Twitter's OAuthpocalypse Today - Upgrade Your Gwibber!

Today is Twitter's OAuthpocalypse: Twitter is shutting down basic authentification so all clients not using OAuth will stop working and one of these Twitter clients is Ubuntu's default microblogging client: Gwibber. That means that you need to upgrade if you want to continue using Gwibber.

An official Gwibber PPA for both Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx and 10.10 Maverick Meerkat has been created - for testing purposes! - with an updated Gwibber version which uses OAuth.

To add the Gwibber (with OAuth) PPA and install it, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-desktop/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Then restart gwibber-service:

gwibber-service restart

And you should then be prompted to authorize Twitter. If that doesn't happen, simply open Gwibber (Applications > Internet > Gwibber Social Client), click on Edit > Accounts and authorize your Twitter account:

Note: Twitter will definitely stop working if you don't upgrade. This PPA is not a daily builds PPA! Yes, it's a testing PPA (they didn't mention this but probably these packages are going into the Ubuntu official repositories if the tests are successful) though. I can tell you that I've upgraded to the package in the PPA in Ubuntu 10.10 and everything is working fine. Tomorrow I'll also test it in Ubuntu 10.04.

[via Ubuntu Desktop mailing list]

3 Amazing Ubuntu 10.10 Wallpapers

There are no "best wallpapers" or "best themes", as it depends on one's taste. But for me, these are the best 3 Ubuntu 10.10 wallpapers so far:

Download

You can also download the first wallpaper without text from HERE (thanks to hhh for the tip!).

Download

Thanks to phyx and UbuntuRoot!

Haguichi 1.0 (Hamachi GUI For GNOME) Adds Support For Hamachi²

Hamachi is a zero-configuration virtual private network (VPN) application capable of establishing direct links between computers that are behind NAT firewalls without requiring reconfiguration (in most cases); in other words, it establishes a connection over the Internet that emulates the connection that would exist if the computers were connected over a local area network. - via Wikipedia.

Haguichi, the best Hamachi GUI for the GNOME Desktop reached version 1.0. The major new feature is that Haguichi supports the new Hamachi² Beta for Linux. The Hamachi² support includes:

• Managing access to your Hamachi² network (setting password, lock and approval method)
• Sending join requests to when a network requires manual approval of your membership
• Support for long nicknames (> 25 characters) of members in your list

A complete changelog for Haguichi 1.0 can be found HERE.

What, you didn't know there is a new LogMeIn Hamachi² for Linux? Well, there is and you can download it from HERE. But as you would expect, it's command line only so use Haguichi for a GUI!

If you want to install the old Hamachi version, there's a script we translated a while back.



Download Haguichi 1.0 (includes Ubuntu .deb, openSUSE and Fedora .rpm)

Many thanks to Stephen Brandt for the tip and great application!

How To Fix GTK-RecordMyDesktop Videos [For Uploading To YouTube]

RecordMyDesktop is a free and open source desktop screencasting software application written for GNU/Linux. The program is separated into two parts; a command line tool that performs the tasks of capturing and encoding, and an interface that exposes the program functionality graphically. GTK-RecordMyDesktop is a front-end for RecordMyDesktop.

If you ever tried to record your desktop using GTK-RecordMyDesktop (it's probably the same using the KDE front-end but I didn't test that), you've probably noticed the video doesn't work on YouTube or it's rendered very badly. The same issue occurs when trying to open the video in a video editor.

But here is a quick fix which will make your GTK-RecordMyDesktop videos work everywhere:

1. Firstly make sure you have mencoder installed:

sudo apt-get install mencoder

2. Now you can fix your video using the following command:

mencoder out.ogv -o out.avi -oac mp3lame -ovc lavc

In the above command, replace "out.ogv" with the name of the video you've recorded using GTK-RecordMyDesktop and the "out.avi" with the name you want for your final (fixed) video. Don't change the ".avi" extension!

In case you don't want sound in your video, instead of the above command, use this one:

mencoder out.ogv -o out.avi -nosound -ovc lavc

That is all - now you can open your video in your favourite video editor such as OpenShot or Avidemux or directly upload it to YouTube.

Make Applications Always Open On A Given Workspace (Viewport) Using Compiz

Because WebUpd8 reader soee asked in a comment about making an application always run on a given workspace (viewport), I decided to make a full post and a screencast for this - especially since there's an annoying bug when trying to make an app always open on a certain workspace.

To make an application always open on a workspace (viewport), you need CompizConfig Settings Manager installed (and Compiz running of course):

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

Once installed, go to System > Preferences > CompizConfig Settings Manager and enable the "Place Windows" plugin, then click it and on the "Fixed window placement" tab, under "Windows with fixed viewport" (the last option there), select "New". Here, select the workspace on which you want the application to open. Then click the "+" sign and then click "grab", then click the middle of the window for the application you want to run on a given desktop (workspace) (don't click it's titlebar - that won't work). 

Then copy the window class - that's because there is a bug in Compiz so the "Grab" doesn't automatically insert the window class name -, click "Add" and paste the exact window class you've just copied. You can also use the window name instead of the class.

If you're not very familiar with CompizConfig Settings Manager, you probably didn't understand much from what I've explained above, so here's a screencast with the exact steps:

(You can find all our videos on the WebUpd8 YouTube Channel)

Make sure you watch the video in HD!


