Since its first release, Google Chrome has steadily gained in popularity – thanks to Chrome’s innovative features and also Google’s marketing might. As of January 2012, the Chrome web browser enjoys a global market share of 17.20% which is just below Firefox’s 18.97% market share.

Google has finally released Chrome web browser for Android. Dubbed Chrome for Android Beta, it will run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone or tablet.

Salient features of Chrome for Android Beta

• Seamless sign-in
• Synchronization of your data across devices.
• Speed
• Simplicity – Chrome for Android is designed from the grounds up to be run on Mobile devices.
• Support for the latest HTML 5 features.
• Gesture recognition – Swipe through web pages or tabs using intuitive gestures.

If you are running Android Ice Cream Sandwich on your phone or tablet, you can download Chrome for Android (Beta) from the Android Market.

[Source : Google Chrome blog]

Microsoft has released its flagship note taking software OneNote for the Android platform. Microsoft OneNote app for Android is a free software that allows you to create up to 500 notes on your Android cell phone.

You can do nearly everything with the free OneNote app in Android that you can do in the more traditional OneNote software that runs on your PC. This includes creating notes with text, pictures, and bullets.

You can create and manage to-do lists with bullets in the Android OneNote app.  What is more, the OneNote app seamlessly uploads all your notes to Microsoft’s Skydrive that gives you a whooping 25GB free space to store all your documents, videos, and music online.

I  am a big fan of Microsoft OneNote note taking software. You can download the free OneNote app for Android cell phones from the official Android Market. The free version of OneNote app allows you to create only up to 500 notes. If you want to remove this limitation, you can pay a nominal one time fee of $4.99 for unlimited use.

Requirements

• Android 2.3 or higher.
• A Windows Live ID to sync your notes to the cloud.

Note: Although Android is built upon Linux kernel, Microsoft OneNote doesn’t work in Linux. However, Linux boasts of a number of  free note taking alternatives to OneNote.

[Source : OneNote blog ]

Canonical has decided not to further fund Kubuntu. Instead they will be devoting all their energies and money on the GNOME/Unity version of Ubuntu Linux. This of course does not mean the end of the road for Kubuntu which is the KDE version of the popular Linux desktop Ubuntu. It just means from now on, the Kubuntu developers have to fend for themselves or find another patron to support the project.

Canonical wants to treat Kubuntu in the same way as the other community flavors such as Edubuntu, Lubuntu, and Xubuntu, and support the projects with infrastructure.

Now KDE fans have nothing to worry about. You can still install KDE in Ubuntu Desktop. More over, there are other KDE centric Linux distributions such as OpenSuSE, PCLinuxOS, Arch Linux, Slackware and so on that can fill the gap that Kubuntu might vacate.

[Source : blogs.kde.org]

I run Xfce desktop in Fedora Linux. Recently, when I logged in, the window borders of all my open applications disappeared. I couldn’t move an application window with the mouse because there was no title bar for the windows. In other words, my Xfce desktop was messed up.

I tried logging out and logging in but each time I was presented the same messed up desktop.

Here is how I got my default Xfce4 desktop back.

All window managers including Xfce4 supports a fall back mode. This is kind of a reset switch that allows you to get your desktop back to factory settings.

Xfce Fallback

So to get my Xfce desktop back to the original state, I opened a terminal in Xfce and entered the following command.

$ xfwm4 --replace

The above command put my Xfce desktop back to the original pristine condition and I was back to work. This is called the Xfce4 fallback mode.

This fallback modes are available for other Window managers as well.

GNOME Fallback

If you are using GNOME and something is not right, for example you don’t see borders for your window, you can switch back to metacity with this command:

$ metacity --replace

KDE Fallback

If you are using KDE and something is not right, for example you don’t see borders for your window, you can switch back to kwin with this command:

$ kwin --replace

[Source : wiki.archlinux.org ]

Recently, I had to make a short trip to Bangalore. It was for 2 days and 2 nights total. Keeping a few things in mind while packing for the trip ensured that my trip to Bangalore was relatively stress free.

I am listing them for your perusal.

Plan your trip in detail

Create a list of the itinerary before you embark on the trip. And plan how you will go about doing it. What places you will see, the purpose of your visit etc. And stick to the plan once you get there. This will remove half the trouble.

For example, what mode of transport are you going to use – Bus, Train, Plane etc. Have you already booked the tickets for the to and fro journey ?

If traveling by bus, I find aisle seats are far more comfortable than seats near the windows. On buses all odd numbered seats are aisle seats and even numbered are window seats.

Where are you going to stay when you reach the place ? Does it fit in your budget … and so on.

Research on the net and collect the following information -

Emergency phone numbers – Hospital, and Nearest police station (to call if you get into some trouble with the locals).

Identify help services you can call if you want directions to go to a certain area or search for something.

For example, in Bangalore, there are two such services.

The first one is “Just Dial”. If you want to get answers to your queries – such as, find out if a museum is open in Bangalore, or want to know how to get to certain place in Bangalore city, you just call their number (08069999999) and they will send you a reply as SMS.

The second service called Latlong acts as a poor man’s GPS. It will point out the area where you are in Bangalore. Just send an SMS “help” to 9008890088 to start using this service.

Always carry most useful medicines with you when you travel. This can be Paracetamol tablets, Cough syrup, medicine to treat diarrhea etc. Sometimes, even in a major city (like Bangalore), you may be forced to walk a few blocks to find a pharmacy. You can avoid this hassle if you take all the important medicines with you.

Create a check list of items you will need

Create a list of items you will require in your trip and take them along. This will save you time and money required to buy them when the need arises.

These are the list of things I took with me when I visited Bangalore for 2 days.

• Tooth brush & Tooth paste
• Bath towel & Bathing soap
• Shirt & Trouser – 3 sets each
• Inner wear – Vest & Brief – 3 sets each
• Hand towel – 3 nos
• Medicines (Paracetamol tablets)
• Shaving set – Learn how to shave if you don’t know how .
• Washing soap – 1 nos
• Camera – with 2 sets of extra batteries and a battery charger.
• Sony Walkman – Fully charged for recording purposes.
• An identity document – Can be your driving license, Voter’s ID card, etc. Can come in handy.
• A pen and book – to jot down daily expenditure.
• Reading material – Can be a magazine, novel, comics etc to while away time if necessary.
• Water – Fill water in a bottle from home. You can save buying 1 Ltr bottled water that costs Rs 16.
• Mobile phone and its charger.
• Wallet – With enough money for the trip. You can also carry debit cards. But you might run into places where they don’t accept debit cards.
• Ear plugs and eye shades (optional)

Next pack all items in your bag. There is a technique to packing your bag the right way. This will ensure your ironed clothes remain neat and clean.

Once you reach your destination and have checked into a hotel room you should remember the following things.

Before you venture out of your hotel, make sure to eat a hearty meal. This will help you control the temptation of snacking from road side eateries. This is especially true if you are on a pleasure trip.

Believe me, when ever I venture out to see places, I end up buying lots of street food which adds up to my expenses.

If your travel plan includes lots of trips on public city bus, see if they provide bus passes. Taking a bus pass will save you money as it allows unlimited travel for a set duration usually between 3 days to a month without any additional payment.

I hope the tips I have provided in this article will be useful for you when you decide to go on a trip somewhere.