jfn linux project

Linux equivalents to popular Mac programs

2012-01-25T22:19:00.001-05:00

In my most recent article (“Five tips to help ease the migration from Mac to Linux“) I outlined ways to help end-users transfer from the Mac operating system to the Linux operating system. It was suggested to me that I should cover applications that could serve as replacements for popular Mac apps. Your wish is my command.

In this article I will outline a few of the possibilities that can be used to replace the beloved applications often used in Mac. In some cases their may be equivalents that are nearly identical. In some cases, however, there may be equivalents that miss some features, or even offer better features. Either way, after this article, you should feel much more comfortable about migrating from OS X to Linux.

In the previous article I already mentioned using Songbird as a replacement for iTunes. Personally I prefer Songbird to iTunes. The only downfall is that Songbird can not yet communicate to either the iPhone or the iTouch. Yet. There is another tool that is currently in development that will most likely change that. But for now – you can use Songbird as a replacement for iTunes – just don’t expect Songbird to communicate with your iPhone/iTouch.

Garage Band
For those looking to compose music on your Linux machine, a good replacement for Garage Band is Jokosher. Jokosher is a simple, powerful multi-track recording studio. With this outstanding tool you can import music, record instruments, mix down, set tempos, and more. You will not, however, find a large collection of pre-recorded instruments and sounds to add and manipulate. But, if you have a Freesound account, you can import anything from their. Unlike Garage Band, Jokosher is really more a user-friendly multi-track recorder. So don’t expect to just open up the application and start piecing together music without picking up an instrument.
For more information on other audio creating software take a look at Linux-Sound.org. In my humble opinion, if you are looking for mult-media creation, your best bet is to download Ubuntu Studio which will include so man pre-installed applications for media creation/editing.

iWork
This one should be obvious. If you’re looking for an office suite to take care of all your office needs, look no further than OpenOffice. Although OpenOffice may have a different look and feel, you will find it just as easy to use AND it includes more features and applications than iWork.

iCal
If you like Apple’s stand alone calendar (that also integrates with other applications) you can install the stand alone Sunbird calendar. Sunbird was created by Mozilla so it has a very Firefox/Thunderbird feel to it. Sunbird is very close to a feature-for-feature equivalent to iCal.

iPhoto
My wife uses a Mac and she HATES iPhoto. But it is the standard for Mac photo management. For Linux there is the F-spot photo management tool. F-spot not only manages your photo collections, but will work with your digital camera as an import tool. F-spot is actually easier to use than iPhoto and will not have you fighting to try to get a piece of software to do something you KNOW it should do, but won’t.

Final thoughts
It’s not an exhaustive list, but it will help you get by with the main applications one would use on a modern Mac computer. If you have a Mac-based application you are looking for a Linux equivalent, let me know what that is and I will attempt to locate an equivalent for you.

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Source: http://www.ghacks.net/2009/10/15/linux-equivalents-to-popular-mac-apps/

Ubuntu Tablet Announced at CES

2012-01-11T13:41:00.003-05:00

Ubuntu Tablet to Compete with Android, iOS

By Joey Sneddon, Published January 11, 2012

An Ubuntu tablet will ‘battle’ against Android and iOS Canonical’s CEO Jane Silber has said.
And although Ubuntu isn’t running on tablets yet she told Techworld‘s Paul Krill that ’announcements in that area‘ are to be made later this year.

Ubuntu tablet

Ubuntu Tablet has been a long-held want for many Ubuntu users. As the owner of a variety of tablets I can attest that despite often being called ‘touch-friendly Unity, along with the rest of the Ubuntu desktop, is not as tablet friendly as one would assume.
But are Ubuntu too late to the game?
Windows 8, with its finger-friendly Metro interface and burgeoning basket of app developers, and Android, with Ice Cream Sandwich and massive consumer awareness, are all poised to take significant marketshare. Can Ubuntu really compete with established titans of the tablet arena? WebOS couldn’t, and Blackberry’s Playbook didn’t exactly find itself flavour of the month, either.
Silber is more upbeat: ”We know we’re late, but we think the battle is not over, and we want to compete.’

“…the battle is not over..”

‘[I think we can compete] …because of characteristics of Ubuntu as a platform, industry dynamics, and an increased wariness around the walled gardens of Apple and to some extent Google and even Amazon, as they are increasingly in this game as well. There is a demand for a platform that has characteristics that Ubuntu meets. The characteristics in my mind that are important are openness, and by openness I don’t just mean open source code, I mean the governance structure, the ability to collaborate, the ability for there to be multiple devices from multiple vendors.”
And just to keep us all on our toes Silber says that Canonical are already in discussions with several hardware manufacturers – although she can’t give us name just yet.
So with devices to ship on, and the passion, commitment and community/employee talent to turn Ubuntu in a Tablet OS there is only one other factor crucial to Ubuntu Tablet becoming successful…

App Store Dynamics

Ubuntu’s success in the tablet-sphere – however niche it might end up – will hinge on more than just decent hardware and shops willing to sell it. The platform will need to have application developers so enthused by the platform that they are will to develop for it. And that’s no mean feat of itself.
Further still, to attract quality commercial developers and the big name apps that many consumers look out for Canonical are going to need offer competitive pricing for developers and consumers, and attract more business to the Ubuntu Software Centre than it’s seen of late.
According the developer of Memory Owl, Decembers 10th best selling app, it claimed its place by selling a mere 27 copies.
Related posts:

Source: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/01/ubuntu-tablet-to-compete-with-android-ios/

How to run Xubuntu on Ubuntu 11.10

2012-01-07T13:09:00.001-05:00

How-to: Run Xfce on Ubuntu 11.10 Final

Posted by Robin Catling ⋅ October 28, 2011 ⋅ 10 Comments

Filed Under features, gadgets, how-to, Linux, software, Ubuntu, upgrade, Xfce

Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment which is designed to be responsive and consume fewer system resources than say, Gnome with Unity, or KDE. It’s also a useful substitute for Unity now that Gnome panel has been removed in 11.10. I am now running it on the regular Ubuntu 11.10 Unity release; that’s not Xubuntu, but the regular 11.10 with the usual Ubuntu applications stack, with Xfce4 on top. I now have the choice of Unity or Xfce. Guess which I’m using for my everyday environment?
Xfce 4.8 is the current stable version, available since Jan 2011. You can install it either from the Ubuntu Software Center, the command line (apt-get install xfce4) or Synaptic Package Manager and it works not only for Ubuntu but also for other Linux distros such as Linux Mint and Fedora.

Downloading and installing the Xfce4 meta-package from the official Ubuntu repository, which you can do through Software Centre, Synaptic or the Aptitude command line with a simple search on Xfce4, takes a few minutes. You might also want to pull in the ‘extras’ packages,

xfce4-goodies containing more artwork and a stack of utilities
xfprint4 which is the printer GUI for xcfe

If you want the highlights and a list of components, check the previous post when we tried this in the 11.10 Beta release. I’ve set mine up to mimic a conventional Gnome-like desktop experience without the frustrations of the current version of Unity.

Choosing the Xfce Session

From the Light DM login screen, select Xfce as your session using the dropdown list triggered by the cog icon.

Configuring Xfce

If you haven’t already run the application to install Restricted Drivers, do so in order to pull in the best version of graphics drivers you can find. Then adjust the display settings through Settings, Display. Get the right resolution, but if in doubt over refresh frequencies, don’t mess with them.

Appearance

There are controls for setting just about everything in the Xfce desktop, although not all in the one place. Going to Settings, Appearance, you can work through the tabs of controls. Style sets window border styles, Icons selects icons. Under fonts, you will definitely need Enable anti-aliasing checked.
Next, play around with the Hinting and Sub-pixel order option as you get different results depending on your lcd panel.
Slightly confusing is that if you go Settings, Window Manager, the first tab has another Style selector which changes the desktop theme. You can also change the Window Controls (Button) order.

From then on, you can play around with the Xfce panel. Right clicking brings up the Panel Context menu, from which you can add, delete and configure panels including adding launchers and menus to get the working desktop you want. RC
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January Desktop

2012-01-01T09:54:00.005-05:00

Inspired by the look of Xubuntu 11.10 during my testing, I used a similar theme for my current Ubuntu 11.10 Gnome Shell Remix. The theme is Elements GS-Classic and the wallpaper is Ubuntu grey swirl from the Ubuntu-art.org. One of the great things about Linux is the ability to customize it any way you like. Installed the Docky application launcher, removed the bottom panel, and added the workspaces indicator to the top panel inspired by Xubuntu. With the coming Winter snow season, the desktop is not that far from the colors of the season.

.

.

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And an alternate grey background and glass theme for the Docky laucher

To install the gnome 3.x theme:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/themes
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install elements-gs-theme

Source: http://www.webupd8.org/2011/10/4-beautiful-gnome-32-compatible-gtk.html

Best Linux Downloads for 2011 by Lifehacker

2011-12-31T10:52:00.000-05:00

Lifehacker Pack for Linux: Our List of the Best Linux Downloads

Linux may not be the most popular OS around, but that doesn't mean it we're going to sit here and ignore it. Here are our favorite downloads for everyone's favorite open source operating system.

Just like our Windows pack, the awesome team at Ninite has graciously put all these apps into a one-click installer for you. Just check off the apps you want, and it'll spit out a unified, one-click installer package for all of them.

Download the 2011 Lifehacker Pack Here

Note that, unlike Windows and Mac OS X, Linux comes in many flavors and with a number of different desktop environments. Since most of you are using the GNOME-based Ubuntu, that's what this pack is designed for.
Below, we've got explanations of what each program in the pack does, and why we chose it. Want to skip to a specific category? Use these links:

The Lifehacker Pack is a yearly snapshot of our favorite, must-have applications for each of our favorite platforms. If you're curious to see how things have changed this year, here's last year's Lifehacker Pack for Linux.

