AutoKey: Text Replacement And Hotkey Utility For Linux

Because I couldn't get Sikuli to work on Linux, I searched for an alternative and remembered about AutoKey which even though I've known for some time, I've never got to use.

AutoKey is a Linux application (the latest version comes with a GUI for both Gnome and KDE) somewhat similar to AutoHotkey for Windows, which allows you to manage a collection of phrases or other text, and assign abbreviations and hotkeys to these phrases allowing you to insert them on demand into whatever program you are using.

Not only that, but starting with version 0.60 you can write Python scripts to automate virtually any task that can be accomplished via the keyboard. Unfortunately, the macros you may have created for previous AutoKey versions do not work with 0.60+.

AutoKey features:

• KDE and GTK versions available, making AutoKey integrate well into any desktop environment
• Write Python scripts to automate virtually any task that can be accomplished via the keyboard
• Build-in code editor (using QScintilla in KDE or GtkSourceView2 in GTK)
• Create phrases (blocks of text) to be pasted into any program on demand (uses the X selection)
• Create collections of phrases/scripts in folders, and assign a hotkey or abbreviation to the folder to display a popup menu
• Regular expressions can be used to filter windows by their title, to exclude hotkeys/abbreviations from triggering in certain applications
• Scripts, phrases and folders can be attached to the tray icon menu, allowing you to select them without assigning a hotkey or abbreviation
• AutoKey can track your usage patterns and present the most frequently used items at the top of the popup menu

AutoKey can be used for many things, it's up to you to decide for what you may need it. I've always wanted to be able to log-in to different websites no matter the browser I use, using just a keyboard shortcut (I know, this is not very good for security, but I use it for less important accounts on different websites). And since this automatic login can be achieved in just a few seconds, I made a video so you can see AutoKey in action:

Don't worry about the password being visible, it's a test account and also the password has been changed. Also, sorry about the video being so "quick", it seems there is something wrong with my desktop recording app.

Installing the latest AutoKey version in Ubuntu

AutoKey exists in the Ubuntu repositories, but that's an old version. To use the new AutoKey, make sure you firstly remove Autokey older than 0.60:

sudo apt-get remove autokey

Then, to add the AutoKey PPA, paste the following command(s) in a terminal:

-For Ubuntu Karmic:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cdekter/ppa

-For Ubuntu Hardy, Intrepid and Jaunty:

sudo bash -c "echo 'deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/cdekter/ppa/ubuntu ubuntu_version main' >> /etc/apt/sources.list"
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 6E3C0CE5

and replace "ubuntu_version" with hardy, intrepid or jaunty, depending on the Ubuntu version you use.

Then, to install AutoKey (any Ubuntu version):

-Gnome:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install autokey-gtk

-KDE:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install autokey

Note: for Ubuntu Hardy users, only Autokey-gtk is up to date, the KDE version being 0.54.5.


Other Linux distributions: Download the latest AutoKey version.

For help creating scripts, see the AutoKey wiki. There is also a Google Group where you may find useful info. And finally, you can also get support on AutoKey thread @ Ubuntuforums.org

Yet Another Opera 10.50 Alpha Snapshot Released

Opera devs seem to have really speed up the development, with lots of bugs fixed and a new snapshot released only one day after the last one. Opera 10.50 looks more and more polished and with it's amazing speed (since they introduced the Carakan javascript engine), it can become a real competitor for Firefox and Chrome (I wanted to say IE too, but that's a bundled competitor, not something people usually choose), specially on Linux where Opera finally ditched Qt. If only they would go open source...

The new snapshot brings more Windows fixes, but not only:

• Facebook is working again
  
• A new view button to the right on the status bar adds a zoom slider (Windows-only for now)
  
• Work on tab management (MDI)
  
• Skin fixes, such as a glow on the personal bar to make the text readable (Windows 7/Vista)
  
• Stability fixes

For a full list of fixed bugs and download, see the post on the Opera Desktop Team blog (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X).

