Get a quick overview of the periodic table of elements, then zoom in on any element to find out more. It is a simple application to be sure, but one every science student who also uses Linux should check out.

We’ve shown you Ubuntu chemistry applications for students, but we somehow missed this extremely simple and information-crammed version of the periodic table. That’s too bad. There is a lot of information to be found in gElemental, and it’s very logically arranged. There’s a reason it’s so highly rated in the Ubuntu Software Center, and I think it’s more than a competent replacement for a mere poster.

Whether you’re a student or just a science enthusiast, this is an application worth having around for offline reference. If you’re a real nerd, you can just explore it for fun in your spare time. Science is fun.

Using gElemental

If you’ve seen the periodic table of the elements before, the main screen of gElemental will be familiar to you. You’ll see the elements, all in their proper places.

Hover over an element and you’ll see its name, the series it belongs in and its atomic number at the top. By default elements are color-coded according to series; you can find a legend by clicking the drop-down menu at the bottom of the window. You can change this color code in the menu to any of dozens of factors, which is certainly something a poster can’t do.

It’s a simple interface but what else do you want? If what you want are details about the various elements I highly recommend clicking one of them.

You’ll find a variety of information right away, from basic chemical stats to the year and place it was discovered. Click the “Physical or Atomic” tab in this window and you’ll see even more information:

Under physical, you’ll find the melting and boiling points, the heat of fusion and vaporization and more. The atomic tab contains even more information. Rest assured, there’s more data here than most posters you’ve seen.

Are you wondering where this information is all coming from? There’s a complete list of sources which you can find in the menu.

You’re free to look through this and decide how trustworthy the information is, which is particularly nice if you need to cite something you find in this program.

Installing gElemental

Are you ready to install this program? Search your Linux distro’s repository for “gelemental” and you’ll have it in no time. Are you a Ubuntu user? Then simply click here to install gElemental, thanks to the magic of the Ubuntu Software Center.

If you can’t find gElemental in your repositories, head over to the gElemental homepage, where you’ll finds the source code to compile it yourself.

Conclusion

I love simple applications that do one thing very well. So far as I can tell, this program is a great way to quickly pull up information about the periodic table of the elements. Do you agree? As always, leave your thoughts in the comments below along with any alternative applications for the job.

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Despite the many reasons why people preach the use of Linux, actually going through with the switch is a completely different story. I know this only too well as I went through the exact same process before everything came together and I fell in love with Linux. However, I have to admit that it took a while with numerous attempts at using Linux for more than a week.

It’s not that Linux is hard to use or understand, but it simply doesn’t fit the Windows mindset that most people have. Expecting to do everything in Linux exactly like in Windows is where problems start appearing, which can easily deter a good number of users. Thankfully, there is now a Linux distribution that could make the process a whole lot easier.

About Zorin OS

Zorin OS is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, but besides identical packages and base system there are some major differences between the two. One of the major goals of Zorin OS is to offer a user interface that is similar to that of Windows, making Windows users feel more comfortable when they use Zorin OS. I must say that Zorin OS does a pretty good job with it.

Downloading

You can download the ISO for Zorin OS by going to this page and downloading their “Core” ISO. The developers also offer lite and educational variations for you to download, but in most cases you’ll have the better experience with just the core. This review will focus on the Core edition.

Additionally you’ll find a Premium page where they offer you Ultimate, Business, Multimedia, and Gaming editions, which is mostly just the Core software with many additional applications for that type of system. The effort it takes to put all those extra programs into the ISO is why they charge for those editions.

Once you have your downloaded ISO burned onto a CD, written to USB, or ready to go for VirtualBox, you can boot straight into the live environment. Loading shouldn’t take very long, and in no time you’ll be presented with the Zorin OS desktop.

Desktop

As you might recognize, the default look for Zorin OS mimics Windows 7 quite well. There are only a couple of shortcuts found on the desktop, and in the taskbar you’ll find the Start menu on the left (with Zorin OS branding, of course), the icon tray on the right, and then in the middle you’ll find the cool looking buttons that show which programs are currently open (do those even have a technical name?). Overall, it looks very much like Windows 7, which is very impressive.

Start Menu

If you actually click on the Start menu, you’ll see a lot more Windows 7-esque goodness. The Start menu, which appears to be GnoMenu with an appropriate theme, looks extremely similar to Windows 7′s Start menu. Keeping a small Linux touch, however, all programs in the left side of the menu are organized into the regular categories that regular Linux users are familiar with. There is also no “Recent Programs” list as is in Windows 7.

Look Changer

So all this stuff that looks a lot like Windows 7 is great for someone coming from Windows, right? Well what if they’re trying out Linux because Windows XP is starting to become very dated for an operating system? No need to worry there either. In the Control Center, there is a button called Look Changer, which will open a new window where you can choose between a Windows 7, Windows XP, and regular Linux Gnome desktop. With Windows XP available too, switching to Zorin OS is even easier for more people.

Default Applications

Zorin OS also comes with some pretty interesting default applications. Instead of Firefox as the default browser as is the case in all major distributions, Zorin OS chose Chrome in part due to its ever-increasing popularity. Many will enjoy this, while those that don’t will simply need to install their browser of choice. Not a hard thing to do. Zorin OS also includes Nautilus Elementary over Nautilus, which offers a tweaked user interface for a cleaner look. As for everything else, the usual applications that you would expect are included.

Conclusion

This interesting Linux distribution has some great incentives for Windows users to try out the Linux side of computing. Aside from all the differences between itself and Ubuntu, the rest is business as usual, letting you get work done like a pro.

What do you think about Zorin OS? Is it the best way for Windows users to try Linux? Let us know in the comments!

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The Linux landscape has become pretty interesting as of late, with all the new desktop environments and changing popularity between distributions. It seems that now is the best time for all the distributions to make their mark and differentiate from each other wherever possible, especially when it comes to major players.

Mandriva isn’t considered to be a major player in the Linux world anymore, but it used to be back when it was still called Mandrake Linux. Even more surprising to some, it’s already been different from all other distributions for a while now, as seen in previous reviews of Mandriva like this one.

A couple months ago, Mandriva let loose their 2011 release, providing another impressive experience. Let’s take a look, why don’t we?

Get It

You can get Mandriva by going to their site and downloading their ISO file. You can then burn it to a DVD or write it to a USB stick, then boot your computer from that media. When you first load Mandriva, it will ask you a few questions to determine language, time, and keyboard layout. Once you answer those questions, Mandriva will finish loading and then present its clean desktop.

Desktop

Mandriva uses KDE as its default base, although Mandriva mixes some Gnome applications in as well (and quite well, as the exact same theme is used for both types of applications).

The theme, while we’re at it, is beautifully made, even if the red close button serves as a reminder to Windows.

