Usually, when you add a PPA that's not supported on Ubuntu 11.04 yet, you get a "404" error when running "sudo apt-get update" but that doesn't tell you which PPA caused the error so using this tool, you'll know exactly which PPA repositories work and which don't.
Using this script is as easy as it gets: just run it and it will scan all your PPA repositories and displays a "yes" or "no" for each Ubuntu version next to each PPA. Yes obviously means that PPA supports that Ubuntu version. The "status" column on the left shows if the PPA still exists or not (if the PPA page can be accessed).
You can get it via BZR (bzr get lp:~davidc3/+junk/repostory) or use the following command if you don't want to install BZR:
cd && mkdir checklp && cd checklp wget http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~davidc3/+junk/repostory/download/head:/repostory-20110119093413-fsj5x2kgbf3y5mxq-2/repostory
Then install the dependencies and run it:
sudo apt-get install zenity curl cd && cd checklp chmod +x repostory ./repostory
And speaking of PPAs, check out our tool to search for packages, list packages in your PPAs, add/remove/purge PPAs and more: Y PPA Manager.
Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal beta 1 has just been released! As usual, we'll do a recap of all the new features and changes since the previous milestone (Alpha 3) which of course you already know if you read WebUpd8 daily. But even so, maybe there are some things you've missed so read on to see what's new in Ubuntu 11.04 beta 1 since alpha 3!
Ubuntu 11.04 beta 1 comes with Kernel 2.6.38, Xserver 1.10, Gnome 2.32.1, Shotwell 0.9, Firefox 4.0 RC2 (apparently the package has not been updated to the final version, however, RC2 is identical to the final version), LibreOffice 3.3.2, Banshee 1.9.5, Evolution 2.32.2 and Nautilus 2.32.2.1.
Multiarch
Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal might get full multiarch library support. What does that mean for you? For example, if you use 64bit, you'll be able to install Adobe Flash among other 32bit libraries from the repositories without having to force the architecture or any other tweak. Here's an example that might work soon:
"sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer:i386"
Steve Langasek, who made this announcement on the Ubuntu-Devel mailing list says this doesn't work on the desktop yet because a lot of libraries need to be transitioned for multiarch. And for this, he needs help or else multiarch might only work for some packages in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal.
Ubuntu 11.04 beta 1 changes since alpha 3 (w/ screenshots)
We get a lot of comments regarding this so it seems many of you are not aware that the regular Gnome desktop is still available so I'll have to remind you that even though Unity is default, you can still log in to the classic GNOME desktop by selecting "Ubuntu Classic Desktop" in the login screen:
Also, if your hardware does not support Unity, Ubuntu will fall back to the regular GNOME desktop. Now that we've made this clear, let's begin:
A lot of things are being re-implemented in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal so even though you've known them since... forever, they are brand new in 11.04, but with a new look.
That's for instance the case of ALT + F2 which has been missing until Alpha 3 but has finally been added in Ubuntu 11.04 beta 1, and it looks very cool:
The functionality is pretty nice too: you get a list of search results as soon as you start typing and below it there's also a command history.
One very important feature was added to the latest Ubuntu 11.04 beta 1: the Unity launcher is now resizable. This has been a much requested feature but it has been ignored until now, when a patch was submitted and accepted so you can finally resize the launcher. There's a minimum of 32 pixels and a maximum of 64:
This feature is not default but has made a lot of noise lately so I had to add it to the post: Ubuntu Software Center lets you test drive applications without installing them (but it only works with some applications). You need a good Internet connection for this and also, you'll have to install a package called "qtnx" to be able to use it. To "test-drive" an application, open Ubuntu Software Center and on the application page you should see a new button called "Test Drive" under the application screenshot:
Speaking of Ubuntu Software Center: when installing an application, USC now asks if you want to add a shortcut on the launcher:
Unity grab handlers is also a new feature, especially designed for touch devices but it works on non-touch too: it's a plugin you can enable in CompizConfig Settings Manager which will help you resize or drag a window:
The Firefox AppMenu (Global Menu) has finally been set as default:
A LibreOffice appmenu is also available but it's not yet default.
