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:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/commandlinefu-temphost.png" alt="linux command line" width="408" height="176" />

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.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/commandlinefu-sudo.png" alt="linux command line tools" width="580" height="178" />

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.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/commandlinefu-gmail.png" alt="linux command line tools" width="580" height="233" />

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:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/commandlinefu-starwars.png" alt="linux command line" width="580" height="358" />

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 .

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wordpress_svn_checkout.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="385" />

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

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wordpress_svn_diff1.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="163" />

(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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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/creader-icon.png" alt="text only google reader" />Do you want an immersive, text-only Google Reader? Try going through your reading list in the terminal. It’s easy to do with terminal web browser elinks and Google Reader’s mobile interface.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/google-reader/">Google Reader‘s interface is famously minimalist, but browsers hardly make ideal reading platforms. They give you convenient access to a plethora of distractions, from social networks to pictures of kittens. Avoid such distractions and focus on your reading by doing your reading in the command line. Besides, the command line is just plain cool, so you should be using it anyway.

eLinks is a text-only browser you can run from the command line. It is easily installed on Linux and Mac systems alike, so this idea works on both of those systems.

Installing eLinks

The first step, of course, is installing eLinks. Using Linux? Installing eLinks is simple, then. Just check your package manager of choice for it. Using Ubuntu? Simply href="apt:elinks">click here to install.

Are you a Mac user? Congratulations, most of you aren’t awesome enough to be interested in the command line. You think different. href="http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/26416/elinks">Find a Mac download for eLinks here. You’ll find the Terminal in your Applications folder, under “Utilities“.

Once you’ve got the program working, you can open it in the terminal by typing “elinks” and hitting enter.

Launching Google Reader

Want to get to Google Reader quickly? Type this command into the terminal:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/creader-command.png" alt="text only google reader" width="580" height="119" />

elinks google.com/reader/m

Just like that, you’ve opened a web browser straight to Google Reader’s mobile page. You will need to log in now. Use the arrow keys to get to the entry fields, then hit enter to add text. Log in and you will see your reading list:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/creader-list.png" alt="text only rss reader" width="580" height="199" />

Use your arrow keys to open up your article of choice. You will then see a text-only version of the article in question:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/creader-content.png" alt="text only rss reader" width="578" height="192" />

I highly recommend pressing the space bar to scroll down; it will “turn the page” completely.

Of course, this all assumes that the RSS feeds you subscribe to are full text. If some of them aren’t, Google will do what it can to convert links to a mobile version if you click a link. Alternatively, you can href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-ways-view-full-rss-feeds-google-reader/">convert any RSS feed to full text with these tools. FullTextRSS in particular worked wonderfully for me.

Do you want a completely immersive reading experience? In most Linux distros, including Ubuntu, you can switch to terminal-only by hitting “ALT”, “CTL” and any of the “F” keys from 1 to 6. Pressing “ALT”, “CTL” and “F7″, for example, will bring you back to your graphical environment.

Alternatively, you could simply go full screen or maximize the terminal. That works too.

Other Potential Sites

eLinks doesn’t just work with Google Reader, of course – it’s a full blown web browser. Just about any site should work, but mobile versions of famous sites tend to work best, like the href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/i/">BBC Mobile version.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/creader-mac.png" alt="text only google reader" width="580" height="205" />

Can you think of any other sites you’d like to read in this way? Share them in the comments below, as always! Also feel free to share any other simple command line tricks you use to keep yourself from being distracted.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/skype_logo_300x300.jpg" alt="skype libnotify" />If you use href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/skype/">Skype or certain other applications on href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/linux">Linux, you may be annoyed by how those programs use their own notification system rather than using the system default, known as libnotify. libnotify is responsible for creating those nice little bubbles or windows that aren’t intrusive on the screen. href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/gnome">GNOME 2.x users usually have a black bubble in the top right corner, while href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/gnome-3-beta-desktop-linux/">GNOME 3.0 users get a notification across the entire bottom of their screen and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/enjoy-clean-improved-desktop-kde-47-linux/">KDE users get a transparent little window in the bottom right corner, as seen in the screenshot.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/libnotify_test.jpg" alt="skype libnotify" width="580" height="136" />

Thankfully though, Skype lets you change this behavior.

