Software packages for Linux Mint. Linux Mint Repositories
Linux Mint(Linux Mint) is a free operating system that today is breaking all conceivable and unimaginable records of popularity all over the world. The process of using the operating system has become even simpler and more convenient even for an untrained user who has just begun to learn the basics computer literacy or simply decided to switch to another OS. Linux Mint is based on another popular OS - Ubuntu Linux, which can also be downloaded for free.
The popularity of this version of the OS is high not only among Russian-speaking users, but throughout the world - it is among the TOP 3 of the most famous and popular free Linux-oriented distributions.
A distinctive feature of this distribution is that all Linux programs, which work on Ubuntu can be used on Mint without any problems. Compatibility is almost one hundred percent.
Regarding system requirements
, then you shouldn’t worry - if you have more than 512 megabytes of RAM and a hard drive of 20 gigabytes or more, then you can safely download Linux and install it on your laptop or Personal Computer(PC).
This is an undeniable plus for users, because on the Internet and special repositories (official databases with software) there are many various programs: only in the official source there are over thirty thousand of them, and if you add unofficial ones, then the numbers simply go off scale.
This compatibility extends to the entire set of tips, algorithms for solving problems, answers to questions about the operation of utilities, which can be found on various portals and specialized forums, as well as in communities programs for Linux and numerous FAQ sections.
It is worth noting that in Russian Federation There are more than one hundred and forty-three million people, and many of them use this version, so the audience we are talking about is truly impressive. Based on this, it will not be difficult to configure at your own discretion, and if difficulties arise, many will be able to tell you what and how to do.
Let us remind you that the basis of the free version is Ubuntu, so the latter’s new products come out much earlier, and the releases of the first OS are placed taking into account previously identified errors and defects. Thus, users are offered an already updated, better and more thoughtful version of the software.
The appearance and interface of Mint is strict and democratic, with well-thought-out logic and necessary functionality. We have our own developed applications, and not just those inherited from the “ancestor”.
Extra Bonus– this is the presence of audio and video codecs, which will allow you to immediately watch movies and listen to music without installing additional software.
A characteristic feature of Mint that sets it apart from its analogues that offer affordable software out of the box is its maximum ease of use for users of any level of computer literacy.
It’s not at all difficult to understand, and most importantly, it’s not at all time-consuming. Even those who are used to working with another operating system(Windows or MacOS), when switching to (in Russian), they quickly adapt to its friendly interface, which is distinguished by its convenience and excellent elaboration.
But simplicity does not mean the absence of complex functions for performing highly specialized tasks, and certainly does not affect the speed of working with complex projects. , as a representative UNIX family, is the carrier of a modern functional set of OS. This already includes various 3D effects when opening drop-down menus, etc., which very little use the computer's system resources.
The graphical shell can be any of the most common ones - Gnome, KDE4, Xfce, LXDE, etc.
In that version Linux Mint(in Russian), which you can download for free from our website, the Gnome desktop is used as the simplest and most undemanding system resources PC.
This distribution is aimed at users with diametrically opposed needs. He suitable for beginners in working with a computer, for those who preferred this program to the previous ones, as well as for those who do not want to spend a long time installing the necessary software, since everything necessary is already installed. And if such a need arises, you can always deliver the necessary software directly from a special package manager, which is included in the distribution.
If you have already read what was recently published in this magazine on repositories, then I dare to assume that you have no particular doubts about where it is best to look for programs for Linux. Today we will talk about the practical side of the issue: We bring to your attention the answer to the question posed in the title in the form of a detailed guide in pictures...
Let's start, perhaps, with "Program Manager" distribution "Linux Mint". Immediately after installation, your operating system is already connected to the main official repositories of the company "Canonical", as well as the "Linux Mint" repository. Accordingly, in "Program Manager" we can already find a fair number of applications, which, of course, are not located on the hard drive, but in the mentioned official repositories. To start the search, let's launch from the main menu "Program Manager":
If you are observant enough, you have already noticed that under the icon "All packages" there is a modest gray number that indicates the total number of packages available from the repositories connected to the system. As you can see, the figure is quite impressive: "32763". Yes, yes, this is exactly the number of packages that are available for download and installation on the system "Linux Mint 10", which is installed on my computer. It must be said that this number includes not only programs from official repositories, but also others installed from, as well as from an unofficial repository that I manually connected "Getdeb". We see that in "Program Manager" applications are divided into categories, which greatly facilitate their search among such a wide range.
