Ubuntu Tweak 0.6 Beta is finally out after a long wait. We wish you all the very best to Tualatrix Chou from the entire open-source community as despite of the hardships he faced in the previous weeks, he is still on the way to get UT 0.6 working. Thank-you very much !

Moving along, this release came up with -

• New sleek UI.
• New clips feature: first screen information.
• All features are plug-able.
• Specific tweak: Compiz Settings.
• Package Cleaner becomes a new major part feature as tbe “Janitor”.
• At Preferences, you can manage the plugins, enable or disable,  or install new plugin.
• Tweaks and Admins, designed like GNOME Control Center, but with a more easy to use “back” and “forward” arrows.

Installation

Open the terminal and type the following to test the beta version of UT 0.6 in Ubuntu (11.10 is there ofcourse) -

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tualatrix/next
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak

Since there are no ‘app center’ and ‘source center’ in this version, so you can use ‘sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak-0‘ to install UT 0.5 alongside to keep things under control.

Take a look -

Image courtesy – Ubuntu Tweak Blog

Njoy !!

Ubuntu 11.10 Beta 2 has been released and is ready for downloads. This release has Unity based upon the Gnome 3 desktop, Ubuntu Software Center has been redesigned and many applications have been upgraded to their latest stable versions. Curious fanatics of Ubuntu may run upgrades to get their beta 2 right away but we still recommend to wait for the stable release for production machines and test this one in VMs.

Download Beta 2

Features & Updates

Under the Hood

• Ubuntu 11.10 beta 2 uses Linux kernel 3.0.0-11.18 based on v3.0.4.
• It now includes the new Xorg server 1.10.4.
• This release improves support for installing 32-bit library and application packages on 64-bit systems.

Ubuntu Software Center

Ubuntu Software center has got a whole new look. Its more usable now as most of the alignment issues are solved and it now includes Oneconf as well.

One Conf

This ‘Sync Between Computers’ feature of the Ubuntu Software Center lets you synchronize applications installed on one Ubuntu computer to another. Awesome !

Other Updates

The rest of the notable changes in Beta 2 are as follows : -

• GNOME 3.1.92
• Unity bugfixes
• Firefox 7 Beta
• Deja Dup 19.92
• Ubuntu Software Center 4.1.23.4
• Nautilus 3.1.92
• Shotwell 0.11.1
• Banshee 2.2.0
• Thunderbird 7

Njoy !!

Pinta is a free, open source drawing/editing program modeled after Paint.NET. Its goal is to provide users with a simple yet powerful way to draw and manipulate images on Linux. The latest version of Pinta is 1.0 that was released a few days ago so we will be covering it right-away.

Download

Download for Ubuntu 10.04 | Download for Ubuntu 10.10 | Download for Ubuntu 11.04

Install

Method I ->

Just download the above file and open it with ‘Ubuntu Software Center’ or Gdebi package manager or simply use dpkg command to install Pinta.

cd ~/Downloads

sudo dpkg -i pinta_1.0-1~webupd8~maverick_all.deb (Change it accordingly to your version I still love my Ubuntu 10.10 )

and there it is. Access it from Applications > Graphics > Pinta Image Editor.

Take a look >_+ 

Method II ->

To install Pinta, the easiest method is to do it via PPA

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install pinta

This will install Pinta on your system.

Thought there is another method to install Pinta using tarballs but I’m skipping it here due to dependency issues created at installation time

Basics

Pinta is a really easy tool for image editing. As stated above, it is based upon the Paint.net for Windows, which is also a very good tool for image editing. There also exists a very nice tool for image editing in Ubuntu named GIMP, you can try that too ! For now, lets concentrate on Pinta and how to work with it.

Useful shortcuts > Here are some shortcuts of Pinta that will help you getting your work done easier & faster.

