MyUnity is a Unity Tweak tool for Ubuntu that is used to adjust, tweak and customize Unity desktop. MyUnity is also available for the Ubuntu 12.04 in the repositories so it can be installed right from Ubuntu Software Center. It is very simple, lightweight, and user friendly.

Install MyUnity

Type the following commands in the terminal is sequence and you are good to go.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:myunity/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install myunity

Unity Settings

With MyUnity, the following things are at your fingertips :

1) Unity Launcher – You can edit the behaviour and looks to our comfort.
2) Dash – Changing size and look of the dash has never been easier.
3) Panel – Adjusts the transparency of the panel.
4) Desktop – To manage desktop icons of your Ubuntu system.
5) Fonts – Set Font size and styles according to your taste.

Njoy Unity !

Steadyflow is a GTK+ based download manager that aims for minimalism, ease of use, and a clean, malleable codebase. It should be easy to control, whether from the GUI, command line, or D-Bus. This direct download manager is very simple and lightweight and works very well.

A  better browser integration, simple UI and better speeds make it an ideal for Ubuntu systems. Steadyflow is available for Ubuntu via the following  PPA.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sikon/steadyflow
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install steadyflow

Chromeflow -There is a Chrome/Chromium extension available for Steadyflow known as Chromeflow and it can be downloaded from here ( 32 bit / 64 bit ). Just go to the link while using Chrome, download the file and click it to get it installed. This will make things even more simpler. A right click will do everything.

Steadyflow is better than its counterparts in the following ways -

• It has very simple sleek and easy to use interface and is really lightweight.
• The indicator menu is expanded and now includes download controls for individual files and for all files at once.
• Password authentication is now supported for FTP, SFTP, SMB and so on.
• It is possible to select multiple files to start, stop, or remove them all at once. In addition, a file’s context menu now includes a “copy URL” option.
• If Steadyflow is on the Unity dock, its icon’s context menu will include an “Add download” item.

Njoy !

Scribus is an Open Source program that brings professional page layout to Linux/UNIX, Mac OS X and Windows desktops with a combination of press-ready output and new approaches to page design. Underneath a modern and user-friendly interface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as color separations, CMYK and Spot Color support, ICC color management, and versatile PDF creation.

After a long intensive work by developers, the stable version of Scribus is out. Scribus 1.4 came with a lot of surprises for all the fans out there as it opens a whole new paradigm of desktop publishing. More than 2000 feature requests and bugs have been resolved since the development of this new version started, wow !!! It is now also available for Mac OSX 10.5 or later versions as well as a native version for OS/2 Warp 4 and eComStation.

Installation

Open the Terminal and type the following commands in sequence -

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Then copy the lines below and paste them in the gedit window you just opened and save and exit.

For Ubuntu 11.10 -

deb http://debian.scribus.net/debian/ oneiric main
deb http://debian.tagancha.org/debian/ oneiric main

For Ubuntu 11.04, 10.10, 10.04 – replace ‘oneiric’ by ‘natty’ , ‘maverick’ & ‘lucid’ respectively in both lines.

After that, type

sudo apt-get install scribus

Wait for the file to get installed and then fire-up scribus and start working

What’s New

• 1.4.0 is based on the Qt4 application framework.
• Feature enhancements to object handling (e.g. transform tools like in advanced drawing programs), with improvements to existing features like the Scrapbook and the Image Manager.
• Many advanced options for text and typography, like character styles, optical margins, or glyph extension.
• Undo/Redo is finally available for almost all text-related actions.
• 1.4.0 is being shipped with many more templates than previous versions.
• New features for vector objects, like Boolean path operations, vector effects or a line style editor.A new frame type called “Render Frame” allows for rendering (and subsequently export) the output of every program that can create PostScript, PDF or PNG files via the command line (e.g. LaTeX, Lilypond, POV-Ray) inside Scribus.
• PDF export has seen major improvements as well. Scribus can now export to PDF 1.5, including PDF layers.
• Hundreds of minor and major usability improvements have been added.

Scribus 1.4 in Ubuntu 11.10

Njoy !