You can now directly access a category from the Unity applications / files places. This was available in Ubuntu 10.10 but it was just re-introduced in the new Compiz-based Unity in Ubuntu 11.04:
Dash got new scrollbars:
Artwork
Ubuntu 11.04 beta 1 brings some artwork changes too. The default wallpaper got some slight changes (almost unnoticeable):
Also, the community wallpapers package has been updated and it now includes 16 brand new wallpapers:
There were some other changes to various artwork items: the panel icons got an update but just like the default wallpaper, the changes are not that easy to notice - except for the Ubuntu icon in the top left corner which is now a lot bigger then before. The Unity Application Files / Places icons were changed too. You can see screenshots with all of these throughout the screenshots and video in this post.
Other changes in Ubuntu 11.04 beta 1 (since alpha 3) worth mentioning:
changes to the Ubuntu One look
double clicking top panel restores maximized window
Dash suggests applications you may want to install; clicking such an application will open the Ubuntu Software Center
the Unity launcher now supports drag'n'drop
you can now drag icon to the trash to remove it
Dash got a blur option
Pressing ALT + F2 and entering "about:config" will launch the Unity settings in CCSM
and many many other minor tweaks and features
Another change that was introduced after Ubuntu 11.04 alpha 3 is removing the border for the Ambiance and Radiance themes. However, this change was quickly reverted as it seems it causes issues for those who do not use Unity but this may return until Ubuntu 11.04 final is released.
Unity 2D (Qt) video
As usual, I like to keep you up to date with Unity 2D's current status, even though it's not available on the Ubuntu 11.04 CD (but you can install it from the repositories). Since I don't use it, I can't post a detailed list of changes like for the regular Unity, but here's a short video demoing the latest Unity 2D.
Note: this time all the screenshots and videos have been made on a netbook. Since the last time (Alpha 3) I've made them on a 1920x1080 resolution, I though it would be nice to see how it looks on a netbook too, now that the netbook edition no longer exists. The only difference is that Dash is not full-screen on a desktop.
Up next: Ubuntu 11.04 beta 2 on April 14th and then Ubuntu 11.04 final on April 28th.
Download Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal beta 1
Remember: Ubuntu 11.04 is still in beta 1 so you may find bugs. It's recommended you don't install it on a production system. You have been warned!
Those of you that run Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal already probably know that the Dropbox application indicator doesn't work in Natty - not using the official Dropbox build.
But you can get the Dropbox AppIndicator to work in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal by using the latest script below:
1. Install Dropbox the regular way - using the .deb provided on its download page.
2. Run the commands below:
cd wget http://webupd8.googlecode.com/files/fixdropbox chmod +x fixdropbox ./fixdropbox
What the script does is remove the Dropbox daemon files and prompts you to download it again, then modifies the Dropbox startup script to start with a delay of 20 seconds and then modifies it so that Dropbox doesn't change it automatically (dropbox automatically overwrites this file on each start without this tweak).
So when you log in, Dropbox will start with a 20 seconds delay! That's the only way to get the Dropbox AppIndicator to work in Ubuntu 11.04 with the latest Dropbox version. For now anyway. If it doesn't start after 20 seconds, you may want to add more seconds to the script so edit it:
I've upgraded to Ubuntu 11.04 on my netbook a while back and as usual, I can't install Java the "official" way because the Ubuntu 11.04 Partner repository is not yet ready (it's usually available once the final Ubuntu version is released).
So what are the options for installing Java in Ubuntu 11.04 if you upgrade before the final version is released? You can download it from its website and install it manually and/or use the JDK updater script provided by Bruce Ingalls - but there are actually 2 much easier to use alternatives. Read on!
1. Install Java (JRE / JDK and the Java Plugin) In Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal using the Ubuntu 10.10 Partner repository
Press ALT + F2 and enter the following:
gksu /usr/bin/software-properties-gtk
Then, on the "Other software" tab click "Add" and add the following:
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu maverick partner
Now reload the software sources and search for "sun jre" (or "sun jdk" if you want to install Java JDK) in the Ubuntu Software Center.