Installation

Skype can be downloaded from their website if you use a more popular distribution, such as href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ubuntu">Ubuntu, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fedora-15-bringing-latest-linux/">Fedora, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/opensuse-11-2-a-polished-linux-system-perfect-for-new-users-and-pros-alike/">openSUSE, or from your package repositories if you use a less popular distribution. If you use a 64-bit system, make sure that you have the correct dependencies installed. Ubuntu users shouldn’t have a problem, but there is only a 32-bit package for Fedora which requires some extra steps in order to get it to work in a 64-bit environment.

Changing The Settings

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/libnotify_skype.jpg" alt="using libnotify" width="303" height="580" />

In order to change Skype’s notification behavior, you’ll need to go into the Settings. From there, you need to choose the Notifications tab on the left side. You’ll now see a fairly long list of different events that can occur in Skype, anywhere from logging in to phone calls. In order to change the correct options, you’ll need to click on the Advanced View button which is found on the right side of the window.

Now, for each selected event, you can change the exact notification settings. In order to achieve rerouted notifications, you’ll first need to turn off the Display pop-up notification option so that you don’t get two notifications (one of each) at the same time. Keeping the Play sound file option enabled or not is up to your personal preference.

The Command

Next, we’re going to use the Contact Signed In event as an example. You’ll need to copy this line into the Execute the following script box:

notify-send "Contact Signed In" "%name is now online." -i skype

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/libnotify_skype_options.jpg" alt="using libnotify" width="580" height="406" />

What this command does is invoke the notify-send command, which is used by libnotify to generate a notification. “Contact Signed In” is the first parameter, which is used for the title of the notification. “%name is now online.” is the second parameter, which is used for the main text of the notification. The %name portion is a variable in which the name of the involved contact will be substituted for %name. Finally, -i skype simply tells libnotify that you’d like to use an icon (the skype icon) with your notification. libnotify can only use icons that are installed, so not any parameter will work with -i.

The final result will look something like this:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/libnotify_skype_notify.jpg" alt="skype libnotify" width="580" height="138" />

This procedure isn’t exactly perfect, as you’ll need to copy, paste, and adjust this command for every other event in Skype. Additionally, you’ll want to avoid using this on special notification types such as calls where the Skype-default includes some buttons to accept or decline a call, whereas the libnotify way won’t present those buttons to you.

Conclusion

libnotify is a great way to keep the notification styles of all supported applications uniform and simply “pretty”. While Skype doesn’t take advantage of this piece of software by default, it’s good to know that there are still ways where it’s possible, and who knows how many other programs support these types of modifications?

What other kinds of Linux fixes would you like to see? Is there a problem you just can’t seem to solve? Let us know in the comments!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/agimp-icon.png" alt="" />Do you love using href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/gimp/">the Gimp, but feel lost amongst all the tools and options? Find just the things you need for the job at hand, instantly, with a simple search. With href="http://www.adaptablegimp.org">Adaptable Gimp, you’ll even find step-by-step instructions for accomplishing precisely the thing you want to do. This software, powered by user contributions, makes it easy for just about anyone to use The Gimp. It all revolves around “TaskSets”, a concept so amazingly useful you’ll wonder why it wasn’t in The Gimp all along.

Want to remove red eye from a photo? There’s a TaskSet for that. Same for adding drop shadows to text, cropping and resizing photos and drawing basic shapes. Stop stumbling through controls. Whether you consider it a Gimp training tool or a full-blown replacement for the image editing suite, Adaptable Gimp is something you should check out.