• Ctrl+n – New Image
• Ctrl +o – Open Image
• Ctrl+s – Save Image.
• Ctrl+Shift+s – Save image as..
• Ctrl+x – Cut
• Ctrl+v – Paste
• Ctrl+r – Resize the image
• Ctrl+z – Undo
• Shift+Ctrl+z- Redo
• Ctrl+w – Close
• Ctrl+q – Quit

A Small Tutorial

So how about adding some effect to your image using Pinta . Here we are with a small tutorial to make the background of your image turn to black and white keeping the elements you want colored (I usually do this a lot)

Here we’ll change a random picture of Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales such that the background is done to black and white. Herez a preview

Before

After

Step 1 : Open the image in Pinta

Step 2 : Click the Lasso Select Tool from the Tools

Step 3 : Carefully select the edges of the picture (you may use Lasso Tool for this purpose)

Step 4 : Cut the selected part of the image (Press Ctrl + X)

Step 5 : Select the rest of the image using Ctrl + A

Step 6 : Goto Adjustments and Select Black And White ( o press Shift + Ctrl + L)

Step 7 : Click on the bottom of the layers panel to add a new layer

Step 8 : Unselect the layer we just made Black and White

Step 9 : Paste the image we took out in Step 4

Step 10 : Move few pixels to adjust the image and save it

Thats it with the basics! We will be back soon with more advanced image editing techniques, till then, keep visiting Linoob.com and dont forget to ask any of your queries at our forum.

Njoy !

Note : All rights of images reserved with original Author . This image is just used for illustration purpose.

Ubuntu Studio 11.04 Natty Narwhal, the highly customized derivative of Ubuntu for Artists, Musicians and other professionals is ready to use. Yes ! Ubuntu Studio 11.04 has been released and is ready for upgrade/ install. This time we have good news for Studio users, your default environment i.e Gnome is in-tact but you have full access to Ubuntu Unity if you want.  Many kernel and feature updates have been made to Ubuntu Studio for better performance while doing those heavy tasks. So, let your creativity fly …

Download

• 32 Bit – Direct Link / Torrent Download
• 64 Bit – Direct Link / Torrent Download

Fresh Installation

A Fresh Install is and has always been the cleanest method for installing any linux distro but is less preferred in this case due to data loss. But if you are a new User and want to test Ubuntu Studio for a while, then this is the way to go. The process is same ! Yes, Ubiquity is still not here for Ubuntu Studio users but there is a good news regarding the installer. It has got some improvements both in look and feature.

All you need to do is to download Ubuntu Studio burn it to a DVD or make a USB bootable and install it. We have covered installation process in detail here however the images below will take you to the step by step procedure -

• Select your language and start with the installation.
• Select the “Install Ubuntu Studio” option and then press enter .
• The installer will scan your Source and your hardware after that.
• The system will ask you for your username and password you want to set up .
• The installer will ask for Partitioning. Here, i have used default partitioner set-up. If you want to go with the Manual partitioning , you can refer here. After all settings have been done, press enter to continue and now your system will be installed with proposed changes.
• It will finish the installation and then prepare it for first use.
• After all work is finished ,the system will be restarted by pressing enter
• Lastly, type in your Username and password(if any)and enjoy your Ubuntu Studio 11.04

Note – Use ‘Tab’ key to select choice, ‘Enter’ to execute, ‘Up/Down/Left/Right’ keys to navigate and ‘Space’ to mark selections in boxes.

Upgrades

The Upgrade to Ubuntu Studio 11.04 can be done in two ways-

1) Ubuntu 11.04 Unity Upgrade

Upgrading from Unity is easy as a pie. Any Ubuntu 11.04 user can upgrade its Default Ubuntu Desktop to Ubuntu studio merely by going to Applications>Synaptic Package Manager and selecting Ubuntu Studio, Ubuntu-studio-wallpapers, Ubuntu-studio-audio, Ubuntu Studio-video, menu, sounds, look, default-settings, audio-plugins, icon-theme, gdm-theme, controls etc. and mark all of theme for installation. Then click Install and you are done. Reboot and Enjoy a whole new Studio experience.

2)Ubuntu Studio 10.10 Upgrade

To upgrade from Ubuntu 10.10 on a desktop system, press Alt+F2, type in “update-manager -d” (without quotes), and press Enter. Update Manager will open up and display the message, “New distribution release ’11.04′ is available.” Click Upgrade and follow the on-screen instructions, then reboot your brand new Ubuntu Studio 11.04 desktop.

Natty Studio Features

Application Lists

The default application lists have changed and the latest list of applications that comes with Ubuntu Studio 11.04 is a little different from that of Ubuntu Studio 10.10.

