Install Docky Stacks From An Ubuntu PPA

"Stacks" is a really cool way of browsing files from Docky. This feature is available in a separate Docky branch but luckily Ricotz has packaged and uploaded it to his Docky PPA (available for Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat and 11.04 Natty Narwhal).

Thanks to the PPA, installing Docky Stacks is easy, but it involves some extra steps if you're using the Docky development PPA or the Elementary Art / Desktop PPAs because the Docky stacks version is older then the Docky development branch (but newer then the latest stable Docky):

A. If you're using the Docky Development PPA, use the following commands to purge the PPA:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge ppa:docky-core/ppa

B. If you're using the Elementary Art or Elementary Desktop PPAs added (this does not include the Nautilus Elementary PPA!), you need to disable them temporarily. To do this, go to Software Sources (you can access this via the Ubuntu Software Center menu) and disable them. Then, remove Docky:

sudo apt-get remove docky

Once you've completed the steps above (or if you didn't have any of those PPAs added), simply copy/paste the following commands in a terminal to install Docky Stacks:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:zeitgeist-sharp/daily
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ricotz/docky
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install docky

The Zeitgeist-sharp PPA above is only used for some dependencies which are not available in the Ricotz Docky PPA (libdbus-glib1.0-cil and libdbus1.0-cil).

Alternatively, you can download the Docky with Stacks .deb files from the PPA and manually install them. Doing so, you won't have to remove/purge any PPA but if you do this make sure you don't upgrade Docky from other PPAs as you'll lose the "stacks" feature. Also, downloading the .deb files instead of adding the PPA means you won't get any Docky Stacks updates so adding the PPA is recommended.

Script To Synchronize All Your Last.fm Play Count With Rhythmbox

A while back we wrote about a Rhythmbox plugin that synchronizes your Rhythmbox play count with Last.fm and that's pretty cool but the plugin only does this once you play a track. So what if you want to synschronize all your Rhythmbox play counts with Last.fm? Well, there's a script for that (actually 2)!

1. Install the dependencies:

sudo apt-get install python-beautifulsoup python-qt4 bzr

2. Download Lastscarpe from HERE (make sure to download the Linux and not the Windows version) and extract it in your home folder.

3. To get every song you've listened from Last.fm, go the newly extracted folder and you can either run "guy.py" to do this the graphical way or use the following command to dump all your songs to a file called "dump":

cd && cd lastscrape-0.0.4
./lastscrape.py YOUR_LASTFM_USERNAME dump

Now the script will retrieve all your song history. This might take a while (it took more then an hour for all my 54.000 Last.fm songs).

4. You need to download the "rb-mergeplays" scripts from Launchpad:

cd
bzr get lp:rb-mergeplays

Once the scripts are downloaded, copy the file created under step 3 (called "dump" - if you've followed our exact instructions you should find it under ~/lastscrape-0.0.4) into ~/rb-mergeplays

5. At this point you're ready to import the last.fm play count into Rhythmbox

Firstly make a backup of your Rhythmbox library:

cp ~/.local/share/rhythmbox/rhythmdb.xml ~/.local/share/rhythmbox/rhythmdb.xml-backup

Begin the import:

cd ~/rb-mergeplays
python ./mergeplays.py

"rb-mergeplays" contains another interesting script which lets you import your Last.fm loved tracks into Rhythmbox. The process is fairly easy so head over to the rb-mergeplays page for instructions (scroll down to RATE5LOVED.PY).

Slingshot: A New Launcher Created By The Elementary Team

Slingshot is a new application launcher created by the Elementary team. Here is a video with Slingshot in action recorded by the Elementary team:

Besides Slingshot, the video above might also be revealing the Elementary OS look - an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution that will be released in March. The video is not that great but for now I couldn't get Slingshot to work myself.

Slingshot is still work in progress and there are not downloads available, but if you want to give it a shot, get the code via BZR.

Slingshot is not the only new addition to Elementary OS as it seems a lot more applications are on the way: a backup app called Sassy Backup, Elementary widgets, Elementary Gedit, Maya calendar and probably more. Further more, it seems some of these might be incorporated into Slingshot (at least that's how it appear by looking at the code).

[via OSSblog]

Stream Music To Your Android Device Using MPD And MPDroid

MPDroid is a really cool Android application (MPD client) that not only lets you control MPD remotely, but also lets you stream music to your Android device. Here's how to set it up.

1. Firstly you'll have to install and set up MPD on your computer. You can read a full how-to on the MPD Wiki or read an old WebUpd8 post (not sure if it's still up to date): HERE.

2. To be able to stream to your Android device, you'll have to edit the /etc/mpd.conf file - to do this use the following command:

sudo gedit /etc/mpd.conf

Replace "/etc/mpd.conf" with "~/.mpdconf" if you're using a local settings file.

