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A year ago, I made the best and worst mistake of my life: I messed up my GRUB boot list, and didn’t have the wherewithal to fix it. I was so frustrated, that I chose to abandon the Microsoft axis altogether. What would I do without the tools I used in Windows? I found myself relying on some very helpful roundups online. You know “The 5 best apps for this or that”, and the like.
It turns out, after you read 50 or so Linux roundups that don’t help you at all, you find one shining program( or solution )in the rough that takes care of your issues. Sometimes, you end up using a combination of programs together, with varying degrees of success. Then, you have the “kludge”. This is a programming term that basically means ” an inefficient, clumsy way to get the result you want”. I have plenty of those, and have detailed a few of my favorites below.
I’m not saying that you will see much of a difference in the programs I suggest in this roundup. Depending on how new you are to the Linux scene, you might stumble onto something you aren’t currently using. What I will offer are unique and occasionally “kludgey” solutions to get the job done.
PDF’s: These gave me a real problem when I started using Linux full-time. Don’t get me wrong, Linux has plenty of PDF readers/writers. When it came to editing them all, I hit a bit of a roadblock. I have to amend PDF’s(photo and text-based) on a regular basis. So what are the solutions I found?
- PDFedit: This is okay, provided you are satisfied with having a one-shot edit. By that, I mean that you can access the document and change it, but it does not have an “undo” function. Hopefully, they will add this feature in future. You have to close the document in order to “undo” any changes. I only use this for highlighting text based PDF’s. For image based PDF’s I choose…
- GIMP(a kludgin’ we will go): Yes, that’s right. The venerated Photoshop replacement can edit text and image-based PDF’s. There are several issues with this method, but I’ll explain how to use it, should you be so inclined. The downfall of this method is that GIMP imports the PDF, whether Image or Text based as an Image. When it exports, it exports the file independently of the original as a PDF. That being said, it is a good solution for 1-3 page docs. All you have to do is create a new layer in Gimp, cover up the old information with a color( I use white, generally) and create a new text layer to replace the old data. Then export as a .jpg or .png (I generally use .jpg, but .gif works pretty well, should you need a smaller file size.)
Here comes the fun part: Now, you have to open up the other PDF pages in GIMP, and export them as a .jpg or whatever. Then, open up OpenOffice Draw. Insert the picture into the first slide. Insert another slide, insert pic. Repeat until done. Click “Export as PDF” button. Tada. Not fun. Or you can just write a PHP script to run on your Apache server, and use the PHP/PDF library to export your files as a single PDF(if you feel froggy, jump.) I hired someone to write a short script for me, and they were among the best dollars I have ever spent.
- Scribus: This is the most mature of the editing/publishing platforms out there. I have heard great things about its ability to edit PDF’s. The only problem is, I cannot get it edit a single PDF. It tells me that my PDF’s are not in an acceptable format. Should they fix this in a later release, this would be your best shot at a editing on a great platform. It just does not work with PDF’s generated in OpenOffice, or anywhere else for that matter.
- Xournal or Gournal: Xournal is the better of the two. They are both lightweight PDF annotators/editors. They do not work well with Image based PDF’s. They do an admirable job when dealing with text based PDF’s.
Let’s move on to picture formats, and photo management systems. Man, have I ever had a problem with these. This mostly has to do with the frequent inability of Linux programs to understand layers, as they relate to Adobe based products.
The following programs allow you to view, and even batch process photos. These are the ones that will save you more time than any other.
- Phatch: The single greatest contribution to Open Source photo editing since GIMP. Phatch allows you to quickly and easily batch edit thousands of files at the time. A simple GUI makes this a snap. Resize, change file quality parameters,rename, rotate, drop shadow, etc., without ever seeing the command line.
- Inkscape: A vector editor that comes close to accurately opening .ai and layered .eps files. I say, comes close, because it picks and chooses which of these files it interprets. It’s Russian Roulette. I wouldn’t pay for a vector graphics package based on its performance, unless it gives you the file in .svg, which it interprets without a problem.
- GIMP: Okay, if you don’t know already, GIMP is the app that started it all. You can open up pretty much anything in GIMP. It just works. There are enough scripts and tutorials out there that enable you to do anything you want with an image. Its batch processing abilities are not nearly as good as Phatch, but you can add “Dave’s Batch Processor” should you feel the urge.
(For all of you who say “Well, you can use Adobe products with WINE.”, let me remind you that I am not dual-booting MS and Linux. To speak of a solution using WINE would nullify the point of this article.)
Ok, now that I am done with programs, I’d like to share with you some websites that help you convert files into usable formats. You know the ones, the primarily brilliant spawn of Microsoft that are a pain to open: .docx, .xlsx, .pub, and anything else you need decoded on the fly.
(It should be noted that current Linux versions of OpenOffice will open .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx locally. Windows versions of the program do not support these files as of yet.) These are for when you are on the go, or using a machine that isn’t owned by you. You could always carry a custom distro on your keychain, but my guess is you are not that hardcore yet. If you are, you have probably discovered or coded far better solutions than I am offering.
- k2pdf.com : This will take .rtf, .txt, .doc, .eps, .docx, .mdi, .tif, and a few other formats, and convert them into a usable, viewable PDF for you.
- pdfonline.com- Should you need the document editable in word, head over here to convert your PDF to a standard MS Word file. The only reason that you would possibly need this, is to edit tables from an .xlsx to PDF conversion. Still, a reasonably decent kludge.
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/access_onlinetools.html- Yup. Adobe offers to convert your PDF to HTML for you here. You take the help where you can get it. Then you can paste the HTML into OpenOffice and save as .doc (or preferably, an .odt.) Again, not the greatest solution, but one that works.
The Linux community is doing an admirable job of making file formats accessible. Hopefully, in the near future, an open standard will overtake these proprietary formats. In the meantime, I hope some of these patched together solutions will help you get the job.
I have paperwork to do, so I’ve gotta run. The penguin shall prevail…