If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Rhythmbox 0.13.0 With DAAP, Finally Available In The Ubuntu Lucid WebUpd8 Rhythmbox PPA

A new Rhythmbox 0.13.0 (git) version was uploaded to Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat almost 2 weeks ago, but we didn't update our Ubuntu Lucid Rhythmbox PPA to this new version because it failed to start most of the times. The weird part is it didn't crash for me but only when trying it on a fresh Ubuntu install (in VirtualBox). But today, some patches have been added to the Ubuntu 10.10 Rhythmbox version and it should finally work in Lucid again. So we've uploaded the new Rhythmbox packages to our Ubuntu Lucid Rhythmbox PPA.

This new version finally brings the DAAP plugin back and it also includes all the Maverick fixes.

However, I do have some bad news for the Lucid users who have been using our Rhythmbox PPA: the appindicator patch has been removed from Maverick and although I was able to update the patch, Rhythmbox fails to compile with this patch. I will continue to try and get it to work but I can't promise anything so (if) until I get that to work, you won't get an appindicator for Rhythmbox, but only a notification area icon (I've enabled it by default but you can disable it via the Plugins preferences in Rhythmbox) - that's the default Rhythmbox notification area icon in all distros except Ubuntu (and Ubuntu until Lucid).

If you are ok with the changes I mentioned above, upgrade to the latest Rhythmbox 0.13.0 (git) in Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx using the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/rhythmbox
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade #just in case - there are some newer dependencies required by Rhythmbox although upgrade probably works too

Along with Rhythmbox 0.13.0git, I've also backported the latest UbuntuOne Music Store and Radio Browser plugins to Lucid. However, only after I've uploaded these packages I saw that the UbuntuOne Music Store plugin doesn't even work in Maverick. So to use it, you must wait for a new version (sorry - this does not depend on my packaging!).

If for whatever reason you want to go back to the Rhythmbox version in the official Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx repositories, download PPA Purge from HERE, install it and then run the following command:

sudo ppa-purge ppa:webupd8team/rhythmbox

That will remove the PPA and downgrade all the packages to the versions in the official Ubuntu repositories.

As always, report any bugs you may find on Launchpad, as there's nothing I can do about it.

Best Linux Clipboard Manager

Here is a poll which was suggested multiple times: what's the best clipboard manager for Linux? Our poll options are: Parcellite, Glipper, Pastie, Klipper and Glippy but you can also enter your own answer:

As always, don't forget to share your opinion on these clipboard managers in the comments!

Browse all our polls.

Last Week's Top Posts (Week 34, 2010)

1. Avant Window Navigator Update (PPA) Finally Brings Multiple Docks And Helpers
2. Ubuntu 10.10 Default Wallpaper Revealed, Updated Community Wallpapers And Light Themes (includes updated Light Themes PPA for Lucid)
3. Official Statement: Steam Not Coming To Linux
4. Conky Colors Gets A Beautiful New Cairo Mode, Elementary Theme
5. Make A Movie Out Of Photos In Ubuntu Using PhotoFilmStrip
6. Ofris - Deep Freeze Like Application For Linux [Ubuntu PPA]
7. Humanity Icon Theme Update Comes In Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat
8. Guayadeque 0.2.7 Released With File Browser, Record From Streams, Last.fm Improvements And Many More New Features
9. Wally (Automatic Wallpaper Changer) 2.4 Adds deviantArt, Vladstudio And Google Image Sources
10. Gnash 0.8.8 Claims To Support All YouTube Videos, But Is It Good Enough?

Browse all our weekly top posts.

Deadbeef Is Ready For Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat [PPA]

Deadbeef, probably the lightest (GUI) music player for Linux is finally available for Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat.

Most of you probably already know Deadbeef (we talked about Deadbeef a while back in our UNE optimization tips post), but for those who don't, here's a brief introduction: Deadbeef is not just another music player as it's a lot different then most Linux music players. The only music player that Deadbeef reminds me of is foobar2000 (Windows only).

There's nothing fancy about Deadbeef - it only comes with everything you need to enjoy your music: last.fm support, it can play any kind of music files  (including cuesheets, gapless) and has tabbed playlists support. There's a lot of stuff Deadbeef doesn't have but being so lightweight, it's definitely a music player to try out.

In my tests Deadbeef used around 10mb of RAM while Rhythmbox: ~62mb with my large music collection. Update: I removed my music from Rhythmbox just to see how much RAM it uses with only a few music files and it's somewhere around 27mb of RAM. For other music players, read the comments below!

Besides the memory usage, Deadbeef is also great for small screens (netbooks).

More about Deadbeef.

Install Deadbeef in Ubuntu (Karmic, Lucid and now Maverick) using the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexey-smirnov/deadbeef
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install deadbeef

Many thanks to Alexey Smirnov for updating the PPA with Maverick packages!

Install VLC 1.1.4 In Ubuntu [Via New PPA!]

As you probably know, the c-korn/vlc PPA has been removed so Ubuntu users must search for a new PPA to upgrade to the latest VLC versions (currently 1.1.4). I didn't recommend PPAs with multiple packages for this because most users just want VLC and some of them come with experimental packages. But Roberto @ LFFL created a PPA dedicated to VLC (so the PPA only has the latest VLC packages).

