3 more Linux apps worth trying
In the weekly roundup today, I show off a typing trainer, a simple video compression tool, and a terminal-based GPU monitor that I've been trying out.
There's a ton of free and open source apps that work with Linux computers out there. Here's a few that I've found to be legitimately useful, and none of them have ads built-in or cost a dime to use.
Constrict: Easily get a video to a target size
Have you ever tried to upload a video to an app or to chat conversation but got an error message saying the file was too big? Maybe the app used the opportunity to try selling you a premium upgrade. You can get around annoying limits like that with Constrict.
The GNOME Circle-approved app lets you select a file, set a target size (like 20MB, which is Discord's limit for free users), then export the file at that target size. There are a few controls that let you optimize the conversion for different purposes, but the default settings will probably meet most people's needs. You can just wait while Constrict compresses your video to (or near) your target size while keeping as much quality as possible.
Why I like it
Constrict is one of those apps that does one thing, and does that one thing well. Yes, you can accomplish the same job with other open source video apps like Handbrake or VLC. Their multi-purpose nature though means their learning curves are much higher than Constrict.
In other words, when all I need to do is shrink a video, and I don't want to any of the video's actual content lost, then Constrict is my go-to. Its simple interface and defaults make it easy to do the job without any fuss.
How to get it
Constrict is available on Flathub, which means you can likely find it just by searching your software manager. For those running Arch and use the AUR, you can install it with yay -S constrict.
KTouch: Free touch typing training
One of the most skill-sharpening apps in the KDE ecosystem is KTouch. It trains you "touch typing," the skill of typing on a keyboard without looking at it. KTouch has built-in courses for a variety of languages and keyboard layouts, including international boards and unconventional ones like Dvorak. You can also edit the built-in courses or make your own.
Unlike other typing apps that just push you to type faster and faster, most of KTouch's lessons center on specific pairs of keys. Each lesson adds a new pair. That way, you can develop muscle memory for each key two-at-a-time. It also records your stats, so you can see how you progress over time.
Why I like it
I'm a pretty experienced typist, with even a college course under my belt. But I noticed recently that one of my most consistent typos is goofing up capitalization. I also repurposed my Caps Lock key earlier this year, which meant certain capitalization jobs got a little trickier.
I was able to practice my capitalization skills from the get-go with KTouch by indicating I was already skilled and then selecting its capitalization exercise for US keyboards.
How to get it
The KTouch app is available widely across Linux distributions, so you can likely find it by searching your software manager. If you don't mind using the command line, though, you can use one of these commands:
sudo apt install ktouch #Debian and Ubuntu
sudo dnf install ktouch #Fedora
sudo pacman -S ktouch #Arch
sudo zypper install ktouch #openSUSE
nvtop: GPU monitoring in the terminal
If you're trying to monitor your graphics card, whether to troubleshoot issues or just get a feel for how close to capacity you are, nvtop is a simple solution. It's a text-based user interface (TUI) for the Linux terminal that shows you a live graph of graphics processing power usage.
Despite what you might guess from the name, nvtop works with many graphics brands like AMD and Intel, in addition to Nvidia. (The name is actually short for "Neat Videocard Top.") Both integrated and dedicated GPUs are supported, and by default it shows a utilization graph for each one.
Why I like it
As I've written about in the past, Btop++ is my go-to for general hardware monitoring. Recently though I wanted to zero in on my GPU usage, and nvtop did just that.
You can see in the video above I was able to confirm that while playing a game, the game was using my dedicated graphics card and used close to 50 percent of the memory and averaged close to 75 percent of the GPU itself.
How to get it
The nvtop tool is available widely across Linux distributions. You can install it with one of these commands in your terminal:
sudo apt install nvtop #Debian and Ubuntu
sudo dnf install nvtop #Fedora
sudo pacman -S nvtop #Arch
sudo zypper install nvtop #openSUSE
Don't worry if the none of the apps above appeal to you. You can review my archive of recommended apps to find more. You can also subscribe to the newsletter to get them in your inbox every week.