If you want to install Java JRE and the Java plugin via command line, copy/paste the following command in a terminal:
Mounty is a very simple indicator applet you can use to mount CD / DVD images. It supports ISO, IMG, BIN, MDF and NRG and besides mounting, it can also burn the images to a CD/DVD.
Mounty can also remember the mounted images and add it to startup with a single click. It's a very simple but effective little indicator applet.
Install Mounty in Ubuntu
Mounty is available in the TahuTEK PPA. Add it and install Mounty in Ubuntu 10.04, 10.10 or 11.04 using the following commands:
A new Faenza Icon theme version has just been released: 0.9.1. This is just a minor bug-fix release, but it does bring a new variant called "Faenza-Darker" which is great for dark themes (dark buttons / Gnome Panel) with a light toolbar.
That's pretty nice because now you don't have to manually tweak the default Faenza Icon theme or use unofficial variants if you just want to use the original Faenza but with various light/dark icon combinations.
Faenza-Darker is the third official "dark" Faenza, along with "Faenza-Dark" and "Faenza-Darkest". To understand the differences between them, take a look at the screenshots below (read the description in Gedit too):
(Faenza-Dark)
(Faenza-Darker)
(Faenza Darkest)
Install the latest Faenza Icon Theme 0.9.1 (the PPA version says "0.9-ubuntu2" but that's 0.9.1) in Ubuntu using the following commands:
Mozilla has finally released Firefox 4 Mobile for Android and Maemo (Nokia N900). You probably already know all the new features since Firefox 4 Mobile has been in alpha/beta for quite some time, but I'll do a small recap:
Probably the coolest feature is Sync which you can use to sync your Firefox preferences, history, bookmarks, passwords and even tabs across other devices (including your desktop). Sync even supports custom servers.
Extension support
Lots of mobile optimizations are also available in the latest Firefox 4 mobile: pinch to zoom, resize text to fit the screen, volume rocker on Nokia N900
Save to PDF lets you save sites for offline viewing which is quite cool at times.
Share a page by email, Facebook, Twitter and Google Reader
Password manager
Tabbed browsing
And lots more. Check out the release notes for more info.
You can watch the official Firefox 4 Mobile for Android presentation video below:
Overall, Firefox 4 feels quite fast while browsing but the startup time really needs to be improved. It has improved lately but it's still nowhere near as fast as the stock Android browser. I almost dare to say it sometimes makes me forget why I like it - which is mainly thanks to the extensions support.
And speaking of extensions: there are a lot of extensions available already, but of course some of your favourites will probably be missing. For instance, while LastPass shows up in the extensions list, its page says it can't be installed on Android (you can install it from the LastPass website though - but it's not free). Luckily, 2 extensions which I'm sure you like: Adblock Plus and NoScript are already available on the Firefox Mobile addons page.
The CSS3 support is a very nice addition which I've missed in the default Android browser (yes, some people want the web to look nice too). And there's also HTML5 support meaning you can watch YouTube and others without Flash.
(Even if you've already added our Themes PPA, make sure you run "sudo apt-get update" so you get the latest packages as I've just uploaded these themes).
This is a pack of two amazing Emerald themes which can be used with any GTK theme you want, but there's also a very simple GTK theme to go with the Emerald themes. Even though you can't see the titlebar, you can still drag the area where it used to be to move the window. Also, the minimize and maximize buttons are still there, but are only slightly visible when you move the mose over the area where they should be.
Important: the GTK theme will not show up as a regular theme as it doesn't have a Metacity theme. To apply it, go to System > Preferences > Appearence, on the "Themes" tab and select "Customize", then select "GAIA Sprout" under "Controls".
For how to use the Emerald themes, see the end of the post.
