Linux Mint 19 Mate - Stable, Fast, and Sleek Looking

I started 10 years ago using Ubuntu which had the old Mate style menu structure. Linux has come a long way since then. And it has been a long while since I have tried a Mate desktop version of Linux. I used to be a fan of Ubuntu Mate, however, the themes left me wanting for more. With Linux Mint Mate 19, this is not an issue. There are also lots of other improvements including the new Software Manager. Along with software arranged by category, the Mint developers have shown details and screen shots of the program. This may be just a carryover from the Gnome Software Manager ported to Mate, XFCE, and Cinnamon versions in version 19. It looks great, uses little memory (1GB), and has updated applications. I have become nostalgic all over again using Mint Mate 19 !

You can download Linux Mint Mate here:

https://linuxmint.com/download.php

Bonus Tip: 10 Things To Do First In Linux Mint 19:

https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/mint-mate-first

4 Best Alternatives To Libre Office On Linux

Libre Office is the main reason open source projects have made a real dent in the office suite market share. For many people, Microsoft Office is the go-to productivity suite for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations but Because Libre Office is freely available via the Document Foundation, there’s an alternative for those that need one. With all that said, Libre Office isn’t the only choice that users who don’t want to use MS Office have. For all the good that it does, Libre Office also has some major drawbacks. That’s why in this list, we’ve decided to go over some of the best alternatives to Libre Office.

1. Calligra Suite



The Calligra Suite is a complete Office Suite from the KDE Project. It comes with many different office applications that can satisfy basic office editing needs for most Linux users. Applications include Words (document creation and editiong), Tables (spreadsheets), Stage (presentations), as well as Kexi (database mangament) and others.

There are many different tools in Calligra, that offer a ton of compelling features. As far as office suites for Linux go, this one is the most comparable to Libre Office. Calligra not only includes a solid Word/Excel/PowerPoint alternative, but it includes replacements for some of the lesser-known MS Office tools (Kexi, Karbon, Flow, and Calligra Art).

Like Libre Office, each program has a ton of features to offer to the user and covering each and every one would take a long time. Instead, let’s talk about the most notable features that this suite has to offer:
Words can read MS Office formats, Google Docs, and many others
Stage offers decent transitions and supports MS PowerPoint files
Kexi is a competitive alternative to MS Access, with a vast amount of complex database manipulation features
Karbon offers a highly customizable and competitive vector drawing application with support for multiple file formats
Calligra Suite, like Libre Office, is completely free and open source software


If you’re not happy with the office suite included on your Linux operating system and are looking for a complete replacement of it, this should be your first choice.

2. WPS Office




WPS Office is a freemium, cross-platform office suite that promises to be 100% feature-compatible with the latest version of Microsoft Office. WPS Office includes the WPS Writer (document editor), WPS Spreadsheets (spreadsheet), and WPS Presentation (presentation).


Each of the applications tries their best to have “feature-compatibility” with their Microsoft counterparts. For example, the WPS Spreadsheets application includes a lot of common formulas users use in Excel to make the transition easier. In addition to MS compatibility, WPS Office has a lot to offer:
Online, downloadable templates for anyone to use
Users can download an Android/iOS app to access their documents at any time (up to 9 devices)
Offers free cloud storage of all documents for easy sharing and remote access
Can convert PDF files to MS format
Supports collaborative editing with comments, a change tracker and etc


Libre Office is nice, but if you’re in need of something better for the Linux desktop, try WPS Office.

3. SoftMaker Office




Whether open source advocates like it or not, Microsoft Office and the Docx format is what most of the world uses. On Libre Office, users can import these files. For the most part, it works fine, but due to the fact that these files are not being read and used directly in their original apps, formatting sometimes is disturbed.

SoftMaker Office takes a different approach. Instead of importing the data from files, it just reads and saves in the Microsoft Formats everyone uses by default. For Linux users who have jobs (or classes) that require saving documents in the Microsoft formats, this is a killer feature.