DOWNLOAD UBUNTU 11.10 | DOWNLOAD KUBUNTU 11.10 

DOWNLOAD UBUNTU 11.10 x64 | DOWNLOAD KUBUNTU 11.10 x64

Ubuntu 11.10 codenamed Oneiric Ocelot is here making it the 15th release of Ubuntu and taking another step forward in making Ubuntu a better user experience.After integration of Unity in Ubuntu Natty Narwhal this distribution takes another step forward in making Unity a better user experience though some shouting from the Ubuntu Community (but that always occurs ).In a nutshell this version comes with following changes

• Linux Kernel 3 with ARM Support
• Improved 32-Bit Compatibility on 64-Bit System
• Customizable Login Screen Manager “LightDM”
• Improved Ubuntu Unity User Interface along with Compiz
• Brand New Ubuntu Software Center
• Completely Rewritten Microblogging Platform Gwibber
• Thunderbird As Default Email Client replacing Evolution
• Déjà Dup For System BackUp
• Improved LibreOffice

Other feature for this release include support for GNOME 3 which was kinda freaky in Ubuntu 11.04 , improved Nautilus , better Ubuntu One integration and all this in a smaller DVD (of-course content size is smaller not the DVD). More on that later but first lets install it . . .

INSTALLATION

Like rest of the Ubuntu distributions this too comes with very easy to use installer with no hassles in installation at all.It has been optimized to a great extent effectively taking less than 15 minutes for my machine

TAKING CONTROL ON THE PANEL

Power Menu

Power Applet

If Steve Jobs would’ve been alive he would definitely agree that small things do matter and this is what takes user experience to next level . Like for example this consolidated Power Menu lying on the top right which I’ve started using so ofter that I don’t even need to put few things in my Unity Panel , its just so simple

User Account

Me Menu

On the breeze access to User Accounts lets you switch as well as manage user accounts in a go with just few clicks.

Sound/Volume Control

Volume Applet Wth Banshee Integration

Not major changes here just that Sound Applet comes with better integration of Banshee which too has been upgraded to version 2.2 .

Network Manager

Network Manager Applet

Network Manager has been improved which now boasts of much better support with configuring network devices on the breeze (though there is still some bug while changing network connections for me atleast)

UNITY

Unity Workspace

Alt Tab

LOGIN MANAGER : LIGHTDM

Login Screen

LightDM is a lightweight display manager that has replaced GDM as default in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot . It is much lighter than GDM and themeable using HTML, CSS and Javascript making it first choice of users who love playing with their OS.

SOFTWARE CENTER

Ubuntu Software Center aka USC

Ubuntu Software Center(USC) is completely revamped in Ubuntu 11.10 featuring one click installation for almost all the applications.Nautilus has been removed and now USC is solely responsible for Software Management in Ubuntu though you can install Nautilus anytime whenever you want.USC comes with categorization of various applications including the paid ones with previews of Top Rated as well as Newly Added Applications . The new interface looks neat and intuitive though a bit laggy with features to view Installed applications along with your installation history.

MICROBLOGGING

Gwibber Microblogging Client

Gwibber 3.2 is a complete new experience from previous version.It has been rewritten using Vala and GTK3 making it much more faster and lighter consuming less resources (though I personally use Hotot for Twitter and Chrome for Facebook).

BACKUP

Déjà Dup Backup Tool

Déjà Dup has been added to Ubuntu 11.10 as default backup tool with support to upload files directly to the cloud.Lets hope this one gets better .Déjà Dup is a simple backup tool that hides the complexity of backing up and uses duplicity as the backend.

THINGS STILL TO LOOK OUT FOR . . .

Though this is a good package but I’m still missing Native App for Cutomizing Themes and Icons Complete Recovery Solution.Overall I’ll give it 7/10

The Supreme Court of India has directed all the courts across the nation to switch over to Ubuntu 10.04. The apex court has also given all the courts customised Ubuntu Linux DVD for installation. Over 17,000 courts across the country were using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 for the last four years. The e-committee of the Supreme Court Of India has issued a circular for ‘Guidelines for Roll-out and Installation of Ubuntu Linux for Indian Judiciary’ for the purpose. The circular talks about the replication and installation of the Ubuntu Linux operating system.

The circular says that an acknowledgment of Installation & Receipt of Ubuntu Linux OS DVD be given by the judicial officers in the prescribed form. >It instructs immediate circulation of ‘Ubuntu Installation & Features Video’ to all the judicial officers so that they can understand the same before DVD reaches them. “The Ubuntu Linux operating system can be installed by the judicial officer on his own also as the installation process is very easy, intuitive and self-explanatory.

Features Of Ubuntu Linux OS DVD

This Ubuntu Linux OS DVD contains the following features & can be read here in detail :

1. Dual Booting OS
2. Live (Trial) DVD
3. 15 Indian Languages and 48 Layouts
4. Video Tutorials & User Guides
5. Send and Receive Fax
6. Deleted/Lost Data Recovery
7. Talking Dictionary(Eng-Hindi-Urdu)
8. English Text to Speech
9. Multimedia (Audio-Video) Playback
10. Web-camera
11. Mobile Broadband & 3G
12. Installable on a Pen-drive (4GB)
13. Bluetooth Enabled
14. Digital Signature
15. Typing Tutor for English Typing
16. Personal Accounting
17. Recovery DVD for Windows/Linux
18. Printers /Scanners Drivers
19. Mail/Chat/Social Networking Client
20. PDF Tools
21. Network & Printer Sharing
22. Thin Client Support
23. Backup Software
24. Screen Recorder
25. Wine
26. VirtualBox

Installation & Features Video

The Installation and Features video can be download from here.

