Ubuntu Tips &Tricks

SKDownloader - a simple download manger

2011-06-05T07:42:00.003+02:00

SKDownloader is a free open source download accelerator and bit torrent client written in Java,the program is available for Linux and Windows and it can be integrated with Firefox.Its interface is really simple and consists of a single window where you control all downloads in progress.SKDownloader still has a long way to go since it has no advanced options; but it’s free and covers the basic needs to download files from the Internet in a fast secure way, with download resumption capability for you to pause downloads anytime.

Installation

Download installer using the above download button to your computer (say at Desktop) and run following commands in command line.

 cd Desktop

Then

sudo sh ./skdownloader_linux_installer.sh

Type your password and flow the instruction to get SKDownloader installed.

Firefox integration can be added by installing the following firefox extension: skdownloader.xpi

After the installation complete open up your dash and search for SKdownloader

Thank You

EveInstaller.....the best utility for installing programs and adding PPAs

2011-05-20T07:59:00.002+02:00

If you see that installing programs in Ubuntu is complicated then you may have to try Eve Installer.Eve Installer made installing programs in Ubuntu very easy and quick as it contains a huge amount of programs and applications like multimedia,internet and office programs in addition to the most popular themes,not only this but also it contains a lot of popular PPAs ready for adding like Medibuntu,GetDeb, Playdeb, webup8 and much more.The program is really cool,you must try it.

Installation

First you have to download the program

eve-installer-i386.deb

eve-installer-amd64.deb

Install it by GDebi package installer or by Ubuntu software center

After the installation complete open the dash and search for EveInstaller.

Thank You.

Add quick-List to Banshee and Firefox icons in Unity launcher

2011-05-10T15:33:00.004+02:00

In this tip i will show you how to add quick-list to Firefox icon in Unity launcher as you see in the screenshot above

First download the quick-list for Firefox file from Here and for Banshee from Here,then open up the terminal and type the following command:

gksu nautilus /usr/share/applications

A new windows will open up >>

Add the files you have downloaded to that folder >>

Logout and log back in to get your quick-list activated.

For more quick lists please visit this webpage

List of custom Launchers & Quicklists for Unity

The cool Faenza Variants icons

2011-04-15T13:17:00.000+02:00

It is known that Faenza icons is the coolest icon set available for Linux, it makes your desktop beautiful especially with Orta theme.Faenza Variants version is a more complete package with a number of new icons and more polish.

In this version of Faenza variants "0.20"more icons are added like icons for Boxee,Clementine,Dropbox and Github Octocat...also "small sizes for all icons" and "Faenza Dark and Faenza Cupertino packages" are available in this version.

Installation

First download Faenza variants from Here ==> extract it.

Open "faenza_variants_by_spg76-d31vkvc" folder,you will find three .tar.gz files.

go to System >> preferences >> Appearance then drag the .tar.gz file you wanna install and drop it in Appearance windows as in the picture below

Then click "Apply New Theme"

If you don't like the icons you can change it by going to System >> Preferences >> Appearance ,click Customize and go to Icons tab as in the picture below

Thank You.

Transform Ubuntu appearance into a Mac OS X environment

2011-04-07T08:37:00.003+02:00

Although i don't like the idea of copying an entire OS look into another OS but some people like to do that,it is also can be considered an Ubuntu feature that it is very customizable.If you like Mac's theme and wanna try it in Ubuntu you can use Macbuntu script ( Mac OS X Transformation Pack). Macbuntu is an open-source program, designed to transform Linux’s appearance and layout into a Mac OS X environment. Although Macbuntu is dedicated to Ubuntu Linux OS, it could be used in other OS based on Debian/GTK.

Installation

Installing Macbuntu is very easy,first you have to download the script archive for Ubuntu 10.10 from Here. Then extract the archive and run the "install.sh" script

You'll be asked for sudo password. Then, several more questions asking you about your setup preferences. For most people, just hitting Enter and using the default choices is good enough. A few packages will be downloaded. Then, you'll be asked to reboot.

If you don't like the theme you can uninstall it from the "uninstall.sh" script from the archive you have downloaded.

