Q. I'd like to save some disk space so I'd like to remove unwanted software from my HP laptop. How do I uninstall software under Ubuntu / Debian Linux?
A. Both Ubuntu and Debian Linux provide command line as well as GUI tools to delete / remove binary packages.
GUI Package Management Tool
synaptic is graphical management tool of software packages. It allows you to perform all actions of the command line tool apt-get in a graphical environment. This includes installing, upgrading, downgrading and removing of single packages or even upgrading your whole system.
Just click on System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager
Now you can select any package and click on Mark for Removal popup meni. You can also start GUI tool from command line, enter:
$ synaptic &
Command Line Package Management Tool
apt-get is the command-line tool for handling packages. It is used for adding / removing / updating packages.
Uninstall / Delete / Remove Package
Just use the following syntax:
sudo apt-get remove {package-name}
For example remove package called mplayer, enter:
$ sudo apt-get remove mplayer
Remove package called lighttpd along with all configuration files, enter:
$ sudo apt-get --purge remove lighttpd
To list all installed package, enter:\
dpkg --list
dpkg --list | less
dpkg --list | grep -i 'http'