Below is a collection of cloned applications that I used on Windows that made the switch to Ubuntu (almost) seamless.

Most of these apps are extremely customizable, though all are functional and set to the most common preferences once installed. A few important notes for new Ubuntu/Linux users:

• If you don’t already have Ubuntu, download it, burn it to a CD, and install it! If you can’t burn it to a CD, they will also ship you about 5 copies for free (no shipping, no handling – they even pay postage. This is how I got my first copy in 2005). If you just want to try it, Ubuntu features a Live CD filesystem. Just pop it in and enjoy Ubuntu without actually installing it on your box or making any changes to your existing operating system. Keep in mind nothing will be saved to the hard disk, which makes the rest of this tutorial kind of useless.
• Quite a few of the installations in this tutorial will be through a console. By default Ubuntu installs a console (Applications -> System -> Terminal). Don’t worry. Most of the steps in this tutorial only require copy/paste into the console, and all have a GUI and are added to your Applications menu unless otherwise noted.
• The sudo function means “SuperUser Do” – in other words: “do this command as the root user (Administrator).” Nearly everything that could be considered a dangerous application or change requires you to enter your root password, even GUIfied programs. After the initial install and setup of Ubuntu it can be a pain in the ass, but don’t worry. You’ll get settled in and won’t have to enter your password as often as you’d think.
• The apt-get program is a centralized command-line installer application (whereas Synaptic is a GUIfied aptitude client). There are thousands of packages available through apt-get, and they’re frequently updated as new versions arrive. Before you begin, please ensure your apt-get repositories are up to date. In a console type:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

• The Ubuntu user forum is a *great* place to get information on different packages, technical issues, and environment suggestions, as is google! If you’re having trouble finding a good tutorial on a certain process or package, search google for packagename ubuntu. If the issue is with hardware, it’s likely already a known issue and has a workaround. Search for the product name, such as Broadcom 1390 ubuntu on google.
• Finally, if you want all the packages mentioned here (except Skype, the Firefox plugins, and Frostwire as they require some human interaction), in a console type:

wget http://www.thepemberton.com/allpackages.sh

sh ./allpackages.sh

Now, on to the goodies!

1. Skype!

Skype is what I use for my home phone service. Skype costs about $30 USD/year (The Skype ‘credits’ are useful, but can be a burden – just go for the full year of service and it’ll save you a bundle). It even has a service called SkypeIn, which allows you to have a dial-in number that you can use or check anywhere in the world for a small yearly fee. Skype includes caller ID, voicemail, chat, call forwarding (to forward to your mobile and keep the number private for you business users), and they let you choose your own phone number in the area code of your choosing. Even if you don’t want to pay, it’s a wonderful IM client and VoIP application.

To install Skype, sign up and click “Download” at the top of their website, then choose “Skype for Linux” from the left.

Save the latest “Ubuntu” distribution to your Desktop, and in a Console type:

cd ~/Desktop

sudo dpkg -i skype-debian_<versionnumber>.deb

2. OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice (in my experience — don’t quote me) has full compatibility with all Microsoft Office documents, even PowerPoint and Access – free! This was one of my biggest fears in switching to Linux. Thanks OpenOffice!

OpenOffice should come with Ubuntu, but if yours did not click System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> OpenOffice.org

3. MSN IM, Yahoo IM, AOL Instant Messenger, and ICQ

These can all be run from one program: GAIM

Gaim (will be renamed to Pidgin in its next release) can log you into MSN IM, Yahoo IM, AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, IRC, and others. It features numerous plugins (including tabbed chatting to keep your desktop tidy).

To install Gaim (and some of my favorite plugins – including Encryption and GUIfications), in a Console type:

sudo apt-get install gaim gaim-hotkeys gaim-encryption gaim-extendedprefs gaim-guifications

4. Firefox

Really. There’s little or no advantage to using IE. Hell, if you’re patient enough, you can even run IE on Linux.