Free SMS Channel for Ubuntu-Linux tips

The circular says, “This channel can be subscribed by sending the first subscription SMS to Google mobile no. 9870807070. The delivery of regular SMS to the subscriber’s mobile no. is absolutely free. To subscribe to the Ubuntu-Linux SMS channel, following SMS (in small or capital letters) is required to be sent to 9870807070: ‘ON UBUNTU-LINUX’.

The Supreme court now running on Ubuntu is a sign that our Govt’s other organizations will soon join the opensource community by switching over to a better OS for everything.The details can be found here.

Njoy Ubuntu!

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS has been pet-named ‘Precise Pangolin‘ and is expected to be released in April next year. Mark Shuttleworth blogs about this -

“There are lots of lovely candidates. 12.04 is an LTS. So we want it to be tough and long-lasting, reliable, solid as a rock and well defended. It’s also going to be the face of Ubuntu for large deployments for a long time, so we want it to have no loose ends, we want it to be coherent, neat.

“We’ve told the story of the cloud in previous releases, and that comes to fruition in 12.04 with the first LTS that supports both the cloud guest, and cloud infrastructure, across ARM and x86 architectures. We’ve also told the story of Unity in previous releases, and that comes to fruition in a fast, lean interface that works well across clients both thick and thin. 12.04 is going to be a lot more than all that, but for the full reveal, you’ll need to wait till UDS! Nevertheless, we can take reliability, precision, and polish as a given.

Balancing all of those options, I think we have just the right mix in our designated mascot for 12.04 LTS. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Precise Pangolin.

Now, I’ve recently spent a few hours tracking a pangolin through the Kalahari. I can vouch for their precision – there wasn’t an ant hill in the valley that he missed. Their scales are a wonder of detail and quite the fashion statement. I can also vouch for their toughness; pangolin’s regularly survive encounters with lions. All in all, a perfect fit.”

Ubuntu 11.10 is about to be released and the release schedule for 12.04 LTS will be out soon. We will keep you updated.

Njoy !

VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as home use. Recently, VirtualBox 4.1.4 has been released and is ready for Ubuntu 11.04. This release has come up with basically bugfixes only as it is a maintenance release. So, no goodies for anyone, atleast for now. But many annoying bugs like memory leak, GUI bugs while running KDE, add support for X.Org Server 1.11, fixed compiz bugs and numerous others. For details regarding the bugfixes please see the changelog.

Download – VirtualBox 4.1.4

Simple download the file and open it with Ubuntu Software center and it will install your Virtual box and start your OS testing lab .

Preview

Njoy !!

Adobe Flash Player 11 has been released and is for downloads. Flash Player 11 take this even further by introducing Stage 3D, a new architecture for hardware accelerated graphics rendering that delivers 1000x faster rendering performance over Flash Player 10. It enables new classes of console-quality games and immersive apps, such as Tanki Online and Zombie Tycoon. It added native 64-bit support, NVidia VDPAU and Broadcom Crystal HD acceleration.

Download Adobe Flash 11

Improvements Areas

Gaming: Flash Player 11 allow game publishers to instantly deliver engaging games to anyone with a PC, tablet, smartphone, or connected TV. And with Stage 3D, game publishers and developers can take their games to a new level, creating new opportunities for game developers and publishers to deliver and monetize their content. Two of the many upcoming games leveraging Stage 3D include Tanki Online and Ultimate Race Championship.

Rich media and premium video: Leading content providers, including Amazon, ESPN, HBO, and YouTube, deliver premium HD live video and video on demand (VoD) using Flash technology to reach multiple screens, while benefiting from adaptive streaming, content protection, smooth hardware-accelerated HD video playback, and expanded audiences with Adobe Pass for TV Everywhere.

Data-driven apps: Flash enables highly interactive, collaborative applications across devices and distribution channels.

Features

The following video showcases some of the main features of Flash 11.

The Ubuntu 11.10 default wallpapers have been selected from the 44 shortlisted community wallpaper list. The 14 selected are really cool and will add more spice to the Ubuntu Oneiric desktops. The link below will let you download a tarball that contains all the wallpapers right away !

Download Here

 Take a look –

Njoy !

