Q&A: Using an iPad With Linux

Using an iPad

With Linux

Q. I have an iPad 2. Can I install iTunes on my laptop if it’s running Ubuntu Linux?

A. Apple does not offer a version of its iTunes media-management software specifically for the Linux operating system. Depending on what you want to do, though, you may not need iTunes to manage and sync the data on the iPad.

Some determined users have coaxed the Windows version of iTunes to run on Linux with compatibility software like Wine (www.winehq.org) and PlayOn (www.playonlinux.com). This approach may take tinkering, technical fiddling and patience to get results, but you can find online forums and advice around the web.

Playing and syncing copy-protected files from the iTunes Store may be a problem without using iTunes, but some Linux media programs like Banshee (banshee.fm) and Rhythmbox (wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Rhythmbox), or utility software like libimobiledevice (libimobiledevice.org), can synchronize unrestricted music, video and other personal information from the computer to the tablet.

As of the iOS 5 operating system, you do not need to connect the iPad to the computer to update its software, back up the tablet or buy songs and movies. You can create an Apple ID account and purchase music, video and apps directly on the device without going through the desktop software and syncing it over. Although many people prefer to keep as little personal information on someone else’s servers as possible, Apple’s free iCloud service can back up contacts, calendar appointments, documents and other media online.

Editing Photos

In Windows 8

Q. Does Windows 8 come with a photo-editing program? I see the one Photos app, but it doesn’t seem like it does much.

A. The Windows 8 Photos app is more of an organization program, but Microsoft’s free Photo Gallery app offers more editing tools for adjusting images. It also includes a panorama-making tool and Photo Fuse, a feature for combining several group shots into one in which everyone looks best. You can download Photo Gallery — part of the Windows Essentials collection of programs — from Microsoft’s site at windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads. (Windows Movie Maker and Windows Media Player are available here too, as well as new wallpapers and themes for your Windows system.)

You can find other photo-editing programs in Microsoft’s Windows Store or around the web. Although the download page does not mention Windows 8 compatibility, the latest version of Google’s Picasa program runs on the system and is another free program to consider; Picasa can be downloaded at picasa.google.com. If you have a Google Plus account and use the Chrome browser, you can also edit your pictures in the browser.

TIP OF THE WEEK Got a new tablet or e-book reader as a holiday gift? If you have not fully explored the titles from the online store connected to your electronic reader or e-books app, a quick search or tap around the app should bring you to the section for free books. The Google Play store, Apple’s iBookstore, Amazon’s Kindle bookstore and the Barnes & Noble Nook bookstore all host free e-books, along with free samples of current best sellers. The Internet Archive (archive.org) has a huge collection of electronic books, and the mobile version of the Project Gutenberg site at m.gutenberg.org hosts thousands of free e-books for downloading directly to your device.

While you may see a lot of self-published romance and fantasy works among the free offerings, many freebies are classics now out of copyright and in the public domain. You can find “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes,” by Arthur Conan Doyle, Frederick Douglass’s autobiography and “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, as well as many works by Jane Austen, Mark Twain, the Brontë sisters, William Shakespeare and other notable authors. J. D. BIERSDORFER

Personal Tech invites questions about computer-based technology to QandA @nytimes.com. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually.