Sparkling gems and new releases from the world of Free and Open Source Software
Krusader 2.5
It might be the 21st century, but developers are still working on the idea of what makes the perfect file manager. On the one hand, cloud storage has brought stateless file management, such as the kind you find in Google Drive. On the other hand, we're all still accumulating hundreds of files on our local machines. Neither are we happy to trust entirely on the perpetuity of the cloud and its ability to recall an ancient photo with just a couple of tags or search terms, nor are we happy to trust our own organizational skills with local storage. That's where file management comes in, and KDE is particularly well furnished. It's default file manager Dolphin is brilliant. It lets you create and search for metadata, quickly preview all kinds of file types, and split the view and out of the way. But Krusader, which after four years has finally made it to Plasma/KDE 5, is also a worthy alternative that will perhaps appeal to users who liked Konqueror.
On its first run, it will look for the tools it needs to do lots of clever things. KRename, for example, is used for intelligent multiple file renaming, and both KMail and Thunderbird are used for email access. Integration with GUI diff applications, including KDiff3 and Kompare, is good. Krusader is very good at not reinventing any wheels. The default view is a graphical equivalent to the command line and veritable Midnight Commander, and it's from this that Krusader takes most of its inspiration by using so many external tools. The view is split, mimicking the source/destination paradigm of the command line, along with quick access to the function buttons at the bottom of the view. When you get used to it, it's quick and powerful and I'm really happy to see developers still experimenting with files and modern frameworks.
Project Website
Breaks Reminder
Safe Eyes
Every time we visit the optician, we're asked how many hours a day we spend staring at a screen. Each time we want to tell the truth, but we don't want to quite admit to the extreme lengths of optical duress we put our eyes through. Rather like a 60-a-day smoker saying they only smoke a couple of packs, we usually only admit to staring at the screen for 12 hours or so. We don't like to think about the real number, whatever that might be, but there's one thing we do agree with the optician about – regardless of how much time you spend in front of a screen, it's imperative to have a break. Yet, this sad affliction and addiction that many of us suffer, where our lives aren't complete without the letters F and J beneath our forefingers, also inhibits our ability to remember to take them, which is why we all need some small tool to remind us.
Rather than being a tool that puts a couple of eyes on your desktop that follow your pointer movements around, Safe Eyes is a tool to remind you to take a break. When installed and running, it sits quietly in the background, counting the seconds you spend browsing YouTube before you need to take a rest. You can obviously change the interval between these breaks, the time to prepare for a break, and the duration of short and long breaks, and Safe Eyes will not only remind you but also prompt you to "Roll your eyes" or "Walk for a while." You can even disable the keyboard and the ability to cancel a break. It might sound a little patronizing, but that's exactly what we needed to break our Reddit reverie and get up for a few moments, and our eyes felt all the better for it.
Project Website
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.