Taskbar

There’s not much you can do in Mandriva without having to go to the taskbar at the bottom of your screen, where a lot of functionality and hidden features are stored. The star button on the very left seems to act like the Start button in Windows, but when clicked it opens what Mandriva calls the “Mandriva Smart Desktop”, where you get a Welcome screen with shortcuts to recent applications and folders, an area to search for all applications to launch, and then “TimeFrame” which shows what you’ve worked on over time.

Continuing along the taskbar, you’ll see a few shortcuts to major applications like your browser, chat program, email, music, and settings. On the right side of the taskbar, not only do you find the icon tray, but some strange little folders. Click on them, and you’ll see that they’re stacks. The idea is similar to Mac OS X‘s stacks, except with a different design.

Synchronization

Mandriva includes it’s very own synchronization tool as a replacement for Dropbox. While it’s not quite as advanced as Ubuntu’s “Ubuntu One” service, it still looks nice and should get the job done. It integrates very well with the distribution and includes 2GB of storage for free.

Settings

Personal settings in Mandriva can be configured through modules in KDE’s System Settings application, but actual system settings need to be taken care of via the “Mandriva Linux Control Center”. Mandriva’s settings application is quite appealing, and includes some nifty features such as Parental Controls, which is lacking in most other distributions.

Other Good Stuff

Of course, compared to the previous version of Mandriva, many programs and behind-the-scenes services have been updated to include new features, gain stability, and be more secure. The newer versions should constitute make for an enjoyable time with Mandriva.

Conclusion

Mandriva is still a great distribution, and offers a refreshing choice compared to Ubuntu and other popular distributions. While it’s no longer the king of Linux distributions, it’s definitely not out for the count. Who knows, maybe Mandriva can even stage a comeback and rise back to be top of the pack.

What do you think about Mandriva? Is it something that you might use? What does its future look like? Let us know in the comments!

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Copy the Windows installation DVD to a bootable USB key, from within Linux. It only takes a few clicks and works with all Windows Vista and Windows 7 disks thanks to a program called WinUSB.

We’ve shown you how to install Windows 7 from a USB drive, but the process assumes you have access to a Windows computer to begin with. That’s not always the case, particularly if you’re the kind of person who regularly tries out different operating systems. Also, there are more than a few IT professionals who work on Windows computers but primarily use Linux themselves. This tool is perfect for them, and any Linux user who occasionally helps Windows users.

So whether your want to replace Linux on your netbook with Windows or just create a Windows boot disk from your Linux setup, WinUSB is useful to you.

Using WinUSB

Launch this program and you’ll see an interface not unlike UNetBootin, a similar tool for creating Linux bootable USB drives. You’ll need to pick your source and your destination.

Your source can be an actual DVD or an ISO file ripped from your DVD; it doesn’t matter. Your destination should be a flash drive with, ideally, 4GB of space on it. You’re going to want to clear space on the drive before you go through with this, so back up anything on your drive and delete it all from the flash drive.

Once you’re ready, you can start the creation process.

This will take a while, so be patient. Once your disk is done being created you’ve got your installation disk, assuming no errors came up. Using this should be simple, but you will need to enter the boot menu of your device and pick the USB drive.

Once you get that going, you should see the Windows 7 installation tool:

Not bad, eh? You can now install Windows 7 on your optical-free computer. Enjoy!

If you’ve never installed Windows before, don’t panic. It’s much  easier than it used to be. Just follow the prompts and you’ll be fine, but know that deleting your existing partitions means you will lose your operating system entirely.

Get WinUSB

Ready to give this app a spin? You can download WinUSB for Linux here. Or, if you’re using Ubuntu, you can install it from a PPA using these commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:colingille/freshlight

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install winusb

The first command adds the PPA; the second command updates your repositories; the third command installs WinUSB.

Conclusion

Not everyone will need this application, of course, but it’s ready for you when you need it. Linux purists would believe that no one ever switches from Linux to Windows, but let’s face it, this happens. I’m glad there are tools out there for making this easy, because there are plenty of great tools for going the other way.

Even if you’re not switching from Linux to Windows, though, this tool is useful. You can use your Linux computer to reinstall Windows for friends, or generally become a better repair wizard.

What will you be using this software for? As always, I’m an extremely curious guy, so please share your ideas in the comments below. Thanks!

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If you’ve ever searched around on YouTube for walkthroughs, tutorials, or video reviews of popular software or Linux distributions, you may find them to be pretty useful.

Such videos are much better than a written guide or review because you can see how something works or where you can find it. You can also hear the person who made the video talk about what he or she is doing, along with any other notes. A video, therefore, is much more effective.

Let’s see how we can construct them ourselves.

How Do You Make Them?

That’s great, but how do they make those videos in the first place? What do you do if you want to make a video yourself? You’ve may have seen some people use their video camera to point to the monitor, but those look very unprofessional when compared to others that show only what the monitor shows, without the monitor acting as a border around the video. Those people use screencasting software.

What Does A Screencasting Software Do?

Screencasting software works much like the PrtSc button on your keyboard, as known as “Print Screen”. In Windows, this button copies the entire screen onto your clipboard which you can simply paste into Paint or any other image editing software. In Linux, the button copies the entire screen and then opens a window to ask you if you want to copy it to the clipboard or save it as a file.

However, screencasting software captures the screen and makes a video out of it instead of an image, and also lets you capture the sound that would usually be coming out of your speakers or whatever is picked up by any attached microphones.

About Kazam

Kazam Screencaster is an easily available free screencasting tool that you can use on Linux to make such videos. There are a couple of other tools out in the wild that you can use, but Kazam seems to be one of the easiest to work with. It seems that Kazam is only officially available for Ubuntu as there are PPAs for it, which is a shame, but I’m sure that someone can take the source code and compile it themselves on other distributions.

Installation

To install it, you’ll need to run this command in the terminal if you use Ubuntu 11.10:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bigwhale/kazam-oneric && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade && sudo apt-get install kazam

If you use a previous version of Ubuntu, run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:and471-kazam-daily-builds && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade && sudo apt-get install kazam

If it asks you if you want to continue at certain steps, make sure to hit “y” or enter for each request, depending on which button it asks you to hit. Wait for that to complete, and then you can launch Kazam by searching for it in Unity, Gnome Shell, or menus, depending on what desktop environment you’re using.

Usage

From here on, Kazam should be easy to use.

You can immediately start recording a video, with or without sound.

After pressing start, Kazam will do a countdown until the recording starts, and you can stop recording by clicking on its icon in the tray at the top right of your screen.

Once you finish, you can save or edit with the Kazam software for quality and where to export to, including YouTube. That’s all there really is!

Conclusion

Kazam is ridiculously easy for such a fine screencasting tool. For those who don’t need a whole lot of settings and let the dedicated video editor do the editing, Kazam is a great way to make those screencasts.