Introducing TaskSets

src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qP8c2R8YEb4?hd=1" frameborder="0" width="580" height="325">

For the most part, Adaptable Gimp looks like The Gimp. The main difference is the left sidebar:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/agimp-default.png" alt="" width="578" height="345" />

As you can see, there is a search bar and a box containing a subset of Gimp tools. Search for a given TaskSet and you’ll quickly find results:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/agimp-search.png" alt="" width="577" height="275" />

I’m constantly cropping and resizing photos for MakeUseOf, so “Crop and Resize” is the TaskSet for me. When I select this TaskSet, this is what I see:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/agimp-toolset.png" alt="" width="578" height="345" />

As you can see, only the tools I need to crop and resize images are here, and nothing else. Even better, they are here in the order that I need them, and there are instructions for using them. This makes my job a lot easier.

Naturally, many of the toolsets are more complicated than this. Are you curious about the kinds of TaskSets that are out there? Find them all on the href="http://adaptablegimp.org/w/Browse_Tasksets">Adaptable Gimp wiki. This wiki isn’t just a fan-created list of all TaskSets: it’s the actual database used by Adaptable Gimp.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/agimp-wiki.png" alt="" width="527" height="293" />

New sets are added constantly, which is really nice. Users of the software keep making it better, meaning you can accomplish more and more with this software as time goes on.

Creating TaskSets

Do you want to help make Adaptable Gimp better yourself? Simple. A built-in TaskSet creation tool makes this easy:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/agimp-newtask.png" alt="" width="580" height="320" />

Just add the tools needed for a given job, then provide instructions. Your TaskSet will be saved to the wiki, making it available to all Adaptable Gimp users. You’ll be sharing your Gimp expertise with the world, and making this software better for everyone. So don’t complain if Adaptable Gimp doesn’t yet do something you want to do. Instead, add your own TaskSet and it will help everyone out.

Download Adaptable Gimp

Ready to start using Adaptable Gimp? href="http://www.adaptablegimp.org/w/Download_AdaptableGIMP">Download it here. You’ll find an installer for Windows, and installation instructions for Linux. Sorry Mac users!

Once you check it out, be sure to let us know what you think of the software. Can you see yourself using it regularly? If not, do you think it’s a useful tool for teaching others? Or do you prefer href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-websites-learn-gimp-photo-editor-online/">websites with instructions for learning The Gimp? Should Photoshop add something similar to Adaptive Gimp? Share these thoughts and more in the comments below.

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/dualboot-logo.png" alt="dual boot windows linux" />It’s like having two computers in one – start your system up and choose between Windows and Linux. It’s called dual-booting, and it gives you access to two of the best operating systems on the planet.

Why dual-boot? Maybe you want the security of Linux when you’re browsing the web, but want access to the vast library of games Windows can offer? Perhaps you want to explore Ubuntu and other Linux systems but want to leave Windows around in case you need it?

The easiest way to get dual-boot working is to use href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-safely-dual-boot-windows-and-linux-with-wubi-installer/">Wubi, the Ubuntu installer that runs from within Windows. There are downsides to Wubi however, including stability issues and occasional trouble upgrading. That’s why there is no replacement for setting up working partitions and installing Linux. Whatever your reason for dual-booting, rest assured – the process is easy if you know what you’re doing.

Install Windows First – Then Linux

Put simply, if you want to set up a dual-boot setup, you need to install systems in the proper order. Install Windows first, then install Linux.

Why? Basically, Windows does not recognize the existence of other operating systems. It is a bit of a psychopath, assuming that if you’re installing Windows, you only need Windows. As such, Windows does not provide any way for you to access your other operating systems installed alongside it.

Don’t worry, though. Almost all Linux distros recognize that Windows exists, and are willing to share the computer with Windows. This is why you should always set up Windows first, then set up Linux. This will give you a choice of operating systems when you start your computer.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/grub.jpg" alt="dual boot windows linux" width="580" height="322" />

There are href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot">ways to install Windows after Linux and still dual-boot, but they aren’t recommended for beginners. The simplest thing is to always install Windows before installing Linux.

If you’re installing Windows now, leave some space free on the hard drive. 10GB is probably enough depending on what you plan to do in Linux, but how much space you give each system will ultimately depend on what you plan on doing with them and which system you see as being your primary system. Give this some thought.

Dp you want to install Linux alongside an already-existing Windows installation? This is also possible, although a little more complicated. I’d highly recommend defragmenting your drive before you do anything else, however.