Here, of course, it is worth mentioning that programs in Linux are not always presented in one package, that is, one application can include more than one package: say, the world-famous VLC player has about twenty of them. This does not mean that all of them need to be installed - some of them are needed by developers, others are additional libraries or “plugins”» . In any case, you need to take into account that the “Program Manager,” when displaying the quantity, takes into account not only the main software packages, but also other, additional ones, of course, if they are available.As an example, let’s open some not too voluminous category, for example, by clicking on the icon "Graphic arts ":
Here we see that this category includes subcategories to make searching even easier. You should not be confused that the signatures for some applications are English language- this does not always mean that they do not have Russification. In any case, I can say with confidence that those marked with green checkmarks in the picture "Gimp" And "Avidemux" exactly Russified. By the way, green tick
indicates that the program marked in this way is already installed on the system. However, I can’t explain why the video editor fell into the “Graphics” category - let’s classify this misunderstanding as a curiosity. And here is the program "Blender" has a signature in Russian. If we click on its icon, we will see that the description of the application is also presented on the great and mighty:
If you liked the program and want to try it in action, then you just need to click on green button"Install". Having entered the password in the window that appears at the request of the system, you just have to wait until required packages will be automatically downloaded from the repository and will also be installed automatically. You can control the process by moving the window at the bottom "Program Manager" color stripe.
You can also search for applications in the Program Manager through search box, which is located on the right top corner program windows. However, you only need to enter there English program names, if you know them, of course. However, even if you know the name, you may still be confused by the links to service packages that appear before your eyes, which you may have no idea about - and you will not know what of all of these you need to install. It is for such a case that the developers provided that the main packages be highlighted with icons applications: this is the icon you need to click to install the program correctly - in this case, the rest of the necessary service packages will be installed automatically.
Now let's move on to "Launchpad", a people's repository, which was described in detail in one of the recent .
Considering the fact that this site has already posted more than 20 thousand software projects, it is clear that we need a way that, among this quantity, will help us highlight exactly what we want to find, and at the same time as convenient, fast and efficient as possible.
The official Launchpad website offers several various options search. For example, you can go to the main page of the resource’s official website and use the search box. Let's try.
On this page called "Personal package archives for Ubuntu", above the search bar it says: "Search for user-distributed software packages, published in any RRA". Of course, such packages are also suitable for Linux Mint. By the way, in this search it is no longer necessary to add the abbreviation “ppa” to the keywords. So, let's enter keywords « video editor»
and we see that the search turned out to be more effective than in the first case - nothing superfluous, but only links to personal mini-repositories:
The names of the links do not always correspond to the names of the programs, so sometimes the search desired application you must continue by following the link to the corresponding RRA. A Russian-speaking user who does not speak English will have to limit himself to guesswork and, having searched on the mini-repository page for words that could presumably be program names, look for their meaning by resorting to some Russian-language search engine, for example, this one.
It is difficult to say unequivocally which search method is more productive: first find the list of PPAs using one of the methods mentioned above, and then look for information about the video editor, for example, in Google, or first find information on video editors for Linux on the Internet, and then Having made your choice, find the RRA specific program on Launchpad. Much here depends on a number of subjective reasons. Therefore, the easiest way is to try both methods and choose the most convenient and suitable for you.Since “Openshot” was mentioned here, let’s assume that we have already found out everything about this video editor and have a desire to install it. Now we need to tell the operating system the description string of the ART mini-repository PPA of the development team of this application. Open the found link Official OpenShot PPA and see the following picture:
Of course, if you do not speak English, you are unlikely to understand what is written there, but this is not important to us, because knowledge of foreign languages is important to us. in this case and won't be needed. Under the heading "Adding this PPA to your system", which means "Adding this PPA to your system", there is a spoiler link (opens hidden text on the page) Green colour:
"Technical details about this PPA" (Technical details about this RPA).
We need to click on this green spoiler, and then in the drop-down menu with an arrow next to which it says "Choose your Ubuntu version" (select your version of "Ubuntu"), select the name of the version of “Ubuntu” on which a particular release of “Linux Mint” is based - in my case it is “Maverick (10.10)”. Having completed all this, we see the following picture on the screen.
If you New user, and just switched to Linux Mint from another operating system, for example, Windows or MacOS, then the task is to select everything necessary programs may become unbearable. After all, programs for Linux great amount and several at a time to solve the same problem.
