Istanbul is described as 'Desktop session recorder for the Free Desktop. It records your session into an Ogg Theora video file. To start the recording, you click on its icon in the notification area. To stop you click its icon again. It works on GNOME, KDE, XFCE and others' and is an app in the os & utilities category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Istanbul for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Web-based, Linux and Google Chrome apps. The best Istanbul alternative is Camtasia, which is free. Other great apps like Istanbul are Bandicam, Kooha, CamStudio and Action!.