What’s your favorite screencasting tool? For Windows and Linux? Let us know in the comments!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/restricted-icon.png?323f2c" alt="things to install on ubuntu" />Install Java, Flash, every href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/codec/">codec you’ll ever need and much more, all at once. It’s heavily proprietary, but Ubuntu Restricted Extras is probably the first package you should install in Ubuntu.

Are you a new Ubuntu user? You might soon notice that a lot of things don’t work out of the box. You cannot listen to MP3 files or watch most movies; even DVDs. Browsing the web means doing so without Flash and Java, and certain websites don’t look right because the fonts are different. That’s where Ubuntu Restricted Extras comes in. A collection of software Ubuntu can’t legally bundle with Ubuntu, this package is easy to install and makes your computer capable of a staggering number of things. You’ll get Java, Flash, a staggering number of codecs, all the familiar default fonts from Windows and the ability to open href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/rar/">RAR files.

Windows users need special tools, such as href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ninite-easily-install-all-your-favorite-free-apps-as-one-installation/">Ninite, to install this amount of software at once. Ubuntu users need only install one package from their repositories: Ubuntu Restricted Extras. This is probably the first thing you should do with any new installation of Ubuntu, so keep reading if you’re not familiar with it.

Installation

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ubuntu-restricted-extras-install.png?323f2c" alt="things to install on ubuntu" width="579" height="238" />

Installing software in Ubuntu couldn’t be easier. Just head to the Ubuntu Software Center, then search for the package you want to install.

The Software Center is a collection of programs you can install in Ubuntu. There are thousands of programs here for free, and an ever-growing collection of games and programs you can purchase. Like the App Store on mobile devices, this is the one-stop-shop for all Ubuntu software. It’s also where you find Ubuntu Restricted Extras. And you won’t need to look long: it’s one click away from the main page:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/restricted-frontpage.png?323f2c" alt="ubuntu suggestions" width="580" height="210" />

You’ll find it under “Top rated software.” Open it, then click the “Install” button. You’ll have to type your password and then you’ll be done.

Are you too lazy to open the program and find Restricted Extras? Fine; href="apt:ubuntu-restricted-extras">click here to install Ubuntu Restricted Extras. Done. Are you using Kubuntu or Xubuntu? Search for “Kubuntu Restricted Extras” or “Xubuntu Restricted Extras” instead.

Included Packages

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ubuntu-restricted-extras-packages.png?323f2c" alt="things to install on ubuntu" width="580" height="343" />

There’s nothing magic about Ubuntu Restricted Extras: it’s just a “meta-package”, which is a fancy way of saying it installs a number of other packages you could find separately in the Software Center if you wanted to. These packages, by name, are:

• flashplugin-installer
• gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg
• gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3
• gstreamer0.10-pitfdll
• gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad
• gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly
• gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse
• gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse
• icedtea6-plugin
• libavcodec-extra-52
• libmp4v2-0
• ttf-mscorefonts-installer
• unrar

Not sure what these mean? The top one, “flashplugin-installer”, gets Adobe’s Flash installed on your system. The various “gstreamer” packages add codecs to Gstreamer, which the Ubuntu video and music player both use to open files. “IcedTea” is a browser plugin for Java, and is followed in the list by a couple more codecs. The mscorefonts package gives you Times New Roman, Arial and other Windows-standard fonts. Unrar does what it says: open RAR files.

On Playing DVDs

None of these packages, however, give you the ability to play DVDs. To do that, you’re going to need to do some extra work. You can href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats/PlayingDVDs">find the instructions here.

Prefer not to do all that work? Head to the Ubuntu Software Center and install Fluendo DVD Player. It will set you back $25, but it works.

Why is either process necessary? Well, like it or not, DVDs are protected. When you buy Windows or a Mac, the people who created the DVD standard get paid. Ubuntu is free, meaning they aren’t paying anyone for the right to play DVDs. Hence the need to jump through hoops or buy a compatible player.

Why Not By Default?

All of these other programs aren’t included for similar reasons. Simply put, Ubuntu doesn’t have the right to distribute codecs, Flash, Java and other technology on the Ubuntu disk. Doing so would make Ubuntu illegal to distribute in some countries, including the United States of America. This means that Ubuntu could become illegal in America should they decide to include these packages.

Why can they offer Ubuntu Restricted Extras at all, then? Well, basically because it’s up to individuals to either install these packages or not. The theory is it’s up to you to determine whether or not these packages are legal in your country and to act accordingly.

I’d like to hear from you guys. Do you install Ubuntu Restricted Extras, or not? Why? I’ll be around in the comments below, so let’s chat.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spotify-icon.png?323f2c" alt="" />Do you love Spotify’s free version, but tired of needing href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/wine/">Wine just to listen to the music? Good news – Spotify now offers a free version specifically for Linux users. Or at least, users of Debian, Ubuntu and their variants. Sorry Fedora fans.

Spotify gives you access to millions of songs, for free. Unlike Pandora or Last FM though, you can listen to entire albums on demand. Be warned, there are some obnoxiously genre-defying ads involved. It’s totally worth it overall, though – you’ll discover new music and generally be a happier person.

The Linux version of Spotify used to only work with paid accounts. That’s why I showed you back in July, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/spotifys-free-version-working-linux/">how to get Spotify’s free version working in Linux using href="www.makeuseof.com/tag/playonlinux-brings-windows-games-programs-linux/">PlayOn, a tool that makes using Wine simple. That worked, but it wasn’t perfect. Neither is the new, official version of Spotify. There are some interface bugs, and local playback can be tricky. If you just want to stream on Linux though, Spotify’s developers just did you a big favor – the official version runs much better than Wine could ever deliver, and it integrates well into Ubuntu’s Unity as well.

Native Is Better

Spotify’s native Linux version starts up quickly, meaning it won’t take you long to realize how much better this is than Wine.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spotify-linux.png?323f2c" alt="" width="572" height="326" />

You’ll need to register for an account at href="http://www.spotify.com">Spotify.com before you can do anything, and sadly registering requires a Facebook account (unless you were lucky enough to register before that became mandatory).

Once it does start up, it still feels a little out of place in Linux – a silver theme will do that. Still, find what you’re looking for and you’ll be listening very quickly:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spotifylinux-playing.png?323f2c" alt="" width="579" height="249" />

Spotify starts playing music faster than some local-based players. You’ll quickly find something you like, because there are millions of songs here. Close the program and it will run in the background. You’ll find an indicator applet in the tray, though, meaning it’s easy to bring the program back to the front.

Ubuntu integration is fantastic with this version. The menu bar integrates with Unity, and you can use the volume button in Ubuntu to control the player:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spotify-integration.png?323f2c" alt="" width="432" height="285" />

Get Spotify!