In addition to MS Office compatibility, SoftMaker Office has other features:
Easy ePub creation
Free technical support (something Libre Office doesn’t offer)
Many Microsoft Office feature similarities/compatibilities
Mozilla Thunderbird Email extensions to integrate SoftMaker with your email client
The 2018 version of Softmaker offers an interface similar to MS Office’s ribbon UI


SoftMaker Office isn’t free and costs money. That said, if Libre Office, WPS or Calligra Suite don’t do it for you, this suite may be worth the cost.

4. Abiword





Abiword is one of the best applications to install if you’re a Linux user that views the entire Libre Office suite as unnecessary bloat. It is a free, open source word processing tool that is specifically for writing and editing text documents.


Much like the Libre Office Writer tool that comes with a lot of Linux distributions, AbiWord has the ability to check spelling/grammar, has several font choices, various formatting options, table support and more. Additionally, AbiWord users can use the word processor to create PDF files, draw shapes (for diagrams and charts), and etc.


Many people love all the office tools in the Libre Office suite. If you are not one of those people, and just need an MS Word-like drop-in replacement, do yourself a favor and check out AbiWord. It’ll get the job done!
Source: https://www.addictivetips.com/ubuntu-linux-tips/best-alternatives-to-libre-office-on-linux/
Honorable Mention: Gnumeric Spreadsheet





It might seem counterproductive to use a spreadsheet application outside a business suite, but no real reason justifies not doing so. Word processing and calculation functions are foreign to each other, and no integrated link exists between programs within an office suite. So launching Gnumeric rather than the OpenOffice or LibreOffice equivalents takes the same click on a menu entry.

The Gnumeric spreadsheet is part of the Gnome desktop environment, but you do not have to run the Gnome desktop to use it. Gnumeric runs just fine in Ubuntu's Unity, Linux Mint's Cinnamon shell and the KDE desktop as well. I have yet to find a Linux distro that could not handle the package.

Do not think of Gnumeric as a clone of other spreadsheets. Gnumeric's strength is its ability to import and export files saved with other spreadsheets. If you use it in business, Gnumeric has an added benefit of minimizing the costs of transition.


Gnumeric works well with other spreadsheet files. It has an ample library of built-in plugins for commonly used spreadsheet file formats. These are pre-installed and active To turn off any unwanted plugin, just uncheck it the Tools / PlugIn menu.

Included in this hefty list is Microsoft Excel formats xlt/xlw, Lotus 1-2-3 formats wk1/wks, and the generic Comma/character Separated Values CSV formats. As noted, it also easily handles OpenDocument's ods/odt and Star Office sxc/stc files.

Among the less-common file formats Gnumeric handles effortlessly are Data Interchange Format (.dif), Applix version 4 (.as), gnu oleo (.oleo), Linear and integer program expression format (.mps), The Microsoft Multiplan Symbolic Link Interchange (.sylk), Wordperfect family "plan perfect" (.pln), Quattro Pro (tm), Xspread (sc) and Ashton-Tate programming language dBASE (.dbf).
Can Gnumeric excel over Libre Calc?


See what I did there? I dropped a name bomb on you. But what I’m trying to say is, there’s this niche little spreadsheet program called Gnumeric, which usually gets bundled into Xfce-flavored desktops as a lightweight alternative to a full-blown office suite. In general, it’s Abiword Gnumeric against the world. Another witty reference.


I have always wondered if perhaps the guys behind Gnumeric had always had it right, and most people truly do not need big programs, and they can get along just fine with simpler, less glamorous options. Today, we shall put this wonder to a test, and see what Gnumeric can do.
Gnumericking away


The software interface is simple if slightly cluttered, with various toolbars stacked vertically. There’s a lot going on, but after a while, most of the buttons start to make sense, and they are quite useful, as they cover the 90% of most common functions (not necessarily math functions) that you are likely to want to use when working with sheets of data.




An inevitable comparison to Excel and LibreOffice creeps up almost immediately, and you start to wonder if you can achieve certain results in this program even if you may not have an immediate need. As far as day-to-day usage goes, Gnumeric is quite adequate. You get the little styling tools and features you expect, and in this regard, it’s probably even more convenient than Calc.