For Linux, you can simply run this to download and run the latest Opera 10.50 alpha snapshot:

32bit:

wget http://snapshot.opera.com/unix/snapshot-6204/opera-10.50-6204.linux.i386.tar.bz2 -O - | tar xjf -
cd opera-10.50-6204.linux.i386/
./opera &

64bit:

wget http://snapshot.opera.com/unix/snapshot-6204/opera-10.50-6204.linux.x86_64.tar.bz2 -O - | tar xjf -
cd opera-10.50-6204.linux.x86_64/
./opera &

Sikuli Lets You Program Your Computer Using Screenshots [Windows, Linux, Mac OS X]

Sikuli is a really interesting cross-platform (works on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X) application which automates tasks using screenshots. That means that you can basically program your computer to perform certain actions using scripts made of screenshots. You can also send certain keyboard keys, enter text and so on. Here is an example of a Sikuli script:

Sikuli Script automates anything you see on the screen without internal API's support. You can programmatically control a web page, a desktop application running on Windows/Linux/Mac OS X, or even an iphone application running in an emulator.

Sikuli seems like an amazing idea, however I've read that on Windows it worked for some while other had issues with it; the developers posted Mac OSX screenshots so I think Mac users will not have any issues getting it to work. I for one have tried it in Linux but it doesn't want perform any actions I program it to do. But maybe I did something wrong so I invite you to test it and share your opinion. Please note that to run Sikuli in Linux, you need to install Java6 and libcv1 (for Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install libcv1).


If you haven't quite understand what Sikuli is about, take a look at the following screencast:

Download Sikuli

[via downloadsquad]

10 IP Privacy Licenses Giveaway - Winners Announced

Last week we made a "contest" (random) for 10 IP Privacy licenses.


The winners are:

1. Zorro
2. bruceingalls
3. MakavelliRo
4. maheshmohan.mu
5. Kaoss
6. janet
7. linkxs
8. mahdif62
9. rwayp
10. gabi

The license keys have already been sent to the lucky winners. Sorry for those who didn't win, if I could, I'd give you all a license (like we did with Google Wave invites). But don't worry, more giveaways will come!

Repack .deb Packages For Installed Software [Quick Ubuntu Tip]

Suppose you installed a .deb from somewhere and want to post it somewhere or just give it to a friend, but you can't find the download link anymore. If you still have the software installed, you can easily repack the .deb package by using dpkg-repack.

To do this, firstly install dpkg-repack:

sudo apt-get install dpkg-repack

And then, to repack a .deb for an installed package, simply run this command:

sudo dpkg-repack <package>

Where <package> is the .deb package you want to repack.

dpkg-repack can be even used to create a different architecture .deb, for example amd64 (but I cannot test this to see if the amd64 created packages actually work ok):

sudo dpkg-repack --arch=amd64 <package>

For more info on dpkg-repack, type:

dpkg-repack --help

[via littlejohn.se]

Hanso Gnome Theme Updated For Ubuntu Lucid [Community Themes]

Hanso Gnome theme has been updated for Ubuntu Lucid community inclusion. This is almost a complete re-write, incorporating more Dust and Human elements. Also, the Metacity buttons have been modified from X-color and Finestly, and a new themed Nautilus sidebar was added:

The new Hanso Redux requires Murrine v0.91.0, which you can download from here (only works for Lucid):

• i386
• amd64

More info on the Hanso theme and download @ Ubuntu Artwork wiki


Browse more Ubuntu community proposed themes.

VLC 1.0.5 Has Been Released, Includes Minor Bugfixes Only

I wanted to post this yesterday but there's not much to say. Well, I'll post it anyway. VideoLAN Media Player (VLC) 1.0.5 was released yesterday, this being a minor bugfix version that provides various fixes, translation updates and codec updates that should provide decoding speed-ups.

These minor changes are mostly for Windows and Mac OS X: a new compiler for the Windows version and support for the latest Apple remotes for the Mac version.

Changes from VLC 1.0.4 to VLC 1.0.5:

Decoders:
* SubRip extra styles improvements
* Fix potential crashes in SSA and svg decoders

Mac OS X Interface:
* Improved support for the 2009 Apple Remote

Windows port:
* Use of gcc 4.4.2 to compile instead of gcc 4.2. This might slightly
increase performance and fix x264 issues

Translations:
* Portuguese Brazilian, Lithunanian, Romanian, Ukranian, Japanese, Bengali,
Walloon, Galician, Danish, Khmer, Polish, Slovenian, Vietnamese, Finnish
Russian, Slovak translation updates
* New Malayalam, Macedoninan, Nynorsk translations


And a note: I've seen lots of messages on the VLC mailing lists from users saying there is a trojan in the latest VLC 1.0.5. This is most probably a false positive, but I though I should warn you anyway:

To download VLC 1.0.5, head over to the VideoLAN website. For Ubuntu: add the GetDeb.net repository to install the latest VLC 1.0.5.