Productivity

GNOME Do

Inspired by Mac favorite Quicksilver, GNOME Do is the application launcher to get on Linux. Not only can you launch apps with just a few taps of your keyboard, but its large plugin library lets you add even more functionality, like sending emails, IMs, playing music, searching the web, and more.
Download Page

LibreOffice

After OpenOffice became a less-than-open-source project, the community broke off and bore LibreOffice, the now-premiere open source office suite on Linux. It's got all the functionality you need for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. It may not be quite as ubiquitous or feature-filled as Microsoft's offerings, but it'll get the job done more often than not.
Download Page

gedit

Text editor gedit comes with a ton of different Linux distributions, and it's easy to see why. It's lightweight, super customizable, and works for pretty much any text-based needs you could have—whether it's making a few notes or writing some serious code. Plus, it's got plugins that let you add word completion, file browsing, and tons more to give it an even bigger boost of power. The bottom line: if you ever need to edit text in Linux (and believe me, you will), you'll want to have gedit close by.
Download Page

AutoKey

If you ever feel like some of your typing is just busywork, AutoKey will save you a lot of keypresses by filling in large passages, addresses, or even code by hitting just a few letters. Not only can you fill in text, but if you know a little Python, you can write out more complex scripts to manipulate that text pretty much any way you want, saving you hours of typing every week.
Download Page

Internet/Communication

Chromium

Chromium is the open source project behind Google Chrome, the favored browser of power users everywhere. Fast browsing, awesome extensions, and preference-syncing tools make this the browser to beat on any platform, so while most Linux distributions still ship with Firefox, we recommend you make it your second-in-command and put Chromium your browser of choice.
Download Page

Thunderbird

While your first instincts may be to go with web-based mail, or with the GNOME-integrated Evolution, we just can't get over Thunderbird. It's got most of the features you love about Gmail, like archiving and conversations, and a huge add-on library that lets you tweak it to your liking. If you prefer your email in webapps, that's totally cool—but we recommend keeping an IMAP client like Thunderbird around for offline access and in case of emergency.
Download Page

Pidgin

It may not be shipping with Ubuntu by default anymore, but we still recommend Pidgin as your go-to IM client. It's been around for years, and had more than enough time to build up a huge library of features, supported chat protocols, and plug-ins to let you customize it right down to the last pixel. We may take another look at the pre-packaged Empathy one day, but for now, Pidgin's still got our hearts.
Download Page

Skype

Video chat apps abound these days, but chances are everyone you know has Skype. It doesn't get quite as much love on the Linux platform, and it rarely gets updated, but if you plan on video chatting with your friends and family, it's inevitable that you'll end up using Skype. It's okay if it isn't your favorite, but we recommend tucking it away in the corner for those occasions when you actually need it.
Download Page

Deluge

Deluge has slowly risen to become the best BitTorrent clients available on Linux. Modeling itself after µTorrent on Windows, it's super lightweight while packing a big punch in the features department. It's got loads of plugins, so you can get pretty much any feature you desire added on, including watch folders, IP blocklists, bandwidth scheduling, a web UI, and much, much more. If you're downloading torrents, deluge deserves a permanent spot in your applications menu.
Download Page

Music, Photos and Video

Flash Player

Flash is especially annoying on Linux, but sadly, it's still necessary for browsing a good portion of the web. Whether you're watching videos, listening to music, or—heck—just online shopping, chances are you'll need Flash installed to get anywhere on the net. Keep it at bay with FlashBlock for Chrome and FlashBlock for Firefox so it only opens when you actually need it.
Download Page

VLC

The default player in your distribution is usually pretty great, but we know that a lot of you guys love VLC. It's lightweight, it plays any format you could ever want, and has loads of advanced features in its preferences to make your video-watching experience as good as possible. It's still one of the first things we install on any distribution, and we know it is for you too.
Download Page

Handbrake

Watching video on the go? Ripping some high-def Blu-Ray discs? If you ever need to convert video, Handbrake is the way to do it. Rip or convert video to one of a bunch of different presets, or tweak the quality to your liking with all its advanced settings. It's an essential tool for any video watcher's arsenal.
Download Page

The GIMP

The GIMP isn't included in Ubuntu anymore, and while you can make very basic edits with with the built-in F-Spot photo manager, anything beyond a simple crop or resize will require an actual editing program. The GIMP may seem complicated, but if you're doing more than just organizing a few photos, you'll want to have it around, and if you're doing any kind of advanced editing, it's a must-have. We recommend grabbing the GIMP and putting it back in place as your default photo editor.
Download Page

Banshee

This is one of Ubuntu's recent changes we actually agree with: Banshee is now the default music player, and it should be your go-to as well. Besides the standard music management, CD ripping, and iPod syncing, it's got a ton of advanced features that make it the player to beat on Linux. It's integrated with the Amazon MP3 store, Miro for podcast support, and it has a good plug-in library for extra customization. Above all, though, it's got a great, easy-to-use, polished interface.
Of course, we know the choice of music player is a deeply personal one, so if Banshee isn't your thing, we recommend checking out Rhythmbox, Amarok, and Exaile as alternatives.
Download Page

Restricted Extras

If you didn't download them when you installed Ubuntu, this is a package you're going to want. There are a few computing necessities—like MP3 support, DVD support, and more that are copyrighted and thus aren't always bundled by default with Linux. So, unless you're very gung-ho about open source and you're purposely avoiding these formats, you'll need the Restricted Extras package.

Utilities

Dropbox

If you have multiple computers, Dropbox is an absolutely essential tool. It syncs files between your machines, backs them up to the cloud, and does all sorts of other neat things. Grab your free 2GB to start, then rack up your storage for free to make it even more versatile.
Download Page

Conky

Conky is an awesome system monitor for your desktop, displaying things like CPU and memory stats to RSS feeds, email, weather, packages that need updating, and tons more. You can customize every inch of it to fit in with the rest of your desktop, and keep track of everything while staying productive.
Download Page

Wine

It's a sad fact of life, but despite your best efforts you'll probably have to run the odd Windows program from time to time. Wine makes this possible, letting you run Windows programs in your regular window manager, as if they were Linux apps. It won't suck up a ton of resources like a virtual machine, but not all programs are compatible with Wine, so it can sometimes be a crapshoot. Still, when it works, it's a godsend.
Download Page

VirtualBox

When a Windows program isn't compatible with Wine, VirtualBox is next in the line of solutions. VirtualBox brings a full Windows environment to your desktop, which can be a bit slower, but it will run any Windows program out there. If you have the hard drive space and RAM to spare, it's a good idea to keep that Windows environment around for when you need it.
Download Page

Guake

Linux has certainly come a long way in the user-friendliness department, but you'll be hard-pressed to use Linux as your daily driver without ever needing the command line. Guake brings the Terminal to a quick-access drop-down window, accessible with a hotkey. Plus, like everything else in Linux, it's fully customizable so you can tweak it to fit your workflow.
Download Page

p7zip

P7zip is basically the Linux version of our favorite Windows compression tool 7-Zip. With it, you can compress and decompress tons of different archive formats, like ZIP, 7Z, RAR, and more, no terminal necessary. Just right-click on them and decompress them with one click.
Download Page

Optional (for Beginners)

Ubuntu Tweak

If you're running Ubuntu, Ubuntu Tweak is a great little program that simplifies some of the basic Linux processes that can be intimidating to first-time users. It may not upgrade well with your system, but it's a good install for beginners: it'll help you install third-party apps, configure your system without the Terminal, clear up disk space, and more.
Download Page

Contact Whitson Gordon:

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5827968/lifehacker-pack-for-linux-our-list-of-the-best-linux-downloads

Xubuntu 11.10

2011-12-31T08:29:00.000-05:00

I gave Xubuntu 11.10 another install on my tester PC, an older Intel P4 3.2 ghz with 2GB memory, GeForce 5200 video card, and 500 GB SATA hard drive. I have to say Xubuntu installs, looks, and runs smooth as silk on this machine. I added LibreOffice, Chromium, Deluge, and Banshee music player. Also upgraded Firefox to v9.01 and Chromium to the latest nightly build of 18.991, and added some new wallpaper from the Ubuntu-art.org website. I'm using the included MurrinaAquaish appearance theme, which resembles the Elementary gnome theme. I did notice that my display manager crashed when I installed Nautilus, the Gnome 3 file manager. But I later removed this as a result. I can see why Linus Torvalds recently commented that Gnome 3 and Unity desktops are a mess, and he has turned to using Xubuntu. Xubuntu offers low system overhead, ver 11.10 offers the latest hardware support from the linux 3.x kernel, and the Ubuntu Software Center and Synaptic package manager. This is my favorite non-gnome distro. Below are my screen shots and a link to the Xubuntu website. Job well done Xubuntu 11.10 !

Below is the included gmusic-browser with the Rhythmbox view.

You can download Xubuntu from here: http://www.xubuntu.org/

Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix 11.10 with GNOME Classic interface

2011-12-25T16:17:00.000-05:00

Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix 11.10
Introducing Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot Without Unity
Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix 11.10 is an unofficial remix of the Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system and it was created by Jan Hoffmann. The OS is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures. This distro uses the latest Ubuntu 11.10 and uses the Gnome Shell desktop and ditched the unity desktop. Hooray ! You can add the Gnome Shell yourself (the how to is posted below). But why fool around when you can have it right out of the box during install.
This has now become my default Ubuntu installed distro and is very stable.

Overall it is very quick. Web pages seem to appear quickly probably due to the inclusion of Firefox v7.01 which is very fast. The title bar buttons have been moved back to the right as in traditional Gnome 2.x. There is only one theme installed called Adwaita, an Elementary inspired clean silver theme. There are about a dozen wallpapers included. It has Banshee music player, Nautilus, LibreOffice, and Gnome shell 3.x But Gnome Shell 3.x is what the rest of the linux distros will be moving towards. You have to add the Synaptic package manager, but the Ubuntu Software Center is included. It is a DVD size ISO file.
I expect this is going to be a big deal to many Ubuntu Gnome users who have been waiting for a non-unity build.
Below are my screen shots and more info on what is included:

Now that Ubuntu 11.10 was released, we are proud to announced today, October 18th, the immediate availability for download of a new Linux operating system based on the newly released Ubuntu 11.10 distribution.