To install Mozilla Fireforex, click System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> firefox Some handy plugins:

- Download Statusbar

Neatly arranges downloads and prevents the annoying download window from appearing every time (though you can set it to display the download window *every* time, but really there’s no need).

- Live HTTP Headers

Shows you exactly what’s coming into your browser.

- TabBrowser Preferences or TabMix Plus

Some additional functionality for tabbed browsing. I suggest starting with TabBrowser Preferences and if you feel like it’s missing something, uninstall it and try TabMix plus.

- StumbleUpon

Just the best timekiller ever.

- User Agent Switcher

If you’re a web developer or frequent an “IE only” website, you might understand how important this can be. It allows you to change the Agent that your browser tells a webserver that you’re using (dozens of options, including googlebot, different versions of IE, and others).

- SEO Quake

Not something I could stomach to have enabled all the time, but it shows website rankings dynamically (try a google search after enabling).

5. Codecs

Codecs? That’s right. Out of the box, Ubuntu doesn’t have any of the popular media codecs (mp3, wmv, etc).

In a Console, type:

sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-gl gstreamer0.10-plugins-base gstreamer0.10-plugins-good gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse libxine-extracodecs


Any additional codecs you need are likely in the Synaptic Manager (System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager). Just search for the codec name.

6. Amarok

Amarok is a fresh new media player. Seriously, this app has some great functions, and has a ton of plugins.

apt-get install amarok

Note: I suggest the Wiki-lyrics plugin: http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=35151

To use the wiki plugin, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install libgtk2-ruby

Save the tar.bz2 file from the link above to your computer, and in Amarok click Tools -> Script Manager, and “Install Script,” pointing to the .tar.bz2 file. To run it, in the Script Manager select Lyrics -> WikiLyrics -> Run

7. KTorrent

A sweet BitTorrent client, much like Azareus, but without spamvertisements or the need for Java. KTorrent allows you to download a full torrent, or select specific files that you’d like to download from the torrent.

To install KTorrent, click System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> KTorrent

8. Filezilla

The popular FTP client for Windows is also available on Linux. In my opinion all other FTP clients pale in comparison.

Installation: System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> Filezilla

9. Archivers/File Compressors

Even on Linux there are plenty of archivers, but most do them all.

I like Ark. It handles too many formats to list, but a few are rar, zip, tar, gz, bz, 7z….

To install Ark, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install ark

If you ever find yourself missing a library, say, to open .ace files, take a peek in the Synaptic Package Manager.

10. Java

You know you’ll need it. To install:

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-fonts

11. Frostwire

A *clean* Limewire clone for Linux. You’ll mostly use this to download single mp3s. Needs Java (see #10). To install Frostwire visit frostwire.com, click “Download Now for Ubuntu,” and save the .deb file to your desktop. In a console type:

cd ~/Desktop

sudo dpkg -i <<filename>>.deb

12. aMule

An eMule/eDonkey clone for Linux. aMule takes a little time to start downloading, but pretty much everything is on here (full albums, windoze software, etc). To install aMule, use the following in a console:

sudo apt-get install amule

13. Wine

Wine stands for “Wine is Not an Emulator.” What is it? Wine is an application that attempts to mimic Windows and let you run Windows programs in Linux, seamlessly. I’ve used it for a few things, even some good complex games like CounterStrike 1.6, Team Fortress Classic, Half Life 2, and Counterstrike: Source.

To install Wine, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install wine

14. Mozilla Thunderbird

A popular email client. Not as many options as Microsoft Outlook out of the box, but there’s a decent Thunderbird plugin repository.