Data & graphs


However, a far more important facet is how well Gnumeric handles rows and columns of numbers, and how easy it is to create impressive, meaningful graphs with a pinch of statistics sprinkled on top. In this regard, the available set of charts is quite nice. Not as colorful as Excel, but it covers most of the type you’d normally need. You also have a very large degree of customization available, and perhaps this is a tricky part.






While playing with different data sets and graphs, I struggled at first with the positioning, font size, chart title and legend, axis labels, and other trinkets and bits that make data look more presentable. True, if you’re really after just pure numbers, you should be something like Gnuplot, R or maybe Matlab.






In the end, you should have well-styled charts. However, editing takes you into a separate wizard, and you cannot add titles or labels on the fly, or drag & drop chart area elements. You must specify margins and position manually, and this can be somewhat clunky. Another thing that I thought might be useful is the ability to change the width of columns and bars in relevant graphs, which is currently missing.




Statistics & plugins


Gnumeric sort of compensates for its artistic downsides with a pretty powerful math side. You get a very extensive set of equations, you can use plugins to enrich the default behavior, and the available statistics tools allow for in-depth data analysis. Of course, you really need to understand what you’re doing, otherwise you’ll just be happily clicking on buttons.










Other features


Hyperlinks are also an options, but unlike Excel, Gnumeric will not autoformat them. Then again, you can use nice anchor text and whatnot. To make your life easier, Gnumeric can also auto-format data sets using existing visual templates, and you can use auto-correct for certain words or phrases. Sorting data also works well, but you get less flexibility than with Excel. I also liked the fact the old Microsoft 2003 F4 button functionality has been replicated, which essentially allows you to repeat whatever last command you executed. Quite handy when adding new rows or columns, styling data headers and such.






Things that are missing


Gnumeric is truly light and fast. It’s also quite stable and robust. A no-nonsense program really. However, there are some pretty large gaps in what it can do. You do not get any Macro integration, although you can use scripting languages, but that’s not as straightforward as you’d imagine. There’s also no Pivot Table support at the moment, and that’s another big one. File format support is adequate but not perfect.


If you require these right now, then Gnumeric is probably not the best choice. However, it’s steadily improving, and perhaps one day, it might offer all the goodies. Just look at how far Xubuntu has come. Then, take a lookat LibreOffice and Microsoft compatibility. Some good, interesting times are ahead of us, for sure.
Conclusion


Gnumeric is a handsome utility for older, underpowered systems or for people who need a simple, dedicated program with no frills and extras. It works well, it offers a balanced, reasonable set of features and tools, with a strong emphasis on statistics and less focus on data visualization. Furthermore, at the moment, notable disadvantages include support for Macros, better Microsoft file format compatibility, and Pivot Tables.


So can it replace Calc? Well, not quite. But the opposite is also true. Despite its immense progress, LibreOffice is somewhat clunkier, more difficult to use than Gnumeric, and for some people, the extra footprint might be more critical than the missing features. Overall, it would seem that there’s no hidden genius in the status quo, and there are factual reasons for why full office suites lead, including the spreadsheet software. All that said, Gnumeric is not that far off from being an excellent all-around alternative. It just needs a bit of polish and refinement, and some of those corporate features that everyone likes. Well, we shall follow it as it grows.
Source: http://www.ocsmag.com/2015/05/30/can-gnumeric-excel-over-calc/

Google's Linux workstations are switching from Ubuntu to Debian

Like many companies, Google uses a variety of operating systems in-house. macOS and Windows are used by a large number of employees, a modified build of Debian Linux is used on its servers (as of 2014, at least), and Chrome OS and Android devices are commonplace. In work environments where Linux is needed, Google uses a customized version of Ubuntu 14.04 called 'Goobuntu,' which has never been released publicly.
At DebConf in August 2017 (the news didn't catch media attention until now), Google announced that it would switch from Goobuntu to a Debian-based distribution called 'gLinux.' It's based on the upcoming Debian 10 release, and the company has developed a tool for migrating systems from Goobuntu to gLinux.





