53 Open Source Replacements to Spice Up Your Desktop

With so many new devices – with so many new interfaces – coming out all the time, is your desktop starting to seem a little, well…boring? Are you frustrated by how slow and buggy Windows is? Are you tired of winter weather and wish that something – anything – would change?

If so, this list is for you.

We've collected 53 different open source projects that can make your desktop environment faster, prettier, easier to use or just a little different. They run the gamut from small utilities that do just one thing to open source operating systems that can replace Windows. We've included a number of tools for Linux users that can help you customize your desktop to meet your unique needs and tastes.

Have an open source suggestions? As always, if you'd like to suggest additional apps for an upcoming list, feel free to add them in the comments section below.

Application Launchers

1. Kysrun Replaces other methods of launching Linux apps Much like Launchy (below), Kysrun starts your applications or opens bookmarks or documents with a couple of keystrokes. It also starts searches on Google, Wikipedia or IMDB and solves math problems. Operating System: Linux

2. Launchy Replaces the Windows start menu and other methods of launching apps

If you hate to use the mouse, Launchy is for you. It lets you open applications, documents, folders, bookmarks and more with just a few keystrokes. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X

Desktop Search

3. Beagle Replaces the find command

If you don't know the name of the file you're looking for, Beagle can help you find it. It indexes and searches the text of your documents, emails, web history, IM/IRC conversations, contacts, calendar, and other files to find the keywords you're looking for. Operating System: Linux

4. DocFetcher Replaces the find command, Windows Search

Instead of wasting time searching every file on your system, DocFetcher searches only your documents for the keywords you enter. It supports plain text, html, Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org, AbiWord, pdf and several other types of files. Operating System: Windows, Linux

5. Pinot Replaces the find command

Pinot combines both desktop search and Web search into a single app. It also allows advanced queries (probabilistic search, boolean filters, wildcards, date ranges, time and size) and supports Chinese, Japanese and Korean text searches. Operating System: Linux

6. Recoll Replaces the find command Recoll can search the text of most document types, including e-mails, attachments and compressed files. It supports a variety of query types, and it provides a preview of searched documents. Operating System: Linux

7. Tracker Replaces the find command

Part of the Gnome desktop, Tracker combines traditional search by name and file location with more advanced search capabilities that let you look for document text or tags. If you choose, you can use it to add metadata tags to all of your files, which makes it easier to organize your files and find what you're looking for. Operating System: Linux

File Managers

8. Java File Manager Replaces Windows Explorer, OS X Finder

Because it's based on Java, this file manager works with most operating systems. It's very simple and offers a less cluttered interface than many of the other two-panel file managers. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X

9. Krusader Replaces other Linux file managers

The KDE file manager, Krusader is a twin-panel commander-style file manager. It boasts extensive support for archived files, advanced search, batch re-naming, file content comparisons and more. Operating System: Linux

10. muCommander Replaces Windows Explorer, OS X Finder

This Java-based, commander-style file manager is both lightweight and fast. It includes compression tools, a bookmark manager and more. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.

11. PCManFM Replaces other Linux file managers

Built for the Lightweight Desktop Environment (LXDE), PCManFM is so fast and lightweight that it opens in just one second or less on most systems. It features a tabbed interface, drag & drop support and bookmarks support. Operating System: Linux

12. SurF Replaces Windows Explorer

With its unique, tree-based view of files, SurF makes it very easy to move around your files and folders. It also includes a text search tool, real-time highlighting of new and changed files, network support and more. Operating System: Windows