To install Thunderbird, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install mozilla-thunderbird

15. Geany

Geany is an AWESOME programming IDE. It supports nearly every language, a terminal, built-in functions to compile, and autocomplete (not the lame kind, this one actually scans your project across files and provides autocomplete for functions from other user created files!).

apt-get install geany

16. Beryl and Emerald

I wouldn’t use this on an ATI card unless you find a great tutorial on Beryl and ATI drivers… but if you’re fortunate enough to have an NVidia card, Beryl is worth a look. It adds a large number of (mostly) lightweight desktop effects, including a desktop cube, amazing window transitions, and hell… if you’re not distracted by playing with it too much it can even speed up desktop usage. Without Beryl I hardly ever use multiple workspaces. Queue cheesy Youtube video of Beryl in action:

[youtube ZD7QraljRfM]

To install Beryl and Emerald, in a console type:

sudo apt-get install beryl emerald-themes beryl-manager

There are a good number of themes for Beryl and Emerald (Emerald is the window decorator, allows for some great window themes) at http://www.beryl-look.org/

17. Flash Player

Duh.

To install (don’t worry – it’s free):

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

18. Totem Movie Player

A lightweight video player. Not bad at all.

Note: If there’s a codec you’re missing Totem should try to grab it by itself. If this fails, search for the codec name in System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager

To install Totem Movie Player:

sudo apt-get install totem totem-gstreamer totem-mozilla

19. Desktop games!

Most of the games are lightweight and clones of popular Windows games. Check them out! If you’re looking for some serious gaming action, check out my posts on Ubuntu Linux Games – Top Picks, Guide to ROMs (Console emulation) on Ubuntu, and Installing Valve’s STEAM and Counterstrike on Ubuntu.

To install some cool (small) games on Linux:

Applications -> Add/Remove Programs, and check out the “Games” area. Make sure you choose all of the suites (Multiverse, etc) – or:

apt-get install abuse supertux gweled briquolo chromium criticalmass frozen-bubble fb-music-high lbreakout2 pingus powermanga rrootage gnome-sudoku tuxpuck

20. GIMP

Gimp is a fun little graphics editor. It’s infinitely expandable with a huge list of plugins and scripts. Even if you’re not a graphic artist, sometimes you just need to edit photos or pics. There’s also a lot of community support for GIMP. I mention a few great tutorials in one of my previous posts.

To install GIMP:

sudo apt-get install gimp

21. K3B

K3B is an awesome CD/DVD burning and ripping application, like Roxio Toast. To install:

sudo apt-get install k3b

22. Konsole

My favorite terminal/console application. Supports multiple schemas and transparency.

To install:

sudo apt-get install konsole

23. VLC

VLC is another video player. It play some of the more exotic compression formats.

sudo apt-get install vlc

24. KSnapshot

Perfect little screencapture application. You’ll want it once you install Beryl.

sudo apt-get install ksnapshot

25. k9Copy

Linux DVD ripper and shrinker. Enjoy!

sudo apt-get install k9copy

26. KMyMoney

Like quickbooks, but free.

sudo apt-get install kmymoney2

27. OpenSSH

It’s hard to spend time away from your Ubuntu box. OpenSSH allows you to open a remote console from anywhere.

sudo apt-get install openssh-client openssh-server

Note: If you’re going to SSH into your machine from a Windows box, I suggest using PuTTY on the Windows machine (requires no install – just a standalone executable).

28. Krita

Is GIMP too powerful and you just need a few image touchups in a familiar interface? Krita is a tidy little image editor.

sudo apt-get install krita

29. nano

Nano is a console-based text editor. If you break your xserver and don’t have video after trying something new with your crappy ATI driver, nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf will be burned into your memory. Seriously,buy an NVidia card.

sudo apt-get install nano

30. kate

A lot of the features in geany are here, but kate is closer to notepad/wordpad.

sudo apt-get install kate

Afterthought #1:

Mount an NTFS (Windows) partition for read/write access in Ubuntu:

If you have two hard drives in your computer, or a specific dual-boot partitioning schema, you may find it necessary to be able to access files from that partition *cough*mp3s*cough*

To mount that partition under Ubuntu, it can be a little tricky. Here’s what I did:

1. Find the name of the hard drive partition. In a console, type:

sudo fdisk -l

look for any entries mentioning “NTFS” or “FAT32″ and take note of the “Device Boot” column. My “HPFS/NTFS” drive was located at /dev/hdb1

2. Install the apps needed to make this work. In a console type:

sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g

3. Create a directory that we’ll access the partition from:

sudo mkdir /media/windows

4. Backup and open the fstab file:

sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.bak

gksudo gedit /etc/fstab

5. gedit will open up. Add the following line to the file (replace /dev/hdb1 with your partition location from step 1) and save:

/dev/hdb1 /media/windows ntfs-3g defaults,force,locale=en_US.utf8   0    0

6. Unmount the NTFS partition, and re-mount:

sudo umount /dev/hdb1

sudo mount -a

Or reboot your machine, and you’ll see your Windows NTFS partition in the /media/windows directory!

Afterthought #2:

Create a backup of all installed packages

Creating a backup list of applications to install is quite easy really. If you ever need to reinstall Ubuntu or wish to install all of the same applications onto another computer, try this:

Save a backup list of all installed packages to your desktop:

cd ~/Desktop

dpkg –get-selections | grep -v deinstall > ubuntu-install-files

Now don’t lost that “ubuntu-install-files” file! Email it to yourself, put it on your pen drive, anything. It might also be helpful to include a bookmark to this page or copy/paste of the below steps to install from the backup file.

On the new computer (or fresh install):

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

dpkg –set-selections < ubuntu-install-files

sudo dselect

Hit ‘i’ on your keyboard to continue the install, and Q once it’s done.

Please leave comments if you’d like anything added! I’ll take most into consideration

This is only my experience downloading and installing Steam and Valve games like Counterstrike 1.6 and TFC on Linux. Your experience may vary.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• A purchased copy of Half Life Platinum (if you’re into the old versions of Counter Strike and Team Fortress Classic – still going strong with thousands of gamers on 24/7) and/or a purchased copy of Half Life 2. You won’t have to use the DVD/CDs in this tutorial (in fact I’ve never gotten them to work), you’ll just need the product key. Steam includes a lovely little downloader for Valve games
• Wine:
  • sudo apt-get install wine
• Once Wine is installed, extract the fonts from this archive to the ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/fonts/ directory. If you don’t, you’ll notice Steam and its games don’t have any text!
• Download and run the SteamInstall.exe file (NOT the .msi that’s on their download page). From a terminal:
  • cd ~/Desktop
  • wget http://steampowered.com/download/SteamInstall.exe
  • wine SteamInstall.exe -dxlevel 90 -novid

This will guide you through a small install process. Once completed, edit the shortcut (or create one if one wasn’t automatically created for you):

Right-click on Applications menu -> Edit Menus -> Wine -> Programs -> Steam -> Steam, right-click “Steam” and change the properties “command” to:

wine “C:/Program Files/Steam/steam.exe” -dxlevel 90 -novid -width 1024 -height 768 -heapsize 512000

There you go! If you have a steam account by purchasing a copy of Half Life, you can log in and use the interface to download whichever games you’ve purchased.

Gaming console emulation on PC is nothing new. An emulator is a program that mimics the hardware and firmware from a gaming console (such as the Super Nintendo), to play roms. Roms are just computerized copies of console games. For PSX and other CD-based systems Roms are called ISOs. This guide is just my personal notes on emulating the different game consoles on Ubuntu Linux (Feisty 7.04 in this article).

First, if you don’t have a gamepad, I suggest stopping by your local Best Buy and purchasing one. If you’d like to save some cash, there are plenty of affordable solutions online, and not to mention you can use the controllers from your existing consoles by using a USB converter. Personally, I use a Logitech Dual Action controller. There was no setup needed except plugging it into a USB port and defining the controls in the emulators. This controller is great for other non-emulated games as well, including VDrift.