Google's shift in its preferred Linux distribution is important for two reasons. Firstly, Google will now contribute to the Debian Project instead of Ubuntu, which benefits anyone wanting to use Debian on their own computers. Secondly, Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) is likely losing one of its largest customers, but it hasn't disclosed details about lost revenue.
gLinux will probably never see a public release, like its predecessor Goobuntu, but it's still interesting to see what the world's top companies use internally.

Source: https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/01/19/googles-linux-workstations-switching-ubuntu-debian/

FreeOffice 2018 for Linux Released with “Complete Support” For Microsoft Office Files

SoftMaker FreeOffice 2018 is now available to download for Windows and Linux.

Developed by Germany-based software company SoftMaker, the office suite is both free to download and free to use — so if you’re on the hunt for a free Microsoft Office alternative for Linux you’ll almost certainly want to check it out.

FreeOffice 2018

The new release boasts “complete support” for modern Microsoft office file formats, both opening, editing and saving, as well as continued support older Microsoft Office file formats and the .ODF file formats used in LibreOffice. PDF and EPUB export also features.

FreeOffice 2018 introduces a Microsoft Ribbon UI to compliment the more traditional menu bar UI.

If all of that sounds a little familiar it’s because the app is a free version of the paid-for ‘SoftMaker Office‘ which saw a new release on Linux back in February.

Now, it’s not exactly clear what the differences are between the paid version and the free version. Both have the the same core apps, both offer the option of Microsoft Ribbon UI or traditional menu bar UI, and both support opening, editing, and saving in Microsoft Office file formats like .docx.

“In our view, the new interface and the improved compatibility with Microsoft Office make FreeOffice 2018 a must-have for 2018,” says Martin Kotulla, CEO of SoftMaker.

“If you are looking for a no-cost office package, there is no way around FreeOffice 2018.”

Download FreeOffice 2018

FreeOffice is free to use but does require a (valid) email address to download. But, once you clear that hurdle, you get access to native installers for Ubuntu and Fedora as well as, should you want it, Windows too.

To learn more, or to sign-up and download, head over to the official website:

Download FreeOffice 2018

Source: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2018/05/softmaker-freeoffice-2018-download

Transfer Files from PC to PC Over Your Local Network

Looking for a simple file sharing app to transfer files from PC to PC using Wi-Fi? If so, we’ve got you covered.
LAN Share is a free, open-source and cross-platform tool that enables you to quickly send files between computers that run Windows and/or Ubuntu Linux.
File transfers happens direct, PC to PC, over your local network or Wi-Fi. No complicated set-up or configurations are required, and you won’t need to fuss around with obscure settings and permissions.
But before I show you more there’s a bit of backstory.

Share Files Between Two Computers Over WiFi

I recently needed to transfer an 8GB disc image from my coffee shop laptop to my main Ubuntu PC. The question was: how?
My first instinct was (like most peoples) to reach for the nearest USB drive. So I did. But, for some infuriatingly unknown reason the ISO took forever to copy through the file manager — and worse: the speed got slower as each second passed!
Impatient, I yanked the USB out (not advised) and fired up my browser to find for a faster way to transfer files from PC to PC without any annoying “middle men”.
Now, I am aware of things like Samba, network shares, local workgroups, and ssh file transfer. But I wanted something simple, something free of complex configurations, and something that didn’t involve uploading files to the internet first.
And I found all I wanted and more in LAN Share.