The new Ubuntu-based operating system introduced here is called Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix and it’s build on top of the Oneiric Ocelot release, but without the Unity shell.
As a desktop environment, the Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix 11.10 uses the GNOME Shell interface. However, Ubuntu 11.10 features the Unity interface, but on top of the new GNOME 3.2 desktop environment…

Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix 11.10 is an unofficial remix of the Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system and it was created by Jan Hoffmann. The OS is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures.

Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix 11.10 includes the following applications:

New boot splash screen;
Mozilla Firefox web browser;
Empathy instant messenger client;
LibreOffice open source office and productivity suite;
Shotwell photo manager;
Banshee music player and organizer;
Totem video player;
Evolution e-mail and calendar;
GNOME Contacts tool;
Cheese webcam viewer;
A collection of GNOME games including gbrainy, Tali, Aisleriot Solitaire and many more!

As you can see, Mozilla Thunderbird has been removed from Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix 11.10, which also offers access to the official Ubuntu 11.10 software repositories from were you can install thousands of more apps, via Ubuntu Software Center.

Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix 11.10 with GNOME Shell interface

Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix 11.10 with GNOME Classic interface

You can download it here: http://ubuntu-gs-remix.sourceforge.net/p/download/

Users who want to download the source code used for creating the Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix images and detailed instruction to install it from the Alternate CD (minimal installation), please have a look at its official Launchpad PPA page.
There are also some known bugs for this release of the Ubuntu GNOME Shell Remix distribution, which can be viewed here.

Source: http://www.ants-network.com/news/248/introducing-ubuntu-11-10-oneiric-ocelot-without-unity.ant

Back on 11-05-11 and today did a full install and below are my results which produced a workable Ubuntu 11.10 Gnome build. You need to install the Gnome Advanced Tweak utility and the Dconf Editor which open up the settings we were all used to under Gnome 2.x. Added the Synaptic Package Manager, Chromium browser, Deluge, Pidgin IM, Picasa, Audacious, and Avant launcher. From Synaptic, found the Elementary theme with Evolve metacity title bars, which brightens up things nicely. I'll continue tweaking this. Performance seems a little sluggish on my Pentium 4 3.2 ghz. They even colored the Grub boot menu a baby blue color to dress things up there. So far it has been very stable and a good ride so far. Below are my screen shots.

You can add the Elementary and Evolve PPA repositories below:
Then just search for Elementary theme from the Synaptic package manager.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/themes

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install evolve-gtk-theme

Firefox 9 Released with 36% improved JavaScript Performance

2011-12-20T22:35:00.003-05:00

Firefox 9 has been released today (is already available for download via direct links but the website hasn't been updated yet) with improved JavaScript performance (by 20 to 36%) thanks to Type Inference, some additional HTML5 and CSS support, support for querying Do Not Track status via JavaScript and the usual bug and stability fixes. More info, HERE.

What's new in Firefox 9

The latest version of Firefox has the following changes:

Added Type Inference, significantly improving JavaScript performance
Improved theme integration for Mac OS X Lion
Added two finger swipe navigation for Mac OS X Lion
Added support for querying Do Not Track status via JavaScript
Added support for font-stretch
Improved support for text-overflow
Improved standards support for HTML5, MathML, and CSS
Fixed several stability issues
Fixed several security issues

Firefox 9 will be available as a security update via the official repositories for Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot and 11.04 Natty Narwhal users, but if you don't want to wait, you can already install it by using the Ubuntu Mozilla Security PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-security/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firefox

For Ubuntu Lucid and Maverick, Firefox 9 should be available in the Firefox Stable Channel PPA soon: "ppa:mozillateam/firefox-stable" (in fact, the packages have already been built successfully, but publishing has been disabled for the PPA for now).

Until the Mozilla website is updated to provide the latest Firefox 9, here are direct download links: Linux, Mac and Windows.

For the latest beta, add the following from the Firefox Beta Channel PPA:

Add the Firefox beta channel PPA (available for Ubuntu 11.10, 11.04, 10.10 and 10.04) - this will replace your current stable Firefox installation:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/firefox-next
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firefox

Also see: Firefox Beta Channel PPA, Firefox Aurora Channel PPA and Firefox Nightly Channel PPA (can be installed side-by-side with the latest stable Firefox).

Source: http://www.webupd8.org/2011/12/firefox-9-released-with-improved.html

Ubuntu Tweak 0.6 Released for Ubuntu 11.10

2011-12-19T08:39:00.000-05:00

Ubuntu Tweak 0.6 (stable) has finally been released. The new version comes with a revamped user interface and many new features, but also without some of its old features: App and Source Center are no longer available in Ubuntu Tweak because, according to the Ubuntu Tweak developer, even though these features were liked by many users, they caused a lot of problems and also, they weren't exactly tweaks.

By the way, if you want to search for PPAs, you can use Y PPA Manager.

We've already covered Ubuntu Tweak 0.6, so I'll only post a small recap for what's new.

New features in Ubuntu Tweak 0.6:

revamped user interface
plugins support
Unity-specific (for both 2D and 3D) settings and tweaks
built-in Computer Janitor that lets you clear various cached/uneeded files or packages
option to change GTK3, icon theme and fonts
LightDM tweaks
a new overview tab which displays various system info
backup feature for the source editor
natural scrolling tweak

Ubuntu Tweak 0.6 screenshots:

Install Ubuntu Tweak 0.6 (stable)

Ubuntu Tweak 0.6 (stable) is only available for Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot for now. Add the Ubuntu Tweak PPA and install it using the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tualatrix/ppa

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak

The Ubuntu Tweak Testing PPA (ppa:ubuntu-tweak-testing/ppa) currently provides the latest stable Ubuntu Tweak, but if you want to continue using the stable version, I recommend adding the stable PPA and removing the testing PPA as newer testing versions might be uploaded soon.

Source: http://www.webupd8.org/2011/12/ubuntu-tweak-06-has-been-released.html

Pear OS 3.0 Linux Panther - Review

2011-12-18T05:51:00.000-05:00

David Tavares has announced the release of Pear OS 3.0, an Ubuntu-based desktop distribution with a Mac OS X-like look and feel (as well as slogan): "Pear OS 3.0 'Panther' available. From the desktop you see when you start up your PC to the applications you use every day, everything is designed to be simple and intuitive. Of course, making amazing things simple requires some seriously advanced technologies, and Pear OS is loaded with them. Working and playing on a PC is all about applications, so Pear OS makes it simple to find and open those applications fast. The Dock is a handy place on your desktop for storing and launching your favorite applications, and it makes switching between them a breeze.
Below is a good review:

Pear OS is a new Linux desktop distribution based on Ubuntu Desktop with the graphical installer. Its development started in early August 2011 by David Tavares (from France), and on August 15 2011, Pear OS 1.0, the first version marked “stable,” was released. The latest edition, release on December 14 2011, is Pear OS Linux Panther 3.

Though a Linux distribution running the GNOME 3 desktop, Pear OS’s desktop is fashioned after Apple’s Mac OS X, and each major version’s code name is taken from the Mac OS release with a corresponding version number. So, “Panther,” the code name of Pear OS Linux 3, is taken from the code name of Mac OS 10.3. If you have not been following Apple’s flagship operating system, each Mac OS edition is named after a big cat. Like all reviews published on this website, this one is based on test installations of the 32-bit edition of Pear OS Linux Panther 3 (a 64-bit edition is available too) in virtual environments and on real hardware.

The screen shot below shows the installer’s boot options. Selecting any one of the first two options caused the system to boot into the Live Desktop. From there, you may start the installation by clicking on the “Install Pear OS” icon on the desktop. And that icon is on the desktop whether you choose the first or second boot menu option. So, do not expect that selecting the second option will boot straight into the installation program. That was the first minor bug I encountered while testing Pear OS Linux Panther 3. “Minor” means that the bug did not affect the functionality of the system in any significant manner.

Another minor bug or error I encountered is shown in this screen shot. It always happens while booting into a Live Desktop or an installed system. Like the bug reported above, it did not affect the functioning of the system.

The third minor bug surfaced after I clicked on the “Install Pear OS” icon on the desktop. When I attempted to file a bug report by clicking Report Problem,

The alert message was (at least I tried to help):

Since Pear OS is based on Ubuntu Desktop, they share the same installer (Ubiquity Installer) and installation routine. And, of course, the same shortcomings at that level. For example, while attempting to install it on a real computer with a target hard drive already playing host to a default installation of Fedora 16 KDE, the installer did not detect the presence of that Fedora Spin on the hard drive. This is because by default, a Fedora system is installed on a partitioning scheme based on LVM, the Linux Logical Volume Manager. The Ubiquity Installer is not capable of detecting such a system. That is why the message in this screen shot incorrectly states that, “This computer currently contains no detected operating systems.”

Even the Advanced partitioning tool does not help. This is a known issue with the installer. Ok, enough about the installer. Let us see what the the installed system has to offer.

Logging In And Using The System: The login screen is almost the same as that of Ubuntu 11.10 and Linux Mint 12. One major difference, other than the “leafy” wallpaper, is that the guest session is disabled by default. Also, there are only two options in the login’s menu. In Pear OS, there is no GNOME 3 Fallback mode, so booting into “Pear OS Panther (No effects)” drops you into the same desktop that booting into “Pear OS Panther” gets you.