Audio

Suites including the best open-source applications available. For instance, Ardour 2 – A multitrack recorder/editor geared toward people familiar with Pro-Tools.

Video

Blender, Kino, and Stopmotion are included for video creation. We hope to provide a creative environment to people as well as give a spotlight to some amazing open-source applications.

Graphics

Graphic design and modeling applications including The GIMP, Inkscape and Blender. Along with plugins like dcraw to help with RAW camera files and wacom-tools for people with Wacom drawing tablets.

Installation tasks

The task selections during installation have been updated. The audio tasks have been parsed into two groups: generation and recording. The ‘generation’ task selections is focused more on synthesizers and sequencers (i.e. tone generation) and the ‘recording’ task focuses on recording live musician performances.

The Kernel

Currently, Ubuntu Studio is shipping the generic kernel 2.6.28. Ubuntu Kernel Team & Studio devs are working hard to get a lowlatency kernel into the archives. You can use this PPA to get latest kernels but hey its under development, so be careful !

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:abogani/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get isntall linux-lowlatency linux-meta-lowlatency

and reboot.

Network Manager

Due to continuing problems, network-manager will replace gnome-network-admin. So, this time the developers are hoping to see less bug reports regarding the Network manager like before. We have tested it in beta, it actually works fine.

Unity

Ubuntu Studio does not currently use Unity. As the user logs in it will default to Gnome Classic Desktop (i.e. Gnome 2.32). But you can use Ubuntu Unity by installing it using this PPA

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:unity-2d-team/unity-2d-daily
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install unity-2d

This will install Unity 2D to your system and you can choose at login time to boot into Gnome or Unity.

Ubuntu Studio Controls

Ubuntu Studio Natty will include ‘Ubuntu Studio Controls’ that provide you full control over your Studio desktops but they have not included them by default. So, what we need to do is to wait for upgrades for this feature to comeup.

Ubuntu Studio Desktop

Take a look at the Ubuntu Studio desktop interface. Its cool, its better and its highly customized derivative to the mainstream Ubuntu.

Ubuntu Studio Gnome -

Ubuntu Studio Unity -

For ay queries regarding Ubuntu Studio or any other regarding Ubuntu/Bash can be asked here anytime.

Njoy !

Lubuntu 11.04 is a faster, more lightweight and energy saving variant of Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal using LXDE, the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment. The lubuntu team aims to earn official endorsement from Canonical and is aimed at low specs computer users who want to have Ubuntu as their mainstream operating system. The system requirements are quite low and the package selection has been done carefully so as to match the minimal system resources and thus maintaining max performace of the system during multitasking. Where Unity interface of Ubuntu requires 3D accelaration enabled for proper operation, Lubuntu can be run on system with graphics memory of only 32MB (tested). So, get ready for a feather-lite Ubuntu experience.

Download Lubuntu 11.04

• Direct Link
• Torrent

System Requirements

• Processor – 800MHz or above.
• RAM – 128 MB (256 MB recommended)
• Hard Disk – 6.0 GB space.
• DVD-writer/ USB port – Atleast one is required.
• Graphics – 32MB video memory (128 MB recommended)

Note: These are minimum system requirements.

Installing Lubuntu is an easy process and is totally same as that of Ubuntu which has been discussed in detail over here. Just boot into Live mode using CD or USB, double lcick “Installer icon”, follow the instructions and you will be good to go. If you are confused regarding the Partitioning thing, please refer our previous post.

The images below will help you with the entire installation process and LXDE desktop -

For those who are using previous verison of Lubuntu, want to upgrade to 11.04, just run the Update manager and upgrade to 11.04.

Programs, Features & Updates

Lubuntu offers lighter alternatives to its users for a entirely light Ubuntu experience.

