Cairo Dock 2.3.0 Released With New Applets, Better Compiz And Kwin Integration

Cairo Dock (also known as GLX Dock) is a launcher / task manager like Avant Window Navigator or Docky and its major advantage is the huge list of applets it comes with: menus (MintMenu, Cardapio, etc.), Drop to Share applet, Ubuntu Me Menu and Messaging Menu applets, keyboard indicator, netspeed, network monitor, notification area, power manager, stacks, terminal, weather, weblets, system monitor and many many more. Also, unlike other docks, Cairo Dock also comes with stand-alone applets meaning the applets don't have to be attached to the dock and you can use them like Screenlets / Desklets.

This is Cairo Dock:

(Cairo Dock - Tux_n_Tosh theme and some Cairo Dock applets)

And this too:

(Cairo Dock - Unity-1 theme)

Cairo Dock 2.3.0, released

A new stable Cairo Dock version - 2.3.0 -, has been released today, bringing a lot of new applets, improvements for some already existing applets and better Compiz and Kwin integration.

Note: if you've been using Cairo Dock from the unstable PPA, you already know most of these features (we've actually posted about some of them already).

Here's what's new in Cairo Dock 2.3.0:

• A new "Recent Events" applet lets you easily browse recent files such as documents, audio and video files, websites and so on thanks to Zeitgeist. The new applet also has a search and looks a lot like Sezen. Click for a screenshot.
• New applets: Transmission, Deluge, MintMenu, Translator, Quote of the day, etc. You can install those from the GLX Dock Applets repository - to install an applet, drag and drop the applet link from the browser to Cairo Dock.
• System-Monitor applet can now monitor CPU temperature and fan speed
• The Logout applet now warns you when the computer needs to be restarted.
• The Drop and Share applet now handles UbuntuOne (also works with Dropbox)
• Better integration with Compiz and Kwin.
• The Stack applet now displays the web page's favicon.
• more

For more info see the official announcement @ GLX Dock forums.

Install Cairo Dock stable in Ubuntu

Cairo Dock 2.3.0 stable is already available in the main Cairo Dock PPA. Add the stable PPA and install Cairo Dock in Ubuntu 11.04, 10.10 and 10.04 using the commands below:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cairo-dock-team/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install cairo-dock

Using Debian? There's also a Debian Cairo Dock PPA. See the instructions for using it @ Launchpad.

Cairo Dock 2.3 Gets Zeitgeist Integration (Sezen-Like Applet)

Cairo Dock 2.3 (currently in beta) got a cool new feature that lets you easily browse recent files such as documents, audio and video files, websites and so on thanks to Zeitgeist. The new applet also has a search and looks a lot like Sezen.

Fabounet, one of the Cairo Dock developers recorded a video with the new Zeitgeist applet in action:

If you want to try it out, you'll find installation instructions HERE (but remember it's still in beta so not everything may work). Once you've installed everything, add the "Recent Events" applet to Cairo Dock.

GLX-Dock (Cairo Dock) 2.3 Beta Gets MintMenu, Cardapio Applets, Many Other Improvements [Video]

A new version of GLX-Dock (previously known as Cairo Dock) is on the way - 2.3 (currently in beta), which will bing a lot of new applets: MintMenu, Cardapio and Lancelot menus, a translator applet, Thunderbird unread count applet, Transmission, Deluge and Ktorrent applets and more.

Further more, GLX Dock now has its own applet repository so you can install new applets by simply dragging and dropping them onto the dock.

Some of the important new features in Cairo Dock 2.3:

• 2 new themes are also available: Japan-2 and MeeGo
• The System-Monitor applet can now monitor CPU temperature and fan speed.
• The Logout applet now warns you when the computer needs to be restarted.
• The menus have a better layout and if you lock the dock, most of entries are hidden.
• The Slider is much faster to load a huge number of images.
• A unified icon settings window helps configuring all the launchers/applets/docks/desklets in a short time.

Video

Here is a video with these latest changes in action:

(The new MeeGo theme)

Install Cairo Dock beta and the new applets

To add the weekly Cairo Dock PPA, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cairo-dock-team/weekly
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

To install the new applets:

sudo apt-get install bzr
cd ~/.config/cairo-dock && rm -r third-party && bzr checkout --lightweight lp:cairo-dock-plug-ins-extras third-party

Please note that while Cardapio and MintMenu worked for me, after a few minutes they stopped working so use the beta at your own risk!

Screenshot, video and info thanks to Fabounet.

