The Freedom Environment
(F.E. = effie)

Home Page

FE --- a *REALLY OPEN* Open Source system
(all executables are scripts --- for all to see)

NEWS         OVERVIEW         DOWNLOADS

SCREENSHOTS       VIDEOS       CONTACT       LOGOS

On cell phones, to make the text larger,
try rotating phone to 'landscape' mode.
Or try double-tap on the document window.

FREEDOM-EYES --- that is, Freedom-ize!!!

SUBSYSTEM 1.
(FE Nautilus Scripts = 'feNautilusScripts')

With this Freedom Environment subsystem installed, you will be able to 'drill-down' into your Linux/Unix (or Mac?) machine, with mouse clicks, to see what's there and what's happening (files, helps, executables, processes, etc.) --- to depths and breadths never-before-plumbed so easily.

In addition, you can easily do many kinds of batch file conversions (media files and text files), many kinds of batch file renaming (general files, and special renaming of media files), many kinds of media file editing ... and creation ... and listening/viewing --- with a small set of mouse clicks ...

... where 'media' refers to

  • audio-only files
  • image/photo files
  • movie files
    (video-only or video-plus-audio)
  • 3D model files

I'm talking about 'FE Nautilus Scripts'.

Description       Download       Videos

'FE Nautilus Scripts' is a cascade of menus of utility shell scripts (in categories such as IMAGEtools, AUDIOtools, VIDEOtools, FILESlists, FINDlists, SPACEtools, ...). The menus are provided by a file manager such as Gnome2-Nautilus or MATE-Caja.

The cascading-menu structure is determined by the file structure of 'FE Nautilus Scripts' when its files are installed in a special scripts directory of the Gnome2 or MATE desktop system.

The sub-directory filenames, like 'IMAGEtools', become the names of sub-menus. The script filenames in those sub-directories become the 'app-names' in the menus.

The user can change the file structure and the filenames. And the user can edit the scripts to modify or enhance them. Further, the user can add scripts.

SUBSYSTEM 2.
(FE xpg = 'xpg' = ex-pee-gee or ex-page)

Browse text files with the GUI text browser which has a unique 'Show-All-Match-Lines' capability that will blow you away with your search-efficiency gains --- especially on huge text files such as log files, large config files, large source code files, long lists, etc. etc. etc. ... even binary files.

I'm talking about 'FE xpg'.

Description       Download       Videos

The 'xpg' utility makes the 'feNautilusScripts' subsystem and the 'tkGooies' subsystem (see below) more powerful.

SUBSYSTEM 3.
(FE AppMenus = 'feAppMenus')

Arrange your applications into category menus of your own choosing and into menu sort orders or item groupings of your own choosing --- with complete and total access to the configuration files and scripts that are running the menu system.

I'm talking about 'FE AppMenus'.

Description       Download       Videos

'FE AppMenus' is a system of 'pop-away' toolchests of applications (in categories such as IMAGEtools, AUDIOtools, VIDEOtools, and other categories of the user's choosing). The toolchests are defined by simple 'chest definition' files that can be edited by the user.

SUBSYSTEM 4.
(FE tkGooies, or simply 'tkGooies',
where Gooies comes from GUIs)

This system is a multitude of Tcl-Tk GUI 'apps' in category menus using a menu ('toolchest') system like that used for 'feAppMenus'.

I'm talking about 'FE tkGooies' --- a family of tkGUI's that augment the capabilities of 'feNautilusScripts'.

Description       Download

'FE tkGooies' is a system of 'pop-away' toolchests of Tcl-Tk GUI-generating scripts (in categories such as IMAGEtools, AUDIOtools, VIDEOtools, 3Dtools, PLOTtools, MAPtools, MATHtools, PHYSICStools, ...). The 'tkGooie' toolchests are defined by simple 'chest definition' files.

Each toolchest has 'drawers'. A click on a toolchest drawer may pop up another toolchest --- or may pop up a 'tkGooie' GUI. The function of the drawers is determined by the 'chest definition' files --- which are editable by the user.

This may be of use to people not running Gnome/Nautilus or MATE/Caja :
A 'file-navigator-to-run-a-selected-script-on-selected-files' utility is available in the 'tkGooies' system --- in the 'FILEmanagers' toolchest. A description of this utility (composed of two main file-selector Tk GUI's) is provided at this 'tkScriptApplicator' description page. This offers another way of running the 'feNautilusScripts'.

If you mess up the configuration of any of these subsystems and can't figure out how to make it good again, these are relatively small, non-scattered systems. They are easy to delete and re-install --- quickly.

No pain, no strain. To infinity and beyond.

Great for 'newbies' --- great for system-administrators
(even those long-in-the-tooth --- near retirement or retired).

Great for everyone in-between.

It's FREEDOM E. --- that is, Freedom-y. Like Truth-y.

We need both --- Freedomy-ness and Truthy-ness --- on our computers and in our world.

(Acknowledgments to Stephen Colbert or
his writers for the new word 'truthiness'.)

How to remember this web site:
It's FreedomEnvy without the 'y' --- dot com.

freedomenv.com

Jimi said it well (audio snippet)
Freedom, that's what I want now ...
Freedom, that's what I need now.
Freedom .. to live ... Freedom so I can give.

Before or while playing this audio,
adjust speaker volume.

This is a link to a '.m3u' playlist file
--- m3u = mpeg3-URL.
If that audio link does not work,
try this 'direct' mp3 file link.

Here is a web page giving an
OVERVIEW of the FE subsystems.

