# Applications for Fedora
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 23, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223 "2005-08-23T03:02:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Aquafina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquafina)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/1 "2005-08-23T03:02:41Z")
Hello Linux gurus,
I just installed Fedora on my computer after 7 years of Windoes, but I have no ideas “what to do next”.
Can you suggest some essential applicaltions that I should have ?
Thanks
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### Author:  [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/2 "2005-08-23T04:00:08Z")
Hoo boy, is that an open-ended question. Without more to go on, it’s tough to provide any help. Did you try browsing the fedora package listing or [rpmfind.org](http://rpmfind.org)?
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### Author:  [@Aquafina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquafina)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/3 "2005-08-23T04:11:54Z")
Oh, I only asked for essential and popular applications.
Like in Windows, we usually have Microsoft Words, Winamp, BsPlayer, Acrobat Reader… and such.
I just wonder what a Linux guru normally uses.
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### Author:  [@treebug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treebug)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/4 "2005-08-23T04:27:27Z")
MS Word = OpenOffice
Winamp = xmms
Acrobat Reader = I think most browsers have the plugins to read .pdf already installed
-treebug
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### Author:  [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/5 "2005-08-23T04:37:55Z")
Ah. Well, most of the general apps you’ll need or want should already be installed – open source is nice that way. IIRC (I use Debian, so I’m not up on the fedora setup), most should be available from the “main menu” button on the taskbar.
Most of the time, finding _some_ application isn’t a problem – it’s choosing which one you like the best. At any rate, as **treebug** says, OpenOffice (or Koffice, gnome counterparts, etc.), xmms, and acrobat reader (or xpdf, gpdf, etc.) are some. Gimp for graphics, mplayer for video, tons of cd players, mozilla/firefox (or nautilus, konqueror, etc.) for browsing, and so on…
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### Author:  [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/6 "2005-08-23T06:42:29Z")
Switch from the gnome desktop (which is usually default) to kde. But I am open to ideas on the usefulness of gnome, I have never liked it.
After you’ve done that, you can hit up various kde sites (just plug in kde to google) a favourite of mine: [http://www.kde-apps.org/](http://www.kde-apps.org/)
Hope I’ve been a help, welcome to the world of linux. When you get everything you want installed its a dream. Before then its a bit of a nightmare, for some reason my kubuntu has something wrong with its c compiler, but that’s a different GQ altogether.
Oh yeh, and get firefox if it isn’t already there.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/7 "2005-08-23T08:23:41Z")
Unless you’re doing something unusual (more than the average Windows user does), Fedora should have everything you need installed already. If you notice a lack, look in the help system and find out what does what: It’s entirely possible you have the program you need, but it goes by an odd name. The default Fedora KDE and GNOME desktop environments reduce this uncertainty by grouping applications by function in the main menu and providing tool-tips that give a brief outline of what the program does.
The URLs already provided are probably best for a newbie like yourself. If you get comfortable compiling applications from source, check out Sourceforge and Freshmeat. However, nothing there that you don’t already have can be reasonably deemed `essential’ for someone like you.
If you have any other Linux questions, don’t hesitate to ask. There are people here (myself included) with plenty of experience.
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### Author:  [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/8 "2005-08-23T08:42:45Z")
Also, try [www.freshrpms.net](http://www.freshrpms.net) – this has rpm packages for Fedora for various nifty bits of software, including updates. You’ll also have to download a plugin to get xmms to play mp3s.
A good tool for making installations easier is synaptic, which is a front end for apt. You may need to download both, the one from [freshrpms.net](http://freshrpms.net) comes preconfigured to allow you to use freshrpms.
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### Author:  [@treebug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treebug)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/9 "2005-08-23T11:19:18Z")
Helpful websites:
[http://www.justlinux.com/](http://www.justlinux.com/) (click library for some good how-to’s)
and
[http://www.linuxquestions.org](http://www.linuxquestions.org) (there is a good linux forum here)
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### Author:  [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/10 "2005-08-23T14:55:45Z")
My wife pointed out to me that perhaps you’re looking for something like [these](http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/11684.html) [lists](http://www.math.clemson.edu/~bmoss/linux_laptop_project/software.htm) of linux applications and their windows equivalents.
Note that they’re certainly not exhaustive, but I hope you find them useful…
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### Author:  [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/11 "2005-08-23T15:01:13Z")
My wife pointed out to me that perhaps you’re looking for something like [these](http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/11684.html) [lists](http://www.math.clemson.edu/~bmoss/linux_laptop_project/software.htm) of linux applications and their windows equivalents.
Note that they’re certainly not exhaustive, but I hope you find them useful…
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### Author:  [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applications-for-fedora/318223/12 "2005-08-23T22:21:55Z")
When it rains, it pours…I just happened across [this Wikipedia list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open-source_software_packages) of open source software, grouped into categories (on the right).