5 software and tools for Linux that aren't available on Windows

 

We often read about how Windows has software and tools that Linux doesn't have a viable alternative to, but this has become almost moot. The same could be said for Windows, to an extent. Linux has the best open-source support out of all platforms, and a few things available for the penguin platform aren't on Windows — or if they are, they're nowhere near as good. Here's my shortlist of things I'd miss switching from a Linux distro to Windows on my primary PC.

1.Desktop managers (Customize til your heart's content)

A desktop manager (DM) or desktop environment (DE) is what you use to interact with Linux and Windows when using a GUI. A Linux DM and DE can be highly customizable, depending on which is in use, but Windows users are often stuck with what Microsoft provides without using dedicated software to tinker, and these are commercially available. Even if you locate software that can do this for you on Windows, there are often limitations, and it can prove troublesome with your system resources.

Even in the 2000s and 2010s, when customizing Windows had a larger following, there were plenty of free options available from the community, such as Brico Packs. These could alter the way Windows behaved and looked, creating an entirely new OS UX, but often sucked most available resources and made the system bloat to a point where the OS would slow down at a rapid rate compared to a vanilla installation. Linux doesn't have this problem — KDE is highly customizable with a few clicks.

2. Package managers (Install anything with ease)

Windows doesn't have a package manager. To install software, you have to use the Microsoft Store or use an executable that can run an installer wizard. The dreaded Windows installer was loved by some and despised by most. Although it allowed you to select where the software would be installed, this wouldn't tell the entire story, and you could be left with a few files after removing the app altogether. This wasn't great, especially when you uninstalled a few programs and would cause unnecessary bloat.

Linux distros have package managers that gracefully install, manage, and remove packages and their dependencies. It's easy to use, convenient, fast, and reliable at ensuring you're installing only what you require and nothing else. Newer solutions, such as Flatpak and Snap, take this one step further through containerization. Just like Docker containers, you can install packages with all their dependencies in a self-contained instance, which doesn't interfere with anything else on the system. It's magic!

3. Bottles (Gaming like you're using Windows)

Windows doesn't need Bottles, Proton, or some other tool to make games developed for Windows run better. That said, performance on Linux can be better than a native Microsoft OS installation, largely thanks to all the hard work and effort that goes into designing, developing, and maintaining all these free tools available on Linux. Bottles does much more than allow games (and their launchers and storefronts) to run on your favorite Linux distro. It's also great for keeping everything neatly organized.

A common theme with Windows is how the registry and file management get messy over time, especially when installing and removing games, apps, and more. This is where Bottles, virtual machines, and Docker containers come into play. Some of these tools can be worked into Windows, either through WSL or natively using available apps, but you won't find as good a solution as you would for Linux, which is largely out of necessity for the open-source community. If you haven't already, give Bottles a try for your gaming.

4.Rsync (Back up everything!)

Ensuring that you have all important files and data backed up is a task many of us don't complete regularly. Linux (and other Unix-based operating systems) can lend a hand with Rsync. Although Windows has some backup functionality built in, especially with OneDrive, Rsync makes it easy to automate backups to anywhere you want. This could be an external drive, a connected network-attached storage (NAS) server, or the cloud. Depending on where you want to store backups, it's easy to protect your OS and data.

Backing up your data is important since you don't want to wake up one day and find your storage drive to be fried. If you don't have a recent backup to load up, you can kiss all them bits goodbye. That's where Rsync comes into play, and there are a few different ways to use it with Linux. Compared to Windows and its somewhat cumbersome backup methods, Rsync is the better solution. There are third-party apps available for Windows for backing up data, but none come close to Rsync.

5.Gparted (Adjust your partitions on the fly)

Working with partitions on Windows can be a pain, but Gparted is something special. It's an invaluable tool for managing partitions of a storage drive and is developed for Linux. There's no version for Windows, and while Microsoft's OS does have partition management built in, it's unreliable and causes issues, which is why many will even boot into a live Linux installation from a USB drive to use Gparted and adjust everything on the fly. Once complete, Windows can then be booted with the changes applied.

Gparted is so good that I refuse to use anything else when managing storage volumes and partitions. As well as being open-source and free, Gparted has some advanced functionality, including checking partition integrity, setting partition flags, and advanced options for managing complex disk layouts. Whether you wish to make some minor changes to a Windows laptop or need to handle some more advanced disk layout tasks, Gparted will be your new best friend.

If you've been on the fence, give Linux a try

Linux has come a long way over recent years. Ubuntu with Gnome is one of the most reliable, seamless, and easy-to-learn Linux distros. It's a great place to start if you're currently using Windows, though Linux Mint, Fedora, and Pop!_OS. Most of these Linux operating systems can even be booted from a USB drive without affecting your Windows installation. This way, you can run everything from the USB stick and test out the OS. It won't be as rapid as when stored on an SSD, but it's a good way to see how easy Linux is to use.