The Linux Foundation announced April 8 its annual sponsorship of independent IDC predictions about how the Linux ecosystem will grow over time. The answer is “a lot” but exactly what you’d expect in relationship to the UNIX ecosystem.

My techie friends take pride in displaying the latest addition to their list of programs that run on their Linux installation.

Ubuntu is a community developed operating system, supported by Canonical, Mark Shuttleworth’s company.

Most people purchase computers to run programs – whether it is to send email, browse the web, meet friends of girlfriends on msn messenger, do office work or just play solitaire.
People buy computers to use programs for their functionality not to run operating systems be in Microsoft Windows, the new Microsoft Vista product, the Mac Operations Systems or the various Linux Operating Systems – be they Ubuntu Linux, Mandiva, Knoppix or Debian.
At the heart of most computer users is functionality and usability. It is as simple as that. It is an interesting situation that the Microsoft Corporation controls the vast lion’s share of the computer operating system market. Indeed it even has a major share holding of the next player in line – Apple with the Macintosh OS (Operating System).
What are the issues?
1) Linux is not really free. Linux, in its various flavors or distros, is given free of charge, whether it is on a cd, DVD or downloaded. You can install the program on your own compute or various computers, at no charge to yourself whatsoever
This is in direct contrast to a commercial product such as Microsoft Windows or the new Microsoft Vista which you to purchase a boxed version or a valid license which comes with most computer systems purchased. This license which comes on most new computers as a matter of course could be referred to as the “Microsoft Computer Tax” and is not an option you can forego, to reduce the purchase of your new compute – whether or not you wish to use another operating system such as Linux.
Linux is given free of charge to install. This is not a shareware or time limited version of the product which requires a registration fee after a period of time.
If you require product support or training commercial organizations do exist which will charge you for support of that product or for training or both. Indeed it can be said that Microsoft itself charges for product support, Symantec the antivirus / security organization charges for basic support by product, subscription fees – sometimes automatic subscription fees and 900 phone number and charge card “Priority Support”.
Indeed you would not expect your local school or technical college to provide computer and compute software training free of charge.
2) Linux is complex and will force you to learn the Linux command line,
Not true simple as that. The various Linux distros all have GUI (Graphic User Interfaces) just like Microsoft Windows, Windows used to come as command line DOS. Windows users use pull down windows to operate the software. So can and do most Linux users
3) Compared to Windows, Installing Linux is Difficult
- The vast majority of computer users are computer neophytes and beginners.
These computer users purchase computers with the operations system Microsoft Windows or the Macintosh Operating System installed on their new computers. These people could not install the Windows Operating system and the device drivers necessary if their life depended on it. How the situation of a Linux is based computer any different.
It is only a matter of time until new computers come preinstalled with the Linux operating system. Imagine if Henry Ford had been told not to build new cars since there were few good roads available in America.
4) My Computer Hardware Just Works Under Windows
5) Again untrue in many cases and soon to be less of an issue as more and more computers will come preinstalled with a Linux operating system. Already Dell Computer (which was a Microsoft stalwart) is selling Linux based laptops. Interestingly the response to the Ubuntu Linux dell notebooks is quite positive, If you think Linux hardware compatibility is an issue try upgrading to the new Microsoft Vista from your previous Microsoft Windows product. You will find to your surprise that few if little of computer hardware are supported. You may have upgraded to the new Vista and found you have either no sound, good video or even internet connections via your network adapter device or wireless network adapter. And try undoing your upgrade to get back to your working windows version – it cannot be done.
Lastly you may say I run Windows since all of the programs I use are available only on the Windows operations system – since that is the dominant player in the market. You may well surmise that since Windows is the more than dominant player in the computer OS market that software developers write their product almost exclusively for the windows operations system and that market.
This is true. If you are using a specialized product for your job, industry, situation or preference you may well be locked in.
In the end most people buy and use computers for functionality and use. Most people use their computers for internet browsing, communication – whether it by email or messenger services (M.S.N., Yahoo, Skype, Eyeball Chat), downloading and burning music and in more than many cases for playing nothing more than computer games such as simple solitaire.
In these cases the functionality of Linux and its program base easily allows for this. Indeed many of the cutting edge programs and computer services come out of left field by computer software developers and enthusiasts whose preference of Computer Operating System is guess what – Linux in its various forms.

There are many valid reasons to switch from Microsoft Windows to Ubuntu Linux. Both the average computer user and corporations can benefit from the switch to Ubuntu. Do not worry if you have never heard of Ubuntu, I will briefly introduce you to the best free Linux distribution available.

The name of the Operating System is an African word which means,