Are you ready to install the new Linux Spotify? href="http://www.spotify.com/us/download/previews/">Find installation instructions for Debian and Ubuntu here. But if you prefer to not add the repositories directly, you can href="http://repository.spotify.com/pool/non-free/s/spotify/">download Spotify for Linux directly here. I can’t find a release for other distributions. Presumably they’re coming,  but I suppose for now the Wine method still works. Please correct me if there’s another version, and link to it below.

Conclusion

It’s great to see Spotify recognize us Linux users, but they’re hardly alone in doing so. Native Linux versions of software are becoming common. Dropbox loves us, and so does The Ubuntu Software Center’s selection of games is growing all the time, and the cloud means there’s not much left we can’t do with our Linux machines. It’s great news for Linux enthusiasts, and I can’t wait to see this trend grow in 2012.

Adobe: bring us the Creative Suite!

Let’s celebrate in the comments below. I’ll be around.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spotify-icon.png?323f2c" alt="" />Do you love Spotify’s free version, but tired of needing href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/wine/">Wine just to listen to the music? Good news – Spotify now offers a free version specifically for Linux users. Or at least, users of Debian, Ubuntu and their variants. Sorry Fedora fans.

Spotify gives you access to millions of songs, for free. Unlike Pandora or Last FM though, you can listen to entire albums on demand. Be warned, there are some obnoxiously genre-defying ads involved. It’s totally worth it overall, though – you’ll discover new music and generally be a happier person.

The Linux version of Spotify used to only work with paid accounts. That’s why I showed you back in July, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/spotifys-free-version-working-linux/">how to get Spotify’s free version working in Linux using href="www.makeuseof.com/tag/playonlinux-brings-windows-games-programs-linux/">PlayOn, a tool that makes using Wine simple. That worked, but it wasn’t perfect. Neither is the new, official version of Spotify. There are some interface bugs, and local playback can be tricky. If you just want to stream on Linux though, Spotify’s developers just did you a big favor – the official version runs much better than Wine could ever deliver, and it integrates well into Ubuntu’s Unity as well.

Native Is Better

Spotify’s native Linux version starts up quickly, meaning it won’t take you long to realize how much better this is than Wine.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spotify-linux.png?323f2c" alt="" width="572" height="326" />

You’ll need to register for an account at href="http://www.spotify.com">Spotify.com before you can do anything, and sadly registering requires a Facebook account (unless you were lucky enough to register before that became mandatory).

Once it does start up, it still feels a little out of place in Linux – a silver theme will do that. Still, find what you’re looking for and you’ll be listening very quickly:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spotifylinux-playing.png?323f2c" alt="" width="579" height="249" />

Spotify starts playing music faster than some local-based players. You’ll quickly find something you like, because there are millions of songs here. Close the program and it will run in the background. You’ll find an indicator applet in the tray, though, meaning it’s easy to bring the program back to the front.

Ubuntu integration is fantastic with this version. The menu bar integrates with Unity, and you can use the volume button in Ubuntu to control the player:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spotify-integration.png?323f2c" alt="" width="432" height="285" />

Get Spotify!

Are you ready to install the new Linux Spotify? href="http://www.spotify.com/us/download/previews/">Find installation instructions for Debian and Ubuntu here. But if you prefer to not add the repositories directly, you can href="http://repository.spotify.com/pool/non-free/s/spotify/">download Spotify for Linux directly here. I can’t find a release for other distributions. Presumably they’re coming,  but I suppose for now the Wine method still works. Please correct me if there’s another version, and link to it below.

Conclusion

It’s great to see Spotify recognize us Linux users, but they’re hardly alone in doing so. Native Linux versions of software are becoming common. Dropbox loves us, and so does The Ubuntu Software Center’s selection of games is growing all the time, and the cloud means there’s not much left we can’t do with our Linux machines. It’s great news for Linux enthusiasts, and I can’t wait to see this trend grow in 2012.

Adobe: bring us the Creative Suite!

Let’s celebrate in the comments below. I’ll be around.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/radiotray_logo.jpg?323f2c" alt="free radio streams" />I don’t know about you, but I tend to listen to Internet href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/radio/">radio streams quite a bit, enough to where I’ve got a subscription to one. It’s fairly easy to listen to them already, but it stinks that I have to use a full-fledged media player for it, especially when I move onto my netbook.

Thankfully, there’s a little application for href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/linux">Linux that can solve this problem by playing the Internet streams that I want in a very discreet way.

About Radio Tray

href="http://radiotray.sourceforge.net/">Radio Tray does this in a very user-friendly way. It plays your selected radio stream and hides itself in the system tray. It also offers a couple of options to customize your listening experience.

Installation

In order to install this in href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ubuntu">Ubuntu, you can go into the Ubuntu Software Center and choose Radio Tray. For other distributions, you should be able to find a Radio Tray package with a name like radio-tray or something similar. Once the installation completes, you can go ahead and launch the application.

First Run

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/radiotray_firstrun_config.jpg?323f2c" alt="free radio streams" width="580" height="347" />

The first time it runs, it’ll ask you where you’d like to place the tray icon. On Ubuntu, you must choose App Indicator or else it won’t show. For other operating systems, Icon in the Notification Area will work.

If you choose an option and the tray icon does not appear, you’ll need to remove the /home/<user>/.local/share/radiotray folder and try again. Otherwise, you’ll see a tray icon that you can use to manipulate what Radio Tray does.

The Tray Icon

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/radiotray_menu.jpg?323f2c" alt="internet radio streams" width="580" height="314" />

When you click on the icon, you will see that there are already a few categories present along with some Internet streams inside of them to get you started. You can play around with these to try out how Radio Tray works, although don’t be surprised if some of these default stations don’t connect. It seems that the default station list isn’t updated very often. When a station isn’t playing, the icon will stay gray, but when something is playing the icon will turn blue.

Preferences

Under preferences, you’ll find a couple options that you can make use of. There are menu items for Volume Up and Volume Down, for a sleep timer, for reloading bookmarks, and for Configuring Radios. If you want the entire system to shut down at a certain time, you can go to the terminal, and do the following:

Type sudo at 17:30, then hit enter and type in your password, then type shutdown -h now and hit Ctrl + D. You can replace 17:30 with the time you actually want it to turn off.

Configuring Radios

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/radiotray_configure_radios.jpg?323f2c" alt="free radio streams" width="580" height="417" />

When you configure the radios, you can change the groups, stations inside the groups, add separators, move them all around to your preferred order, and plenty more. Radio Tray supports virtually any audio formats (as long as the codecs are installed), so it shouldn’t matter what kind of format the radio stream is.

Conclusion

Radio Tray is a very simplistic app that will play your radio streams simply and easily. With all of its functions and interface hidden in a little tray icon and its low memory usage, this little application does wonders for all music lovers.