To add the PPA and install VLC 1.1.4 in Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx, paste the following commands in a terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ferramroberto/vlc
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install vlc mozilla-plugin-vlc

Important note: I noticed a lot of blogs recommend the n-muench/vlc PPA. DO NOT USE THAT PPA unless you only want VLC to work and no other media player / movie editor or any other package that needs FFmpeg to work. That PPA has newer FFmpeg packages and all applications depending on FFmpeg will be broken! This is not the case for Roberto's PPA - so this one is safe to use.

Thanks to Roberto @ LFFL for the VLC PPA!

Ofris - Deep Freeze Like Application For Linux [Ubuntu PPA]

If you ever went to a cyber cafe, you probably noticed that any changes you make to their system: create or delete files, settings and so on, everything resets when you restart the computer. That's what the Deep Freeze program does.

Ofris is a Deep Freeze like application for Linux that is very easy to use - once you install it, you can "deep freeze" your Linux computer in a matter of seconds.

Ofris comes with an Ubuntu PPA so you can install it using the following commands (available for Ubuntu 9.10, 10.04 and 10.10):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tldm217/tahutek.net
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ofris-en

The last command will install the English version of Ofris (the package called just "ofris" will install the Indonesian version).


Once you install it, open a terminal and run:

ofris-en

And then select what you want to do, like freeze the system for this user or for another user. You can later unfreeze the system the same way.

Here is a video tutorial on how to use Ofris to "deep freeze" your Ubuntu installation, created by gotbletu:

Many thanks for the tip: Damar Riyadi @ tahutek.net (more info about Ofris - in Indonesian)

Create A Full System Backup Or Custom Live Ubuntu / Debian CD With Remastersys

I realize many of you probably already know Remastersys, but we decided to make a post on it anyway because it's an amazing tool and maybe some of you never heard of it.

This was a tip sent by WebUpd8 reader Saurabhneo23:

It's one of the best tools out there to make a disaster recovery disc or make an ISO of your own customized Ubuntu. It's an equivalent to Windows backup and restore (if you use it only for system recovery and not to recover your personal files).

Remastersys is a tool which can be used to create a custom live Ubuntu / Debian CD. But it's not like the other such tools we've already covered as it can be used to clone your current installation which you can then use to either share it with your friends or create your own Ubuntu derivate. Don't worry about your private data and such, that's not going to be included onto the CD.

But that's not all there is to Remastersys: you can also use it for a full system backup onto an installable CD, DVD or USB drive - this will also include your personal data and you can later use it like any live CD/USB to reinstall your whole system and data.

To install Remastersys in Ubuntu Karmic and newer, run the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/repository karmic/"
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install remastersys

Do not replace "karmic" with "lucid" or other Ubuntu version name!


For older Ubuntu versions and Debian, see the Remastersys website.

Once installed, you can access Remastersys by going to System > Administration > Remastersys Backup. Then, all the options are one click away:

Click on "Modify" to set the Live CD username (it must be in lowercase!), the Live CD title, filename and so on:

When you're finished with customizing these settings (or you can use the default values), select "Go back to the main menu" and select what you want to do: Backup the full system (including personal data), make a distributable copy and so on and then wait for your ISO to be built.

For more info, visit Remastersys homepage.

See also:

• Reconstructor - Ubuntu / Debian web custom Live CD creator
• Easily Create A Custom Ubuntu Live CD With Ubuntu Customization Kit (UCK)

Thanks to Saurabhneo23 for the suggestion to make a post on Remastersys Backup!

Kupfer Monochrome Icons

WebUpd8 reader Nasser Alshammari sent us some nice Kupfer monochrome icons that go well with the Ubuntu Ambiance and Radiance themes. He writes:

The only side effect of this is that it'll replace the colorful logo in the menu entry and in the "About" dialog of Kupfer. So until this issue is solved and for all the monochrome fanatics out there, they can do it this way for now.

To install them, replace the ~/.icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/kupfer.svg icon with one of the icons below.


Download Kupfer Monochrome icons

Many thanks and credits for the icons and screenshot: Nasser Alshammari

No BTRFS In Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat After all

Btrfs is a new copy on write file system for Linux aimed at implementing advanced features while focusing on fault tolerance, repair and easy administration. More info, here.

A while ago we were telling you there are 20% chances to get BTRFS support in Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat. Well, it didn't make it.

BTRFS was (it probably still is) available in the Ubuntu 10.10 installer but unfortunately an update today to the BTRFS Support blueprint says it has been deferred for competition in Natty (Ubuntu 11.04) as there's not enough time to complete all the remaining work for Maverick.

A while ago, Phoronix ran some tests comparing BTRFS and EXT4 and the results were pretty impressive. However, there are some things they didn't consider in their tests (also read the comments on that post).

Ubuntu 10.10 Default Wallpaper Revealed, Updated Community Wallpapers And Light Themes

The new Ubuntu 10.10 default wallpaper came in an update today and looks... well, take a look for yourself:

The community wallpapers were also updated in Ubuntu Maverick and they now include the wallpapers from the community contest:

If you're not running Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, you can download both the new Ubuntu 10.10 default wallpaper and the community wallpapers from HERE.

In other news, the Ubuntu Light Themes were also updated. There doesn't seem to be any changes to Ambiance but only on Radiance this time:

Also, the themes have been renamed back from -beta to Ambiance and Radiance.