The desktop shows where Pear OS takes a different direction from that taken by any other distributions that use the GNOME 3 desktop environment. The distribution’s motto is Think Totally Different, which is apt because the Mac OS-like dock and other features of the desktop, shows that David Tavares is thinking outside (of) the box that most Linux developers are in. It is a much better desktop than the dual-headed apparition named Linux Mint 12. This is not saying that Pear OS is perfect because it is not, but the minor issues I noticed in the course of putting this review together are nothing compared to the almost torturous task of using Ubuntu 11.10, Linux Mint 12 or any other distribution that uses GNOME 3. While the top panel is fixed, the dock is configurable.

This is a screen shot of the Docklets tab of the dock’s settings manager. By default, there are, aside from several applications icons, two docklets on the dock. These are for the Trash and Battery Monitor. The Battery Monitor is, of course, not visible on a desktop computer, but Trash is (you cannot miss it in any of the screen shots). After about five minutes of using the system, I quickly came to the conclusion that I could use a few more very important Docklets. The way I use a computer, a Workspace Switcher makes it much funner. Luckily, there is a docklet for that. So, I added it to the dock.

But a problem with the Workspace Switcher is, it shows just one workspace. What happened to the others? Unless there is a configuration option that I overlooked, that is one more bug. If it is, then it is not minor, but more of the medium importance variety.

Like all good docks, Pear OS’s dock can be configured to auto-hide, so it does not eat into available desktop real estate when an application whose window requires much (vertical) space is open.

Another neat feature of the desktop is Launchpad, a full-screen menu that is similar to the Takeoff Launcher and Mandriva’s ROSA Launcher. A minor problem I observed with Launchpad, which is visible in the screen shot below, is that it gets truncated on the right side if the screen resolution is at 1024×768 or lower. (Hint: The search box should be wider that is visible in the screen shot.) Other that that, Launchpad is usable.

With regards to installed applications, the latest available edition of Opera for Linux (version 11.60), is the default browser, and Sylpheed is the default email client. A glaring omission in installed applications is that there is no installed office suite. If you need one, LibreOffice and OpenOffice are available for installation. Also, there are no games installed.
By default, Pear OS ships with Adobe Flash plugin and a Java JRE installed, so Opera has no problem rendering Flash content and in passing the Java test. Device notification works. However, the default action for audio CDs is to make a copy with Brasero (it should be to play with Clementine, the installed music player), and because the library required to play encrypted video DVDs is not installed, you will get the error message shown below if you attempt to play an encrypted video DVD with Totem, the installed movie player.

A minor issue I observed, “minor” because I do not mind a sprinkling of french on my desktop, is that two main applications are partly or entirely in French. Clementine, for example, is entirely in French, and the graphical application manager displays some text in French. Those are the only two installed applications I observed that have some localization issues.
Software Management: There are two installed graphical applications managers – an old version of Ubuntu’s Software Center, and Synaptic Package Manager. The former is the one with localization issues. Synaptic has no such problems.

By default the system is configured to check for updates daily, but only report the availability of non-security-related updates weekly. I do not like that setting because if a newer version of an application is available, I want to know pronto. But that is just me. Some might be satisfied with the default setting.

System Management Applications: Almost all the graphical management applications are accessible from GNOME 3′s System Settings, but the two I will highlight here are not in System Settings. They are the PPA manager, and Back In Time. The screen shot below shows the main interface of Y PPA, the PPA (Personal Package Archive) manager. It makes managing repositories a bit easier. With this tool, you would not need to use the command line to add a repository or perform other PPA-related management tasks on the system.

Back In Time, is a graphical interface combining the capabilities of three separate Linux applications – “rsync (take snapshots and restore), diff (check if something changed) and cp (make hardlinks)”. Using it, it is easy to take manual or automated snapshots of the system. You may also restore the system to a previous state. This is just about the same thing you can do with the Time Slider application in OpenIndiana. On a test system from which this screen shot was taken, I configured Back In Time to take hourly snapshots just to see if it really works. As you can see, taking the snapshots worked, but I have not tried the restoration aspect yet.

Physical and Network Security Posture: Like Ubuntu, Pear OS Linux Panther 3 comes with the firewall activated, but a graphical firewall client for managing it is not installed. Aside from the firewall, AppArmor, one of 3 application firewalls for Linux distributions, is loaded, with 12 profiles and three processes in enforce mode. Because it is based on Ubuntu Desktop with the graphical installer, Pear OS lacks support for any physical security feature during installation.

Final Thoughts: Despite of the (minor) issues I found in this distribution’s latest release, it is the best distribution powered by the GNOME 3 desktop environment that I have reviewed so far. And I do not particularly care that it is fashioned after Mac OS X. After all, if you want to base your distribution on another operating system, why base it on something but the best. It is a new distribution, and the developer seems to have the right ideas. All he needs to do now is to tweak it a little bit more, make it as smooth as OS X.

Resources: This is the only GNOME 3 distribution that I feel very comfortable recommending to any user, even a newbie. If you want to take it for a spin yourself, download a 32- or 64-bit installation image from here. Post support questions here and at Questions & Answers.

Screen Shots: There is just one more screen shot to share here. You may view additional screen shots at Pear OS Linux Panther 3 screenshot preview.
The desktop reconfigured to show two docks.

Source: http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2011/12/17/pear-os-linux-panther-3-review/

Home page: http://www.pear-os-linux.fr/

Download links: pear-os-linux-panther-v3.0-x32.iso (895MB, MD5), pear-os-linux-panther-v3.0-x64.iso (964MB, MD5).

GnomeBaker Simple CD/DVD Burner For Gnome

2011-12-17T06:32:00.000-05:00

GnomeBaker is a simple CD/DVD burning application for the Gnome desktop.

For all those that hate brasero and badly burned cd/dvd media, GnomeBacker is an alternative.

Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric has dropped GnomeBaker since it was available in Natty’s universe repository.

Now, A stable ppa has been built for gnomebaker (only Ubuntu 11.10 for now). To add this ppa, run the command in a terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnomebaker/stable

Then, update the source:

sudo apt-get update

Finally, you can find gnomebaker in Ubuntu Software Center, or use:
(WORKS FOR OLDER VERSIONS OF UBUNTU ALSO)

sudo apt-get install gnomebaker

Then,at right top of your screen,click to
Applications->Sound&Video->GnomeBaker CD/DVD writer to open it up.

In tools menu,you can select burn date,audio,.iso image CD/DVDs.Select one,then add the file you want to burn at the middle of this screen.

SourceCode avaiable here.
Related posts:

Source: http://ubuntuguide.net/gnomebaker-simple-cddvd-burner-for-gnome-got-a-stable-ppa

Ubuntu 11.10 - A Welcome December Upgrade

2011-12-07T15:47:00.000-05:00

Ubuntu 11.10 now offers out of the box support for more hardware with kernal 3.0, including the Railink wireless adaptor RT-5390 ! I installed Ubuntu 11.10 on my new HP pavillion g7-1150US which has a Railink RT-5390 wireless adaptor. This wireless chip was not supported on earlier Ubuntu versions. But I am very happy to report is under 11.10. Another wireless adaptor I use, the Zonet ZEW-25xx is also supported ! This actually has more to do with the updated v3.0.4 linux kernel. Also by installing Gnome Shell from the Ubuntu Software Center, allows near Gnome 2.x functions. Below are my tweaks, and screenshots, which are making this Gnome 3.x distro a very welcome upgrade for wireless support right out of the box. Performance is also very snappy. Notice the updated wireless signal screenlet now available. I'm using the Radiance theme with festive holiday lights wallpaper. Ubuntu 11.10 with Gnome 3.x still rocks.

Tweaks which I made:

1 - Install Gnome Shell, Advanced Settings panel, Dconf-Editor, and Synaptic Package Manager from the Ubuntu Software Center.

Another tool for configuring some hidden Unity settings is Dconf-editor.

To be able to use it you must firstly install dconf-tools:

sudo apt-get install dconf-tools

2 - Install Chromium browser, Pidgin IM, Deluge bittorrent, Ubuntu Restricted extras, Cairo Dock, Screenlets, Audacious media player, Asunder CD ripper, K3B CD-DVD burner, and CUPS pdf printer.

3 - Remove overlay toolbars, from root terminal:

sudo apt-get remove overlay-scrollbar liboverlay-scrollbar3-0.2-0 liboverlay-scrollbar-0.2-0

4 - Move metacity title bar buttons to the right using dconf-editorTo achieve this, open Applications > System Tools > Configuration Editor (or Alt+F2 and enter gconf-editor). Once open, browse to /apps/metacity/general/, and in the right pane you will notice the option “button_layout”, with its value set as close,minimize,maximize:menu.

Simply change the value to menu:minimize,maximize,close. As soon as you hit Enter to commit the changes, the buttons will leap to the right-hand side.

5 - Log into Classic Gnome desktop at the login screen. to

6 - Hold the cursor over the top or bottom panel and press the left ALT button+mouse right click button to change its properties like add transparency, change width, auto hide, and add features such as shut-down buttons, weather, and other indicators.

Ambiance & Radiance Evolved light themes

2011-12-06T06:54:00.000-05:00

The old Ambiance and Radiance light themes have received an update and now called Evolved. Below is how they look and how to install them by distro number. Enjoy.

Ambiance and Radiance Evolved

Modified versions of Ubuntu's default themes...

Installation on Ubuntu 11.10

Type the following on a terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:victored/light-themes-evolved
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Installation on Ubuntu 11.04 (Unity Only)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:victored/ambiance-evolution

Now open the Update Manager, click on Check and then Install Updates

IMPORTANT: This will upgrade your current light-themes (Ambiance and Radiance) package, so you won't be able to use the default themes anymore (unless you uninstall the themes - see below). You'll get all the required packages from there

THE REQUIRED ICON THEME IS PROVIDED THROUGH THE PPA

Please remove any previous version of the Ambiance and/or Radiance theme under your ~./themes folder

Installation on Ubuntu 10.10 and 11.04 (Classic session)

Add the theme's PPA. Just type the following on a terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:victored/ambiance-evolution

Now install the themes:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install light-themes-evolution-classic

IMPORTANT: You can use this version alongside Ubuntu's default light themes. If you added the PPA earlier and upgraded the light themes on Ubuntu 10.10, please follow the instructions above and then downgrade the light-themes package...