Back Up!

If you plan on dual-booting, you should really backup your data. It’s unlikely, but there’s always a chance when you’re messing around with your disk partitioning that something might go wrong. You can backup your data manually if you like, or you can href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/free-advanced-hard-drive-cloning-solution-from-clonezilla/">use Clonezilla to backup your entire operating system.

Do you need more information? Check out our href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/download-stuff-happens-the-backup-restore-guide">free backup guide or our href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/download-50-cool-uses-for-live-cds">live CD guide to find out more.

Install Linux

Once you’ve backed up your information you’re ready to install Linux. Doing this is easy, just download the ISO file for your Linux distro of choice, burn it to a CD and then boot from the CD.

If you want an easy-to-set-up distribution, I recommend Ubuntu. Its guided installation process will help you make room for itself:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/dualboot-question.png" alt="dual boot linux and windows" width="580" height="217" />

Pay careful attention to your options. You want to install Ubuntu alongside Windows, not replace Windows. Once you select this option you will be taken to the partition editor. If you left empty space, simply use this empty space to install Ubuntu. If you haven’t, you’ll need to shrink your Windows partition first. Do this by right-clicking your Windows partition, then lowering the space it takes up.

Do you want access to your Windows files from Ubuntu? You can. During installation, set up your Windows drive to be mounted every time you boot.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/dualboot-mount.png" alt="dual boot windows linux" width="580" height="187" />

Unfortunately it’s a lot harder to get Windows to see files from your Linux partition. There are some href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/work-with-linux-partitions-from-windows/">tools for the job, but in my experience they rarely work well consistently.

Your New System

Congratulations! You’ve now got a dual-boot environment set up. It was pretty easy, wasn’t it?

Leave your dual-booting advice below, along with any recommended distros for dual-booting. Also, feel free to ask any dual-booting questions at href="http://www.makeuseof.com/answers">MakeUseOf Answers.

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-icon.png" alt="" />Tired of burning a new CD every time a new version of your favourite Linux distro comes out? Then stop. Use NetbootCD to download and install your choice of href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ubuntu/">Ubuntu, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/debian/">Debian, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fedora-15-bringing-latest-linux/">Fedora, openSUSE, Mandriva, CentOS or Slackware from a single disk. This handy disk downloads and runs the net installation tools for several distros, and is always capable of finding the latest version of your Linux operating system. Burn this tool once and you’ll never need to burn a Linux distro to CD again.

Using NetbootCD isn’t necessarily easy. You’ll need to learn to use text-based installers instead of the GUI versions found on live CDs. To me though, this is a small price to pay to contain my steadily-growing pile of Linux CDs.

Getting Started

First things first, you’ll need to href="http://netbootcd.tuxfamily.org/">download NetbootCD and burn the ISO to CD. If you’re really old-fashioned you can also grab the href="http://netbootcd.tuxfamily.org/floppy-info.html">floppy drive version of NetbootCD, but for most people the CD is what you’re looking for. Whatever version you use, boot the disk and you’ll see a menu like this:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-start.png" alt="" width="580" height="315" />

You’ll need to use the arrow keys to browse the menu, because your mouse will not work here. Before you start installing anything I highly recommend you run the “download” option. This will ensure you are using the most recent version of the NetbootCD script, and as such have access to the latest versions of your distro.

Once you’ve updated, click “install” to see your choice of Linux distros:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-distros.png" alt="" width="580" height="255" />

Pick the distro you want to run and you can pick which version of that distro you want. For example, here are the Ubuntu choices:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-ubuntu.png" alt="" width="580" height="189" />

Generally you’re going to want the latest released version, but the choice is entirely up to you. Pick what you want and the download process will begin:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-downloading.png" alt="" width="580" height="143" />

Note that your wireless setup may not play nicely with NetbootCD. To keep things simple, plug your computer directly into your router or modem with an ethernet cable.