Enjoy the Theme

Meet Pidgin - The best chat program on Ubuntu

2011-03-17T13:01:00.000+02:00

Pidgin is a chat program which lets you log in to accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on MSN, talking to a friend on Google Talk, and sitting in a Yahoo chat room all at the same time.

Pidgin supports many features of these chat networks, such as file transfers, away messages, buddy icons, custom smilies, and typing notifications. Numerous plugins also extend Pidgin's functionality above and beyond the standard features.

Pidgin integrates with the system tray on Windows, GNOME2, KDE 3, and KDE 4.Pidgin is free and contains no ads. All our code is open source and licensed under the GNU General Public License. This means you can get Pidgin's underlying code and modify it to suit your needs, as long as you publish the changes you make for everyone to benefit from as well.

Supported protocols:

Pidgin almost supports all chat network protocols as it supports the following protocols:

AIM
Bonjour
Facebook (XMPP)
Gadu-Gadu
Google Talk
GroupWise
ICQ
IRC
MSN
MXit
MySpaceIM
Napster
XMPP
Yahoo
Yahoo JAPAN

.......... and more

Plugins:

Pidgin has a lot of plugins which provides various extra features such as:

Autoreply :This plugin lets you set autoreply message for any protocol.
Message Notification:Provides a variety of ways of notifying you of unread messages
Off-the-Record Messaging:Preserves the privacy of IM communications by providing encryption, authentication, deniability, and perfect forward secrecy.
Privacy Please:A simple plugin to stop unwanted messages and repeated authorization requests from spammers.
Pidgin-Encryption:RSA encryption with keys up to 4096 bits, using the Mozilla NSS crypto library.
........... and much more.

Installing:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ferramroberto/pidgin
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pidgin
you will find the program at Applications >> Internet >> Pidgin internet messenger.

Install Pinta 0.7 - a simple powerful painting program

2011-03-10T10:34:00.000+02:00

Pinta is a lightweight open-source, cross-platform image drawing and editing program inspired by Paint.NET and designed to be very easy to use ,It is considered a simple alternative to Gimp.In this release of Pinta there are many fixed bugs such as Paintbrush doesn't show the full circle initially,Pencil tool precision on zoomed canvas, After closing multiple pasted images Pinta crashes, and more here.

To install the program go to Terminal and type the following:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
```
sudo apt-get install pinta
```

After installing complete you will find the program at Applications >> Graphics.

SMPlayer-one of the most powerful video players

2011-03-02T11:43:00.000+02:00

SMPlayer is a multiplatform multimedia player front-end for MPlayer, supports an impressive list of features and options. The list of supported formats encompasses both major audio and video codecs and does a good job of trying to differentiate itself from the competition. One of the best features is that the player will remember your settings per video, so if you quit the app in the middle of playing, it'll restart it with the exact same settings as before. Subtitles are fully customizable, including color, font, and size, and it can stream in content from the Internet.

Features:

Remembers settings and time position of each file it plays
Configurable subtitles
Audio and video filters
Subtitle search
Localized in more than 20 languages
It's multiplatform. Binaries available for Windows and LinuxMultiple speed playback
.........and more.

Installing:

To install it simply go to terminal and type the following

sudo apt-get install smplayer

Or you could install it directly from synaptic by simply searching for the package with name smplayer.

To get the best performance for SMPlayer you will have to make MPlayer up to date you by installing the MPlayer daily build PPA,to do that go to terminal and type the following

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:motumedia/mplayer-daily
sudo apt-get update

Then run the update manger to get the latest MPlayer updates.

Manage Plymouth screen easily by Plymouth Manager

2011-02-25T10:31:00.000+02:00

Plymouth Manager is a really good tool for managing Plymouth but would be better if you completely took out the CLI commands and replaced it with GUI instead. That would benefit everyone including new users of Ubuntu who are trying to fixing ugly plymouth because of nvidia and ATI.

Features:

Adjusting Plymouth screen resolution.
Choosing between various Plymouth screen themes.
Create your own theme.
Give to Plymouth the compatibility with your closed video driver.

You can download the program from Here.