Uninstalling the themes

UNITY VERSION (Ubuntu 11.04)

If for some reason you need to remove these themes, you can revert the changes [made by this PPA] typing the following on a terminal (CRTL+Alt+T):

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge ppa:victored/ambiance-evolution

After that, you'll system will be as it was before

Source: http://www.webupd8.org/2011/12/light-themes-evolved-ambiance-and.html

Dual Boot Windows and Linux Mint

2011-12-03T12:48:00.000-05:00

Another great article from the folks at HowtoGeek.com. The article mentions Win8 but also applies to Win7.

How to Dual Boot Windows 8 and Linux Mint on the Same PC

If you’re a serious operating system geek, you might want to test out both Windows 8 and Linux Mint. Here’s how to get the best of both by dual-booting Linux Mint with your Windows 8 installation.
Before we start there is a couple of things that you are going to need:

10GB of free space on your drive
The Linux Mint DVD, from here (x86) or here (x64), burnt to a DVD.
About 30 Minutes of free time

Note: There are a lot of ways to do this, and since there is no one correct way to dual booting Windows and Linux, we are going to take the easiest method to help those new to Linux, while getting the full experience of installing a Linux OS.

So lets get started–since we are dual-booting Mint alongside your already existing Windows 8 installation, the first thing we need to do is boot up Windows and create an empty partition for the Mint installation. The easiest way to do this is to press the Windows + R key combination and type diskmgmt.msc into the run box and hit enter, but you could search for Disk Management in the Start Menu as well.

When the Disk Management MMC console opens up right click on your drive containing Windows 8 and select Shrink Volume… from the context menu.

You will now need to enter how many megabytes you would like to shrink the partition by, we recommend a minimum of 10GB. Remember that there is 1024MB in a gigabyte, so multiply the number of gigabytes that you want your new partition to be by 1024.

Now insert your Mint DVD and boot your PC from the DVD drive, this will normally require a pushing of a key at the POST screen–every motherboard is different but it will normally be F11 or F12.

The DVD should automatically boot into its Live mode, however if you bump a key and are prompted simply choose to start it.

Once booted, you can start the installation by double clicking on the Install Linux Mint shortcut on the desktop.

You can click continue until you get to the installation type section, here you will need to change the radio button to the something else option.

Once you have clicked on the continue button you will now have to pick a place to install Mint, scroll down until you see a partition called “free space”.

Double click on it to bring up the format menu, here accept all the defaults except for the mount point, where you should enter a single forward slash, then click ok.

Now you can click on the install now button.

A very nice touch to the installation process is that it starts asking for a few configuration settings while the OS is busy installing.

You will need to reboot your PC when the installation is finished, as you can see we can now easily choose our OS at startup.

Note: Grub picks up our Windows 8 installation, the entry at the bottom, as Windows Recovery Environment, this is actually your Windows 8 installation and the display name can easily be changed by selecting it from the menu and hitting the “e” key, this is mainly for advanced users.

Your default OS will now be Linux Mint, but you always have the choice of switching back to Windows 8 from the Grub boot menu at any time.

Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/99060/how-to-dual-boot-windows-8-and-linux-mint-on-the-same-pc/

December Desktop

2011-12-01T20:35:00.000-05:00

I've rediscovered the Radiance theme for December. One of the Community themes caught my attention called Homosapien. I added the Mint metacity title bar for a clean bright look. Having transparent navigation bars is also something I'm into recently. See below.

Below are some other wallpapers which show off the top panel transparency.

Install Gnome 2.x in Mint 12 with Mate

2011-12-01T14:11:00.001-05:00

If you want to get the old Gnome 2.x navigation and look, Mint 12 now offers this under the Mate configuration project.

In Ubuntu Oneiric’s universe repository there’s a package gnome-session-fallback that provides classic gnome desktop, but it ugly and uneasy to configure panel.
Now Linux Mint 12 has released. It brings MATE and MGSE.
MATE is a fork of Gnome 2 which is compatible with Gnome 3. Thanks to MATE, you can run both versions of Gnome on the same system
NOTE: MATE is brand new, it’s not completely stable yet, and it’s missing a few parts.
MGSE stands for Mint Gnome Shell Extension, it’s a Gnome 3 desktop with classic Gnome 2 style interface.

Install MATE and MGSE in ubuntu 11.10:
Open up a terminal window and edit the source.list by this command:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

in pop-up gedit window add this line to the end and save it.

deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ lisa main upstream import

Now update the source, add the GPG key, and finally update the source again.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install linuxmint-keyring
sudo apt-get update

Now MGSE and MATE are available in Ubuntu SoftWare Center. Just search and install mint gnome shell extension and mint-meta-mate
Fix broken packages if installation failed:
I failed to install MATE due to python-desktop-mata package. But MGSE properly installed, previous picture is a screenshot of MGSE.
There’re two broken packages that can be fixed by Synaptic Package Manager.
1.) Install Synaptic by:

sudo apt-get install synaptic

2.)Launch Synaptic Package Manager, find Broken under Custom Filters. Mark to remove broken packages and finally apply the changes.
Fix Ubuntu Software Center doesn’t launch problem and sudo add-apt-repository error:
After installed MGSE and MATE, you may got error while running sudo add-apt-repository and can’t launch Ubuntu Software Center.
It can be easily fixed by:

sudo gedit /etc/lsb-release

change and make it look like following:

DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=11.10
DISTRIB_CODENAME=oneiric
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION=”Ubuntu oneiric”

Source: http://ubuntuguide.net/ubuntu-11-10-install-classic-gnome2-desktop-linux-mint-mate

Linux Mint 12 ships as distro's popularity soars

2011-12-01T14:07:00.001-05:00

an article from LInuxdevices.com on Linux Mint 12, the best Mint distro yet

Linux Mint 12 ships as distro's popularity soars, By Eric Brown , 11-28- 2011

The final version of Linux Mint 12 ("Lisa") was released, with "MGSE" extensions to GNOME 3.2 that let users create a more GNOME 2.3x-like environment. Based on Ubuntu 11.10 and Linux 3.0, Linux Mint 12 features upgrades to Firefox 7.0, LibreOffice 3.4.3 and Thunderbird 7.0.1, and introduces a new DuckDuckGo default search engine.

The Mint project released the RC1 version of Linux Mint 12 ("Lisa") just two weeks ago, so there are few new surprises in this final release. Somewhat more surprising is the huge increase in popularity in its Distrowatch rankings in recent weeks (see farther below).

Linux Mint 12
(Click to enlarge)
As noted previously, Linux Mint 12 is based on a foundation of the Linux 3.0 kernel and Ubuntu 11.10 distribution. The final version offers package updates including the Firefox 7.0 web browser and LibreOffice 3.4.3 productivity suite. However, the Upgrade Manager offers updates to LibreOffice 3.4.4 and Firefox 8.0 respectively, says the Mint project.
Other updated packages include the Thunderbird 7.0.1 email client, the Totem 3.0.1 video player, as well as a rival to Totem in version 1.1.12 of the VLC media player.
The Moonlight Linux implementation of Microsoft's Silverlight browser plug-in has been excised on account of a bug, says the project. However, a bug-fixed version is available for download at the Mono project.

Linux Mint 12 with MSGE main menu
As we discovered with RC1, the biggest changes in Mint include the ability to choose from several new alternative desktops. First, users can move up to GNOME 3.2, the version found in Fedora 16 and OpenSUSE 12.1, which fixes numerous bugs and modifies a few of the GNOME 3.0 environment's more controversial changes.
In addition Linux Mint 12 offers "MGSE" (Mint Gnome Shell Extensions) -- a desktop layer sitting atop GNOME 3.2 that lets users disable various components within MGSE to get more of a GNOME 2.3 experience. Users can choose which customizations they want to be dialed back.
Finally, the project has included an early version of the MATE project's MATE fork of GNOME 2, which is said to be compatible with GNOME 3.x. With MATE, Mint users can run both GNOME 3.2 and MATE on the same system, says the Mint project. Available on the DVD edition of Linux Mint 12, MATE is "not completely stable yet, and it's missing a few parts," stated the Mint project.

New backgrounds in Mint 12
Other Mint 12 additions include a new theme called Mint-Z. This is said to feature new artwork and backgrounds (see image above).
DuckDuckGo signed up as search partner
Linux Mint 12 introduces a new default search engine called DuckDuckGo, which is touted for not tracking or recording user information. For those who prefer Google or another search engine, however, the Mint project says it now offers an easier way to install them.
In addition, the project has launched a new business model in which search engine companies share with Linux Mint the revenue generated for them by the distribution. In a Nov 26 blog announcement, Linux Mint Founder Clement Lefebvre announced the first such partnership with DuckDuckGo. The Mint project says DuckDuckGo is "built on and contributes to Open Source," although "much of DuckDuckGo is closed."
As detailed in this Muktware review of DuckDuckGo, the search engine is not open source at the core, and in fact relies on Microsoft Bing for its back end. DuckDuckGo's search results regarding open source projects are typically Bing-like, writes reviewer Neil Richards. In other words they are tinged with Microsoft bias.
A search for "open source office suite," for example, buries the leading LibreOffice suite at the very bottom. Similarly a search for "open source web browser" shunts Mozilla and Chrome to the second page, reports Richards. Hilariously, neither Linux or GNU were found on the first page results for a search for "open source operating systems."
Beyond such Ballmer red flag terms, Bing works pretty well, and there are indeed some advantages to Bing's far less filtered searches. However, Richards also points out that many users prefer Google's personalized search results, and notes that one can always delete history and cookies to maintain privacy.
Mint's meteoric rise
Linux Mint has gained considerable steam over the last year, and has surpassed Ubuntu on the DistroWatch page hit rankings. Since the Mint 12 RC1 release, Mint has soared far beyond its competition, while the once-leading Ubuntu -- ranked at number two for most of the year -- has fallen back to fourth place behind the now GNOME 3.2-ready Fedora and OpenSUSE.
DistroWatch is far from a scientific ranking, as it's based on the page hits of the site's readers. For example, Red Hat's widely deployed enterprise Linux desktop ranks a distant 31st.
However, the rankings offer one of the best windows we have on the relative popularity of Linux desktop distributions. Pingdom analyzed the rankings a bit further, and concluded that user dissatisfaction with Ubuntu's new Unity desktop environment may be a key factor in the two distros' reversal in fortunes.
The jury is still out on the equally controversial GNOME 3.0 interface. However, the relatively high rankings of Fedora and OpenSUSE over the last month suggest that those distros' regular users have surrendered to the bug-fixed, but still often counter-intuitive GNOME 3.2.
Availability
Linux Mint 12 is available for free download from various sources listed in this Mint 12 announcement page. More information may be found in this Mint 12 overview, and a tutorial by Falko Timme on installing Linux Mint 12 may be found at this HowtoForge story called "The Perfect Desktop -- Linux Mint 12 (Lisa)".