GLX Dock (Cairo Dock) 2.2 Released With A Panel Mode, Multiple Instances Support, MeMenu, Messaging Menu And Lots More

Cairo Dock - also known as GLX Dock - version 2.2 has finally been released! We already posted about most of the new stuff in GLX Dock 2.2 when we wrote about the beta version, but here's a small recap:

• panel mode
• 2 new autohide modes (hide whenever the dock overlaps the active window" and "hide whenever the dock overlaps any window")
• icons can be displayed when the dock is hidden
• integration of the Me Menu and Messaging Menu applets
• run multiple instances of Glx Dock
• better support for old graphic cards
• new default theme to match the Ubuntu Ambiance / Radiance themes and new wallpaper
• other small enhancements: all the themes have been polished, you can now manage tasks in the Clock's calendar, use tiny URLs in the Drop-and-Share applet, the Dustbin applet handles all the drives and many more.

Here is another screenshot, provided by Fabounet in which you can see the panel mode / multiple GLX Dock instances, the MeMenu and Messaging Menu:

And of course, a video with Cairo Dock 2.2 in action (Cairo Dock in the video is the beta version but there haven't been many changes since then):

(make sure you watch it in HD - it plays in HTML5 if you've enabled it on YouTube!)

Install Glx Dock (Cairo Dock) 2.2 in Ubuntu

To install Glx Dock in Ubuntu, open a terminal and paste the following commands:

sudo -v
echo "deb http://repository.glx-dock.org/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) cairo-dock" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
wget -q http://repository.glx-dock.org/cairo-dock.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

Glx Dock will also be available in Ubuntu 10.10 official repositories soon (currently it's RC1).

Thanks to Fabounet for the second screenshot!

Cairo Dock (Glx Dock) 2.2 Beta Officially Released With Lots Of Cool New Features

The first official beta of Cairo Dock (GLX Dock) 2.2 was released with a huge list of new features and improvements - we already posted most of them on WebUpd8, but we'll do a small recap. If you're using the Cairo Dock weekly PPA, you already have all these features. But maybe you're not aware of some of them, so read on!

Even though the version in the Cairo Dock (now GLX-Dock) weekly PPA is beta 3, this is actually the first official beta of Cairo Dock 2.2 as announced by Fabounet (the main Cairo Dock developer).

What's new in Cairo Dock (GLX Dock) 2.2 beta

2 new autohide modes have been added to Cairo Dock 2.2: "hide whenever the dock overlaps the active window" and "hide whenever the dock overlaps any window". You can use this with animations such as move-down, semi-transparent or fade-out.

These 2 new autohide modes are really smart too: if for instance someone talks to you in Pidgin, the Pidgin icon becomes visible even though the dock is hidden.

Another important new feature in Cairo Dock 2.2 is the integration of the Me Menu and Messaging Menu applets. Besides this, Cairo Dock can now be used in a panel mode so you can easily replace the Gnome panels with Cairo Dock. Further more, you can now run multiple instances of Cairo Dock (so you can have multiple docks / panels).

Other small enhancements: all the themes have been polished, you can now manage tasks in the Clock's calendar, use tiny URLs in the Drop-and-Share applet, the Dustbin applet handles all the drives and many more.

Install GLX Dock / Cairo Dock 2.2 beta in Ubuntu

To install Cairo Dock 2.2. beta in Ubuntu, simply copy/paste the following commands in a temrinal (see the commands for your Ubuntu version):

For Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala or Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cairo-dock-team/weekly
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

For Ubuntu 8.04 and 9.04:

echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/cairo-dock-team/weekly/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) main ## Cairo-Dock-PPA-Weekly" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys E80D6BF5
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

Note: the video in this post only shows a few of the new features in Cairo Dock 2.2 as well as some older features overview! Try out Cairo Dock 2.2 for yourself to see all the new features in action!


More info and a couple more videos @ Glx-Dock.org

GnoMenu 2.7 Released With Zeitgeist Support [GNOME Main Menu Alternative]

GnoMenu is an eye-candy GNOME menu with themes support which works both for composited and non-composited desktops. It works with the GNOME Panel, Avant Window Navigator, Cairo Dock, KDE Plasma and more.

The applications supports many customizations: from changing the way the button looks to some amazing themes and more advanced features:

GnoMenu 2.7 was just released and it adds Zeitgeist support: simply right click an application in the menu and you'll see a list of most used / recently used files related to that application.

Other changes in GnoMenu 2.7:

• Places now allow 1 level browse in right click menu
• Recent files now have a open with in right click menu
• Speed improvements
• No more loading errors
• Losts of bugs fixed
• More Translations

To install GnoMenu 2.7 in Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala and 10.04 Lucid Lynx, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnomenu-team/ppa && sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gnomenu

To take advantage of Zeitgeist functionality, also install Zeitgeist:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:zeitgeist/ppa && sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install zeitgeist

Once you install GnoMenu, right click the GNOME panel, select "Add to panel" and then add the newly installed GnoMenu.