The pack comes with a GTK+Metacity theme as well as two Emerald themes. While Soothe is comes with a Metacity theme, I for one prefer using it with the Soothe SmoothGlass Emerald theme (like in the screenshot above). Just like with GAIA Sprout, the Soothe Emerald (Soothe SmoothGlass) can still be used to move the window but you just can't see it. Also, the minimize, maximize and close buttons are still there, but are only slightly visible when you move the mose over the area where they should be.
Dichotomy is quite an old theme - it was one of the themes proposed for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx and I for one really like the way the menu looks so I decided to make it available via the WebUpd8 themes PPA.
Install it using the following commands:
sudo apt-get install dichotomy-gtk-theme
How to use Soother / GAIA Sprout (Gnome Panel / Emerald)
Booth Soothe and GAIA Sprout come with some custom Gnome Panel backgrounds you need to edit in GIMP. These can be downloaded via DevianArt (you'll have to download the whole theme) and there you'll also find exact instructions for setting up the custom Gnome Panel: GAIA Sprout | Soothe. If you think that's too hard (it's not!), you can use some already made regular Gnome panel backgrounds or tweak the font color using Gnome Color Chooser.
If you don't know how to use the Emerald themes (this includes applying a theme and using Emerald permanently or switching back to Metacity), we have a really really old post for that so check it out: How To Install Themes / Emerald (just skip to the Emerald part).
Want to move the Emerald decorator buttons to the left? We have a how-to for that too: Emerald: Move Minimize, Maximize And Close Buttons To The Left - but that won't look ok with GAIA Sprout (but should be ok with GAIA Sprout 2 Emerald theme which is also included in the package).
If you like Bluebird, you may also want a Chrome / Firefox theme to match. Below you'll find a theme that matches Chrome perfectly and a Firefox 4 theme which isn't a perfect match for Bluebird but looks great nevertheless. The Firefox 4 theme actually integrates quite well with other themes too.
Chrome / Chromium
For Chrome there's a theme that matches Blubird perfectly . However, to get the full experience, you may want to check the "Use system title bar and borders" option in Chrome settings ("Personal Stuff") tab.
Bluebird already looks great with Firefox 4 but you can use a theme called "QSQ" to get nicer buttons and a "more integrated" overall look - even though it doesn't matches the Bluebird colors perfectly.
If you want to be able to move the Firefox 4 menu (button) to the right but have a blue icon like in QSQ and not orange, install the Movable Firefox Button extension, move the menu button then disable the Movable Firefox Button extension.
If you're subscribed to the Ayatana mailing list (or you can look here - look for "Menus hidden by default"), you probably know the huge discussion behind the AppMenu (Global Menu) which is set to autohide by default in Ubuntu 11.04 (in both Unity and the classic desktop). Apparently even quite a few Ubuntu developers find it confusing.
I didn't find a way to disable the autohide only, but I was reading on Ubuntusecrets.it about disabling the AppMenu altogether and though I'd let you know about 2 ways of disabling the AppMenu: either for a specific application or globally, for all applications but using a different method which should keep you error-free.
Please note that on the "Ubuntu classic" desktop (that's the name of the session in the login window for the classic Gnome desktop in Ubuntu 11.04 - without Unity), you can simply right click the panel, deselect "Lock the panel", then right click the AppMenu and remove it. The menu will then instantly be available in the application window.
But for Unity, it's a bit more complicated. Read on!
Disable the AppMenu (Global Menu) for an individual application
This will actually work for both the classic Ubuntu 11.04 desktop and Unity.
If you want to run an application with the menu inside the application window and not on the Uniy panel (which is not a regular Gnome Panel!), use the following command (just an example):
UBUNTU_MENUPROXY= gedit
No, that's not an error, you basically must run "UBUNTU_MENUPROXY" with an empty value.
You can also run an application with the menu in both the Unity panel and the application window, like so:
APPMENU_DISPLAY_BOTH=1 gedit
You can edit the .desktop file if you want to make some menu item always open a certain application without AppMenu (you can find them in /ur/share/applications).
Disable the AppMenu Indicator in Unity for all applications
If you want to disable the Appmenu (Global Menu) for all the applications in Unity, run the following commands:
sudo su echo "export UBUNTU_MENUPROXY=" > /etc/X11/Xsession.d/81ubuntumenuproxy
Then restart your computer.