Finding ROMS:

Locating roms is easier than one might think. There are plenty of great websites for both bittorrent clients and standard HTTP clients. aMule and mininova.org have been my favorites thus far. Simply search for systemname and rom or iso (and maybe the game you’re looking for to trim down the results); e.g., snes roms or Legend of Mana iso psx

Super Nintendo:

For Super Nintendo emulation, I chose ZSnes. I haven’t found a Super Nintendo game that this doesn’t support (and I have over 800). ZSnes has many graphical filters to make your SNES games look better on your computer than they did on the console, a GameGenie-esque cheat system, and more.

To install ZSnes on Ubuntu: System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager -> ZSNES

You’ll want to add it to your Applications menu (right-click on Application menu, Edit Menus), or open it directly from a console by typing: zsnes

Once installed, you may consider checking out mininova.org or aMule to start downloading your roms. A simple search for “snes roms” should do the trick. There are plenty of dedicated snes rom websites, however a lot of good roms are ESA protected, so you won’t be able to download goodies like Super Mario World.

Once you have a collection of roms, fire up zsnes and click Config -> Input #1 (for the first controller). If you have a Logitech Dual Action controller, you’ll find this fairly easy. Just click “Set Keys” and it will prompt you for the button config. After you’re done here, click the ‘X’ to close the config window, and click Game -> Load, and navigate to your snes rom directory.

Note: If your roms don’t have the .smc filename extension, you’ll need to check the “Show all Extensions” checkbox from the Load screen. I recommend paying the Config -> Video screen a visit, and enabling a higher resolution (1024×768 win is my preference) and checking the BiLinear Filter, HQ2X, and High Res Mode 7 checkboxes. If the sounds are too high pitched, you may need to adjust the sound frequency down to 8000hz (Config -> Sound).

Nintendo 64:

Not all Nintendo 64 emulators are built equally. I’ve had the best luck with pj64 for Windows, but under Linux the Mupen64 emulator is the next best thing.

To install Mupen64, download it, extract the files to a folder on your desktop, and you can run Mupen64 directly from the extraction folder.

Once again, mininova.org has a few great n64 rom packages. Right away, I would download a few video plugins for Mupen64 such as GLN64 and Glide64. Once downloaded, extract the files into the Mupen64/plugins folder. You’ll likely have to try other plugins for different games. I still haven’t gotten Donkey Kong 64 to work properly with any video plugin. If you find a way, please comment this post and I’ll test and edit as necessary.

You’ll find that switching between games like Bomberman 64 and Mario 64 is a tedious task, as you’ll often have to click Options -> Configure and select or edit a different video plugin. Once you have your roms and video plugins, in Mupen 64 click Options -> Configure, and add your rom directory(ies). This will add all roms to a list, and it’s much easier than opening each rom individually.

I have not found a game controller that equals the original N64 game controller, particularly the location of the “Z” button and the “C” buttons. If you’re a hardcore N64 fan, you should try to find a USB adapter. If you use the Logitech Dual Action controller, the right-analog stick works fine for the C-up,down,left, and right buttons. I found Blight’s SDL Input Plugin to be the easiest and most accurate to configure for my controller. You can find it at: http://www.ngemu.com/n64/mupen64.php?action=plugins

Nintendo DS:

DeSmuME has a lot of options, and of course supports your mouse in place of the stylus. I haven’t gotten it to work with any game controller.

To install DeSmuME, click Applications -> System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager, and search for ‘desmume’

To run DeSmuME, open a console and type: desmume

I found DS emulation a bit clunky and (for the most part) fruitless, and gave up on it. I’ll revisit DS emulation once I hit the Phantom Hourglass in my epic quest to defeat the Zelda chain, or I may just buy a DS, they’re quite cheap lately – and the portability is supreme.

Nintendo Gameboy:

TuxBoy has been the best thus far. To install:

TuxBoy has a gui (whereas gnuboy does not) and it worked after install with my Logitech Dual Action controller (though I had to enable the “mode” button on the controller to take it off analog and use the D-pad).