What’s your favorite Internet stream player? Why do you like it the most? Let us know in the comments!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/centerim-icon.png" alt="linux chat" />Chat from the command line. Whether you use Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Chat, AIM, Jabber or some combination of the above, CenterIM lets you talk with your buddies in your Linux terminal. We’ve previously highlighted a few href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/instant-messaging/">instant messaging programs, but nothing quite like CenterIM. That’s because this Linux chat program runs entirely from the command line, but still gives you access to the features you expect.

Is this just a novelty? Perhaps for some, but there are other reasons to use command line software. It’s easy to use via href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ssh/">SSH, for one thing. It’s also light on resources. It works in your full-screen terminal, allowing you to chat without the distractions provided by the web. And an efficient series of keyboard shortcuts makes chatting quick for those who dislike the mouse.

More than that, though, CenterIM is just plain effecient. Get to know this program’s keyboard shortcuts and you just might come to love it, even if you don’t usually go for terminal applications.

Setting Up

You can launch CenterIM from the command prompt by typing centerim and hitting enter. Of course, like all instant messaging programs, it doesn’t do much out of the box. You need to configure it to work with your various services.

First you will be presented with some general options:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/centerim-initial.png" alt="linux chat" width="580" height="335" />

Browse up and down with your up and down arrow keys, and change a particular setting by hitting enter and making the appropiate changes. Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything here; the defaults all work well and you can change them later.

Press right to switch to the “Done” button, then click enter. You’ll be given the chance to enter your IM information:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/centerim-accounts.png" alt="linux command line chat client" width="581" height="423" />

It most cases all you need is a username and password. Configure as necessary.

You may notice there is no option here for Google Talk. Don’t worry, you can use Jabber to connect to Google Talk. CenterIM suggests you use these settings:

jab_nick yourGmailAddress@gmail.com

jab_pass yourPlaintextPassword

jab_server talk.google.com:5223

jab_prio 4

jab_ssl 1

jab_status o

You can add this information within CenterIM, or you can edit the “config” file in “~/.centerim” and add the above text manually. Both processes worked for me, but be warned – using CenterIM messed up the names of my contacts for some reason. I’m not sure why, but don’t add Google Talk to CenterIM if this is something you care about.

Using CenterIM

Using CenterIM is easy, if you know how to follow directions. I say this because at the bottom of every CenterIM window is a list of keyboard shortcuts:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/centerim-talking.png" alt="linux chat" width="580" height="347" />

Follow these instructions to switch between conversations, start new ones and configure the software. It might seem clumsy at first, but use this for a while and you might wonder why you ever chatted any other way.

Installing CenterIM

As always, Ubuntu users can href="apt:centerim">simply click here to install CenterIM. All Linux users can also check their package manager for “centerim” becuase it’s almost certainly in there.

Conclusion

I love learning href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-websites-to-learn-cool-linux-command-line-tricks/">cool command line tricks for Linux, like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/read-google-reader-terminal-textonly-browser-elinks-linux-mac/">reading Google Reader from the command line. CenterIM is quickly becoming another command-line favorite for me. Will it for you? Let’s talk about it in the comments below!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/intro.jpg" alt="" /> href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/linux/">Linux is a highly developed, stable and advanced operating system – this, I will never question. It comes in every conceivable flavour – from server solutions that simply work (again, this cannot be argued with) to desktop releases with more software than anyone could possibly ever need.

So what’s the problem? Why, in the year 2011 is Linux still not ready for the desktop? It works – sure, but after a long time using Linux as a primary operating system I’m just about ready to buy a Macbook Pro and dual boot Windows. Read on to find out why I’m a sad penguin.

Ubuntu

Enough, I’ve heard it all. “You might as well be using Windows XP if you’re going to use Ubuntu LOLZ!” – but this never used to be the case. I’ve toyed with href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ubuntu-1110-oneiric-ocelot-default-programs-linux/">Ubuntu now for years, and honestly can’t remember the first release I encountered. My decision to install Ubuntu came with version 10.04, after trying out a live USB release and finally getting fed up of Windows.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ubuntu.png" alt="" width="388" height="302" />

I know that Ubuntu does not represent Linux as a whole, so why am I doting on it? Because it goes by the slogan “Linux for Human Beings” and is often referred to as the OS of choice for switchers. It’s never been the most attractive, streamlined or powerful of the many thousands of distributions out there, but for a bit of web, publishing and a brief foray into the world of Linux it generally worked, with great stability and few issues.

In my experience much has changed. Ubuntu 11.04 introduced a new interface – href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ubuntu-1104-unity-big-leap-linux/">Unity – and I can’t stand it. Sure, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/easily-install-gnome-shell-ubuntu-1110-newer-linux/">I could turn it off but most people won’t – do you have to turn off the default Windows or OS X interface for it to become usable? The two machines running Ubuntu in my household felt noticeably slower after the update, partly due to sluggish animations which lagged on both installations.

Add to that the plethora of driver issues that appeared overnight with 11.04 – reduced wireless performance, graphical errors and the most annoying persistent sound sync problem and I’m done. Way to break a perfectly operable operating system. Which leads me on to…

The Many Distributions

I’m not arguing with the server side of things. If you want a solid, reliable server and you’re comfortable with command line access then do yourself a favour and build a Linux box. However – for the newcomer, the dabbler and the experienced-with-Windows user there’s simply too much to choose from.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/linuxdistros.jpg" alt="" width="477" height="400" />

Some people complained when Microsoft announced multiple versions of Vista and 7, stating it would “confuse the consumer” – but we all know that’s rubbish as the manufacturer generally sells Home Premium or Professional for a not-so-painful OEM price, and if you really need Ultimate then you can always upgrade. The many possibilities that exist for those looking to install Linux can be off-putting and confusing.

Of course once you’ve listened to 101 suggestions, ruled out the ones you don’t like and finally installed your distribution of choice you’ve then got the small issue of…

Software

Free href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-free-open-source-programs-replace-commercial-windows-software/">open source software isn’t a bad thing, but sometimes it’s worth paying for a quality product. Take GIMP for example, which after experiencing it, you’re either going to love or hate. If you hate GIMP, be it the workflow, interface or just general shortcomings in comparison with Photoshop then you’ve not got much in the way of alternatives.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/gimp.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="300" />

GIMP is about as good as it gets on Linux when it comes to imaging software, and even compared to the Windows-only solution href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-simple-free-photoshop-alternatives-that-are-under-2-mb/">Paint.NET it can feel outdated, messy and not particularly intuitive to the Adobe generation. There’s no Adobe line-up for Linux despite the community’s many pleas (Flash support is pretty horrendous at times too).