If you want to re-enable the AppMenu, simply remove the /etc/X11/Xsession.d/81ubuntumenuproxy file:
sudo rm /etc/X11/Xsession.d/81ubuntumenuproxy
Considering the discussion on the Ayatana mailing list, who knows, maybe the AppMenu will get an option to disable the autohide or some other changes - everything is possible since Ubuntu 11.04 is still alpha.
In my quest to find the perfect text editor (for me), I've stumbled upon Scribes and I was quite impressed with its simplicity and features so I though it deserves a post on WebUpd8.
Automatic pair character completion and smart insertion
Automatic indentation
Powerful text processing and manipulation functions
Bookmarks and smart navigation
Document Switcher
Syntax colors for over 30 languages
and much more
Unlike most text editors out there, Scribes doesn't have a toolbar or status bar by default. Instead there's a "trigger area" in the top right corner which you can hover to reveal the toolbar. This is also very simplistic and you can only use it to open some files, search, replace, configure Scribes (including selecting between more then 100 themes - these I'm not sure if are included in Scribes or it automatically imports the Gedit styles) and a few other basic operations. There are however some more options available via the right click menu.
The way Scribes handles multiple windows is unique. And a bit weird I should add: it doesn't have tabs and its author describes it as "a spatial and document-centric application". You can switch between your open documents by pressing F9 - this will trigger the document switcher which allows you to focus any open document. I must admit I don't exactly like this feature but I'll try to get used to it.
Scribes also supports remote editing: press Ctrl + L and then type the remote file address (e.g.: ftp://username@ftp.server.com/yoursite/style.css).
Another interesting feature is bookmarks support: press "Ctrl + d" to bookmark a line and then "Ctrl + b" to show the bookmark browser. To remove a bookmark, the same "Ctrl + d" keyboard shortcut is used.
So far I'm really enjoying Scribes and even though I miss the tabs, switching between documents is still easy and I guess this does make sense for a minimalistic text editor.
Besides the tabs, there's another downside which could easily be avoided if there was an option to turn it off (but I for one couldn't figure how to do this): autosave - sometimes I really don't want to save a file and Scribes doesn't seem to agree and it can end up really messing up your files. This is of course not a problem if you use BZR/GIT/SVN but I had to mention it.
(Scribes keyboard shortcuts - just press CTRL + H to trigger this pane)
Install Scribes in Ubuntu
While Scribes is available in the official Ubuntu repositories, the scribes developer says "the version of Scribes currently in Ubuntu is old and broken" so you should use the Scribes PPA instead.
Add the PPA and install Scribes in Ubuntu using the following commands:
Liquorix is a precompiled Kernel for Debian Sid (works in Ubuntu too - I've tested it on Ubuntu 10.10) that includes a modified version of Zen Kernel, optimized for desktop performance.
You probably want some benchmarks for this but I cannot provide any useful benchmarks since I only have one computer (well 2 but I don't have access to the second computer right now). If you want to see some numbers, you can take a look at THESE quick benchmarks which I've generated using "hardinfo -r" but the numbers are probably pretty useless. You can also take a look at the Liquorix Kernel thread @ Debian Forums.
Install Liquorix Kernel in Ubuntu
The latest Liquorix Kernel version available in the repository is 2.6.38 which already includes the "200 lines patch" from upstream.
You should try the Liquorix Kernel only if you have a pretty new computer (hardware) and only if you know how to recover your system in case something goes wrong. So use it at your own risk!
Please note that currently Liquorix does not provide a PAE (highmem) kernel and I've actually tried to compile it with PAE but failed because it seems Zen doesn't support this. So if you have more then 3 GB of RAM and you're using 32bit, don't install Liquorix.
Add the Liquorix repository:
echo "deb http://liquorix.net/debian sid main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/liquorix.list echo "deb-src http://liquorix.net/debian sid main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/liquorix.list sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install '^liquorix-([^-]+-)?keyring.?'