We've uploaded the new Light Themes version to our Light Themes PPA along with the latest Murrine Engine and new icons so you can install all these from Maverick in Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx. To upgrade these packages in Lucid, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/light-themes
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

The Maverick Sound Indicator Buttons Stopped Looking Ugly After Today's Update

And here it is: now I can stop saying the new Sound Indicator in Ubuntu 10.10 is the ugliest thing that ever walked the Earth (ok, not that bad but I really didn't like it):

Not only it looks great, but finally there is some consistency with the Ambiance theme. Unfortunately the buttons look the same with the Radiance theme (but it's still better then before):

Here is how the sound indicator used to look:

The package has been uploaded to Launchpad and is currently building so if you are running Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, expect an update with the new Sound Indicator soon!

Guayadeque 0.2.7 Released With File Browser, Record From Streams, Last.fm Improvements And Many More New Features

Guayadeque is a relatively new music player for Linux. It comes with a huge amount of features yet its pretty light, even with a huge music collection.

There was no new Guayadeque version in a long time but the development was actually very active and today we finally have a new version. Here are the highlights of Guayadeque 0.2.7:

• libre.fm support
• implemented crossfading between tracks
• record from streams
• a file browser (play files by browsing them on your HDD)
• option to delete files from library and hard drive
• lyricsplugin.com as lyrics search engine
• you can now save the lyrics in a local folder
• the last.fm panel can now search for tracks in your library
• implemented reading/writing images into m4a files
• library search covers scan now into audio files too
• live search
• and a lot more features and fixes

A full list of new features / tweaks can be found HERE.

Besides the new features, Guayadeque 0.2.7 also comes with speed and memory usage improvements.

In the above screenshot you can spot my favourite new feature in Guayadeque 0.2.7: when playing a track and then going to the Last.fm pane, you get the usual info on the artist and the top albums/tracks. In Guayadeque 0.2.7 you can right click these and play/enqueue them.

Install Guayadeque music player in Ubuntu

Guayadeque is available in the official Ubuntu 10.10 repositories so Maverick users should wait for an update or manually install the .debs (see below).

The Guayadeque 0.2.7 packages have been uploaded to the Guayadeque PPA, but are not ready yet. Until they are ready you can manually download and install Ubuntu .deb files from Sourceforge.

Once the packages in the PPA are ready, you'll be able to install Guayadeque 0.2.7 using the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:anonbeat/guayadeque
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install guayadeque

In the same PPA, there are also SVN builds of Guayadeque which you can install to run a bleeding edge version of Guayadeque (which is currently similar to 0.2.7 but will get new features sooner - but it's unstable). To install this package, you need to remove guayadeque first and install guayadeque-svn (firstly make sure you have added the PPA using the commands above):

sudo apt-get remove guayadeque
sudo apt-get install guayadeque-svn

Thanks to LinuxFreedomForLive for the news.

New Ubuntu Software Center Features: "Where Is It?", "Choose Addons"

Here is a feature I've been waiting for ever since I first read about it on the Ubuntu Software Center blueprint which along with the "History" tab, makes Ubuntu Software stand out: "Where is it". I was a bit dissapointed after trying this out though, as it has nothing to do with the initial specs other then the purpose (it was supposed to point you to the menu item with animations and so on) but it's a great addition nevertheless.

Even though it may not seem like much, "Where is it?" (or "Find it at" - they should really stick with one name for this) can be of real help sometimes: it tells you where to find an application you've just installed (in the menu). You may not need it every time you install an application but sometimes you just can't spot the newly installed application.

Of course, those who use Cardapio or GnoMenu will probably not care much about this since they have a search. But it's great addition for the rest of the Ubuntu users.

Another new feature in Ubuntu Software Center called "Choose addons" displays the addons (if available) for an application when you try to install that application. This applies for browsers such as Firefox or Chromium, Pidgin and so on. Here's a screenshot:

If you're running Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, simply do an upgrade and you should have these new features in USC.

Avant Window Navigator Update (PPA) Finally Brings Multiple Docks And Helpers

An update today brings helpers and multiple docks to Avant Window Navigator from the AWN trunk PPA. "Multiple docks" means you'll be able to run multiple instances of Avant Window Navigator, each with its own  configuration.

I don't know about you, but at this point I for one can't think of anything that's missing in Avant Window Navigator. Not only it can fully replace your GNOME panel and look gorgeous in the process, but it also comes with some extra features designed to make your life easier (such as the Helpers). But let's hear it from you: is there any feature you desperately want in AWN?

Installation

If you already have AWN from the AWN trunk PPA installed, skip to step 3 (important!).

Unfortunately these latest changes in AWN are only available for Ubuntu Karmic and Lucid users so those who have upgraded to Maverick (like me on my home computer) will have to wait until there will be an updated Maverick package in the AWN trunk PPA. Update: Ubuntu Maverick packages should be available in around 12 hours.

1. Make sure you don't have AWN from the official Ubuntu repositories installed:

sudo apt-get remove avant-window-navigator avant-window-navigator-data awn-settings awn-applets-c-core libawn1 vala-awn && sudo apt-get autoremove

2. Install AWN from the AWN trunk PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:awn-testing/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install avant-window-navigator-trunk avant-window-navigator-data-trunk python-awn-trunk awn-settings-trunk awn-applets-python-core-trunk python-awn-extras-trunk awn-applets-python-extras-trunk awn-applets-c-core-trunk awn-applets-c-extras-trunk

3. You'll also need Dockmanager for the Helpers. This package is also available in the Avant Window Navigator trunk PPA:

sudo apt-get install dockmanager-daemon dockmanager

How to use

1. Helpers

To enable Helpers for some applications, simply go to AWN Preferences and on the Task Manager tab (you need to use the AWN taskmanager and not DockBarX for the Helpers to work!), click the Helpers button in the bottom left corner and then enable the Helpers you want to use:

2. Multipanel (multiple docks)

To add a dock, open the AWN Preferences, and on the first tab ("Preferences), click the "Add dock" button at the bottom. Then, to customize the newly added dock, right click it and select "Dock Preferences".