Meet Ubuntu Synapse semantic launcher

2011-02-24T11:19:00.000+02:00

Synapse is a semantic launcher written in Vala that you can use to search stuff… If you ever used Gnome Do / Gnome Launch Box, you’ll feel right at home with Synapse, if not, the only thing you need to do is run Synapse (or press Ctrl+Space to summon it), type what you’re looking for, and Synapse will present you a list of items that match your query.

Once you found the item you were looking for, you can perform an action on it (and these are defined by the plugins you’re using). If you don’t like the default action, just press Tab and search appropriate action.

Features:

searches your desktop files
runs any command (ie. “sudo apt-get update”)
log out, shut down, restart
play/enqueue music files in Rhythmbox

and much more features.

Installing:

In Terminal type the following commands one by one.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:synapse-core/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install synapse

After installation complete go to Applications >> Accessories >> Synapse to run the program,or press Ctrl+Space to run it.

Shutter - featureful screen shot program

2011-01-12T12:04:00.010+02:00

We know that Ubuntu comes with a pre-installed take screen shot program,but this program is very simple and have few features, sometimes you will need a more advanced taking screenshots program.Shutter will be a perfect choice,it is simple,user friendly and featureful.By Shutter you can take screenshots of your whole desktop,selection of a specified screen area,specific window,section of a window,menus from any application or even take a screen shot of a website and that is not everything.After you capture a screen shot you can edit and apply various effects on the screenshot.

Installing via PPA

First go to Ubuntu software center

from "Ubuntu software center" menu bar go to Edit >> Software Sources.

Then select "Other software" tab and click "Add..."

Into the box type the following line and click "+Add Source"

ppa:shutter/ppa

click "close" go back to the software center and wait till apt get update,then search for and install "Shutter"

Note:You will find an Install button instead of Remove
button here as the program already installed.

After the installation complete go to Applications >> Accessories >> Shutter to run the program.

Enjoy the program.Thanks for reading.

Install Firefox 4.0 beta in Ubuntu

2011-01-08T11:32:00.003+02:00

Lately Mozilla has released Firefox 4.0 beta 8,this version of Firefox is filled of new features and improvements like WebM,Video Buffer API,HTML5 Parser,Inline SVG in HTML5 and more.Firefox 4.0 has a new interface which is more simple and user friendly ,new tab location for more efficient browsing and a new Add-ons manger

that makes it easy to mange your add-ons.Overall, It definitely seems that this new version of Firefox is much more sleek, and modern to previous versions. It is also faster,I expect This version of Firefox will be the best browser On the scene at least for a while.

Installing in Ubuntu

First you have to download Firefox 4.0 beta from Here as a .tar.bz2 file.

After downloading complete right click on the file and click "Extract Here"

Open the extracted folder,find a file called "firefox"as in the picture ,double click on it and click "Run in Terminal" from the message which will pop up.

You may now wanna make a launcher for firefox,well right click on your desktop then click "Create Launcher..."

a new small windows will pop up,

in name field type:"Firefox 4.0 Web Browser" or any other name

in command field:browse and locate the firefox shell script.

in comments field:you can leave it empty.

click "OK" and You will find the launcher on your Desktop.

Don't forget to give them a feedback and tell them what you think ;)

Thanks for reading.

Orta theme holds beauty and elegance to your Ubuntu desktop

2011-01-05T10:05:00.004+02:00

Do you feel bored of your current desjtop theme ?,does the default Ubuntu theme does not
satisfy your taste?.Then you may need to try Orta theme.

Orta theme is one of the most great Ubuntu themes,this theme is very customizable as it has a "setting manger" that allows you to make a lot of changes on the theme to make it the way you like,The theme is very beautiful especially with Faenza icons.
in this tutorial i will show you how to install Orta GTK Theme.

Installing via PPA

go to Applications >> Ubuntu software center.

from "Ubuntu software center" menu bar go to Edit >> Software Sources.

Then select "Other software" tab and click "Add..."

Into the box type the following line and click "+Add Source"

ppa:nikount/orta-desktop

go back to the software center and wait till apt get update,then search for and install "orta-theme"

You can also install and use "the Orta Emerald decorators" if you don't know how please see this tutorial http://bit.ly/fYAUug

Now go to System >> preferences >> Appearance.
Under the Theme tab you will find Orta theme (select to apply).

