[NCLUG] Linux Alternatives & Necessities for Home Use

[dann frazier]

On Tue, 2005-08-16 at 13:54 -0600, Rich Young wrote:
> Hey, all, looks like we're taking the plunge (for the second time) to a
> windows-free life.  To pull this off, I'm going to need to be able to
> adequately replace certain windows-only applications, and I also will
> need to know about a couple hardware issues.  I'm hoping the list can
> help.
> 
> SOFTWARE
> Open Office takes care of most of our application issues, but I'm
> curious about replacing Paint Shop Pro.  The GIMP is a little too
> unfriendly for the rest of the family, I think, but your basic kiddie
> paint program doesn't do enough.  Any suggestions?

xpaint maybe.  I've never used Paint Shop Pro though.

> While we're on the subject of images, does anyone know of a favorite
> family-quality photo organizer to replace Picassa?

gthumb maybe - I've never used Picassa though.

> I'm also wondering about anti-virus software.  Are there any free/open
> virus protection apps you can recommend?  

You're running linux, what more do you need?

> Any other apps I should plan
> to use? In the windows world, I was used to needing Zone Alarm,
> Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy AND an antivirus program to keep the
> machine going, but I know the risks are fewer with linux.  I just don't
> want to be complacent.
> 
> What about something to convert all my MP3's to Ogg?  

Lossy to lossy, are you sure?  You can listen to mp3s in linux, but if
you want to convert to ogg you can probably use bladeenc | oggenc (with
the appropriate options.