If you’re a musician used to Traktor, Cubase, Reason, FLStudio (I could go on) or even Garage Band then you’re out of luck there too. There are a few decent solutions, but there’s a reason most music is produced on a Mac or Windows machine.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/reason.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="203" />

Serious video editing is a no-go too. Despite the many capable solutions out there that are built for Linux, there’s still nothing that compares to industry standards like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premier. Of course these are expensive software suites I’m mentioning, but they’re also widely used and bought for a reason. Linux simply can’t compare when it comes to this level of professional software, and it also can’t compare when it comes to…

Gaming

Things have got better when it comes to gaming on Linux over the last few years, but “better” should not necessarily be confused with “good”.  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/selection-freetoplay-steam-games/">Valve’s distribution service Steam has had a major impact on PC gaming, playing a pivotal role in delivering everything from small indie games to full price new ones. The bad news is that it’s probably never heading to Linux (and even if it did, most games would probably not see the journey through).

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/steam.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="421" />

There are lots of free games on Linux, but if you’re into your hardware-testing first person shooters or any of the latest releases then you’re going to need Windows. Aside from the odd free-to-play title, very little in the way of recent releases make it to Linux.

Dual-booting is always an option, but if you’re into your games in a big way you probably won’t be bothered with that.

Conclusion

Linux is not a write-off, but as a primary operating system it’s got some serious problems. Not all of these can necessarily be fixed either, though that’s not to say the humble penguin doesn’t have a place where it can be useful.

If you’re lucky enough to find a distribution you love, don’t play games and couldn’t care less about Adobe’s Creative Suite or a powerful video editor then that’s awesome. And those old PCs or netbooks without a lot of grunt might just get a new lease of life with Linux. Good luck!

What do you think about Linux? Do you agree? Disagree? Have a say in the comments, below.

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class="align-right"src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/gnome_pie_intro.jpg" alt="launch applications linux"/>Over the years, we’ve changed a lot about the way we try to launch our applications. Out of all the operating systems out there, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/linux">Linux seems to be the experimental playground to try out different methods of launching applications. First it was typing in their name on the command line, then there were menus, then there was href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/find-launch-linux-applications-flash-gnome/">Gnome-Do, and recently there was href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/quickly-find-search-launcher-app-synapse-ubuntu/">Synapse.

However, all those have slowly faded, and a new, promising solution has appeared which already offers an effective way to launch your applications in Linux.

About GNOME Pie

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/gnome_pie_multimedia.jpg" alt="launch applications linux" width="580" height="422" /> /> href="https://github.com/Simmesimme/Gnome-Pie">GNOME Pie is the latest piece of software that lets you launch any of your applications, favorite locations, and more using a hotkey combination and your mouse. When configured correctly, it seems to be very effective for users, but also visually appealing. So you have been warned: work comes before play.

Installation

The program can be easily installed via href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ubuntu">Ubuntu thanks to its system of personal repositories, while users of other Linux distributions will have to compile it themselves (if you’re willing to do that, then you probably don’t need my help with that). So, in Ubuntu, you can run the following commands to add the repository, update your package lists, and install the new package:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:simonschneegans/testing /> sudo apt-get update /> sudo apt-get install gnome-pie

Usage

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/gnome_pie_applications.jpg" alt="launch apps linux" width="580" height="433" /> /> Once that completes, you need to launch GNOME Pie via your terminal by entering gnome-pie. The application will, for now, run from the terminal, so if you close the terminal, you close GNOME Pie, but we will fix this shortly. Once it is opened, you can get the feel for it by playing around with it for a while. The default hotkeys are: View Bookmarks: Ctrl+Alt+B, Multimedia: Ctrl+Alt+M, Sessions: Ctrl+Alt+Q, Applications: Ctrl+Alt+A, Main Menu: Ctrl+Alt+A, Space and Windows: Ctrl+Alt+W. To exit, you can either hit Esc or simply right-click.

Settings

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/gnome_pie_options1.jpg" alt="launch apps linux" width="557" height="580" /> /> Once you’ve had a little fun (or just want to go to the settings first), you can do that by clicking on the very nice looking system indicator (aka tray icon) and clicking on settings. In the General tab, you can choose things like whether you want it to startup on login, whether it should show an indicator, “turbo mode”, the overall size of the entire pie, and which theme you’d like to use. Ubuntu users will probably use the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ubuntu-1104-unity-big-leap-linux/">Unity theme as that is Ubuntu’s shell. GNOME 3 users will probably want to use Adwaita to keep everything uniform.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/gnome_pie_options2.jpg" alt="launch applications linux" width="553" height="580" /> /> In the Pies tab, you can change any number of aspects for each pie. You can add new pies, add new slices, delete some as well, and change the hotkey combination to launch each pie. The exact configuration is up to you, so there isn’t much else I can say here. Configure as you please!

More Love

Now that you’ve configured everything to your liking, you can play around some more. Launching applications is very intuitive. After pressing the hotkey (Ctrl+Alt+Space), you’ll be presented with the different categories, where you can then click on one and get a different set of items on your pie, according to the category that you have chosen.

Conclusion

That’s it! GNOME Pie is easy to install, configure, and use, and its visual appeal is also very much appreciated. Now you can launch all your applications and folders quickly and in style. In time we’ll see whether GNOME Pie is just another fad like Synapse, or whether this little app is going to stick around for quite some time. Personally, I like it and hope that it gets to stay around.

Windows users, are you jelly yet? (For those who don’t know, “jelly” is slang among American youth for “jealous”.)

What are your opinions of GNOME Pie? Out of all the application launchers, which was your favorite? Why? Let us know in the comments!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/gnomeshell-icon.png" alt="" />Do you love Ubuntu, but prefer Gnome Shell to Unity? You’re not alone, but you’re also in luck. href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ubuntu-1110-oneiric-ocelot-default-programs-linux/">Ubuntu 11.10 makes it easy to install Gnome Shell. Not liking where Gnome was heading, the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ubuntu/">Ubuntu team decided to build Gnome into a desktop of their own devising – Unity. This makes use of, and would not be possible without, the efforts of the Gnome team. Simply put, Unity is a different interface, or shell, for Gnome.

It’s by no means the only one, however. The default shell for Gnome is called, fittingly enough, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/gnome-3-beta-desktop-linux/">Gnome Shell. Meant to replace the old, beloved Gnome 2 desktop, Gnome Shell is a step forward for Gnome in many ways. Gnome Shell, like Unity, is not lacking for detractors. Many people would prefer to return to the classic Gnome desktop altogether, and are switching to systems like Linux Mint in order to do so. This is only temporary. All major Linux distributions will almost certainly be using either Gnome Shell or Unity for their Gnome offerings at some point in the near future. That’s why it’s essential to get used to one desktop or the other.

Want to try out Gnome Shell in Ubuntu? If you’re running 11.10, it’s easy.