To delete a dock, right click it and select "Dock Preferences", then simply click the "Remove dock" button which is to the right of the "Add dock".

Credits for the image in the beginning of the post and tip by: Alberto (many thanks!)

OpenOffice 3.2.1 Available In The Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx Proposed Repository

OpenOffice 3.2.1 (bug-fix release) was released almost 3 months ago but only now is available for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx users, in the lucid-proposed official repository.

To upgrade to OpenOffice 3.2.1 in Ubuntu 10.04 you need to go to System > Administration > Software Sources and on the Updates tab, make sure you have the "Pre-release updates (lucid-proposed)" option checked:

Then simply run:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Or wait for the Update Manager to prompt you with the OOo 3.2.1 update.

Important: the proposed repository is created for a reason: packages in this repository might not be stable.

Ubuntu Multi-Touch Videos: Evince And Inkscape

As you probably know, Ubuntu will get multi-touch support starting with Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat. You can read the official announcement here.

I was away on holiday and missed the whole multi-touch announcement but I'm sure you already know everything about it by now. Anyway, here are 2 videos demonstrating the new multi-touch feature for Evince and Inkscape (the videos date back to August 18, but maybe you haven't seen them):

-Evince:





-Inkscape:

Keep in mind that the multi-touch feature is still very early in development. Even so, it already looks impressive as both Evince and Inkscape can't handle multi-touch by default yet it works great as you can see in the videos above.

Thanks to LinuxFreedomForLive for the heads up!

Humanity Icon Theme Update Comes In Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat

And here it is: with the Maverick User Interface freeze coming in 2 days, the first update to the Humanity Icon Theme in Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat. Well, in fact there was another update a while back to the ubuntu-mono icons, but the only change was the new controls for the sound indicator.

The new Humanity Icon Theme 0.5.3 doesn't bring many changes - at least from what I've noticed so far. For now I've only spotted a few new icons: the home icon and the up / back / forward icons:

Here is how these icons used to look:

The new icons are more cartoonish I would say. Also, let's hope the Humanity Icon Theme will finally become consistent (and not include both purple and orange icons - I just had to say it again) in Maverick. What do you think?

Until I upload this new Humanity Icon Theme version in our Light Themes PPA, you can manually download THIS deb file or the source from here. The package should be available for Maverick users in a few minutes / hours (through the official repositories of course).

Did you spot any other new icons? Let us know in the comments!

The Sezen Applet Is Ready For Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat [PPA]

The Sezen Applet is finally ready for Ubuntu Maverick! This wasn't possible until now due to a bug, but you can now install the Sezen GNOME panel applet from our Unstable / Unreleased / Backports PPA.

Sezen Applet is the integration of Sezen - the new Unity like activity browser which uses Zeitgeist to browse files based on their last access time -, into the GNOME panel.

To install the Sezen Applet in Ubuntu, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/unstable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Or you can manually upgrade the gnome-applets and gnome-applets-data packages.

Then you can simply right click the GNOME panel, select "Add" and then add "Sezen". If you get an error the first time you add it to the panel, remove it and add it again and it should work just fine.

The Sezen Applet was the last (I think) package we maintain in the WebUpd8 PPAs (here is a list with all the PPAs we maintain) which was not ready for Ubuntu 10.10 and is not in the Maverick repositories already.

Ubuntu Software Center 2.1.11 Comes With More Theme Tweaks [Ubuntu 10.10]

It seems each update brings some theme tweaks to the Ubuntu Software Center. Here's the latest Ubuntu Software Center 2.1.11:

This last tweaks look nice but... really, blue?

Nothing else changed except for some minor tweaks under the hood. The new USC 2.1.11 should be available in the Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat official repositories sometime later today.

Wally (Automatic Wallpaper Changer) 2.4 Adds deviantArt, Vladstudio And Google Image Sources

Wally is an automatic wallpaper changer for Windows, Linux and Mac OSX which uses many sources for getting the images: local folders, Flickr, Yahoo!, Panoramio, Pikeo, Ipernity, Photobucket, Buzznet, Picasa, Bing and Smugmug images.

What exactly does that mean? Well, you can enter a keyword for Wally to search Google, Flickr, Bing or whatever and Wally will automatically download the images it finds and sets them as your wallpaper - either automatically (every X seconds) or you can manually change it by right clicking the Wally icon in the notification area. You can also tweak lots of settings regarding the images you want Wally to download, like: only use landscape oriented photos, photo has to be bigger than the desktop size and the wallpaper position.

A new Wally version - 2.4 - has been recently released, featuring new modules for fetching the wallpapers: Google, deviantArt and Vladstudio. Besides the new modules, Wally 2.4 also adds more photo layouts, Snow Leopard support and fixes quite a few bugs.

Download Wally 2.4 (download links include Ubuntu / Debian .deb files, Windows .exe and Mac OSX .dmg files)

See also:

• Install Webilder 0.6.7 In Ubuntu (Finally Working Again With WebShots)
• CreBS Creates Background Slideshows In Seconds
• Install Wallpaper Clocks In Ubuntu Linux

[thanks to Ubuntips for the news!]