And now you're done adding the repository. Time to install the Liquorix Kernel:
Chen Xiao-Long post a comment below about getting FGLRX (ATI) to work with Linux Kernel 2.6.38. Please note that I didn't test this, but it seems to work (see the comments). Once again I have to remind you: use it at your own risk!
What you must do is download THIS script - save it to /tmp, then switch to a TTY and log in (press Control + Alt + F1) and run the script with:
cd /tmp chmod +x install-fglrx-debian.sh sudo ./install-fglrx-debian.sh
I know many of you have tried Liquorix because I've received quite a few tips regarding Liquorix - and that's why I wrote this article. So have you tried Liquorix? What's your experience with it?
By default, Skype doesn't play very nicely if you use a theme with dark menus. This is a serious inconvenient since Skype is a very popular application and the default Ubuntu theme - Ambiance - uses dark menus. But this is actually very easy to "fix".
To make the Skype menu readable when using a dark theme, go to the Skype options (you need to be logged in to do this) and on the "General" tab, under "Choose style" select "Desktop settings":
Then, click "Apply" and restart Skype. The Skype menus should now be readable.
Clementine - a Qt music player with some very interesting features - has reached version 0.7, getting some cool new features like a new edit track info dialog which allows you to edit more fields, change multiple songs at once, change cover art and even an option to identify songs and fill tags using MusicBrainz, support for .cue files and more.
(The new Clementine "Track Info Dialog")
Other new features include:
album covers in the library view
"Duplicates only" and "Untagged songs only" views
a "Full library rescan" option which should rescan your library much more thoroughly than before
"Show in file browser" option
support for network proxies
global shortcuts for rating songs, repeat and shuffle modes
And many many other minor improvements that will make your life easier (like Middle-clicking a song now enqueues it into the playlist, you can now tell the library scanner which filenames it should prefer when looking for album cover art).
Install Clementine 0.7 in Ubuntu
The Clementine stable PPA hasn't been updated yet but if you're using the Clementine-dev PPA you should already have the latest 0.7 (but using the Clementine-dev PPA is probably not a good idea unless you like testing bleeding-edge software).
Until the Clementine stable PPA is updated, you can download Clementine 0.7 from Google Code.
Ubuntu Software Center got a really cool feature in Ubuntu 11.04: it lets you test drive applications without having to install them.
To get this to work you firstly must install a package called "qtnx":
sudo apt-get install qtnx
Then when you open Ubuntu Software Center you should see a new "Test drive" button next to the application screenshot. The applications run on a remote server so you must have a decent Internet connection and also, this is not available for all the applications in the Ubuntu Software Center, but nevertheless, this feature sounds awesome. Here's a video I've just recorded so you can see exactly how it works:
Do you like Synapse and want to help? Alberto, one of the Synapse developers wants to make the Synapse categories customizable but before proceeding, he wants to hear your opinion about it so head over to Alberto's blog and check out his mockup, then vote! You can also leave a comment telling him if you like it or what he can do to improve it.
System Monitor Indicator is a new appindicator that displays your system CPU and memory usage on the panel - be it the regular Gnome panel or the new Unity top bar.
The info is displayed directly on the panel, without having to click anything. This may not sound like a good idea if you use a netbook, but if you have a 20'' or larger monitor, you probably have plenty of space on your top panel.
Maybe some option to display the info in a drop-down or chose what info is displayed (with the other being displayed upon clicking the appindicator) would be nice though. But this is the first System Monitor Indicator release so it has plenty of time to improve.
The System Monitor Indicator developer welcomes all ideas / suggestions so if you have an idea for a cool feature, leave a comment! Or submit a bug.
Download
System Monitor Indicator is available in a PPA but for Ubuntu 11.04 only so if you use Natty already, simply add the PPA and install "indicator-sysmonitor".