Nintendo NES:

For NES, I suggest a gfceu.

To install, click Applications -> System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager, and search for “gfceu”

To run gfceu, from a console type: gfceu

You’ll be presented with a lovely little GUI to locate and run your NES roms.

Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and 32x Systems:

Gens is a great emulator for the Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and 32x systems. To install:

1. Download this handy debian package to a new folder (thanks to chronusdark for this contribution)
2. In a console, change to the saved directory.
3. Type: sudo dpkg -i gens_2.12a-i386.deb

To run Gens, simply type ‘gens’ in a console. The GUI is pretty intuitive. Make sure you redefine your controls to your gamepad by clicking Option -> Joypads and redefining the controls!

Playstation (PSX):

With such great games as Tenchu and FInal Fantasy 7, I had to have a PSX emulator. I stumbled across ePSXe and haven’t looked at another.Installation can be a bit of a pain, and if you forget anything you may need to start over, so I’m including complete install instructions:

1. Open a console, and install the needed packages: sudo apt-get install unzip libgtk1.2-common libgtk1.2
2. Create an install dir: sudo mkdir ~/Desktop/epsxe
3. Change to the install dir: cd ~/Desktop/epsxe
4. chmod the installdir to ensure all users can write to it: chmod -R 777 ./
5. Download ePSXe base from this link: http://www.epsxe.com/files/epsxe160lin.zip
6. Extract the contents of the above file into the ~/Desktop/epsxe/ directory
7. In the console, type: sudo chmod 777 cfg sstates snap memcards
8. Next, type: sudo touch memcards/epsxe000.mcr memcards/epsxe001.mcr .epsxerc
9. Then: sudo chmod 666 memcards/*
10. Followed by: sudo chmod 666 .epsxerc
11. Download the PSX BIOS software (PSX firmware) by searching google or any popular search engine for: scph1001.bin
    1. Move the scph1001.bin file to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/bin/ folder
12. Download a hardware acceleration package to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/plugins/ folder: http://www.pbernert.com/gpupetexgl208.tar.gz
13. Note that the cfgPeteXGL2 and gpuPeteXGL2.cfg files need to go in the ~/Desktop/epsxe/cfg/ folder!
    1. Sub-Note: If the hardware acceleration package doesn’t work, you may consider trying to extract http://www.pbernert.com/gpupeopssoftx117.tar.gz to your ~/Desktop/epsxe/plugins folder, making sure to move cfgPeopsSoft and gpuPeopsSoftX.cfg to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/cfg/ folder
14. Download the PadJoy input plugin, extract the cfgPadJoy file to the /cfg/ folder, and the to the libpadJoy-0.8.so file /plugin/ folder: http://members.chello.at/erich.kitzmueller/ammoq/down/xjoypad.zip
15. Download an audio plugin and extract to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/plugins/ folder: http://www.pbernert.com/spupeopsoss109.tar.gz
    1. Note: move the file cfgPeopsOSS to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/cfg/ folder!

You can now run ePSXe directly from the ~/Desktop/epsxe/ folder. Make sure you click Config -> Bios, and set it to the ~/Desktop/epsxe/bin/scph1001.bin file.

If you don’t have a PSX disk or iso, you can test it by clicking File -> Run BIOS.

To configure my controller I only had to click Config -> Ext. Game Pad -> Configure

Edit 8/28/2007: Thanks to Matt, I’ve discovered a much easier PSX emulator. Simply download the file below, extract to a folder, and run “pSX” directly from the folder. I’ve tested with all my PSX games and haven’t had any glitches or compatibility issues: http://psxemulator.gazaxian.com/pSX_linux_1_13.tar.bz2

Note that you’ll still need to search google for a scph1001.bin PSX BIOS file and extract it to the /bin/ folder.

Once that’s set, you can configure your controller by clicking File -> Configuration -> Controllers. I think I’ll be using this PSX emulator from now on

*Great computer repair services in Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda, Florida by Harbor Data Systems