Conky Colors Gets A Beautiful New Cairo Mode, Elementary Theme

Conky Colors - a script to easily configure Conky with lots of built-in options -, added some cool new features recently: cairo mode (--cairo) and a new theme: Elementary.

You can see the Cairo mode in action in the screenshot we posted above. To get Conky to look like in this post, the following command was used:

./conky-colors --cairo --theme=elementary --cpu=2 --swap --clock=cairo --rhythmbox=cairo --network --unit=C

The above command will use the Elementary Conky Colors theme and will display the CPU usage (for 2 CPUs), SWAP, a clock, your currently playing track in Rhythmbox and network information with the temperature using Celsius - all using the new Cairo mode. You can of course tweak it to suit your taste. To see all the available options, use:

./conky-colors --help

We already posted how to install and use Conky Colors, so see our initial post for instructions: Conky Colors Makes Your Conky Beautiful In Seconds (don't be scared by the lengthy post, there are just a few copy/paste commands).

Download Conky Colors 4.0

Gnash 0.8.8 Claims To Support All YouTube Videos, But Is It Good Enough?

Gnash is an open source flash movie player which can be used instead of the closed source Adobe Flash Player.

Gnash 0.8.8 was released today, the announcement pointing out that 100% of the YouTube videos are now supported:

100% of all YouTube videos should work. If you have problems, delete all YouTube cookies and refresh.

I couldn't do a real Adobe Flash Player vs Gnash comparison since I don't have a VAAPI capable graphics card, but sq377 @ reddit did some tests, comparing Gnash and Adobe's Flash Player. Interested? Read on!

Here are the CPU and memory usage for both Adobe Flash Player and Gnash:

Adobe Flash Player:

(Click to enlarge)

Gnash (software acceleration):

(Click to enlarge)

Gnash (hardware acceleration (VAAPI)):

(Click to enlarge)

For these tests, Fedora 13 x64 was used and Chrome as the browser. Composite was turned off. You can read a detailed description of these tests @ reddit.

It seems the Gnash announcement is actually not entirely true, as about 70% of the 720p YouTube videos didn't work and using VAAPI, the 420p videos were unwatchable.

So is it worth using Gnash over the proprietary Adobe Flash Player? I would say: not yet, but Gnash is taking huge steps forward and soon we should have a viable open source Flash Player alternative that can do everything Adobe's Flash does, and with some actual Linux support, specially now that Adobe discontinued its Flash Player 10.1 64bit for Linux.

Download and install Gnash 0.8.8:

If you want to try out the latest Gnash for yourself, you'll find Debian, Ubuntu and Fedora repositories @ GetGnash. Or you can download and compile it for yourself.

Apologies for not running these tests myself but I really can't do it with the crappy computer I have at work and the even crappier graphics card. Many thanks (and credits) for the tests to sq377 @ reddit.

Ubuntu Tweak 0.5.6 To Include Desktop Settings Backup Feature

Ubuntu Tweak, an application which allows you to tweak a few "hidden" (available through Gconf) Ubuntu settings as well as add lots of PPA repositories, will add 2 new important features in version 0.5.6:

• reset any setting in Ubuntu Tweak. You'll find a new "reset" button next to each Ubuntu Tweak option (like you can see in the screenshot in the beginning of the post).
• a backup, recover and reset (all) your desktop settings option

The new desktop settings backup option can backup and restore all the Gnome and System settings as well as application specific settings, like you can see in the screenshots below:

This new option will only back-up/restore/reset the Gconf values and not the data in your home folder!

The beta version of ubuntu Tweak 0.5.6 is already available to install, but being a beta remember that you may find bugs! You can install it in Ubuntu (Karmic, Lucid and Maverick) by using the following commands (warning: this will add the Ubuntu Tweak testing PPA!):

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

Official Statement: Steam Not Coming To Linux

Steam is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communications platform developed by Valve Corporation. It is used to distribute games and related media online, from small independent developers to larger software houses. Steam also has community features, automated game updates, and in-game voice and chat functionality. - info via Wikipedia

You've probably read lots of rumors about Steam coming to Linux but there was no official word about it. GamesIndustry.biz interviewed Valve's marketing VP Doug Lombardi. The last question was if Valve is working on a Steam version for Linux. Here are the exact question and answer:

Q: Final question, and one I'm sure you're not super-keen to answer, but I promised one of our tech guys I'd ask it. What truth is there to rumours that you're also working on a Linux version of Steam?

Doug Lombardi: There's no Linux version that we're working on right now. ...

So is Valve trying to hide the fact that they are working on Steam for Linux or are they simply not working on it? The rumors must have had a reason (and actually there were many pieces of evidence)! So what's going on? Unfortunately Doug's answer is anything but clear: did they do some work on Steam for Linux and stopped (temporarily or for good), was it a failed test or did they changed their mind and don't want to release Steam for Linux anymore? Either way, it seems we won't have Steam for Linux, at least not for now.

Steam was voted the most awaited Linux project of the year in one of our weekly polls.

You can read the whole interview @ GamesIndustry.biz (you'll be needing an account though, but you can register for free).