Net Installations

Eventually your computer will load the net installation tool for your distro. Install the way you normally would, following the prompts and answering any questions. Since every package needs to be downloaded before it is installed, this will take longer than usual.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-installing.png" alt="" width="580" height="140" />

Depending on your distro, you may need to pick which desktop you want installed. For example: Ubuntu users will be given a choice between the Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu desktops, to name a few ( href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/versions-ubuntu-technology-explained/">why are there so many versions of Ubuntu?)

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-ubuntudesktop.png" alt="" width="579" height="182" />

Be sure to choose something or you may end up with a command-line-only system. Note that the spacebar selects your option and enter continues to the next step of installation.

Once you’ve got everything the way you want it, you’re ready to boot into your Linux distro of choice.

Conclusion

I really like the idea of only needing one Linux installation CD around for my favorite versions of Linux, as well as future versions. If you like not to waste CDs but still use GUI installation tools, I suggest you check out href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/install-linux-with-ease-using-unetbootin/">Unetbootin or href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/linux-live-usb-creator-easily-boot-linux-flash-drive/">Linux Live USB Creator. Both of these tools make it possible to boot Linux from a USB drive or an SD card.

How do you like to install Linux? Let us know in the comments below, along with any tips for first-time users of NetbootCD.

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-icon.png" alt="" />Tired of burning a new CD every time a new version of your favourite Linux distro comes out? Then stop. Use NetbootCD to download and install your choice of href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ubuntu/">Ubuntu, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/debian/">Debian, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fedora-15-bringing-latest-linux/">Fedora, openSUSE, Mandriva, CentOS or Slackware from a single disk. This handy disk downloads and runs the net installation tools for several distros, and is always capable of finding the latest version of your Linux operating system. Burn this tool once and you’ll never need to burn a Linux distro to CD again.

Using NetbootCD isn’t necessarily easy. You’ll need to learn to use text-based installers instead of the GUI versions found on live CDs. To me though, this is a small price to pay to contain my steadily-growing pile of Linux CDs.

Getting Started

First things first, you’ll need to href="http://netbootcd.tuxfamily.org/">download NetbootCD and burn the ISO to CD. If you’re really old-fashioned you can also grab the href="http://netbootcd.tuxfamily.org/floppy-info.html">floppy drive version of NetbootCD, but for most people the CD is what you’re looking for. Whatever version you use, boot the disk and you’ll see a menu like this:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-start.png" alt="" width="580" height="315" />

You’ll need to use the arrow keys to browse the menu, because your mouse will not work here. Before you start installing anything I highly recommend you run the “download” option. This will ensure you are using the most recent version of the NetbootCD script, and as such have access to the latest versions of your distro.

Once you’ve updated, click “install” to see your choice of Linux distros:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-distros.png" alt="" width="580" height="255" />

Pick the distro you want to run and you can pick which version of that distro you want. For example, here are the Ubuntu choices:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-ubuntu.png" alt="" width="580" height="189" />

Generally you’re going to want the latest released version, but the choice is entirely up to you. Pick what you want and the download process will begin:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-downloading.png" alt="" width="580" height="143" />

Note that your wireless setup may not play nicely with NetbootCD. To keep things simple, plug your computer directly into your router or modem with an ethernet cable.

Net Installations

Eventually your computer will load the net installation tool for your distro. Install the way you normally would, following the prompts and answering any questions. Since every package needs to be downloaded before it is installed, this will take longer than usual.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-installing.png" alt="" width="580" height="140" />

Depending on your distro, you may need to pick which desktop you want installed. For example: Ubuntu users will be given a choice between the Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu desktops, to name a few ( href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/versions-ubuntu-technology-explained/">why are there so many versions of Ubuntu?)

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-ubuntudesktop.png" alt="" width="579" height="182" />

Be sure to choose something or you may end up with a command-line-only system. Note that the spacebar selects your option and enter continues to the next step of installation.

Once you’ve got everything the way you want it, you’re ready to boot into your Linux distro of choice.

Conclusion

I really like the idea of only needing one Linux installation CD around for my favorite versions of Linux, as well as future versions. If you like not to waste CDs but still use GUI installation tools, I suggest you check out href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/install-linux-with-ease-using-unetbootin/">Unetbootin or href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/linux-live-usb-creator-easily-boot-linux-flash-drive/">Linux Live USB Creator. Both of these tools make it possible to boot Linux from a USB drive or an SD card.