• Based on the lightweight LXDE desktop environment.
• Pcmanfm 0.9.8, a fast and lightweight files manager using gio/gvfs.
• Lxdm, a lightweight GTK display manager.
• Chromium – A lighter and faster replacement for Firefox, works just fine.
• Abiword, Gnumenric & Xpad – A viable replacement to the Libreoffice suite.
• Synaptic Package manager – Installing, Controlling, and Removing softwares in old-school ways with Synaptic.
• Pidgin Instant Meesenger – A replacement for mainstream Empathy client. Pidgin still rocks, no questions asked !
• Gnome-Mplayer – Default Multimedia player for Lubuntu.
• Slypheed – The default Email client for Lxde Desktops.
• Firefox, VLC and Libreoffice are other popular supported software available in the repository.
• Lubuntu is now HAL free (thanks Xubuntu dev)
• Installer (ubiquity) support installation of Lubuntu and autologin configuration at install time includes in Ubuntu official repository.
• Icons on the desktop are now movable.
• Fake transparency is available again.
• Lubuntu use now Ubuntu font by default.

For more details, please refer the official release annoucement.

Lubuntu aka LXDE Ubuntu is indeed a must try for everyone. It work well with virtula machines as well.

Njoy Lubuntu !

Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal has been released and the servers were really busy last night. We have covered different aspects of Ubuntu 11.04 and its default interface Unity so far. Now we think its time for some more eyecandy stuff for Unity. Talking of Unity, it is itself a great interface with cool looks and enhanced usability. We dont care about what people say but we believe that Unity is the ‘Next Big Thing’. People always resist to adopt something new but after hey get familiar with it, they very well accept it and yet love it. So, coming back to the topic, we have collected a few Themes for your Ubuntu 11.04 Desktops to make them look really cool. Here we go -

Equinox Themes

Equinox Themes are available to install for Ubuntu 11.04 users via a PPA repository. Open a terminal & run :-

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tiheum/equinox
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gtk2-engines-equinox faenza-icon-theme equinox-theme

Now sit back and relax.

Equinox Evolution

Equinox Dawn

Equinox Dusk

Equinox Midnight

Equinox Light

These are one of the most suitable themes for Ubuntu IMO. They are cool, shiny and light and use Faenza icon theme making them a perfect theme pack for Unity Desktop.

Orta Theme

Orta GTK is a modified GTK2 theme for Ubuntu desktops. This theme looks really really good in Unity with Faenza icons and a grey-black transparent Unity-Panel is just perfect.

Use the following PPA to install Orta on your Ubuntu 11.04 desktop.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nikount/orta-desktop
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install orta-theme orta-emerald-decorators

Now, just right-click, and select Orta theme and see the magic. You will need Faenza icon theme to achieve the desired looks.

Elementary Unity Theme

Download Here

Install the Icon Theme

Use this PPA to install Elementary Icon theme to install Elementary Icon themes in Ubuntu 11.04.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:elementaryart/elementarydesktop
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install elementary-icon-theme

and done.

NOTE – The theme requires Murrine engine. To install required Murrine engine download the source from here, extract the package and go into its directory in a terminal window and run:-

./configure –prefix=/usr –enable-animation
make
sudo make install

To install Nautilus Elementary, run following:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:am-monkeyd/nautilus-elementary-ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

and finally restart nautilus with:

nautilus -q

and done.

Divergence IV Theme

Download Here

Download the file and extract it. Browse to the extracted file and double click install.sh and run it. Install it and set preferences and enjoy the theme. Again, you will need Faenza icon theme to achieve the desired looks.

Don’t forget to post your desktop screenshots after you play around with your brand new Natty Narwhal. For queries, please use our Forum.

Njoy !

Hardware Drivers are very important for a computer system to run properly to its optimum limits. Real Gaming on Ubuntu would be possible only after Driver installation. This post will cover the basic methods of installing Hardware Drivers in Ubuntu. We will try to make things as simple as possible. When it comes to Laptops, Ubuntu has always configured the present external card easily and  the install was just 1 click away and most of the times, the case is same with Desktops as well but sometimes, things dont work as they are supposed to. For that, we have some mitigation strategies so that your hardware driver installation is not halted because of some bug or the other

Fundamental Method

This method is the most basic method of installing Hardware Drivers in Ubuntu. This method works for all kinds of cards irrespective of tags (ATI/Nvidia). All you need to do after Ubuntu installation is -

• Connect to internet and wait for the pop-up to appear.
• Click on it and it will show “Available Drivers” for the present hardware configuration.
• Click “Activate” and the drivers will be installed easily. Then reboot the system.