You will notice a yellow box telling you that you should install Faenza icons in order to the theme looks as intended.Go to this site to learn how to install faenza icons http://bit.ly/c1P5rV

To customize Orta go to System >> preferences >> Orta Setting manger.

Here are a screen shot of my desktop with Orta theme :)

Mobile Media Converter

2010-12-24T14:40:00.007+02:00

Mobile Media Converter makes it easy to convert among various video/audio formats. it is able to read almost everything like WMA,WAV,OGG,MP4,MPEG,AVI,FLV,MOV,android video...... and more.

it also have an integrated YouTube downloader which allows to download and convert videos from YouTube. It’s a free powerful program and perfect for everyone.

The program is user friendly and have a very simple GUI that helps even the beginners.All you have to do is to add the file you wanna convert, specify where to save it and click Convert.

Download below for Ubuntu (32bit)

Enjoy!

Manage and tweak your system with Ailurus

2010-12-17T10:44:00.004+02:00

Ailurus is simple application installer and GNOME tweaker, the first goal of Ailurus is to make Linux easier to use for newcomers, ,if you want to manage and tweak your system very easily then Ailurus will be a good choice.

Installing

To install Ailurus go to Applications >> Ubuntu Software Center

in the menu bar go to Edit >> Software Sources

Select "Other Software" and click "Add..."

then paste this line below and click "+Add Source".

ppa:ailurus/ppa

then go back to The Software Center ,search for Ailurus and install it.

After installation complete you can find it in Applications >> System Tools >> Ailurus.

Enjoy :D

goober Messenger a nice chat program

2010-12-15T11:50:00.001+02:00

Goober Messenger has a great simple interface, which gives the program a slick feeling. It have many features.

The messenger works on all main operating systems ( Linux-Windows-Mac)

the program is compatible to AOL, GoogleTalk,Jabber, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo.You can use the messenger to log in to Twitter and Facebook, the two social websites being integrated with the program.

You can find some tutorials videos at the official goober website here.

32Bit

64Bit

Gstyle theme manger

2010-12-13T14:49:00.002+02:00

Gstyle theme manager is a wonderful program that allow you full control in your system themes and download many of new themes and backgrounds from famous sites.The program is really worth a try.

Installing

go to The Software Center

in the menu bar go to Edit >> Software Sources >> Other Software >> Add

And past this line:

ppa:s-lagui/ppa

then click on "+Add Source"

Wait for the software center to load the new PPA
now search for "Gstyle" in the software center,Install it and enjoy it.

Thank You.

Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) Alpha 1

2010-12-06T12:09:00.001+02:00

Canonical on Thursday 02/12/2010 has released the first alpha version of Ubuntu 11.04, offering fans of the open source Linux operating system an early glimpse at the next major version.
Today i have downloaded Ubuntu 11.04 Alpha 1, burned it on my usb flash drive and tried it using the live cd.

As i was expecting this release is buggy and it hangs much but this is normal because it is still an alpha release and needs much work.I didn't like Unity interference as i think gnome classical desktop is much more user friendly,customizable and functional till now so I hope Unity wont disappoint us.
Here are some screenshots of Ubuntu 11.04 :D.

Ubuntu NattyReleaseSchedule

Download Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) Alpha 1

Reasons to love Ubuntu

2010-12-02T15:50:00.002+02:00

1.Best tools built in

selecting the best default available makes Ubuntu one of the best operating systems for new users.Every thing from Firefox to OpenOffice is ready to use from the cd and fress install.Any of the thousands of other programs can easily be installed from the software center.

2.friendly and beautiful

Users fall in love with the simple and elegant interface.With easy to access features and desktop web integration.

3.Free and open source software

Giving users full legal right to use,share,study and improve the software for any reason without exception.This awesome legal basis is a foundation of Ubuntu.

4.Community of support

Ubuntu has a polite,supportive and accessible user support community to help you in a spot of bother.As well as approachable development communities where you can report problems.

5.Safe and Functional

Ubuntu like all free desktops is much more secure from viruses and attacks.But this security doesn't detract from the plug and play hardware functionality or the awesome ease of use.