Last 3 Weeks Top Posts (Weeks 31, 32, 33 - 2010)

Since I was away for a week and I didn't get to publish the top posts before I left, here is a mix of the WebUpd8 top posts for the last 3 weeks:

1. The New Ubuntu (10.10) Font Available For (almost) Everyone To Download [PPA]
2. Jolicloud 1.0 Review (Ubuntu Based Netbook OS)
3. Elegant Gnome (Theme) Pack PPA For Ubuntu And Linux Mint Users
4. All The Ubuntu Mascots In Pictures [Updated]
5. Install The Ubuntu 10.10 Light Themes In Ubuntu 10.04 From A PPA Repository
6. Install Audacious2 2.4 In Ubuntu, Now With An Improved GTK Interface, Last.fm Scrobbler Plugin And More
7. Unity 0.2.28 Comes With A New Home Screen, Lots Of Improvements [UNE 10.10]
8. WebUpd8 PPAs Updates: Rhythmbox, Jupiter, DockBarX
9. Chromium Options Window Moved In A Browser Tab
10. You Can Now Install Apt-Fast From A PPA Repository
11. Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Countdown Banners For Your Website Or Blog
12. How To Add / Delete Workspaces In Compiz Using Keyboard Shortcuts
    

Browse all our weekly top posts.

Make A Movie Out Of Photos In Ubuntu Using PhotoFilmStrip

So you really like the new Face Movie feature in Picasa 3.8 and want it in Linux too? Well, it doesn't work for now, but you can use PhotoFilmStrip.

PhotoFilmStrip is an application which can create a movie (slideshow) out of photos. It uses the "Ken Burns" effect for the pictures transitions and you can also add music and captions to your photos. The movie can be rendered in VCD, SVCD, DVD or FULL-HD.

Note: I've tested version 1.3.97-unstable. Using the stable version, some of the features mentioned below may be missing.

PhotoFilmStrip is very easy to use: simply create a new project, then drag and drop the photos you want to use. Then you need to use the crop tool and crop the image preview on the left to the start frame and the preview image on the right to the last frame - this will be used to render the Ken Burns effect. Optionally: now you can set duration - this is the time each photo will be displayed, the transition (fade or roll) and transition time and additionally the effect (sepia or black and white). When you're done, click the "Render filmstrip" button:

Then select the "Advanced" mode to be able to tweak some settings such as rather or not to display captions ('subtitles') for your photos and when everything is ready, click the "Start" button and wait for your movie to be generated.

Download PhotoFilmStrip (Ubuntu .deb, Windows .exe and source files).


For a similar application, also see Imagination.

Shotwell 0.7 (Photo Manager) Released With Migration Support For F-Spot Users

Shotwell, the photo manager which will be default in the upcoming Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat was just updated to version 0.7. The new version makes it easy for F-Spot users (previously the default photo manager for Ubuntu) to migrate to Shotwell by importing photos directly from your F-Spot library, preserving tags and ratings.

Other features in Shotwell 0.7:

• Photos can be rated on a 1-5 star scale or marked as rejected. A filter button supports viewing only photos of a specified rating or better.
• A new Last Import page in the sidebar gives you instant access to your most recently imported photo roll.
• Sidebar functionality and appearance have been improved with new icons and inline renaming.
• Numerous bug fixes and translation updates.

Shotwell 0.7 is not even available in the Ubuntu 10.10 official repositories yet, but you can install it in both Ubuntu 10.10 and Ubuntu 10.04 using the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yorba/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install shotwell

Fix "Ignoring File .save In Directory /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ As It Has An Invalid Filename Extension" In Ubuntu 10.10

I just did a clean Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat install on my main computer. Not because I wanted but because my Lucid install was very unstable do to the lost of tests I do for WebUpd8 posts (don't worry, if something I test goes bad, I don't post it on WebUpd8 so everything we post is mostly stable). I tried to upgrade from Ubuntu 10.04 to Ubuntu 10.10 but it didn't go too well. Actually it didn't boot at all with some serious crashes while booting so I did a fresh install.

I didn't encounter any major bugs in Ubuntu 10.10 so far, but there's one small but very annoying bug: after you add a PPA and run "sudo apt-get update", an error is displayed:

N: Ignoring file 'THE_PPA.list.save' in directory '/etc/apt/sources.list.d/' as it has an invalid filename extension

And the more PPAs you add, the more errors like this you'll be getting. And you can't install anything from those PPA until you remove all the .save files from /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ manually.

But I found a permanent fix in a comment on this bug so you don't have to keep deleting files from /etc/apt/sources.list.d/. Simply run the following command in a terminal:

echo "Dir::Ignore-Files-Silently:: \"(.save|.distUpgrade)$\";" | sudo tee /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/99ignoresave

Flattr: Support Your Favourite FLOSS Software!

So what's Flattr? Well, it's a social micropayment system you can use to donate money, but you can only receive as long as you also give which sounds like a very interesting concept. So only members who pay (the minimum subscription fee is 2 euro) can use Flattr.

The guys behind Flattr explain best the purpose of this new social micropayment system:

People would just ignore sending donations if it wasn't for a really important cause. Sending just a small sum has always been a pain in the ass. Who would ever even login to a payment system just to donate €0.01? And €10 was just too high for just one blog entry we liked...

Flattr will currently get 10% (for maintenance) of your subscription and divide the rest evenly between the people you flatter. But they say that once the website grows, they will stop asking for the 10% fee.

Why did we wrote a post on Flattr? Because maybe you would like to give something back to the free open source software you love and use daily. A lot of software is on Flattr already: foobar2000, NoScript, Tor and even the Debian Package Manager and many many other developers, artists and so on who really deserve this. So why not give a few cents (or more) to show your appreciation for the FLOSS software you use daily?

