to more advanced apps like TimeVault. FlyBack is a free download for Linux systems and may require installing a few Python libraries to get running (detailed at the project page)
FlyBack [Google Code via Mad Penguin]Linux only: The GRUB boot-selector tool has made dual-booting Linux and other systems easy, but changing how your boot menu looks requires digging through text files and praying you don’t make a single typo. QGRUBEditor, a free visual GRUB editor, takes the guesswork and some of the hassle out of tweaking your boot settings. You can change menu orders, colors, splash images, and defaults, and preview the effects your changes have without having to reboot. The program has a few non-dire quirks, but it’s still easier than guessing and paging through the menu file by hand. QGRUBEditor is a free download for Linux systems only, and requires three QT (KDE) libraries to run.
QGRUBEditor [via Linux.com]
