Linux Apps That Will Help You Graduate College
This is the second guest post written by Whitney from Technected. Whitney majored in journalism and has been using Linux ever since. She now works for a large automotive corporation in the Midwest. In her spare time she enjoys playing video games, gardening and watching Dr. Who.
Linux is a very powerful OS, many people don’t know that. With all the mainstream programs that Microsoft creates, most people remain ignorant of the awesome programs out there for free that are being produced by Linux developers. Many of the apps out there can help you reach your traditional or online degree. Below is a list of 5 that will help you graduate college.
Task Juggler is a project management program. It allows you to keep all your tasks in order. All you have to do is enter in the assignment for class and when it is due as well as any other details that you may find pertinent to getting the project done. It’s especially helpful for online university students, who have less structured classes.
Every college course will have a syllabus and on the syllabus will be assignments that need to be accomplished. Task Juggler can organize this information and keep you on track with your assignments.
Star Office or Oracle Open Office is a regular word program that offers spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, database and formula programs. It is a mirror of Microsoft office but with an original drawing program.
What makes Star Office better than Microsoft Office is its ability to open multiple file types. It can open Microsoft office files as well as Corel WordPerfect files, TXT and HTM. This program may not have the same popularity of Microsoft, but it is free. When having to pay up to $150 on a college budget, Star Office really saves the day.
LyX is a document program that can make several different types of documents. With it, you can make word documents, math documents, science document and many others. This program specifically focuses on the structure of the documents and allows for any type of structure whether it is for a math assignment sheet or a block paragraph science paper.
Obviously you can utilize this program for any class and it beats having to go to the library and using a very specific program. Instead you can download LyX and get all your documents done in one program.
Free Mind is a program that helps you make notes. It is a digital version of the old spider web note taking that many students use for various subjects in school. The main idea rests in the center and then sub topics sprout off of that and then points link off of those.
Another nice point in Free Mind is its ability to fold these sub topics and point back into the main topic, giving Free Mind the ability to reduce clutter. The application allows students to flesh out their ideas for all the papers they will write for class.
Speed Crunch is a powerful desktop calculator that can calculate advanced equations. This isn’t your sissy desktop calculator. This calculator comes with a large screen where you can input long equations as well as define variables for the calculator to produce the correct answer.
For instance, y = x + 41. Enter x = 18 and the calculator does the rest. Speed Crunch has many other useful aspects including syntax highlighting and automatic completion, both will help in reducing errors.
These five Linux applications are great resources for college students or graduates. It’s unfortunate that many out there still don’t realize the abundant, free programs out there that can help them in their daily life, and even help them graduate and better their future.