Install Gnome Shell On Ubuntu 11.10

The simplest way to install Gnome Shell in Ubuntu? href="apt:gnome-shell">Just click here. Alternatively, you can find Gnome Shell in the Ubuntu Software Center:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/gnomeshell-install.png" alt="" width="580" height="186" />

Finally, if you’re a command line person, type this:

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

That command will use apt-get to install Gnome Shell and its dependencies. The download isn’t huge, because most of Gnome is built into Unity. Once it’s installed, nothing will happen. You’ll need to log into your new desktop environment to see what you just did.

Loading Gnome Shell

Want to try out Gnome Shell? Log out of Unity to get to your login screen. When there, before logging in, click the gear icon beside the entry field:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/gnomeshell-login.png" alt="" width="579" height="245" />

Pick “Gnome” as your desktop, then type your password as usual. You’re now using Gnome Shell! href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/gnome-3-beta-desktop-linux/">Read more about Gnome Shell to see what this system can do.

Everything might look ugly at first. Unity’s default theme Ambiance does not integrate well with Gnome Shell. Be sure to href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-gnome-shell-themes-install-linux/">check out the top 5 Gnome Shell Themes for something better, or simply switch themes to Adwaita for the default Gnome Shell experience.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/gnomeshell-desktop.png" alt="" width="580" height="340" />

There are obvious differences between Gnome Shell and Unity, of course. Virtual Desktops are created only as windows are added to them, and the “menu” brings up open programs before letting you open new ones.

Which shell is better, I think, is a matter of preference. Try both out to really get a feel for what fits better into your workflow. Trying out new desktop environments is a big part of what makes Linux fun; it’s like exploring an entirely new system. Enjoy exploring, and do so with an open mind.

You will notice two other entries in your login screen options: “Gnome Classic” and “Gnome Classic (no effects)“. Both of these desktops resemble the old Gnome 2 desktop, but are also different in many ways. Feel free to try these out if you miss the old Gnome 2 desktop, but know they are harder to customize than you may perhaps be used to.

Conclusion

Open source is about choice. That’s why I like seeing easy access to Gnome Shell included in Ubuntu. I’ve come to love using Unity as my default desktop, but for those disappointed with the direction of Unity this is a simple way to access an alternative.

What do you prefer – Gnome Shell or Unity? Let us know in the comments below, along with any Gnome Shell hacks you might know of.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/midori_logo.jpg" alt="lightweight web browsers" />We’ve had browser wars back when Netscape was still the king. Today, it’s Internet Explorer, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/firefox">Firefox, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/chrome">Chrome, Safari, and Opera all battling it out to see who’s top dog. There are plenty of different categories where they are being compared, such as speed, memory efficiency, functionality/features, and more.

However, sometimes we forget that there are still some other browsers than the Big 5. Today, we’ll be looking at one of the fastest and most lightweight browsers outside of the Big 5.

About Midori

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/midori_main.jpg" alt="lightweight web browsers" width="580" height="382" /> /> href="http://www.twotoasts.de/index.php?/pages/midori_summary.html"> Midori is a relatively simple browser that currently tries to offer you the most of the web while keeping it simple and clean. In other words, it strives to support all of the Web’s standards such as href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/html">HTML5 while keeping the browser user interface relatively simple. This results in an easy browsing experience as well as a speedy one. The browser should be available under all href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/linux">Linux distributions, while you can also download a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/windows">Windows version from Midori’s website (more about that later).

Features

Startup and User Interface

One of the first things you’ll notice about Midori is that it has a quick cold-start time. The browser window loads almost instantaneously, with a fully loaded page around a second later. Once the window appears, you’ll see how uncluttered the user interface really is: there is only one row of buttons and the address bar, with a second hidden one until you open up more than one tab. The buttons themselves are fairly small, making each row relatively smaller when compared to the Big 5.

Rendering Engine

Midori uses WebKit as its rendering engine, the same engine used in Chrome and Safari. WebKit is well-known for being speedy while supporting the latest standards of the Web.

Default Search Engine

You may also notice that Midori’s default search engine is Duck Duck Go!, a privacy-aware search engine who’s main goal is to keep you and your searches as anonymous as possible. If you’d like to know more about Duck Duck Go!, you can read href="http://duckduckgo.com/privacy.html">this page.

Preferences

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/midori_extensions.jpg" alt="lightweight web browsers" width="580" height="369" /> /> If you want to find Midori’s options, they’ll be all the way to the right (similar to Chrome), hidden in the wrench-and-page icon. Midori doesn’t have as many options because of its relative simplicity. However, if you go into Preferences, one of tabs will say Extensions. In here, you can enable a couple of self-made extensions from the developers of Midori to slightly change your browsing experience to your liking. None of the extensions so far will do anything major, but the ad-blocking extension with options to add additional filters will definitely be a plus to many.

Private Browsing

Midori also offers a private browsing feature so that you can do your secret shopping without letting friends or family members know.

Available for Windows

As I mentioned earlier, Midori is also available for Windows, and it works just as well. However, some of the styling is off (because it has Linux dependencies), so it won’t look as nice as it does on Linux. Either way, functionality is not changed because of this.

Final Note

Don’t forget to note, as the site says, that Midori as a whole is still considered alpha software by the project (although it has been stable in my use), so be aware that over time new features may possibly still be broken, and that the browser isn’t even near completion until it gets out of alpha.

Conclusion

Midori is a great browser for those who want to use the Web instead of their browsers (well, you know what I mean). With great speed, ease of use, and helpful small functionality such as ad-blocking, Midori should be a choice for many who want to try something else or have a very low-powered machine. Try it; you just might like it.

What do you think about Midori? Is the browser a good idea? What do you like or don’t like? Let us know in the comments!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/commandlinefu-icon.png" alt="linux command line" />Browse an assortment of amazingly useful commands. Whether you’re an veteran system admin or a command-line neophyte striving to discover more, href="http://www.commandlinefu.com">CommandLineFu is a vote-driven collection of commands that serves up thousands of ideas you should have thought of but didn’t.

Some see the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/command-line/">command line as Linux’s weak point, the ultimate symbol of a system lacking ease of use. Others know the command line as one of Linux’s best features, giving learned users quick access to features most computer users don’t even know exist. There’s a reason even Mac OS X comes with a full-featured terminal. CommandLineFu is an encyclopedia of exactly those features. A database featuring over 8,000 unique commands, this site can seem overwhelming at first – just like the command line itself. Dig in though, and you will wonder just how you used a computer without the command line.

Sorry, Windows users – the majority of these commands only work on Linux. Some work on Mac OS X as well.

Browsing

Head over to href="http://www.commandlinefu.com">CommandLineFu to get started. You will immediately see the commands submitted most recently.

You can “grep” (read: search) the archive, if you want, or simply click “All Time Greats” to see the most popular commands. Or if you prefer, simply browse the massive tag cloud that makes up this sites right sidebar.

