An operating system is only as good as the apps it runs. Linux has been able to challenge proprietary systems because it can deliver some “killer apps.” Here are some of the best applications, both on servers and on the desktop, that have grown up alongside Linux.

Apache

Linux’s original “killer app”

The Apache web server, officially the Apache HTTP Server Project, could be considered the “killer app” of Linux, at least on the server side. This server powered the dot-com boom of the ’90s. It took Linux from a curiosity among computer hobbyists and academic computer scientists, to a mainstream alternative to Windows and traditional Unix servers. Along with MySQL and Samba, it’s the main reason that Linux is the cornerstone of modern IT. If anything could be a “killer app” for Linux for real use, it could be Apache.

While nginx has overtaken Apache in deployments, it’s still a popular web server.

MySQL/MariaDB

The premier open-source database

While Apache made Linux servers a viable competitor to expensive Linux servers, it was MySQL that made the modern web possible. MySQL provided easy-to-use durable storage for websites and allowed them to offer dynamic content. It used the relational model with the SQL language popularized by Oracle. The phpMyAdmin front-end made it easy to administer.

MySQL became the “M” in “LAMP,” or “Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP (or other scripting language that starts with ‘P,’ such as ‘Python.'” MySQL was acquired by Sun Microsystems, and its developers forked out after Oracle acquired Sun in turn. This fork is called MariaDB, and it’s largely compatible with MySQL, so you can convert to MariaDB from MySQL easily.

Bash

It’s the default Linux shell for a reason

While Bash existed before Linux, it’s become an essential part of modern Linux distributions as part of the GNU Project. Bash is the default shell on most Linux distributions. This is the command interpreter that will greet most users who venture into the command line for the first time.

Bash is largely compatible with the classic Bourne shell. It’s punningly named the “Bourne Again Shell.” It can run older scripts by activating its compatibility mode through a symbolic link. On many Linux systems /bin/sh is really Bash in disguise. It’s great for whipping up small scripts to automate maintainence tasks. Due to its ubiquity, you can count on Linux systems having it installed, though if you need scripts to be portable, Python is a better bet since it’s easy to learn but doesn’t rely on the command set a user has installed.

Mozilla/Firefox

Making open-source acceptable and making the web better

While Firefox is a cross-platform app, you’ll usually find it installed as the default web browser on most desktop Linux systems. Its predecessor, the Mozilla suite, was an open-sourced version of the Netscape browser. Netscape’s open-sourcing of its flagship product might have seemed like an act of desperation when facing down the Microsoft juggernaut, but a big company doing this helped popularize the open source movement.

The original Mozilla suite popularized tabbed browsing and was one of the first to have pop-up blocking built in, ending a major web nuisance overnight. These carried over to Firefox.

GNOME/KDE/Xfce

Making Linux easier to use

While Linux immediately became popular among people used to the Unix command line, the interface needed to be more accessible to nontechnical users in order to grow in popularity.

KDE, created by Matthias Ettrich in the mid-90s, was one of the first open-source desktop environments to gain traction in the Linux world. While it’s not a specific Linux desktop, it’s where it first attracted a user base and helped establish Linux as a competitor to Windows and macOS. The current version is known as KDE Plasma.

GNOME was developed in response to KDE’s use of the Qt toolkit, which defines the look and feel of the desktop. While KDE was open-source, the toolkit it relied on, Qt, was still proprietary in the late ’90s. GNOME has established itself as a popular desktop in its own right, the default desktop on distros like Ubuntu.

Xfce also emerged around the same time as a lighter alternative to both desktops, offering an easy-to-use desktop metaphor will going easier on the system.

Samba

Easily integrate Linux and Windows machines

While most people might not be familiar with Samba, if you’ve used a Windows desktop on a corporate network, there’s a good chance that it was supporting your work as a file and print server. Samba, along with MySQL and Apache, made Linux and open-source software acceptable in the enterprise. This was mainly due to Linux servers running on standard PC hardware being cheaper than Windows or traditional Unix servers.

It also highlights one of the things Linux does best: supporting heterogeneous environments. Samba can easily support Windows, macOS, and Linux clients on the same network.

GIMP

Who needs PhotoShop?

GIMP, or the GNU Image Manipulation Program, offers itself as the free and open-source alternative to Adobe Photoshop. With the griping about Adobe’s subscription-based business model, more people will likely look into GIMP in the future. It’s already good enough for me as someone who mainly uses it to resize and crop screenshots for articles like this one.

Inkscape

Vector graphics for everyone

Inkscape is another popular open-source graphics program. In contrast to GIMP, which works on raster graphics, Inkscape is based on vecotr graphics. This means that images created with Inkscape can be blown up without jagged edges. This makes it good for things like logos.

Audacity

Easy yet powerful audio editing

Going from image to audio editing, Audacity is a cross-platform that seems to be a desktop Linux stable. It’s a staple seemingly everywhere as a basic audio editing program. This is something that macOS and Windows seem to neglect.

Here’s a screencast from Mike Russell showing some basic operations you can do in Audacity:

Libre/OpenOffice

Professional open-source spreadsheet and document editing

One thing that seemed to elude traditional Unix was a good office suite, including a spreadsheet and a word processor. Workstation users either had to use a separate PC or run some kind of compatibility layer similar to WINE. Sun Microsystems purchased Star Division, maker of StarOffice. They created an open source version called OpenOffice.org. I used it for writing term papers back in college, or rather a Mac-based version called NeoOffice that no longer exists.

Similar to MySQL and MariaDB, after Oracle’s acquisition of Sun, the users and developers decamped for The Document Foundation and released a fork called LibreOffice. It’s popular enough in Europe that government agencies have standardized on it, with or without desktop Linux.

These apps have helped make Linux the platform it is today. While most of them are cross-platform, they really shine on Linux systems. They’ve shown the practical benefits of open-source development by doing useful things as good or better than their proprietary counterparts.

Operating System

Ubuntu Linux 22.04 LTS

CPU

13th Gen Intel Core i7-1360P

GPU

Intel Iris Xe Graphics

RAM

16GB DDR5

Storage

512GB SSD

Weight

2.71 lbs