Things To Tweak In Ubuntu 11.10

2011-11-26T16:49:00.001-05:00

Below are a couple articles from WebUpdat8.org and TechDriveIn.com. Enjoy.

Back when Ubuntu 11.04 was released, we wrote a post about stuff you may need to tweak or fix. Some of those tweaks still work but since this is a new version, there are new things that need tweaking so I've decided to make a new post with some popular old tweaks as well as some new ones.

Read on!

General tweaks (for both GNOME Shell and Unity)

Change themes, fonts and more with GNOME Tweak Tool

In Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot you can only switch between the default GTK themes by default. Also, there's no built-in GUI to easily change fonts or icon themes. But you can do this using GNOME Tweak Tool:

sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool

Once installed, GNOME Tweak Tool should show up as "Advanced Settings" in the menu. Besides changing fonts or themes, GNOME Tweak Tool can also be used to enable/disable GNOME Shell extensions, tweak the desktop, various windows behavior or GNOME Shell.

No screensaver in GNOME 3.2

GNOME 3 doesn't have a screensaver, just a black screen. If you want to use a screensaver, you can use Xscreensaver - install it using the following commands (this will also remove gnome-screensaver):

sudo apt-get remove gnome-screensaver
sudo apt-get install xscreensaver xscreensaver-gl-extra xscreensaver-data-extra

Then search for "Screensaver" in the menu and tweak its settings to your needs.

To add Xscreensaver to startup, open Startup Applications and add "xscreensaver -nosplash".

Let's also make the lock screen work (CTRL + ALT + L):

sudo ln -s /usr/bin/xscreensaver-command /usr/bin/gnome-screensaver-command

Alternatively, instead of the command above you can open System Settings > Keyboard and on the "Shortcuts" tab, under "System", change the "Lock screen" keyboard shortcut from CTRL + ALT + L to something else, then under "Custom Shortcuts", click the "+" button to add a new custom shortcut, under "Name" enter "Xscreensaver" and under "Command" enter "/usr/bin/xscreensaver-command", then click "Apply". And finally, click next to the newly created shortcut and press CTRL + ALT + L to assign it to it (or use any other keyboard shortcut you want, but make sure it's not already assign to something else).

To be able to watch a movie properly, also install Caffeine:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:caffeine-developers/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install caffeine python-glade2

To revert the changes (go back to the black GNOME Screensaver screen):

sudo apt-get remove xscreensaver xscreensaver-gl-extra xscreensaver-data-extra
sudo rm /usr/bin/gnome-screensaver-command
sudo apt-get install gnome-screensaver

If you've used the alternative method to assign CTRL + ALT + L to Xscreensaver lock screen, open System Settings > Keyboard again, remove the custom Xscreensaver command and assign CTRL + ALT + L back to "Lock screen" (under "System").

Nautilus search

Partially fix annoying Nautilus behavior that doesn't let you properly search by typing when there are a lot of files/folders: in Nautilus, select View > Statusbar.

Install Syanptic

Synaptic is not installed by default in Ubuntu 11.10 and while Ubuntu Software Center got many new features, it still can't do everything Synaptic can. Install Synaptic back using the following command:

sudo apt-get install synaptic

Disable Overlay Scrollbars

If you don't like the overlay scrollbars, you can remove them using the following command:

sudo apt-get remove overlay-scrollbar liboverlay-scrollbar3-0.2-0 liboverlay-scrollbar-0.2-0

Then, restart your computer (performing a logout only may not be enough).

To revert this change, install the packages back:

sudo apt-get install overlay-scrollbar liboverlay-scrollbar3-0.2-0 liboverlay-scrollbar-0.2-0

And restart your computer.

Missing features: web apps and file previewer

Two missing GNOME 3.2 features in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot (for both Unity and GNOME Shell) are the web applications and Sushi quick previewer.

The first requires Epiphany 3.2.0 which is available in the WebUpd8 GNOME 3 PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/gnome3
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install epiphany-browser

And the second - Sushi file previewer -, is available in the official Ubuntu repositories:

sudo apt-get install gnome-sushi

Longer battery life

I don't know if the kernel power bug is real or not, but many users have reported that using Jupiter or a tweak we've posted a while back, their laptop/netbook battery life increased. Install Jupiter using the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/jupiter
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install jupiter

If you have an EeePC, also install the following package for SHE support:

sudo apt-get install jupiter-support-eee

As for the other tweak, see this post: Linux Kernel Power Issue / Overheat Workaround.

No more Sun/Oracle Java

The "sun-java6" package is no longer available in the official Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot repositories due to the removal of the JDL license. Java 7 won't be in Oneiric either, but you still have 3 options:

- Install OpenJDK:

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre

- Or Oracle (previously Sun) Java 6 from the LFFL PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ferramroberto/java
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jdk sun-java6-plugin

- Or manually install Java 7 (JDK) in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot.

Fix for Nautilus crashing on start

If Nautilus crashes, chances are this is because of the "nautilus-open-terminal" package, so remove it:

sudo apt-get remove nautilus-open-terminal

Then restart Nautilus:

nautilus -q

Autostart items

Some applications/services that used to be in the Startup Applications dialog are no longer there. That's because they are hidden now but you can still find them under /etc/xdg/autostart . So if you want to remove the startup sound or other hidden applications from starting automatically, remove their .desktop files from /etc/xdg/autostart (you'll have to run Nautilus as root: "gksu nautilus"). But make sure you make a backup of the files you want to remove firstly!

GNOME Shell tweaks

Fix ALT + F2

ALT + F2 doesn't work by default in GNOME Shell under Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot. To fix it, open "System Settings" and under Keyboard > Shortcuts > System, click "Disabled" next to "Show the run command prompt" and press ALT + F2 - this should set ALT + F2 for running the command prompt.

Easily change GNOME Shell themes

To be able to easily change the GNOME Shell theme, besides GNOME Tweak Tool you'll also need the User Theme extension, available in the WebUpd8 GNOME3 PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/gnome3
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-extensions-user-theme

Then use GNOME Tweak Tool to activate the theme.

For more extensions, see: Official GNOME Shell Extensions Available In The WebUpd8 GNOME 3 PPA For Ubuntu 11.10.

Move icons from Message tray (bottom tray) to the Top Bar

Some might find the notification area icons showing up in the Message Tray (at the bottom of the screen, hidden by default) annoying or confusing. But you can move the icon on the Top Bar using an extension:

sudo apt-get install git-core
cd
git clone https://github.com/rcmorano/gnome-shell-gnome2-notifications.git
sudo cp -r gnome-shell-gnome2-notifications/gnome-shell-gnome2-notifications@emergya.com /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions/

Then press ALT + F2 and enter "r" to restart GNOME Shell.

Important: this extension shows up as disabled in GNOME Tweak Tool because of an error in the extension code. Despite this, the extension still works!

No shutdown menu entry

By default, there's no shutdown entry in the status menu and you must press and hold ALT to be able to shutdown your computer when using GNOME Shell. But this can be changed by installing Alternative Status Menu extension which adds "Power off" and "Hibernate" to the status menu, visible at all time (and not just when pressing the ALT key). Install it:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/gnome3
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-extensions-alternative-status-menu

Then use GNOME Tweak Tool to enable the extension.

Fix Nautilus menu being displayed under the GNOME Shell top bar when using transparent GNOME Shell themes

If you use a transparent GNOME Shell theme such as Zukitwo, the Nautilus menu shows up behind the top bar. You can fix this either by removing global menu (see below, under "Unity tweaks") or by disabling Nautilus from handling the desktop using GNOME Tweak Tool (under "Desktop", set "Have file manager handle the desktop" to off):

Disabling Nautilus from handling the desktop means you won't have any icons on the desktop anymore. If this is a big deal to you, remove AppMenu (Global Menu) - but you won't have a global menu in Unity anymore (though that shouldn't be a big issue if you don't use Unity anyway).

To install GNOME Tweak Tool, see the first tweak in this post.

Automatic login to GNOME Shell instead of Unity

If you enable autologin, your computer will automatically login to Unity. But there is a way to get Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot to automatically login to GNOME Shell.

Firstly, enable Automatic Login: in System Settings go to "User Accounts", then click "Unlock", enter your password and click the button next to "Automatic Login". That will make Ubuntu automatically login to Unity. Let's make it automatically login to GNOME Shell instead:

sudo /usr/lib/lightdm/lightdm-set-defaults -s gnome-shell

Unity tweaks

Configure Unity (autohide, etc.)