LAN Share is Open Source Network File Transfer Software

LAN Share is an open-source network file transfer client written in C++ and Qt. It can be used to send a file or folder from one computer to another as well as to receive a file or folder from another computer running the app.
Better yet the app works on both Windows and Ubuntu, meaning you can use it to:

• Transfer files from Windows to Ubuntu
• Transfer files from Ubuntu to Windows
• Transfer files from Windows to Windows
• Transfer files from Ubuntu to Ubuntu

There are no third-party servers, no cloud services, and no complicated protocol arrangements involved.
Simply install the app on each computer you want to use, use the “Send” menu to select the file(s) or folder(s) you want to send, and select the ‘receiver’ computer from the list.
The only hard requirement is that both computers are on the same local network or Wi-Fi connection.
LAN Share:

• Works directly, PC to PC
• Lets you send files between different operating systems
• Has no file size limits
• Faster than using a cloud service like Dropbox

Part of why I like this app enough to write about it is the simple, straight-forward interface.
The main window is split in half, with the top section dedicated to “sent” files and the lower “received” files. These show real-time progress bars and metadata when files are actually being sent and/or received.



Basic controls to pause, skip, and cancel mean managing tasks is easy, and there’s a button to clear out completed tasks.
The Settings button offers access to options to:

• Set/change device name
• Set/change ports
• Set file buffer size
• Set download folder

Lacks advanced features

If there’s any catch it that’s the this app lacks advanced features and security settings — but as I’m only going to use it at home, I’m okay with that.
What I really appreciate is that files can be transferred between machines running different operating systems. I no longer have to go through the boring process of transferring files from Windows to a USB, then from USB to my Ubuntu machines; I can simply ferry things across over the network!
And tools like this are especially handy if you don’t have a (large enough) USB thumb drive to hand, or you don’t have a working internet connection (so long as your router works, so will this app).
Is this the fastest way to copy a file from Linux machine to Linux machine over a network?
I don’t know, but I do know that it was a lot faster than the lethargic write speed to my USB stick, and far less effort than setting up a network share (plus files you send are not discoverable by anyone else on your network).

Download LAN Share

Installers for Windows 64-bit and Ubuntu are available on the project’s Github page:

Download LAN Share for Windows & Linux

Teleport, NitroShare & Other Alternatives for Network File Transfers

LAN Share is not the only network filesharing software out there. A slate of apps exist for Windows, macOS and Linux, as well as Android and iOS, both free and paid.
Another open source alternative to LAN Share is NitroShare. It works in a similar way to LAN Share but has a couple of extra bells and whistles available, like optional TSL encryption.
For Linux to Linux transfers there’s Teleport, a GTK file sending app with rich GNOME Shell integration. It’s available to install from Flathub.
There are plenty of other ways to transfer files from PC to PC sans a desktop app, such as network maps, Samba shares, SSH and sFTP.
Just use it when you need it.

Let us know what you use

This post looked at just the tool I used to send files over your network. You can let us know what you use to quickly shunt files between computers in the comments section below.

Source: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2018/05/transfer-files-ubuntu-windows-wifi-network?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+d0od+%28OMG%21+Ubuntu%21%29

Cannot access windows partition from Ubuntu?

This seems to be an issue with windows 10. In windows 10 the kernel and the drivers hibernate by default even when you shutdown the system. To disable this, do the following.

    Open control panel.(win key + r. Type control and hit enter)

    While in icons view, click on power options.

    Click on Choose what the power buttons do on the Left hand side.

    Uncheck turn on fast startup. (you may need to press change settings that are currently unavailable before this)





    Click on save changes.


Source: https://askubuntu.com/questions/806570/cannot-access-windows-partition-from-ubuntu

How to Easily Crop and Resize Images in Linux

Many image editors are available for Linux, from the Photoshop-mimicking GIMP to photo editors like F-Spot. But none of these tools will let you easily crop and resize an image, without distracting you with feature-stuffing bells and whistles. The choice of feature packed image editing apps for Linux is impressive, but as with any platform, they can be slow, or have so many features that you don’t know where to start.
GIMP vs Photoshop: Which One is Right for You? GIMP vs Photoshop: Which One is Right for You? Photoshop is the most popular image editing app out there and GIMP is the best free alternative to it. Which should you use? Read More If you’re just looking for some basic cropping and resizing to help with a project or even to make an image easier to upload to your favorite social networks, try these tools.

