I’m 24 hours into the elementary OS Challenge, and I already have heaps of notes containing questions, pleasant surprises, discoveries and a couple bugs. For today’s content though, I wanted to focus on a few app recommendations to help new users flesh our their software library.
One of the unique things about elementary OS is the AppCenter. Not only is it a “pay what you want” model, but hundreds of the apps within are curated, developed specifically for the Pantheon desktop and this Linux distribution. Since I’m someone obsessed with music and podcasting, that’s where I wanted to start.
THE ELEMENTARY OS CONTENT HUB
- Introducing The elementary OS Linux Community Challenge
- Filling In The Audio App Gap
- We Need To Talk About Minimizing Windows
- Rejecting The Dark Side
- How I Learned To Stop Tweaking And Love The Workflow
Melody music software, available in elementary OS AppCenterJASON EVANGELHO
Melody
So, elementary OS 5 ships with a perfectly serviceable Music app visually reminiscent of a stripped-down iTunes, but there are better alternatives inside the AppCenter.
Melody by Artem Anufrij ($3 or pay what you want) doesn’t do everything under the sun, but what it does do works fast and works well.
Melody feels modern without feeling bloated, and also offers a sorting option that I appreciate: the ability to view your music library by artist, and then chronologically by album. It also remembers the position of your currently playing track if you close and reopen the software.
Something I need to point out about Music, and hopefully your experience is better: it has a tendency to be rather buggy, locking up on me several times in just a few hours. Perhaps it’s due to the size of my music library? Playback can be controlled from the speaker icon on the top panel, but the playback status will sometimes stay locked on “play” or “pause” regardless of a song’s status. Other times I couldn’t get the app to launch for reasons I’m uncertain of.
But one of the main reasons I gravitated toward Melody is that it tends to display album art way more frequently than elementary’s own Music app (see example image below). It also boasts a Dark Mode which is a borderline requirement for me these days. It scanned my fairly large (65GB) music library in just a few minutes, while another available AppCenter app, MuseIC, crashed when trying to import that same library.
Melody vs MusicJASON EVANGELHO
It’s not the best music app I’ve ever used. That honor belongs to, believe it or not, Microsoft‘s discontinued Zune Software. Another option for Linux distros is Amarok, but part of my personalelementary OS Challenge is exploring the software ecosystem that’s been created specifically for this OS. And Melody gets the job done elegantly.
Vocal: A Fantastic Podcast Client
Vocal gives you a ton of options for managing and enjoying your podcast library, and it’s presented cleanlyJASON EVANGELHO
Gnome has Podcasts, but elementary OS has one of the most robust and visually pleasing podcast clients out there. Vocal, developed by Needle & Thread, does everything I want it to do. It allowed me to import my podcast subscriptions from an OPML file generated by PocketCasts, supports both streaming and downloading of video and audio podcasts, allows you to set custom intervals for skipping forward or backward, can be set to delete played content and even has a searchable iTunes podcast store built in.
Heck, you can even change a podcast’s album artwork if your heart so desires. Beyond that, it remembers the playback position of each episode, and has full system integration, from media keys to native notifications.
Vocal simply looks greatJASON EVANGELHO
Vocal is, in a word, awesome. Another word is robust. I find myself wishing this was available on Android so that I could seamlessly listen to my podcast subscriptions everywhere.
While it’s not available for smartphones, it is available as a Flatpak for all Linux distributions. Go get it!
Give Me Lyrics!
Give Me Lyrics alongside elementary’s Music app.JASON EVANGELHO
Give Me Lyrics, developed by Murilo Venturoso, does exactly what its name implies and nothing more. It pulls from databases like Lyrics Wikia and API Seeds to instantly display lyrics for the song you’re currently listening to on your elementary OS machine, along with an album art thumbnail.
I tried it with a variety of songs played from both Music and Melody, and it just works (unless you’re listening to something decidedly obscure). It would be cool if you could dock it to your music app of choice, but that’s just me being picky.
That’s it for today! I encourage everyone to really dig into the AppCenter and share the gems you find. I’ll be back tomorrow with more observations and analysis from my own elementary OS Challenge, including some of the “little things” I’ve noticed that I appreciate about the OS. How’s your challenge going? Reach out to me on Twitter and let me know!
THE ELEMENTARY OS CONTENT HUB
- Introducing The elementary OS Linux Community Challenge
- Day 1: Filling In The Audio App Gap
- Day 2: We Need To Talk About Minimizing Windows
- Day 3: Rejecting The Dark Side
MORE OF MY LINUX CONTENT AT FORBES:
Opinion
- Ditching Windows: 2 Weeks With Ubuntu On The Dell XPS 13
- Ditching Windows: Here’s How Ubuntu Updates Your PC And Why It’s Better
- 5 Reasons To Switch From Windows To Linux Right Now
- Linux Distro Spotlight: What I Love About Ubuntu Budgie
Guides
- Linux For Beginners: What’s A Desktop Environment?
- Linux For Beginners: Understanding The Many Versions Of Ubuntu
- Ubuntu Guide: How To Install Ubuntu 18.10
- Ubuntu Guide: Install Drivers And Play Windows Games On Linux
- How To Try Linux Without Making Any Changes To Your PC
- Choosing Linux: 2 Awesome Tools To Find Your Perfect Linux OS
Reviews
- A Linux Noob Reviews: The Pop!_OS Installer From System76
- A Linux Noob Reviews: The Deepin 15.8 Installer
- elementary OS First Impressions: A Simple, Beautiful Doorway To Linux
- The Best Linux Distribution For Your Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme
- Linux Gaming Benchmarks: Ubuntu 18.10 And Intel Hades Canyon
Features
- Dell Gets Honest About Its Linux Efforts And Project Sputnik
- Valve Changes Everything: Windows-Exclusive Games Now Run On Steam For Linux
- Steam For Linux Adds 1000 Perfectly Playable Games In Under A Week
- Open Source Challenge: Why One Band Chose Linux To Record Their New Album
- The Elementary OS Linux Community Challenge
Since joining Forbes in 2012, I’ve also contributed to gaming and technology features on PCWorld and Computer Shopper.