How do you like to install Linux? Let us know in the comments below, along with any tips for first-time users of NetbootCD.

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-icon.png" alt="" />Tired of burning a new CD every time a new version of your favourite Linux distro comes out? Then stop. Use NetbootCD to download and install your choice of href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ubuntu/">Ubuntu, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/debian/">Debian, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fedora-15-bringing-latest-linux/">Fedora, openSUSE, Mandriva, CentOS or Slackware from a single disk. This handy disk downloads and runs the net installation tools for several distros, and is always capable of finding the latest version of your Linux operating system. Burn this tool once and you’ll never need to burn a Linux distro to CD again.

Using NetbootCD isn’t necessarily easy. You’ll need to learn to use text-based installers instead of the GUI versions found on live CDs. To me though, this is a small price to pay to contain my steadily-growing pile of Linux CDs.

Getting Started

First things first, you’ll need to href="http://netbootcd.tuxfamily.org/">download NetbootCD and burn the ISO to CD. If you’re really old-fashioned you can also grab the href="http://netbootcd.tuxfamily.org/floppy-info.html">floppy drive version of NetbootCD, but for most people the CD is what you’re looking for. Whatever version you use, boot the disk and you’ll see a menu like this:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-start.png" alt="" width="580" height="315" />

You’ll need to use the arrow keys to browse the menu, because your mouse will not work here. Before you start installing anything I highly recommend you run the “download” option. This will ensure you are using the most recent version of the NetbootCD script, and as such have access to the latest versions of your distro.

Once you’ve updated, click “install” to see your choice of Linux distros:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-distros.png" alt="" width="580" height="255" />

Pick the distro you want to run and you can pick which version of that distro you want. For example, here are the Ubuntu choices:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-ubuntu.png" alt="" width="580" height="189" />

Generally you’re going to want the latest released version, but the choice is entirely up to you. Pick what you want and the download process will begin:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-downloading.png" alt="" width="580" height="143" />

Note that your wireless setup may not play nicely with NetbootCD. To keep things simple, plug your computer directly into your router or modem with an ethernet cable.

Net Installations

Eventually your computer will load the net installation tool for your distro. Install the way you normally would, following the prompts and answering any questions. Since every package needs to be downloaded before it is installed, this will take longer than usual.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-installing.png" alt="" width="580" height="140" />

Depending on your distro, you may need to pick which desktop you want installed. For example: Ubuntu users will be given a choice between the Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu desktops, to name a few ( href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/versions-ubuntu-technology-explained/">why are there so many versions of Ubuntu?)

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/netbootcd-ubuntudesktop.png" alt="" width="579" height="182" />

Be sure to choose something or you may end up with a command-line-only system. Note that the spacebar selects your option and enter continues to the next step of installation.

Once you’ve got everything the way you want it, you’re ready to boot into your Linux distro of choice.

Conclusion

I really like the idea of only needing one Linux installation CD around for my favorite versions of Linux, as well as future versions. If you like not to waste CDs but still use GUI installation tools, I suggest you check out href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/install-linux-with-ease-using-unetbootin/">Unetbootin or href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/linux-live-usb-creator-easily-boot-linux-flash-drive/">Linux Live USB Creator. Both of these tools make it possible to boot Linux from a USB drive or an SD card.

How do you like to install Linux? Let us know in the comments below, along with any tips for first-time users of NetbootCD.

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/hamster-icon.png" alt="" />Not sure where your time goes? Keep track of it. Hamster is a Linux application that helps you do just that. Computers help us get work done, but they can also be distracting. That’s why it’s important to keep track of when you’re actually working; href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/time-management/">time management saves you time. Beyond distractions, however, it’s a good idea to figure out which daily tasks are eating up your time. This can help you schedule, or help you bill accurately if you’re a freelancer.

Hamster is a piece of Linux software built from the ground up to make time tracking easy. Get into the habit of using it and you’ll get a very accurate view of which tasks are taking the most time. This can go a long way toward making you efficient.

