New Apps in PCQLinux 2006

PCQLinux 2006 has a ton of new applications for you to use.
Here we  list a few of the more interesting ones that you will find. You
will of course need to explore the distribution more thoroughly to find out more
such goodies.

Unison

This file synchronization utility allows you to keep a bunch of files that
change in different computers all the time. For instance, if you have a notebook
and a desktop computer-both of which you work on-you might files stored on
each as well as save your bookmarks and other data. So how do you get all these
copies into sync?

This is where Unison comes in. Unlike the uni-directional
rsync, Unison syncs both ways. So if you have directory structures on multiple
machines that you wish to keep synchronized, you create the sets in Unison. Now
whenever you run it, Unison will check the files on both locations and
synchronize them. If there are conflicts-for instance, a particular file in
both locations has been updated, it will flag the file and display the necessary
information like the last update time  so that the user can decide which
copy to keep. Being a user level sync program, it doesn't need kernel updates
or root access to run.

Bittorrent

If you are someone who loves downloading stuff off the Internet, Bittorrent is
for you. This allows a high download rate of popular items provided that you
allow a high upload rate of the same as well. For instance, when a new Linux
distribution is released, it might be impossible to get to any of its mirrors to
be able to download it for some time. However, using Bittorrent, you can start
downloading the data from other 'peers' on the Internet and upload the parts
you have received to others as well-in essence creating a mall community of
downloaders.

Beagle

For all the hype around Google and its search engine as well as its
commitment to open source, it is disappointing to see that Google hasn't
released a version of their desktop search for Linux yet. However, there is no
need to fret, since Beagle is here. This is a desktop search tool for Linux that
indexes your personal user space and allows you to perform searches that find
the data you need very, very quickly.

Beagle supports many different types of files or data-the
entire filesystem (to the parts to which you have access, of course), the
Evolution mail, calendar and addressbook, Firefox, Epiphany and other
browsers' Web cache, instant messenger conversations, office documents of all
popular formats, text, images, audio and video and more. The moment you perform
a search, Beagle sniffs out data matching your criteria from all these sources
and displays them in a very organized way.

F-Spot

This is a very powerful but extremely easy to use personal photo-management
software for PCQLinux 2006. In this, you can perform a various tasks of
organizing your photo and image collection.

F-Spot supports many different file formats and can import
images from a number of devices, including your filesystem, camera and others.
Once they are imported, you can tag the images with keywords or organize them
into albums. You can, of course, search within the whole set to find any
particular image you want. A timeline view lets you organize the pictures in the
order that they were actually taken. If you wish, you can even view a slideshow
of the selected pictures.

But it doesn't end here. If you want to perform some
simple editing tasks. F-Spot lets you do it right within the application itself
and there is no need to be a Gimp expert to do it. You can rotate, crop, resize,
red-eye adjust and color corrections right there. And if you wish to revert to
the original, you can do it with a simple click.

You can also easily export a set of  images,
create a PhotoCD for the images, export to a Flickr account, send to Gallery
website or create a static HTML page for upload from this application.

Workrave

Ever sat at a computer for so long that your eyes and wrists started aching?
Well, if you have, you are having the symptoms of RSI (Repetitive Strain
Injury)-an

ailment that many computer users are prone to. Workrave is a program that helps
you prevent this problem.

Workrave works by providing four different ways to reduce
the strain of working on a computer. The first is a

'micropause'. This is a tiny pause that you should get after every few
minutes. For instance, a pause for 10 seconds after 15 minutes of continuous
work. The next is a rest break, which is of a slightly longer duration after a
longer continuous work period. Then you have a daily limit timer that informs
you that you have reached your daily limit of computer time. And  finally
and exercise option shows you

different exercises that you can do at your work table to relieve the strain as
well.

It is a program that should be running all the time on your
machine if you are a regular computer user.

Stellarium

This is a planetarium software that lets you view real-time skies and the
celestial objects in it. It renders these objects as can be seen by your naked
eye, binoculars or a small telescope. Stellarium can let you view the night or
day sky from almost any location on Earth. Celestial objects like the Sun, Moon,
planets, stars and constellations can be setup the way you would see them. You
can even set up grids, zoom into planets and nebulae, change weather conditions
to add fog, sunrise or sunset, see comets and meteors and more.