In this article, we have collected the best programs for Linux Mint 18, with which you can solve most of your problems. Most of these programs are distributed free of charge, open source source code and can be installed directly from the official repositories, some of them will have to be searched in PPA or downloaded installation package from the official website. Well, now let's move on to the list itself best programs for Linux Mint 18.
Behind Lately Firefox web browser has lost a lot of market share, but it still remains one of the best open source browsers. Mozilla cares about user security and privacy in a way that Chrome does not. You can install many add-ons, including those from Chrome, and sync your passwords and history across devices. Firefox will work perfectly with any Linux desktop environment.
2. Chromium
According to many users, Chromium is now best browser. The browser has become so powerful that you can complete most of your tasks without resorting to other programs. All its functionality is available on Linux. You can install closed Chrome version or download Chromium - open source. Read more about installation.
3.Thunderbird
Thunderbird is an excellent email client from Mozilla. It's not as popular as Firefox, but it's arguably one of the best email clients available for Linux. It works on both Windows and Linux. You can send and receive emails, search the email database and apply filters, as well as install various extensions. Popular postal services, such as mail.ru are supported by default, you just need to enter your login and password.
4. Pidgin
Pidgin is cross-platform software for instant messaging, which has been developing for many years and is used by millions of users. The program supports many communication protocols, including AIM, ICQ, Jabber, XMMP, and many others, including the ability to install plugins for Mail agent, Facebook and Skype. Read more about how to install Pidgin
5. LibreOffice
LibreOffice is the best Linux office suite available. The program supports opening Microsoft files Office, and although there are slight differences in the file syntax that lead to inconsistencies, the program is quite usable. The interface is very similar to Microsoft Office and all the same functions are supported, there is a text, table, presentation and database editor. Many Windows users people who can't install Microsoft Office use LibreOffice. This program should definitely be on the list of best programs for Linux Mint. discussed in a separate article.
6.Audacity
Audacity is a popular audio recording and editing tool. Want to record an album or your own podcast? Audacity is a simple and free program for solving such problems. If you need to work with music on Linux, then this will be a great solution.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install audacity
7. GIMP
Gimp is the most complete and feature-rich image editor for Linux, written in GTK. It is also free and can be installed on any system. Gimp is great alternative for Photoshop. Perhaps the program is a little short of its competitor in terms of appearance and user-friendliness of the interface, but with its help you can do everything the same, you just need to figure it out. In addition, the editor has several themes that will allow you to customize the program to work more conveniently. Installation is discussed separately.
8. OpenShot
If you need to process video in Linux, there are programs for that too. OpenShot is an excellent editor for creating and preparing videos. In version 2.0 the program has become much better. Supported here various effects, 3D animation, compositing, sound mixing, and much more. Naturally, the program supports everything standard actions with video.
To install:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openshot.developers/ppa
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install openshot-qt
9. VLC
VLC is one of the best media players for Linux. If VLC can't play a video file, then most likely it can no longer be played. The program's interface is very simple, but at the same time, it has enormous functionality. In addition to the fact that you can open almost all formats, the program allows you to capture video from a webcam or screen, convert video or audio, and take screenshots from audio. For more information about installing VLC, see.
10. Geany
Geany is a cross between a text editor and a full-fledged integrated software development environment. It has a code editor with syntax highlighting, and you can build and run your program right here, see a list of defined functions and methods, and much more.
To install:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:geany-dev/ppa
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install geany
The Linux operating system does not need such frequent Maintenance systems like Windows, but there are times when you would like to clean your machine of unnecessary files. BleachBit will help you do this. This tool allows you to remove extra files, and also clear data from many applications.
Installation:
wget http://download.bleachbit.org/bleachbit_1.12_all_ubuntu1604.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i --force-depends bleachbit_1.12_all_ubuntu1604.deb
$ sudo apt-get install -f
12.Transmission
We all use torrents quite often to download movies, music and other files. Transmission is an excellent torrent client for Linux that allows you to download multiple files at once, set up a download queue, limit speed, check data integrity and much more.
13. MyPaint
You don't always need something so powerful graphics editor, like Gimp, sometimes all you need is a small and very simple tool that just gets the job done. MyPaint is just such a program; there are no complex functions here, just basic image processing.
Installation:
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:achadwick/mypaint-testing
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install mypaint mypaint-data-extras
14. Gradio
Love to listen online radio? This simple player is for you. The program supports many stations and you can choose what you like. In addition, you can play any stream from the Internet. Stations can also be saved as favorites so you can find them very easily later.