Unity 3D can be configured through CompizConfig Settings Manager, but CCSM isn't installed by default so let's install it:

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

Using CCSM you can configure the Unity Launcher reavel mode and timeout, the Unity Launcher autohide (autohide, dodge windows, dodge active windows or disable autohide), various keyboard shortcuts, the new ALT + TAB switcher behavior, blacklight mode, panel and launcher opacity, launcher icon size and more.

A few quick stuff I for one always tweak using CCSM (open CompizConfig Settings Manager and click the "Ubuntu Unity Plugin"):

To disable launcher autohide: on the "Behavior tab" under "Hide Launcher", select "Never".

To disable mounted devices from showing up on the Unity Launcher: on the "Experimental" tab, under "Show Devices" select "Never".

By default, applications that usually take 75% of the screen are maximized automatically on start. To change this automaximize value, on the "Experimental" tab, look for "Automaximize value" - tweak this to whatever value you want.

Configure Unity 2D

Some Unity 2D settings as well as other tweaks can be performed using "dconf-editor", part of the "dconf-tools" package. Install it using the following command:

sudo apt-get install dconf-tools

Then press ALT + F2 and enter: "dconf-editor" to launch it. You can find the Unity 2D settings under com > canonical > unity-2d.

Re-enable the systray (notification area)

You no longer need to whitelist Qt applications but you may still need the systray for other applications such as Shutter, Jupiter, etc. You can whitelist the systray using the following command:

gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Panel systray-whitelist "['all']"

Then log out and log back in.

Disable Global Menu (AppMenu)

Don't like the global menu? Get the menu back in the application window instead of using a global menu on the top panel:

sudo apt-get remove appmenu-gtk3 appmenu-gtk appmenu-qt

Then, restart your computer (performing a logout only may not be enough).

You can also disable the global menu without removing any package. See HERE.

To revert the changes, install these packages back:

sudo apt-get install appmenu-gtk3 appmenu-gtk appmenu-qt

And restart your computer.

Use a global menu for LibreOffice

By default, LibreOffice doesn't come with a Global Menu but you can manually install it:

sudo apt-get install lo-menubar

If you experience any issues with it, simply remove it:

sudo apt-get remove lo-menubar

Disable the user switcher indicator

The user switcher indicator (or Me-User-Indicator or whatever is called) can be useful if multiple users log in on your computer but if it's just one user, you can get more space by disabling it. Presuming you've already installed the "dconf-tools" package: press ALT + F2 or open a terminal and enter:

dconf-editor

Then navigate to apps > indicator-session and uncheck the box next to "user-show-menu", then restat Unity (ALT + F2 and enter "unity --replace") or log out and log back in.

Something went wrong! How do I reset Unity or Compiz?

You can easily reset Unity or Compiz using the following commands (be careful when using these commands and only use them if you really have to!):

- to reset the Unity launcher icons:

unity --reset-icons

- to reset Unity:

unity --reset

- to reset Compiz:

gconftool-2 --recursive-unset /apps/compiz-1
unity --reset

Using a different "shell"

By default, Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot uses Unity 3D (with Compiz). If you don't like it, you can try a different interface, while still using GNOME:

Unity 2D

Unity 2D is installed by default and is used as the fall-back mode for computers that can't run Unity 3D. To use Unity 2D, log out and select "Ubuntu 2D" in the login screen:

GNOME Shell

GNOME Shell is not installed by default but you can easily install it from the official Ubuntu repositories:

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

Once installed, log out and select "GNOME" from the login screen:

Classic GNOME 3 session

You can also use the GNOME 3 classic session. Install it using the following command:

sudo apt-get install gnome-session-fallback

And select "GNOME Classic" from the login screen:

I'll continue to update this post with more tweaks so keep an eye on it. If you've found some annoyance in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot and know a fix / tweak for it, let us know in the comments! For more tweaks, also take a look at our previous post: Things To Tweak / Fix After Installing Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal.

Tux image via tux.crystalxp.net; many thanks to everybody who contributed!

Source: http://www.webupd8.org/2011/10/things-to-tweak-after-installing-ubuntu.html

And from TechDriveIn website....

15 Things I Did After Installing New Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot

Posted byManuel Joseon Wednesday, October 12, 2011 / Labels:Featured,Ubuntu 11.10,Unity

Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot is scheduled to arrive on Oct 13, 2011. A lot of things have changed with Ubuntu in the mean time. This Ubuntu 11.10 screenshot tour will give you a quick preview of important changes in the upcoming Ubuntu Oneiric release. I have been using Ubuntu 11.10 as my netbook's primary OS ever since the second alpha release of Ubuntu 11.10 happened. Here is a quick list of things to do after installing Ubuntu 11.10.

Top Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot

This has become kind of a customary post with every new Ubuntu release. Especially since the arrival of Unity, many new and old Ubuntu users are looking for ways to improve the functionality aspect of Ubuntu and customize the Unity environment to their respective needs.

I have been a big time Ubuntu Unity user ever since it was released and here are the things I did to improve Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot after installing it. Note that, many parts of it will inevitably be similar to our previous article on things to do after installing Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal. There will be many new additional tips and tricks as well. Read on.

First Things First - Installing Restricted Extras During Installation

Starting from Ubuntu 11.04 release, you can install restricted codecs package(which include Adobe Flash, MP3 codecs and such) during installation of Ubuntu OS itself.

Notice the arrows pointing to the boxes in the screenshot above. If you tick both of them during the Ubuntu installation process(make sure you are connected to the internet before doing so), restricted extras package will be installed automatically and you will be able to play mp3's and watch flash videos(YouTube videos for example) right after Ubuntu installation is complete.

But there is a catch. If you have a slow internet connection(which is very rare these days), ticking the boxes shown in the screenshot above will unnecessarily lengthen the installation process. I for one prefer to do all that after installing Ubuntu. If you are like me, the next two steps are for you.

Update Repositories

After you install brand new Ubuntu 11.10, the first thing you need to do is to update repositories and make sure you have the latest updates installed(Like I said before, you need to do this only if you haven't ticked the boxes shown in the above screenshot).

Open Terminal(Ubuntu 11.10 Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T) and copy-paste the following command into Terminal.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

Done. Ubuntu repositories have been successfully updated.

Install Ubuntu Restricted Extras

Install the "ubuntu-restricted-extras" package. This will enable your Ubuntu to play popular file formats like mp3, avi, Flash videos etc. Click Here OR simply copy-paste the command below into Terminal to install the package(You need not do this also if you have ticked the 'right' boxes).

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

Done.

Enable Full DVD Playback(Dual Layer DVD Support)

Though installing the restricted extras package will solve most of your problems, you may not be able to play dual layer dvds yet in your Ubuntu.

For that, you need to install libdvdcss2 package from medibuntu repositories. Simply do the following in Terminal.

sudo wget --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/$(lsb_release -cs).list && sudo apt-get --quiet update && sudo apt-get --yes --quiet --allow-unauthenticated install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get --quiet update
sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2

Done.

Check for Availability of Proprietary Hardware Drivers

In my case, all the hardware drivers including graphics, sound and wireless drivers were enabled automatically(though, as you can see, I still have a proprietary wireless driver on offer, which I have not activated). But this may not be the case with everyone.

If you are among the not-so-lucky, open Unity dash (Ubuntu 11.10 Keyboard Shortcut: Super key) and search for 'Additional Drivers' application.

Check for additional drivers available and activate the ones you want. In 90% of the cases, this will do the trick. Those who were not able to get their hardware drivers enabled yet will have to do fair amount of digging through ubuntuforums.

Install Compiz Config Settings Manager

Compiz desktop effects are available in your Ubuntu by default and if you have any kind of 3D acceleration available(graphics driver ie), you are good to go with Compiz.

Now to tweak Compiz desktop effects in Ubuntu, you need to install "compizconfig-settings-manager" package. Click Here OR simply copy paste the following command into Terminal to install "compizconfig-settings-manager".

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

Done. Compiz Config Settings Manager(CCSM) is significant as far as Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot is concerned. We will get to that later on.

Essential Ubuntu Unity Keyboard Shortcuts

Productivity can be increased significantly in new Ubuntu Unity desktop if you know the essential Unity keyboard and mouse shortcuts. Here are some of the most important among them.

Super Key(Windows Key) - Opens dash.

Hold Super Key - Invokes Launcher.

Hold Super Key and hit 1, 2, 3 etc - Open an Application from Launcher. When you hold the Super Key, specific numbers will be displayed in order above each application.

Alt + F1 - Put keyboard focus on the Launcher, use arrow keys to navigate, Enter key launches the application, Right arrow exposes the quicklists if an application has them.

Alt + F2 - Opens dash in special mode to run any commands.

Super + A - Opens up applications dash.

Super + F - Opens up files and folders dash.

Learn the essential Ubuntu Unity keyboard and mouse shortcuts.

Enable Transparency of Unity Top Panel

Launch CCSM. Hit Super + a and search for CCSM.

After launching CCSM, select Ubuntu Unity Plugin from 'Desktop' category. Now choose the Experimental tab from above.

There you will see the 'Panel Opacity' option. Change it to the value you like.

Increase/Decrease the Launcher Icon Size

Just as before, Launch CCSM(Super + a and search for CCSM) and then browse to Ubuntu Unity Plugin. Choose 'Experimental' tab.

Adjust the value of 'Launcher Icon Size' by simple scrolling. The default value of 'Launcher Icon Size' is 48, but I like it around 40 for my laptop.

Change Desktop Size

By default, Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot gives you four workspaces to play around. Keyboard shortcut for activating the four workspaces is Super + s. Now, if you want to increase/decrease that number do the following.

Launch CCSM yet again, and select General Options from the category 'General'. Select the tab 'Desktop Size' and choose the values you want. Simple as that.