ImageMagick

Your first stop for a good, efficient image-cropping tool for Linux will probably be ImageMagick.
In short, this has been around for years. You may have already heard of it. ImageMagick has two main options: usage via command line or via the desktop. We’re looking at the latter option as cropping via command line can be hit and miss (although it is often ideal for making those incisive, memorable crops) and certainly isn’t easy.
The ImageMagick app doesn’t have the cleanest UI design, but it is functional and efficient.





Install with:

sudo apt-get install imagemagick

To use ImageMagick to crop, first open the app, or right-click your image and select it from the Open With option. Next, left-click anywhere on the image, and select Transform > Crop. Left-click and drag to create box around the area you wish to crop to, and when you’re happy, click Crop.
Remember to save your changes with File > Save.

Gthumb

Perhaps even simpler to use, and complete with a slick, modern UI, is Gthumb.
Packed with editing tools and image management options (you can view and edit metadata and add tags for easy image search), the crop function is arguably easier to use than the one found in ImageMagick.





To get started, install with:

sudo apt-get install gthumb

Once done, launch from the menu, or find the image to crop in your desktop’s file manager and right-click, selecting Gthumb from the Open With option.
In the app, open your image, then select the paintbrush button to begin editing. You’ll see a number of interesting features here that you’ll probably want to try — you’ll find Crop at the bottom, next to Resize and listed under Format.
To crop, click the button and use the overlaid box to drag the boundary of the intended crop until you’re happy. You can also fine-tune the crop using the + and – symbols on the right-hand pane, specifying numerical values for the crop. The aspect ratio of the crop can also be changed, giving you the option of Instagram-style square crops.
When you’re happy with the selection, click Crop. You can Save via the Settings menu.

Phatch

We’ve looked at two good mouse-based cropping options so far, but what if your requirements are little more time-intensive? The solution here would be to employ a batch processing tool to crop many images with a single command.
While useful, this can have imprecise results, so should only be used with images that are very similar require the same area to be cropped.



You can install Phatch with:

sudo apt-get install phatch

After installing, you’ll need to launch Phatch from the menu, and click + to create a new batch process. Many options are available here, but to crop some files, begin by selecting Crop. Here, click Mode to change the option to Custom and you’ll be able to specify how many pixels from the Left, Right, Top, and Bottom edges of the images. By default this is measured in pixels (px) but if you prefer this can be changed to % or cm, mm, or even inch.
Click + again to select Save, and pay attention to the In: field, which displays the location of the cropped images.
When you’re ready, click the Execute button (the paper airplane) and browse for the images to be cropped. Phatch does the cropping at the directory level, so ensure your images have been gathered together in a single location. When you’re done, click Batch and wait for the files to be cropped.
You’ll find the cropped images in the destination file, as explained above. The default location for this is on the Linux desktop.

Edit Your Photos

We’ve been looking at lightweight image editing tasks so far, but if you’ve stumbled upon this page looking for something with a bit more power for editing photos, for instance, why not try Darktable or Shotwell? These are two great apps that can really bring out the best in your digital photos.
Darktable vs. Shotwell: Two Great Photo Editing Applications For Linux Darktable vs. Shotwell: Two Great Photo Editing Applications For Linux Until recently, Linux only had GIMP as an acceptable photo editing tool. That's changed, thanks to a couple new tools that provide impressive features: Darktable and Shotwell. Read More Our look at managing and editing your digital snaps, meanwhile, features many more apps. If you’re a photographer, meanwhile, your focus might be on editing RAW images, and these four tools can help you there.
GIMP is a great tool. So are Shutter and the various other photo editing apps. But if you want a quick way to simply resize or crop your images, and then export them, then there is no point wasting resources on large, feature-packed apps. You know what you need to do — use the right tools. You wouldn’t put a screw in with a hammer, would you?

Of course, our research brought these apps together. Perhaps you know of some other tools for effortlessly resizing or cropping images. If so, we’d love to hear about them, so tell us in the comments.

Source: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/easily-crop-resize-images-linux/