To install, run the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:haecker-felix/gradio-daily
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install gradio
15. Clementine
Clementine is modern and cross-platform music player, it is based on the Amarok, so it takes all its advantages. But Clementine is optimized for speed and ease of finding your music. Almost all audio formats are supported, you can also search for channels on the Internet and play audio streams.
Install Ubuntu, Mint or any other on your PC Linux distribution- this is only half the battle. Next you need to choose comfortable and functional programs, so to speak, to replace the usual Windows tools. The gagadget website brings to your attention a “gentleman’s set” of the best programs for the Linux OS.
One-click installation
In the article “Ubuntu 14.04 OS review: better than Windows 8” we talked about the advantages of Ubuntu Linux over Windows and the innovations of the Trusty Tahr version. Now we will tell you about the best, in our opinion, applications for the Linux OS, which are in no way inferior to their Windows counterparts, or even superior to them.
The most convenient way to install applications in Ubuntu is from the built-in Ubuntu Software Center store. You just need to find the program in the directory, click the “Install” button and enter the superuser password (root). Alternative way installations are DEB packages (installers), which can be downloaded from the official website of the program you are interested in. There is also a third way to install applications - building from source codes, but for beginners Linux world it's too complicated.
The best thing about Linux is the choice of web browsers - the trio of Chrome, Firefox and Opera is represented in full force here. No unless Internet Explorer and Safari, but ardent supporters of these browsers are unlikely to think about switching from Windows and Mac OS X to Linux. In addition to web browsers, many other well-known Windows programs have been ported to Linux.
Office suite LibreOffice
The best free package office applications, undoubtedly, is LibreOffice, a fork of the OpenOffice.org project, developing much faster than the original. It turns on text editor Writer, Calc spreadsheet processor, Impress presentation program and a number of additional components.
The Writer text editor is the most convenient and sophisticated component of LibreOffice, so I personally use it even on Windows. The main advantage of Writer over Microsoft Office Word is auto-completion of long words (the minimum length can be changed in the settings). It would seem that this function is in demand only on smartphones, but, as practice shows, it can also be useful on PCs.
When quickly typing text on the keyboard, I rarely manage to write some complex words correctly the first time, for example, “accordingly” (I just also made a mistake in this word - I wrote “sts” instead of “tst”). The auto-completion function allows you to type only the beginning of the word “soo...” and then press Enter key, that is, typing texts at space speed.
Of course, LibreOffice Writer is not without its shortcomings. The function of auto-numbering pages is not implemented in the best way. in the best possible way, and in order to get rid of the numbering on the first page, you generally have to “play tricks with a tambourine.” Moreover, a document created using Writer, especially a multi-page document, may not display correctly in Microsoft Office Word. The text often moves up and down several lines, which disrupts the structure of the document (sections, pictures, tables). But if you type relatively simple and short texts, like me, working with LibreOffice Writer will bring you only joy. Fortunately, the program checks spelling for Ukrainian and Russian languages perfectly.
Graphics editor
The most functional graphics editor for Linux is, of course, GIMP. Moreover, functions that it does not have by default can be implemented using plugins. But for most PC users, GIMP is too complex and, worst of all, slow (the program's startup time is especially annoying). Therefore, I personally prefer to use Linux simple and a lightweight application called mtPaint.
This graphic editor can do everything that I usually do with photographs and screenshots before publication: cropping, resizing, brightness and contrast correction, adding arrows, frames and text comments. In addition, mtPaint can switch between RGB Color and Indexed Color modes, which allows you to reduce JPG images to website preview sizes (for example, 200x150 pixels) without losing quality. If this is not done, the image will not be smooth, but “pixelated”.
Audio player Foobnix
Touching for a long time music players for Linux (Rhythmbox, Amarok, Audacious, Clementine, Decibel), I eventually settled on the Foobnix app. This audio player can play music both from the PC hard drive (compressed and uncompressed formats) and from the Internet (radio stations and VKontakte music library).
Moreover, Internet radio stations can be recorded using Foobnix, and music from VKontakte can be downloaded. However, the question of the legality of the content in this case remains open. Another undoubted advantage of Foobnix is minimal processor load. And that is, some audio players for Linux have such a sin as loading multi-core processor ten to twenty percent.
VLC media player
The Ubuntu OS comes with a generally good Totem media player, but codecs for different video formats have to be downloaded several times from the Ubuntu Software Center. So why not immediately install the “omnivorous” VLC, for which there is no concept of an unsupported format?