Performance-wise, GnoMenu has improved a lot. However, after selecting the option to load the menu icons into the memory so GnoMenu is more responsive, the memory usage is somewhere around 23.3 mb (as a comparison, MintMenu uses around 20 mb on my system). But that's the story with eyecandy: it requires some extra RAM.

Cairo Dock (GLX-Dock) To Get A Panel Mode

If you want to replace your Gnome panel with a dock, Avant Window Navigator (Docky also has a panel mode but only a few applets so it cannot fully replace a Gnome Panel) is no longer the only option as Cairo Dock 2.2.0 beta added a panel mode as well:

You can also view this video in HTML5 + WebM @ Youtube.



Cairo Dock 2.2.0 beta is available in the weekly Cairo Dock PPA.

Cairo Dock (GLX-Dock) 2.2.0 Beta Gets Multiple Instances Support

Cairo Dock (also known as GLX-Dock) 2.2.0 will be a truly amazing release. After announcing a new autohide option, a new systray and the MeMenu applet, a new video with a feature to be released in Cairo Dock 2.2.0 was published on YouTube by the Cairo Dock developers: multiple Cairo Dock instances, each with its own settings:

All these new features are already available in Cairo Dock 2.2.0 beta which can be installed in Ubuntu via Cairo Dock's weekly PPA (warning: it's unstable):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cairo-dock-team/weekly
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

Cairo Dock (GLX-Dock) 2.2.0 To Get A New Systray, MeMenu [Video]

It seems there's a lot of competition between the Linux docks lately, each adding feature after feature.

After AWN got a new style called Lucido (AWN will also get Zeitgeist integration soon), Cairo Dock announced a new systray (or notification area) which you can preview in the video below:

The new systray only works in KDE for now but it should be available on GNOME soon.


Update: I stumbled upon yet another Cairo Dock 2.20 (still beta) which includes Ubuntu's MeMenu:

Cairo Dock (GLX Dock) To Get A New Autohide Option In Version 2.1.4

Cairo Dock (which recently got a new theme for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx) adds yet another cool feature: a smart auto-hide function.

The new autohide it's like Docky's intellihide except I found Cairo Dock to work even better (there I've said it!).


Here is a video with the new Cairo Dock autohide option:

But to see what I mean you must try it for yourself. This new feature (and many other new features) will be included in Cairo Dock 2.1.4 which is still in beta and thus not yet available in Ubuntu Lucid official repositories or the stable Cairo Dock repository.

However, if you want to install Cairo Dock 2.1.4 beta, you can use the Cairo Dock Weekly PPA (Unstable!):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cairo-dock-team/weekly
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

To add the stable Cairo Dock repository, see THIS post.

Cairo Dock Gets A New Default Theme For Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx [Video]

Cairo Dock (also known as GLX-Dock) is an application which provides a dock, a taskbar, and many applets that can be placed either inside the dock or on your desktop, at your convenience ! It uses Cairo / OpenGL to render nice graphics with hardware acceleration, which makes it very smooth and low on CPU. It's highly customisable and comes with a lot of ready-to-use themes.

Speaking of docks, a recent update to Cairo Dock brings a new default theme for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx. The theme is also available in the Cairo Dock official repository and you can preview it in the video below:

To install Cairo Dock in Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx, simply paste this in a terminal:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

If you're not using Ubuntu 10.04, install Cairo Dock from it's official repository:

sudo -v
echo "deb http://repository.glx-dock.org/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) cairo-dock ## Cairo-Dock-Stable" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
wget -q http://repository.glx-dock.org/cairo-dock.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

If you're adventurous, you can also use the weekly Cairo Dock PPA.


For other Linux distributions, see the Cairo Dock wiki for installation instructions.

Poll Results: Best Linux Dock

So, what dock do the WebUpd8 readers consider to be the best? Read on to find out...

The official results can also be seen HERE

Docky got an amazing head start, but it's initial 60% slowly fade away. Docky still won the poll with 36.54% (558 votes), but only by 11 votes (less then 1%) from the second place, Avant Window Navigator (AWN). This most definitely has something to do with the fact that the poll was featured in the sidebar - so besides the WebUpd8 subscribers who probably voted in the beginning (~60% of them choosing Docky), there were a lot of votes by occasional users coming from search engines and so on. What does that mean? While most Linux / Ubuntu geeks (WebUpd8 subscribers) prefer Docky, the average user is more of a Avant Window Navigator fan. And Cairo Dock too, because Cairo Dock also got quite a few votes in the end (297 - 19.45%).


Dockbar (including DockBarX) got 4.26% of votes while ADeskBar only 0.65%.

In the "Other answer" votes were also mentioned: Wbar - 5 votes, Talika - 4 votes, the rest getting just one vote.


The next weekly poll should be out tomorrow or the day after. We're not really sure on what it should be, so leave a comment if you have an interesting weekly poll idea (application).

Browse all our weekly polls.