Here is a web page guiding you to
DOWNLOADS of the FE subsystems.

Here is a web page guiding you to
SCREENSHOTS of the FE subsystems.

Here is a web page of
VIDEOS of installs and demos of the FE subsystems.

Foundation of FE :

The 'FE Nautilus Scripts' sub-system is founded on

  • Linux/Unix shell scripts --- and

  • uses the 'zenity' utility to provide GUI prompts for user-input, when needed.

Example of a 'zenity' prompting GUI :

The 'zenity' utility is delivered with many Linux distros. If not, it is usually available via the package manager of the distro.

The FE 'xpg' and 'AppMenus' and 'tkGooies' sub-systems are founded on

Examples of two GUI's
done with Tcl-Tk scripts :

Many Linux 'distros' have the Tcl-Tk system installed [including its 'wish' (window shell) interpreter], because there are utilities in the distro that use Tcl-Tk scripting. So, in many cases, you will not need to download a Tcl-Tk package and install it.

If you don't have the Tcl-Tk environment (with the 'wish' interpreter) on your machine, it is probably a few mouse clicks away.

Tcl-Tk was not included in my initial install of Ubuntu 9.10, but, in the 'Ubuntu Software Center', I found the TkDiff utility.

I installed it in a few clicks, and the install brought along the required Tcl-Tk interpreter environment.

    It turned out that the Tcl-Tk 8.4 'wish' interpreter was installed instead of 8.5. To get nicer anti-aliased fonts in Tk GUIs, one needs 8.5.

    The 'Xft' system for font anti-aliasing was incorporated in Tk 8.5, but not 8.4.

    Here is a web page that shows how to install the Tcl-Tk 8.5 'wish' interpreter.

Note:
Because all the FE subsystems are founded on scripting languages, all the source code is available --- for modification, tailoring, and improvement. You can even add scripts to expand these systems.

Tk GUIs :

To see the kinds of things possible with Tcl-Tk scripting, click here for some samples of "tkGUIs" that have been devised, in the 1985 to 2008 timeframe, for various applications.

And here is a slideshow of those sample tkGUIs.

And here is a ALTERNATIVE slideshow of those sample tkGUIs --- which initially fits each image to the height or width of a 'viewport'.

As components of the FE system are released, you will see more tkGUI examples via the 'Description' and 'Screenshots' links above.

Note that Tcl-Tk is not a dead language, as indicated by an active wiki for Tcler's.

In fact, Tcl-Tk is quite popular with physicists (both astronomical and nuclear --- macro and micro physics) and with engineers (such as electrical, electronics, and telecommunications engineers).

Tcl-Tk is commonly used to 'bind together' systems of programs --- in addition to being used for GUI's and scripting within monolithic programs.

Tcl-Tk has many corporate and government users.

You say you don't like this background image?

Choose a background image:

You say you would prefer a solid background color?

Choose a background color:

NOTE :
Your choice of background is not saved for when you return to this page. It could be, by using a "cookie", a small file on your computer --- ugh.

When you (re)load this page or return to this page, the background is set according to the hour of the day. Hence it changes every hour --- for some variety.

NOTE2 :
Many web sites issue popups that say that you NEED to allow cookie files to be created on your computing device in order to 'provide a good experience' or some other such nonsense.

That is a bunch of B.S. This site is an example of how a lot of information can be provided without the use of 'cookies'. You can bet that THEY need the cookies to make money off of you.

Neil knows. (audio snippet)
We need a free(dom) world in which to keep rockin'.

Before or while playing this audio snippet,
adjust speaker volume.

This is a link to a '.m3u' playlist file
--- m3u = mpeg3-URL.
If that audio link does not work,
try this 'direct' mp3 file link.

FE Logos

I occasionally think about designing F.E. (effie) logos. Anyone want to design one and donate it?

Why have one logo? There could be many. (There are thousands of Ubuntu logos --- or 'takes' on 'the' Ubuntu logo.)

Consider 3D effects, color gradients, and animated GIFs. No Flash please. Let's keep it basic --- jpg's, png's and/or animated gif's.

I have started collecting some candidates (of my own making or made by others) on an 'FE logos' web page.

For Contact information, see the 'Contact' page.

Site development info

This site was created on Ubuntu 9.10 Gnome2-Gnu-Linux
--- using a text editor,
such as 'scite' --- all free(no-cost)-freedom software
that is enhanced by the free-FreedomEnvironment software.

I may update to a newer Debian-based Linux 'distro'
someday --- such as Ubuntu MATE
(with another Debian-and-MATE-based 'distro'
as an alternative --- such as Linux Mint MATE)
--- as explained on the Contact page.

NOTE:
All of the top 500 supercomputers in the world run Linux.
So Linux is here to stay.

Page history:

Page was created 2008 Apr 11.

. . . Various additions thru 2015 . . .

Page was changed 2017 Nov 13.
(Added about 8 links to FE pages.)

Page was changed 2017 Nov 20.
(Added a few system descriptions.)

Page was changed 2017 Dec 12.
(Added to a couple of system descriptions.)

Page was changed 2018 Jan 16.
(Added to the 'tkGooies' system description.)

Page was changed 2018 Aug 06.
(Added css and javascript to try to handle text-size for smartphones, esp. in portrait orientation.)

Page was changed 2019 Jun 10.
(Specified image widths in percents to size the images according to width of the browser window.)

Page was changed 2019 Oct 10.
(Put subsystem names under the subsystem numbers.)