There is even an idea to use Flattr with the Ubuntu Software Center so you can directly donate from within the USC but even though this has been brought up for discussion in the past, there's no official word on it yet (on any type of donation from the Ubuntu Software Center).


If you're a developer or blogger, you'll be glad to know Flattr offers a badge or button you can use on your website or application so people can directly flattr you from there. You can see such a button at the bottom of this post. But of course, you can also get/receive flattr directly from Flattr.com.

Pithos 0.3 (Pandora Linux Client) Released With Last.fm Scrobbling Support

Pandora radio is the personalized internet radio service that helps you find new music based on your old and current favorites.

Pithos, everyone's favourite Pandora.com Linux client got a new version - 0.3 - released today, bringing a much requested feature: Last.fm scrobbling support.

Pithons 0.3 also comes with support for bookmarking songs and artists, volume control and other small new features and fixes which you can see here.

To install Pithos 0.3 in Ubuntu, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kevin-mehall/pithos-daily
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pithos

If you're not living in the US you can still listen to music using Pithos and Pandora.com.

Google Voice And Video Chat Comes To Linux!

Google finally enabled voice and video chat for the Linux users. To use it in Ubuntu, go to this page: http://www.google.com/chat/video click on "Install" and download the deb and install it.

Voice and video chat for Linux currently supports Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions, and RPM support will be coming soon.


Update: for non-Debian based Linux distributions, try this (thanks to rmull @ reddit):

32bit:

mkdir goog; cd goog
wget http://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-talkplugin_current_i386.deb
ar vx google-talkplugin_current_i386.deb
sudo tar xvzf data.tar.gz -C /

64bit:

mkdir goog; cd goog
wget http://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-talkplugin_current_amd64.deb
ar vx google-talkplugin_current_amd64.deb
sudo tar xvzf data.tar.gz -C /

Then restart Firefox.

Thanks to Ezequiel Sapoznicoff for the tip! Also thanks to hatemonger (we got this tip sent in twice :D)

Unity 0.2.28 Comes With A New Home Screen, Lots Of Improvements [UNE 10.10]

Yet another Unity version (0.2.28) was released today in Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat (Netbook Edition), featuring a new home screen (which will probably remind you of the old Ubuntu Netbook Edition interface) when you click the Ubuntu button - this is the first thing you see when you click the Ubuntu logo. The Home Screen is not finished yet and the artwork for it should land sometime next week. Here is a screenshot with how it looks for now:

Another change brings your USB keys/Cameras/CD-Drives to the Unity launcher (dock) so you can easily launch a file manager with their location or eject them.

(Unity maximized window - new buttons, no window decorations)

Other changes:

• Maximized windows no longer have window decorations but once you unmaximize the applications, they get the window decorations back.
• The window buttons have been updated to use the Ambience beta theme if it's installed
• The workspace switcher should be performing much better now and it also allows you to move windows between the workspaces.

Install UbuntuOne Alpha 1 For KDE In Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat

UbuntuOne for KDE is finally ready. Well, sort of - the first "real" alpha has been released and there's an Kubuntu PPA available which will only work with the latest Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat.

To install UbuntuOne Alpha 1 in Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:apachelogger/ubuntuone-kde
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntuone-kde

Even though it's in alpha, everything in UbuntuOne for KDE should work but still, expect to find bugs!

Known issue: in case the "ubuntuone-client-gnome" package is installed, make sure you remove it before installing "ubuntuone-kde".

Note: I do not use KDE so I didn't test this!

Image credits & info: Apachelog

Faenza Icons To Use With The Elementary GTK Theme: Faenza-Cupertino

A lot of people like the Faenza icon theme but for me it just didn't feel right because I just can't give up the Elementary GTK theme. But John Green created created a theme called Faenza-Cupertino which only replaces the original folders to make it look more like the original Elementary style, but using the Faenza icons.

To use it, you'll need the Faenza icons which you can install in Ubuntu using the following commands:

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

And then download and install Faenza-Cupertino.

[Thanks to Ubuntu Life!]

Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal Release Schedule

The updated Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" release schedule is available on the Ubuntu Wiki. I say updated because the release schedule was already available for some time, but it had to be reworked because Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat will be released on October 10 and not at the end of the month like it was originally planned.

Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" will be having 5 alpha releases (10.10 only had 3) and the final version is expected on April 28th, 2011.

Update November 3rd: The Ubuntu 11.04 release schedule has been modified so I've updated the post. Initially, there were supposed to be 5 alpha versions of which the first was supposed to be released on November 4th.

Update February 11th: there will be no Ubuntu 11.04 RC and instead, a second beta will be released on April 14th (instead of 21st).

Here is an overview of the Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal release schedule:

• December 2nd - Alpha 1
• February 3rd - Alpha 2
• March 3rd - Alpha 3
• March 31st - Beta
• April 14th - Beta 2
• April 28th - Ubuntu 11.04

A detailed Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal release squedule can be found @ Ubuntu wiki.



Target Versions for Release
---------------------------
kernel: 2.6.38
x-server: 1.10 [1] (Feb 2011)
mesa: 7.10 (Dec 2010)
libdrm: 2.3.23 [2] (Dec 2010)

Thanks to: Starks for the target versions info | Ubuntu Dicas for the Ubuntu 10.10 release schedule heads up!