If somehow, you donot see any popup or you loose it or cancel it, dont worry. All you need to do its to browse to System>Administation>Additional Drivers and click “Activate” and the available driver will be installed. After that reboot your computer and enjoy 3D effects Ubuntu as well. This method works 90% of times with most hardware. The images below will make you understand better –

Alter : Synaptic Method

Synaptic Package Manager can also be easily used to install Nvidia/ATI drivers in Ubuntu.

Nvidia

Open “Synaptic Package Manager” from System>Administration and search for ‘nvidia’. Now select ‘nvidia-current’,'nvidia-current-modaliases’, ‘nvidia-common’, ‘nvidia-settings’ and mark them for installation. Apply changes and wait for the processed to complete. That should be it. Reboot your computer and its done.

ATI

Open “Synaptic Package Manager” from System>Administration and search for ‘fglrx’. Now select ‘fglrx’,'fglrx-amdccle’, ‘fglrx-modaliases’ & ‘xserver-xorg-video-radeon’ and mark them for installation. Apply changes and wait for the processed to complete. Thats it. Reboot and done.

If the methods used above doesnt work for you, then the below are the best possible approaches to get things done. Be very careful while using them as you might land up in trouble.

Nvidia Driver Installation

Method I – PPA

A good news for all Nvidia card owners is that there is a PPA available that is regularly updated on launchpad. So you can directly use it to install your drivers, just type the following commands in sequence and its done.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-current-modaliases nvidia-settings

Reboot and enjoy !

Method II – Manual Install

There are some prerequisites for manual install and you need to be very careful while following these steps. First, make sure that your /etc/X11/xorg.conf is backed up.

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup

Next, download drivers for your system from the download page. Open a terminal, and run the following command:

uname -r

and now insert the output into the “uname -r” portion of this command (sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`) carefully as done below:

sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-2.6.38-8-generic

Now, we are ready. For Ubuntu, type

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop

OR for Kubuntu:

sudo /etc/init.d/kdm stop

First navigate from the tty to the directory where you saved the install file (I will use /path/to/installer), then set executable permissions on it:

cd ~/Downloads
sudo chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86-270.41.06.run

You can start the install script with the following command:

sudo sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-270.41.06.run

The installer will now walk you through the steps required. Afater comletion, you can now restart your X11 using:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start

OR

sudo /etc/init.d/kdm start

Now you can now change settings for your video setup. In Ubuntu, go to Applications->System Tools->NVIDIA X Server Settings and set your desktop accordingly.

ATI Driver Installation

Method I – PPA

There is a PPA available for ATI users on Launchpad which can be used to install ATI drivers on Ubuntu -

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-radeonhd

and reboot your computer. We didnt had any ATI cards for testing so, we are relying on launchpad and google for this one. Any help would be much appreciated in this case.

Method II – Manual Install

Prerequisites -> Open the terminal and type -

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libqtgui4

Download the drivers from HERE, and open the Terminal and type:

cd ~/Downloads

This is not necessary if you are running Kubuntu or have already installed the libraries. In the Terminal, to create the deb files, type:

sudo sh ati-driver-installer-11-3-x86.x86_64.run –buildpkg Ubuntu/maverick

To install the created deb files, type in the Terminal:

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

After that, type in:

sudo aticonfig –initial

Close the Terminal and reboot the system.

If all is right, the fglrx driver that corresponds to AMD/ATI Catalyst 11.2 will be installed and working on your system. To confirm the drivers are working open a Terminal and type:

fglrxinfo

and you will see your card info displayed. Reboot and enjoy your Ubuntu desktop to its maximum!

Ubuntu 11.04 Compiz effects ->

Unity 3D Workspaces ->

Thats it for now. We will be back with more later on. For any queries regarding Drivers or any other regarding Ubuntu, ask us here freely.

Njoy !

A nice maintenance Update from Oracle for the thier hypervisor yesterday. VirtualBox got updated to version 4.0.6 and now Virtual box packages are available for Ubuntu 11.04 as well. It is a very useful application for testing different distros while keeping the mainstream OS intact. All you need is good hardware. This release has gone through a lot of updates and bugfixes including support for X.Org Server 1.10 final, Linux kernel 2.6.39-rc1 fixes, improved auto-run support, fix mouse support on SUSE 11 SP 1 guests, allow snapshots to be stored in the VM directory and much more.