A Few Highlight Commands

Experienced command line users will immediately find things they are interested in, but what about everyone else? Here is a quick list of my discoveries from this site.

href="http://www.commandlinefu.com/commands/view/71/serve-current-directory-tree-at-httphostname8000">Quick, Temporary Web Server

Want to quickly share a file with someone? Set up your own web server in a few keystrokes with this handy command:

python -m SimpleHTTPServer

Just like that, your current directory will be shared. Here’s what it looks like in a web browser:

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Naturally, you’re going to need to set up your router properly if you want to share with someone outside your current network. A dedicated IP or a service like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/connect-home-network-dyndns/">DynDNS will also be needed. Still, for local file sharing, it’s hard to beat the above command: it’s quick and easy. It worked for me on Ubuntu and OS X.

href="http://www.commandlinefu.com/commands/view/13/run-the-last-command-as-root">Run Preview Command As Sudo

This one’s probably only useful for users of Ubuntu, or other systems utilizing href="http://xkcd.com/149/">sudo. It allows you to re-run the last command you executed as sudo, perfect if you forgot to add that vital preface.

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href="http://www.commandlinefu.com/commands/view/3386/check-your-unread-gmail-from-the-command-line">See Your Unread Emails

Want a quick rundown of your unread emails? this simple command can do the trick, provided your email client of choice is Gmail.

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It worked for me on Ubuntu and OS X; Linux users should make sure “curl” is installed.

href="http://www.commandlinefu.com/commands/view/1556/currently-mounted-filesystems-in-nice-layout">See Your Mounted Devices

A mounted device is any storage drive plugged into your system and working. Need to see a full list of them? Simple.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/commandlinefu-mounted.png" alt="linux command line tools" width="580" height="188" />

href="http://www.commandlinefu.com/commands/view/1713/watch-star-wars-via-telnet">Watch A Text Version of StarWars

Okay, this one’s not useful. It is, however, awesome. Watch a text-only version of Star Wars, complete with ASCII animated characters:

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The code for this is simple:

telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl

3 Different Feeds

Do you want to know every time a new awesome command is discovered? CommandLineFu offers three different Twitter and RSS feeds for just that purpose. Which one you use depends on how frequently you want updates; href="http://www.commandlinefu.com/site/faq">check them all out here.

Conclusion

This site is awesome. Exploring it can teach you a great deal about not only the command line but also about computers in general.

Did you learn anything cool? Share links to your favorite commands in the comments below, or just list them yourself.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/wordpress-logo-300x300.png" alt="" />Most of you probably already know that href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/wordpress">WordPress powers a large amount of websites that we look at every day. With the large userbase and support, you can do a lot of cool things with it. While WordPress even offers one-click upgrades to the latest WP versions, some people simply can’t use it because their server doesn’t support it, they don’t have any href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ftp/">FTP accounts (maybe you uploaded files using href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ssh/">SSH?), or whatever else the reason may be. If this is the case, you’ve more than likely had to update your site by manually copying over the new files. However, there’s really no need to do that anymore, as you can set up your WordPress site in a way where updating is much more simple.

I will be explaining how to create a brand new WordPress blog on your Linux server using Subversion (SVN) as well as how to convert a “traditional” installation to an SVN-type installation, as most people who will want to do this probably already have a blog going. This is possible because Automattic (the creators of WordPress) operate a SVN repository that allows this functionality. Without this repository, none of this would work.

Before you start, you’ll probably need to install Subversion onto your server. For href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ubuntu">Ubuntu and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/debian/">Debian servers, use

sudo apt-get install subversion

while href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/linux-fedora-16-beta-distribution/">Fedora/Red Hat/CentOS users should use

sudo yum install subversion

Creating A New Blog

In order to create a new SVN-controlled WordPress instance, log into your server using a program such as PuTTY, using :

cd /path/to/a/folder

so you can use

mkdir blog

to create a new folder named blog in your current location. Then use

cd blog

to go into the new folder, and run

svn co http://core.svn.wordpress.org/tags/3.2.1 .

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to download and install WordPress into the current folder. If there is a newer version, replace 3.2.1 with the latest version. Also, don’t forget to include that lonesome period (.) at the end of the command as that is needed for the command to run correctly. Wait for the process to complete, then you can go ahead and enter in the correct URL to begin the installation script.

Converting From “Traditional” To SVN

Converting your blog to be controlled by SVN will require a few new steps. Essentially, this will create a new blog that is SVN-controlled, and move all your content and settings over to that new blog. This isn’t as invasive as it sounds, and shouldn’t mess up anything that you currently have on your blog.

To get started, use “cd” to go to where your blog folder is located (don’t actually go into the blog folder). Here we are going to assume that your old blog is in a folder named “blog” and your temporary new blog is going to be in a folder named “blog-new“. Go ahead and run

svn co http://core.svn.wordpress.org/tags/3.2.1 blog-new

which will create the new “blog-new” folder and download the necessary files into it. Please make sure that you download the same version as the one you are currently using. So if you’re not running the latest version, don’t choose the latest version in this process.

Next we’re going to go into the old blog folder by running

cd ../blog

and then copy the main config file as well as the htaccess file by running

cp -p wp-config.php .htaccess ../blog-new

so that these important files are in the new blog folder.

Now we’re going to copy over the actual content of your blog to the new folder, including plugins, themes, and whatnot. To do this, run

cp -rpfu wp-content/* ../blog-new/wp-content

and let that take a couple seconds or more, depending on how large your blog is. WordPress-provided plugins shouldn’t be affected, but you can double-check to make sure everything is running smoothly by running

svn status ../blog-new/wp-content.

Any files that were modified will have an “M” next to them and need to be reverted by using

svn revert ../blog-new/wp-content/some/file.

Any custom files or directories can also be copied by running

cp -rp images wp-digest ../blog-new

You can check that everything is copied over correctly and good to go by running

diff -rq blog/ blog-new/ | grep -v svn

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(This is an example after I intentionally removed some files)

We’re almost done! We’re now going to move out to the big folder containing the two blog folders by running

cd ..

and then renaming them to make the final switch-a-roo by running

mv blog blog-old; mv blog-new blog.

Congrats! Your SVN-controlled blog should now be up and running! If not, you may have forgotten to copy something from the old blog (now located in the renamed folder “blog-old”). You can now go ahead and update to the latest version if needed.

Updating Your Blog

To update your SVN-controlled WordPress blog, you’ll need to go into the directory of your blog using the “cd” command and then run :

svn sw http://core.svn.wordpress.org/tags/3.2.1/ .

which will switch your blog to the newest version. Remember to replace 3.2.1 with the latest version available.

Conclusion

For those that support it, SVN is a great version tracking tool that is highly effective, relatively easy to use, and very fast. It’s a great thing that WordPress can be controlled via SVN, increasing the flexibility of the already-flexible WordPress platform. No wonder it’s one of the most used frameworks for sites today.

What do you think about WordPress and SVN working together? Have you even known that this was possible? Let us know in the comments!

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