Then search for the "audio_output" that has "httpd" under "type" and uncomment everything exept the "bitrate" or "quality". Here's how it should look:

audio_output {
type  "httpd"
name  "My HTTP Stream"
encoder  "vorbis"  # optional, vorbis or lame
port  "8000"
quality  "5.0"   # do not define if bitrate is defined
# bitrate  "128"   # do not define if quality is defined
format  "44100:16:1"
max_clients "0"   # optional 0=no limit
}

According to the MPD wiki, you need to uncomment the "bind_to_address" setting (and I can confirm that it doesn't work with this option enabled) or biding it to "0.0.0.0" so search for "bind_to_address" and add a "#" sign in front of the line, like so:

#bind_to_address  "localhost"

It's also strongly recommended you use a password for MPD. Search for the password line, uncomment it and enter your password before "@", like this:

password                        "YOUR_PASSWORD@read,add,control,admin"

Now restart MPD:

mpd --kill
mpd

If you've set MPD to run as a system service (not recommended), just add "sudo" in front of the two commands above.

3. Install MPDroid on your Android device - search for it on the Android Market or use:

4. Set up MPDroid:

- under "Default connection settings", for both "Host" and "Streaming Host" enter your computer IP address (you can leave the port as default for both the host and streaming host if you didn't change it in the MPD settings), then enter your password and you're done.

- under "Outputs", make sure "My HTTP Stream" (or whatever name you've set for it if you didn't use the default name) is selected if you want to stream music to your device and also enable any other available outputs if you want to play the music on your computer.

You can now either control MPD on your computer, or select "Streaming" in MPDroid to stream to your phone.

TagPlayer Gets NotifyOSD Support, AppIndicator

A new version of TagPlayer, a Linux music player plays your local music by using its Last.fm tags, was released today.

This version adds NotifyOSD notifications on track change and Ubuntu AppIndicator support. The current appindicator icon is not TagPlayer's icon but the appindicator isn't here to stay anyway as TagPlayer will soon get Ubuntu Sound Menu integration.

Install TagPlayer

To add the TagPlayer PPA and install it in Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hikibi/tagplayer
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install tagplayer

For other Ubuntu versions, download TagPlayer (.deb) from its Launchpad page.


If you find any bugs, please report them @ Launchpad.

Easily Test Gnome Shell Using A Live CD!

Testing Gnome Shell just got a whole lot easier! There are now live CD Gnome Shell (Gnome 3) ISO files available for both Fedora and openSUSE - you don't have to install them, all you have to do is write the ISO files onto an USB stick or CD, boot and enjoy Gnome Shell.

It is said this should work in VirtualBox too, however the openSUSE Live CD (the only one I've tested which is supposed to come with built-in VirtualBox Guest Additions) failed to run Gnome Shell and I only got the classic Gnome interface. I've managed to run it from a terminal ("gnome-shell --replace") but it looked broken (that's why there's only 2/3 of a screenshot in the beginning of the post) so it seems the best way to do this is to just use a live USB or CD.

But of course, that doesn't mean you can't try it in VirtualBox, maybe it works for you! Just remember to enable the 3D option. Oh, and if when you boot the Live CD you get the classic Gnome desktop, log out and log back in a few times and if it still doesn't work, try to run it from a terminal: "gnome-shell --replace".

More info: Fedora | openSUSE


Direct download links for the ISO files: Fedora | openSUSE


If you want to build the latest Gnome Shell in Ubuntu, check out the following post: Install Gnome Shell (From GIT) In Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat (updated frequently).

[via DownloadSquad]

Download Double Commander 0.4.6 .deb (Works In Ubuntu 10.10!)

Double Commander is one of the best two-pane file managers for Linux (but also runs on Windows). It comes with a multi-rename tool, tabbed interface, custom columns, internel text editor with syntax highlighting, built in file viewer, archive support (are handled like subdirectories), extended search and lots more.

Unfortunately there's a problem with the latest Double Commander - it fails to run in Ubuntu 10.10 for some people because of the following error:

Start watching
Cannot get device list
[FORMS.PP] ExceptionOccurred 
Sender=EAccessViolation
Exception=Access violation
Stack trace:
$0833A1AD
$0833A344
$0833A595
TApplication.HandleException Access violation
Stack trace:
$0833A1AD
$0833A344
$0833A595
exception at 0833A1AD:
Access violation.

This was fixed in version 0.4.6 but it wasn't released yet; fortunately, there is a PPA which offers the latest Double Commander 0.4.6 alpha which works in Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat. Download it below (the PPA only comes with Ubuntu Lucid packages):

• 32bit: Double Commander GTK | Double Commander Qt
• 64bit: Double Commander GTK | Double Commander Qt

If you're using Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx and want the latest Double Commander 0.4.6 alpha, use the commands below to install it:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexx2000/doublecmd
sudo apt-get update

And install it:

- GTK:

sudo apt-get install doublecmd-gtk

or Qt:

sudo apt-get install doublecmd-qt