Download Virtual Box 4.0.6

Ubuntu 11.04 – i386 / amd64
Ubuntu 10.10 – i386 / amd64
Common Extension Pack

Download the specified file and open it with Ubuntu Software Center and install it. After that Access Virtual Box from Applications>SystemTool>Oracle VM VirtualBox and goto File>Preferences>Extensions and select the Extension pack and install it. (It will ask you to read the license agreement, read it and aprrove). Done ! If you want to go the terminal  way then you can use these dpkg command (sudo dpkg -i *.deb) to install it.

• Snapshots: allow snapshots to be stored in the VM directory
• Storage: fixed access to iSCSI targets over internal network
• Storage: automatically create a diff image when attaching a streamOptimized VMDK image to a VM
• Host-Only & Bridged & Internal Networking: fix for processing promiscuous mode requests by VMs, defaulting to switch behaviour
• Buslogic: fixed emulation for certain guests
• Linux kernel 2.6.39-rc1 fixes
• Improved auto-run support
• Webservice: use own log file, with log rotation to limit size

For full details, see Changelog.

Njoy !

Well, all you guys must be very familiar with the new Unity interface of Ubuntu and some are finding it buggy, unsupportive DE and want to stick to Gnome. Perfect approach ? No, a little wrong coz Unity is now really stable and by the end of April, you will see it as a really good DE to work with. We in this post will cover the basic aspects of Unity and howto get it working on your Ubuntu 11.04 Desktop. Laptops have integrated cards so they might pick it up directly but when it comes to desktops and external Video cards, things get messy. We are going to cover every small bit so that your Ubuntu experience remains better as it was with Gnome 2.32.

Download Ubuntu 11.04 Beta

Installation

There comes the hardest part ! Is it really ? No, Not at all ! People (including most of my friends) believe that installing Linux (Ubuntu) is problematic and hard. We have covered Ubuntu Installation in detail in our previous post. Well, we are doing it again to remind you the actual simplicity and fun involved in the installation. Here it goes -

1. Boot your Ubuntu Live via USB/CD and start the installer. Then choose your preferred language and proceed.
2. Ensure the ’3 requirements’ are satisfied and click forward.
3. At the Installer menu, select ‘something else’ for Manual partitioner setup. (Else you can choose to Erase all your data and install dedicated Ubuntu)
4. Select the rest free space and make a new partition of size 1GB and use it as ‘ext4 journaling filesystem’. Set mount point as ‘/boot’.
5. After that select the next partition and st is as ‘swap area’. It should be double the size of your RAM.
6. The partitioning is done, click forward and installation will start.
7. Now select your TimeZone, Keyboard Layout, Username/Password and then wait for the installation to complete.
8. Reboot your computer and there it is you Ubuntu 11.04.

Update Manager

After rebooting to your dedicated machine, browser to System>Administration>Update Manager, refresh lists and install all the updates listed. The update manager may ask you for an upgrade, run it but make sure you have enough disk space and good connection. After update/ upgrade is over, reboot your system for a better Ubuntu.

Installing Hardware Drivers

Hardware Drivers are very important for Unity as it demands 3D effects to be enabled to run Compiz and give the intended looks. What you need to do is to browse to System>Administration>Additional drivers and install and activate the drivers. After the install is over, reboot the system and Unity will be there to greet you.
If you have Nvidia card and you cannot see any drivers for your card, you can use this PPA to install them right away. (this PPA works on 11.04 also) -

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-current-modaliases nvidia-settings

and restart the system. Everything will be done for sure. We will cover hardware driver installation in detail soon.