VLC has many sound and graphic filters that are applied directly while watching a video. This allows you to make even a video with a blurry picture and hissing sound “digestible”. In addition, VLC can record and broadcast video to the Internet from various sources: video capture cards, TV tuner, webcam, and even what is happening on the computer screen (screencast).
Wine - launch environment
Some Windows applications, primarily professional ones, do not work in the Linux environment. worthy alternatives. And highly specialized tasks cannot be solved at all without a native and one-of-a-kind Windows tool. Therefore, sooner or later you will need to run an executable EXE file on Linux.
Unlike virtual machines, which launch the Windows OS first and only then the program you are interested in, Wine does the same job, as they say, “without the middlemen.” Thanks to this, the speed of work of “non-native” computers increases significantly. Linux applications, up to the ability to run modern 3D games.
You can find out whether a particular Windows program will work well in Wine on the web page appdb.winehq.org. Here you can find tips on optimization and solutions typical problems(required libraries, registry tweaks).
An add-on for Wine called PlayOnLinux has been created especially for gamers. Many operations in it are simplified and automated, for example loading missing libraries. Game installers need to be downloaded yourself. I recently installed Ubuntu on an Acer C710 Chromebook, launched Steam through Wine, and from there I downloaded and launched the strategy game “Cossacks: Back to War.” Do you still doubt the capabilities of Wine?
An inexhaustible source
We described in detail only the Linux programs of the first necessity, while there are many more high-quality applications for this OS. Mail client Sylpheed, multi-protocol messenger Pidgin, audio editor, video editor Avidemux, torrent downloader Deluge, program for artists MyPaint, virtual disk Furius ISO Mount - and it's far from it full list. And what interesting and little-known programs for Linux do you know? Write in the comments, it will be interesting to read.
If you are just starting to get acquainted with the operating room Linux system Mint, then you will hear the word repository for the first time. You will come across this word in advice on forums, in instructions for installing programs, and in this article we will look at what it is.
What is a repository
A repository is a place where data is stored and kept up to date. In relation to Linux Mint, files of the system itself and all available software are stored there. To put it very simply, this is a server with updates and program files. IN installed system There is a list of standard repositories, but you can add new ones. We'll look at how this can be done a little later, but for now let's look at the standard ones.
List of Linux Mint 17 repositories
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com qiana main upstream import
deb http://extra.linuxmint.com qiana main
List of Linux Mint 17.1 repositories
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com rebecca main upstream import
deb http://extra.linuxmint.com rebecca main
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu trusty main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu trusty-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/trusty partner
List of Linux Mint 17.2 repositories
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com rafaela main upstream import
deb http://extra.linuxmint.com rafaela main
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu trusty main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu trusty-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/trusty partner
List of Linux Mint 17.3 repositories
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com rosa main upstream import
deb http://extra.linuxmint.com rosa main
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu trusty main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu trusty-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/trusty partner
List of Linux Mint 18 repositories
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com sarah main upstream import backport
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/xenial partner
How can I add and remove a new repository?
You can add a new repository in Linux Mint in several ways:
1) Using a terminal
Any ppa repository can be added using a command from the terminal. Let's take the Simple Screen Recorder repository as an example. It looks like ppa:maarten-baert/simplescreenrecorder. Open a terminal and enter the command
2) Using the "Application Sources" utility
Go to Menu-Administration-Application Sources and run the utility.
On the first tab you will see the official repositories, leave them alone and go to the ppa-repositories tab
Here you can add, edit and delete new ppa repositories (what we did using the terminal).
Go to the Additional Repositories tab.
All other repositories that start with deb are added here (for example, deb http://packages.linuxmint.com sarah main upstream import backport)
3) Editing in a text editor
the main repositories are stored in a file /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
additional in file /etc/apt/sources.list
List of useful repositories for Linux Mint:
1) For Russification zip archives and rar
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:frol/zip-i18n
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libnatspec0 p7zip p7zip-full p7zip-rar
2) Program with information about the equipment
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:i-nex-development-team/stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install i-nex
3) Latest version WINE
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa
4) Optical drive emulator
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:cdemu/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install cdemu-client gcdemu
5) A program for recording video from your desktop
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:maarten-baert/simplescreenrecorder
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install simplescreenrecorder
After adding a new repository, you need to update the list of packages. This is done using the command
sudo apt-get update
We reviewed the main repositories in the article, but if you have additions, write them in the comments and we will add the information. Good luck in mastering Linux Mint.