Add Your Favorite Places as Quicklists for Home Icon in Unity

Quicklists are something that I thought would be included as a default feature in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot(at least some of them). But that didn't happen. Home Menu quicklist in my opinion, is a must have feature(see screenshot to know how it will look like). Follow the steps to add your favorite places as quicklists.

Copy 'Home Folder' launcher file to your home directory. For that, you need to open Terminal(Unity Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T) and copy-paste the following commands.

cp /usr/share/applications/nautilus-home.desktop ~/.local/share/applications

Open the file in your favorite text editor. I am using Gedit here.

gedit ~/.local/share/applications/nautilus-home.desktop

Now replace the content of the file with the following text.

[Desktop Entry]

Name=Home Folder
Comment=Open your personal folder
TryExec=nautilus
Exec=nautilus --no-desktop
Icon=user-home
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=true
Type=Application
Categories=GNOME;GTK;Core;
OnlyShowIn=GNOME;Unity;
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Bugzilla=GNOME
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Product=nautilus
X-GNOME-Bugzilla-Component=general
X-Ubuntu-Gettext-Domain=nautilus

X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=Videos;Documents;Music;Pictures;Downloads
[Videos Shortcut Group]
Name=Videos
Exec=nautilus Videos
TargetEnvironment=Unity


[Documents Shortcut Group]
Name=Documents
Exec=nautilus Documents
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Music Shortcut Group]
Name=Music
Exec=nautilus Music
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Pictures Shortcut Group]
Name=Pictures
Exec=nautilus Pictures
TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Downloads Shortcut Group]
Name=Downloads
Exec=nautilus Downloads
TargetEnvironment=Unity

And restart Unity. Hit Alt + F2 and run the following command to restart Unity.

unity --replace

Done. If that doesn't work, you might need to log out and log back in to restart Unity.

You might want to try other popular quicklists for Ubuntu 11.10 Unity as well.

Enable Unity Grab Handles

This is another feature that I thought would be included as a default. Unity grab handles are a easy and eyecandy way of resizing windows, better suited for touch screen devices though.

Launch CCSM(just search for CCSM in Unity Dash).

Make sure that the category Png(highlighted above) is ticked.

In the Uncategorized section at the bottom of CCSM, make sure that Unity MT Grab Handles is ticked as well. Click on Unity MT Grab Handles option now.

You will see that the Toggle Handles option is Disabled by default. Click on the Disabled button and tick the resulting Enabled box.

Hit Grab key combination button and select the shortcut you want. As you can see in the screenshot above, Control + Alt + g was my choice. Its up to you.

Done. Unity Grab Handles are enabled in Ubuntu 11.10 successfully.

Install Sysmonitor App Indicator

Unity's top panel is locked down and it is not easy to add apps to it anymore. App Indicators are an excellent way to extend the functionality of Unity top panel in Ubuntu Oneiric. And Sysmonitor application indicator is one of my favorite.

To install Sysmonitor Indicator in Ubuntu 11.10, you need to copy paste the following commands into Terminal.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexeftimie/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-sysmonitor

Done. Now, simply launch Sysmonitor Indicator from Unity dash.

Top 10 Application Indicators for Ubuntu Unity if you need more.

Install GNOME Shell in Ubuntu

Installing GNOME Shell in Ubuntu is not "mission impossible" anymore. Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot is GNOME 3.0 based and installing GNOME Shell in Oneiric is just a click away. As we noted in our earlier GNOME Shell in Ubuntu 11.10 review, instead of one simple GNOME interface, now you have two, each one unique and special in its own way. Here is how you install it. Just search for 'GNOME Shell' in Software Center OR do the following in Terminal.

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

Receommended read: 8 Things I did After Installing GNOME Shell in Ubuntu 11.10

That's it for now, more Ubuntu 11.10 Unity tips and tricks and full fledged reviews are on its way. Thanks for reading.

Source: http://www.techdrivein.com/2011/10/15-things-i-did-after-installing-new.html

Add an Application Menu to Ubuntu 11.10

2011-11-18T15:45:00.001-05:00

For those who prefer classic Gnome-style application menu, there’re two replacements in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric: classicmenu-indicator for Unity, and app-menu-extension for Gnome Shell.

1.) In Ubuntu Unity using classicmenu-indicator
This is an applet indicator in the system tray area. Ubuntu 11.10 and 11.04 user with Unity can install this by adding following untrusted ppa. Check the package from ppa:diesch/testing before.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:diesch/testing
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install classicmenu-indicator

2.) For Gnome Shell there’s a classic style app menu extension
Run following commands in a terminal window, only provides package for Ubuntu 11.10 so far.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/gnome3
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-extensions-apps-menu

After this, restart gnome-shell by Alt+F2 and run “r” (without quotes) or log out and back in.
Then in gnome-tweak-tool (sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool, then search Advanced Settings) Shell Extentsions, enable this extension:

This ppa also contains many other gnome-shell extensions, check ppa:webupd8team/gnome3
Related posts:

Source: http://ubuntuguide.net/classic-gnome-style-menu-in-ubuntu-11-10

November Desktop

2011-11-02T11:24:00.000-04:00

Inspired by the Elementary GTK3 theme, for November found a nice light combination of the community theme Turrican along with the Mint XsQ Metal metacity title bar. Below are results and a link where to get the Mint theme.

The Turrican theme is in the Synaptic pkg manager under Community themes.
You can get the Mint XsQ Metal theme here:

http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Environment/Themes/Mint-XsQ-Metal-75664.shtml

Easily Install Gnome Shell In Ubuntu 11.10

2011-11-01T17:22:00.000-04:00

Do you love Ubuntu, but prefer Gnome Shell to Unity? You’re not alone, but you’re also in luck. Ubuntu 11.10 makes it easy to install Gnome Shell. Not liking where Gnome was heading, the Ubuntu team decided to build Gnome into a desktop of their own devising – Unity. This makes use of, and would not be possible without, the efforts of the Gnome team. Simply put, Unity is a different interface, or shell, for Gnome.It’s by no means the only one, however. The default shell for Gnome is called, fittingly enough, Gnome Shell. Meant to replace the old, beloved Gnome 2 desktop, Gnome Shell is a step forward for Gnome in many ways. Gnome Shell, like Unity, is not lacking for detractors. Many people would prefer to return to the classic Gnome desktop altogether, and are switching to systems like Linux Mint in order to do so. This is only temporary. All major Linux distributions will almost certainly be using either Gnome Shell or Unity for their Gnome offerings at some point in the near future. That’s why it’s essential to get used to one desktop or the other.
Want to try out Gnome Shell in Ubuntu? If you’re running 11.10, it’s easy.

Install Gnome Shell On Ubuntu 11.10

The simplest way to install Gnome Shell in Ubuntu? Just click here. Alternatively, you can find Gnome Shell in the Ubuntu Software Center:

Finally, if you’re a command line person, type this:

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell
That command will use apt-get to install Gnome Shell and its dependencies. The download isn’t huge, because most of Gnome is built into Unity. Once it’s installed, nothing will happen. You’ll need to log into your new desktop environment to see what you just did.

Loading Gnome Shell

Want to try out Gnome Shell? Log out of Unity to get to your login screen. When there, before logging in, click the gear icon beside the entry field:

Pick “Gnome” as your desktop, then type your password as usual. You’re now using Gnome Shell! Read more about Gnome Shell to see what this system can do.
Everything might look ugly at first. Unity’s default theme Ambiance does not integrate well with Gnome Shell. Be sure to check out the top 5 Gnome Shell Themes for something better, or simply switch themes to Adwaita for the default Gnome Shell experience.

There are obvious differences between Gnome Shell and Unity, of course. Virtual Desktops are created only as windows are added to them, and the “menu” brings up open programs before letting you open new ones.
Which shell is better, I think, is a matter of preference. Try both out to really get a feel for what fits better into your workflow. Trying out new desktop environments is a big part of what makes Linux fun; it’s like exploring an entirely new system. Enjoy exploring, and do so with an open mind.
You will notice two other entries in your login screen options: “Gnome Classic” and “Gnome Classic (no effects)“. Both of these desktops resemble the old Gnome 2 desktop, but are also different in many ways. Feel free to try these out if you miss the old Gnome 2 desktop, but know they are harder to customize than you may perhaps be used to.

Conclusion

Open source is about choice. That’s why I like seeing easy access to Gnome Shell included in Ubuntu. I’ve come to love using Unity as my default desktop, but for those disappointed with the direction of Unity this is a simple way to access an alternative.
What do you prefer – Gnome Shell or Unity? Let us know in the comments below, along with any Gnome Shell hacks you might know of.

Source: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/easily-install-gnome-shell-ubuntu-1110-newer-linux/

Edubuntu 11.10 Classic Gnome Desktop installed

2011-10-22T21:02:00.002-04:00

I installed Edubuntu 11.10 using the Classic Gnome desktop. I also found that the XFCE desktop manager is also part of the standard DVD install. And you can choose which desktop you want each time you log in. It comes with Firefox v7.01, Banshee media player, Libre Office, and the Thunar file manager by default. There also are a wealth of graphic applications included. Edubuntu with the Gnome desktop seems very restricted. There are only 2 themes included: Ambiance and Radiance. There are less options to move toolbars, add themes, or change the location of the min/max buttons on the title bars. I even had to add Nautilus file manager and the Synaptic Update manager. In time, I'll learn more. I added wood wallpaper and used the Radiance theme.
Below are my Gnome and XFCE desktops. So if you want the Classic Gnome desktop on the latest Ubuntu build, Edubuntu 11.10 fits the bill. My feeling, is that I will stick with Ubuntu 11.04 and upgrade the apps I need, or switch to Xubuntu 11.10.

Below is the Ubuntu Software Center

You have to install the Compiz Setting Manager from the Ubuntu Software Center

Below is the Synaptic Package Manager

Edubuntu allows you to boot to Classic Gnome, Classic Gnome No Effects, and XFCE. Below are 2 screen shots showing the XFCE desktop manager.