Fixing the Bootscreen

Do this if and only if your Ubuntu bootscreen shows up ugly text instead of regular Ubuntu bootscreen. Be careful while doing this :

Method 1 -> Simply install startup manager via terminal ‘sudo apt-get install startupmanager’. Logout and log back in. Now Browse to ‘System>Administration>Startup manager’ and set you preferences. Set color depth at 24 bit and resolution of your choice. Save and reboot. You bootscreen now should be like the one below

Method 2 -> Step 1: Open the terminal and type :

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

- Now, Replace the following line :

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=”quiet splash”

with this one:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=”quiet splash nomodeset video=uvesafb:mode_option=1024×768-24,mtrr=3,scroll=ywrap”

- Replace the following line :

#GRUB_GFXMODE=640×480

with this one:

GRUB_GFXMODE=1024×768

Save the file and close it!
Step 2: Now, type

sudo gedit /etc/initramfs-tools/modules

When the text window appears, add the following line at the end of the file:

uvesafb mode_option=1280×1024-24 mtrr=3 scroll=ywrap

Save the file and close it!

Step 3: Now,

echo FRAMEBUFFER=y | sudo tee /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/splash

Step 4: Now update grub using this command:

sudo update-grub
sudo update-initramfs -u

Reboot your computer. When the system starts, you should see a better looking Ubuntu boot screen.

Note – You can choose resolution sizes according to your computer capability and screen sizes.

Ubuntu Restricted Extras

Ubuntu Restricted Extras is a package that contains all the necessary codecs and plugins like flashplayer, mp3 and other restricted audio/video codecs  all in one package. Install it from Software Center and Ubuntu is ready at its full power at your service.

Ubuntu Tweak

Ubuntu Tweak as we covered earlier is a very nice system tool for Ubuntu desktops and is now available for Natty too. Download Ubuntu Tweak from HERE and install it via Software Center. . The following PPA can also be used to install tweak on Natty.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tualatrix/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak

Configuring Ubuntu has never been so easy.

Basic Applications

GIMP, Multiget, Bleachbit, Chromium & VLC are the top 5 basic applications to have on Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal.

GIMP - Image manipulation program for Linux systems. Simple search it in Software Center or type ‘sudo apt-get install gimp‘ in the terminal.

Multiget - Multiget is a very nice and easy direct downloads manager for Ubuntu. Software Center is there but terminal lovers can use ‘sudo apt-get install multiget‘ to have it installed.

Bleachbit - Bleachbit is a system cleaner, cleans all the useless packages thereby clearing space in root file-system for better performance. Again it can be installed via Software center or simple ‘sudo apt-get install bleachbit‘

Chromium - Chromium is a faster browser and its a must have application. So, use this PPA to get it -

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install chromium-browser

and done.

VLC - VLC is a much have media player; no questions asked !

Time and Date

Since many of our users might not have completely migrated from Windows they probably be facing some time issues when they login into Ubuntu & then login back into Windows.
Well thats because Ubuntu treats your default time to be UTC (Universal Time Coordinated or GMT).

So to adjust the time such that the time remains same in both the cases do the following:

1) Press Alt+F2 (remember the shortcut)
2) Type (else copy paste)

gksu gedit /etc/default/rcS

3) Enter the password and a gedit (almost same as Notepad for windows) window will pop up.
4) Search for UTC and set UTC=yes or UTC=no (or accordingly how you wish)
5) Reboot and you are done..!!!!

Manage Startup Applications

There is a Startup Application manager to set the applications on boot. Check the ones you need and uncheck the ones you dont need This will help you boot your system faster. You can also add applications at boot time using that app.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The following keyboard shortcuts will help you getting things in Ubuntu quicker.

Launcher

• Super – Invoke the Launcher.
• Alt-F1 – Put keyboard focus on the Launcher.
• Super-1 or 2 or 3 and so on until 0 – Open or focus an application.
• Super-T – Open the rubbish bin.
• Ctrl-Alt-T – Launch a terminal window.

Dash

• Super (tap) – A tap opens the Dash
• Super-A – Open Applications place
• Super-F – Open Files & Folders place

Panel

• F10 – Open the first menu on the panel

Window Management

• Super-S – Spread mode, zoom out on all windows in all workspaces.
• Super-W – Spread mode, zoom out on all windows in current workspace.
• Super-D – Minimize all windows; hitting it again restores them.