For Ubuntu 10.10 (I've actually only tested it in Maverick), simply download and install THIS deb file (for both 32bit and 64bit).
gImageReader (runs on Linux and Windows) is a GUI for tesseract-ocr, a free software optical character recognition (OCR) engine which you can use to extract text from PDF documents or images.
gImageReader allows you to select columns, part of a document, spell check the output and more but it didn't recognize a whole document at once. But the latest gImageReader 0.9 adds multipage-recognition support for multipage PDF. You can also set gImageReader to extract the text from a page range if you don't need it to recognize a whole document.
Besides this very useful (and much needed!) new feature, gImageReader 0.9 also comes with:
new language profiles: chinese, korean, japanese, hebrew, arabic, croatian
all formats supported by gdk_pixbuf to file filter for open dialog
option to cancel the recognition
fixed auto-installing new dictionaries (new dictionaries would not appear in main language selector until program restart)
many other minor improvements and bug fixes
How about the speed you may ask. Well, in my test, gImageReader was able to recognize a 36 page PDF document in 1,10 minutes (on a kind of slow computer I have at work).
For a slightly more detailed post on gImageReader which also includes installing the latest Tesseract OCR in Ubuntu 10.10 and 10.04 (which comes with more languages and much improved recognition but is experimental!), see: Extract Text From PDFs And Images With gImageReader, A Tesseract OCR GUI
Unity (and Ubuntu 11.04 in general) got a lot of minor new features lately. Nothing big, but there are a lot of them. Here is a video with some of these changes in the latest Unity 3.6.8 (as of today):
In the above Unity video you'll notice:
new icons for Unity Places Files / Applications, workspace switcher as well as the top left Ubuntu logo
double clicking top panel restores maximized window
new scrollbars in Dash
Ubuntu Software Center now asks if you want to add a shortcut for the newly installed application to the launcher
Unity grab handles (for touch devices tough I've used it on a regular netbook)
There are a lot more minor changes to Unity then the ones I've included in the above video. Check them out here.
Overall, Ubuntu 11.04 is feeling a lot more stable lately, however there are a lot of incomplete (or completely missing) features. I've already upgraded to Natty on my netbook but I'm still thinking if I should do it already on my main computer. How about you, have you upgraded to Natty already?
The Ubuntu Font Family package has just been updated in Ubuntu 11.04 and it now includes 2 new variants - light and medium:
That's not all that's new in the new version: there were also a lot of bugs fixed as well as other slight changes. Check out the full changelog HERE.
As usual, the latest Ubuntu Font Family package is available in our Ubuntu Font Family PPA - add it and install the latest Ubuntu Font Family using the commands below:
The "ubuntu-wallpapers" package has just been updated in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal and it now includes wallpapers from the Ubuntu 11.04 community contest:
These seem like the best community wallpapers so far and I'm really glad they've finally decided to include some non-photos as wallpapers (we've had enough flowers in 10.10).
I have made subtle changes and introduced new light refractions. We can continue to add light streams and re-balance with each release - the landscape becomes gently lighter and brighter and gains in complexity to reflect our drive towards 12.04 :)
IMHO as we move towards becoming more of a 'household' platform and with the great changes coming with Unity (launcher/dash) general users will get reassurance from the familiarity of the wallpaper and will also identify with it as part of our personality in new screenshots.
Download all the Ubuntu 11.04 community wallpapers from HERE (I didn't link to the .deb because it would replace your current community wallpapers package).
![GImageReader](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVjPNT9S1-9Al5WWxMfEei_kuxBc5V33IcdJPO5uEd7JTqz88VVYlNpi-tlYpSTXruawqdz9YrC9kT3cdrT5zJOOfqBQ2siqLNnLM6K-0FkPCqSmkV5o-5rFu8C_AChhCUkcbIwfJ-fGK/s400/gimagereader.png")
![Ubuntu Light Font](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmI-zF4DpRwq0nGLEFw2AKYpkEXa09W0041YKM1XviL4Lq2BreJs68-NQm5q7BIP2V_vnD807LrQB4XiMfwPBXdNqbjO9SMqUUaxlsA3u6ANCT5PjYY4zYCSgF0APlbqCJXBj86CAbpjK/s400/ubuntu-light-font.png")