In the Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot, a lot of work has been done to ease how users can create apps for Ubuntu and how they can get their own apps in the Ubuntu Software Center and available to millions of Ubuntu users. Part of delivering this vision is to provide a wide variety and selection of apps; people love and need apps to do their work. Fortunately this a stunning developer platform to harness, there is a need to improve the awareness, accessibility, usability, and delivery of this platform.

Ubuntu 11.10 is a great platform for creating and delivering applications. Oneiric provides :

• A powerful platform – Ubuntu provides a power development platform out of the box. Powerful developer tools, comprehensive audio/video/graphics support, support for integrating with Ubuntu One, and much more means that whatever the vision for the app in your head, you can deliver it in Ubuntu.
• Flexible Development Choices –There is no restriction of development framework, but there are a variety of powerful options available. Whether anyone wants to write his/her apps in Python with PyGTK and Quickly, write them in C++ and QML with the Qt framework, or other solutions, there are options to suit all tastes.
• Collaborative Development Tools – Writing the first cut of your app is only the beginning. If you are writing an Open Source app we also have a comprehensive collaborative development tool called Launchpad available which allows you to collaborate around code, bugs, planning features, translations, providing support, building packages, and more.
• Simple Experience for Your Users – Ubuntu provides an easy to use Ubuntu Software Center that is filled with different apps across a wide range of genres, complete with ratings and reviews, and many can be tested before they are downloaded. Your app will appear seamlessly in the Ubuntu Software Center. When a user chooses your app it is installed effortlessly.
• Open Source and Commercial Apps – You want to sell your app in the Ubuntu Software Center? No problem, Ubuntu provides a means to handle the app payments as well as reports for how many sales you have made. Want to give your app away for free? No problem, you can deploy your Open Source apps in the Ubuntu Software Center too!

App Creation Basics

To create your app, you should first go to the freshly released developer.ubuntu.com. Watch the video first and then head to the link.

You can also find resources including API documentation and tutorials for the platform, developer tools, and more.

If you are creating an Open Source app it is recommended that you upload your application to Launchpad :

• Working On Code – Launchpad and Bazaar distributed version control strip away the barriers to contributing to your project. In just a few key strokes anyone can create their own local branch of your trunk with full version control. When they’re ready, they can upload their branch to Launchpad and propose it for merging back into your trunk. Code review — by web and email — gives you a public forum to discuss and approve or reject the merge. You can even use Launchpad to import Git, CVS and Subversion repositories into Bazaar branches.
• Bug Tracking – Free software communities often share code, meaning the same bugs can crop up in different contexts. With Launchpad, you can share bug reports, statuses, patches and comments across project boundaries. You can even share bug data with other trackers, such as Bugzilla and Trac. There’s also everything else you need in a bug tracker: web, email and API interfaces, links between bugs and fixes, team-based delegation and more.
• Translations – See your software translated by a community of over 47,000 people working in 293 languages. Launchpad makes translation easy for everyone. Translators get a simple web interface, with automatic suggestions from a library of more than 16 million strings. You, as project owner, decide the balance between openness and quality. And you get standard GNU GetText files for integration with your software.
• Build Ubuntu Packages – Build and distribute Ubuntu packages using your own personal APT repository, hosted by Launchpad. Whether you’re publishing experimental builds, backports or betas, your Personal Package Archive lets end-users install your packages using the tools they already know and with automatic updates.
• Create Feature Specifications – Community planning for your project’s road map. Anyone can use Launchpad to register a blueprint for your project, while you decide the priority and time-scales. Target chunks of work to forthcoming releases, see who’s working on them and track their progress.
• Support and Questions – Track help requests just like bug reports, with community support contacts, statuses and email notifications. When you come across common questions add them to your FAQ library and you get a searchable knowledge base for free. If a support request is actually a bug, no problem: one click and it becomes a bug report.

A powerful feature in Launchpad is the  PPA – Personal Package Archive support. This provides a fantastic way of releasing your software to a set of testers so you can resolve bugs before you propose it for inclusion in the Ubuntu Software Center.

Getting Your App Into Ubuntu

With your Free or Commercial app ready to make available to millions of Ubuntu users, you can use the Ubuntu MyApps Portal to propose your application, keep up to date on it’s submission status, and in the case of commercial apps, see how many sales you have made and how much revenue it has generated. You can find out full details of how to add your app and how the submission process works by clicking here.

Commercial applications will be reviewed by the Canonical apps team and free apps will be reviewed by the Ubuntu community Application Review Board team. When your app passes some suitability assessments (e.g. ensuring it runs, installs correctly, does not include illegal or illicit content) it will be approved and added to the Ubuntu Software Center. Cool huh !

via @jonobaconblog

Njoy Programming for Ubuntu !