Window Replacement

• Ctrl-Alt-Numpad 7 – Place window in top left corner of screen.
• Ctrl-Alt-Numpad 8 – Place window in top half of screen.
• Ctrl-Alt-Numpad 9 – Place window in top right corner of screen.
• Ctrl-Alt-Numpad 4 – Place window on the left side of the screen.
• Ctrl-Alt-Numpad 5 – Center/Maximize the window in the middle of the screen.
• Ctrl-Alt-Numpad 6 – Place window on the right side of the screen.
• Ctrl-Alt-Numpad 1 – Place window in the bottom left corner of the screen.
• Ctrl-Alt-Numpad 2 – Place window in the bottom half of the screen.
• Ctrl-Alt-Numpad 3 – Place window in the bottom right corner of the screen.
• Ctrl-Alt-Numpad 0 – Maximize window.

We are sure you will find them useful.

For any queries regarding Ubuntu you can ask us here or our forums are always open for linux problems

Njoy !

Kubuntu 11.04 – The KDE version of Ubuntu Natty Narwhal that makes your heart beat even faster is ready for download. Kubuntu 11.04 Beta has come up with some really cool features and updates ranging form the new KDE 4.6.1 to Owncloud to Plasma Desktop. Everything you need is already there.

Download

Kubuntu 11.04 Final has been released and is ready to download.

• 32 bit – Direct link / Torrent
• 64 bit – Direct link / Torrent

Download the image, burn it to a DVD or make a USB bootable and follow the installation instructions below.

Clean Install

Installation is yet again the same rather its easier and better. Simply boot from the disk and follow the Installer instructions and do as prompted.

• Select your language.
• Installer will check the system state.
• Then select Disk to install Kubuntu.
• Select Manual Partitioning and make a root ‘/’ partition of min. 5GB space. After that make a ‘swap’ partition and click Finish. (Make a separate ‘/boot’ if you are dual booting and dont want to loose your Grub in any case.)
• Then set up your TimeZone.
• Set Keyboard Preferences.
• Enter Username and password.
• Now wait for the installation to complete.

Upgrade from 10.10

Upgrading from Ubuntu 10.10 is a really easy job. We would recommend to wait till the Final release scheduled for April. For those who cant wait to test, here it goes :-

Method 1) To upgrade from Ubuntu 10.10 on a desktop system, press Alt+F2, type in

update-manager -d

and press Enter. Update Manager will open up and display the message, “New distribution release ’11.04′ is available.” Click Upgrade and follow the instructions.

Method 2) Alternate CD Upgrade -

Download a Kubuntu 11.04 Alternate CD and then burn it -

1) Insert the alternate CD, open it in a new window, open the Run Command dialog by pressing Alt+F2 or if this is not working right click on the desktop or as a last resort, run a terminal window. Type

kdesudo ”/media/cdrom/cdromupgrade”

in the command box and press the return button.

2) Enter your password and wait for it to complete.

3) Restart the computer to complete the updrade.

New Features in Kubuntu 11.04

The latest package upgrades for Ubuntu 11.04 are -

• Linux kernel 2.6.38-7 – This kernel update brings little new functionality updates over the version available in Alpha 3. vesafb has been re-enabled as a module to help prevent GPU hangs and screen corruption on boot.
• LibreOffice 3.3.2 – The latest and stable release of Linux office suite from The Document Foundation is ready to roll.
• GCC 4.5 – The GNU toolchain has transitioned to be based off of gcc 4.5 for i386, amd64, ARM omap/omap4 and PowerPC architectures.
• Python 2.7 – All main packages have now been built and and are installable with Python 2.7.
• dpkg 1.16.0 – This is a merge from the community snapshot for multiarch support.
• Upstart 0.9 – Upstart has been updated to 0.9.4-1.
• The new Language Selector module allows you to add, remove, and manage system languages directly from System Settings.
• GTK applications such as Firefox or Inkscape now fit in with KDE’s Oxygen artwork.
• OwnCloud, the remote file storage server from KDE, has been packaged and is available to install from archives.

KDE 4.6 in Ubuntu 10.10

Installing KDE 4.6 in Ubuntu 10.10 is also possible without the upgrades. All you need to do is open the terminal and type this -

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

and after the completion of the upgrade, restart the computer.

Desktop Preview

Take a look at the Kubuntu 11.04 Desktop

For any queries regarding Kubuntu/Ubuntu, please ask here freely.

Njoy !