Tracking Your Time With Hamster

Whenever you begin a task, quickly open Hamster and let the software know what you’re doing:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/hamster-add.png" alt="" width="579" height="194" />

Add a name for the task, then add some tags. How you use the tags is up to you, but they can really help you figure out where your time is going later on. If you want to know how much time you spend on research compared to the time you spend actually writing, for example, tag tasks for your research and writing accordingly. This way you’ll know what you’re spending your time doing.

Tags are also a great way for freelancers to track their billable hours. Just tag tasks with a specific job or client and you’ll be tracking your hours for the job.

When you’ve completed a task, or switched to another one, let Hamster know. Time tracking only works if you track your time!

You can review the information at any time, by clicking summary:

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As you can see, Hamster lets you know what you’ve been doing with your time. You can make changes, useful if you ever accidently leave Hamster tracking after you’ve completed a project. You can also review how much time your various “tags” are taking up in a given week or other period of time.

Do you want to show other people where your time is going? Hamster allows you to export tasks to HTML files you can share easily with others, including clients.

You can set Hamster to stop tracking you when your computer is off or sleeping:

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If a lot of your work is away from the computer you’re going to want to turn this off. Other settings worth checking out include reminders and syncing with tasks list from Evolution and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/gnome-linux-users-organized/">Getting Things Gnome, which keeps Linux user organized.

Using Workspaces To Track Time

If you’re anything like me, you use the various workspaces Linux offers for different things. One for email and web browsing; another for writing; another for social networks; the last for testing software.

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You can set Hamster to automatically track how much time you’re spending on your various desktops. Assuming you use your desktops as consistently as I do, you can use this feature to track how much time you spend doing certain things automatically. This is a great way to track your time if you don’t want to manually enter information for each task.

How To Install Hamster

Installing Hamster is easy on most Linux distributions; just look for “hamster” in your package manager. Ubuntu users can simply href="apt:hamster-applet">click here to install Hamster.

If you can’t find Hamster in your repositories you may need to compile the code yourself. href="http://projecthamster.wordpress.com/building-and-running/">Find more about that here, but don’t expect it to be simple.

Install The Hamster Indicator Applet

Users of Gnome 2 can add a Hamster applet to a Gnome panel. Users of Ubuntu 11.04 and later don’t have this option, but don’t worry: there is a handy indicator applet for Hamster:

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Find out href="http://www.webupd8.org/2011/07/install-hamster-indicator-time-tracking.html">how to install the Hamster indicator for Unity at Webupd8; their tutorial includes installation instructions and various tweaks for the applet.

Conclusion

Hamster is a great time tracking device. As someone who jumps between multiple operating systems a lot I wish it was cross platform, but for those who use Linux all the time there isn’t a better way to track time than Hamster.

I’ve been wrong before. Do you know a better tool for the job than Hamster? Fill us in. Also feel free to let us know how Hamster helps you; we’d love to hear.

Image Credit : rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Phodopus_sungorus_-_Hamsterkraftwerk.jpg">Doenertier82

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/wallch-icon.png" alt="linux desktop rotator" />Rotate your Linux wallpaper whatever way you like it. Whether you want to set up a precise, well-timed “playlist” of wallpapers or show off a random assortment of your favorite pictures, href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/wall-changer/files/2.0/Gnome%202%20Version/">Wallch is the perfect program for adding some variety to your Linux computing. It even offers a real-time earth at night wallpaper.

We’ve taught you a bit about href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/wallpaper/">wallpaper here at MakeUseOf. We’ve even shown you some Linux wallpaper advice where you can  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/completely-customize-kde-wallpaper-linux/">completely customize your KDE wallpaper. Not all Linux users use KDE however, and even outside of KDE, not all Linux wallpaper managers work with href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ubuntu-1104-unity-big-leap-linux/">Ubuntu’s Unity desktop. Wallch does, but that’s not the only reason this software is worth checking out. Adding wallpaper and setting it up to show it just the way you want it is not only simple but fun. Simply put, it’s wallpaper management done right. I’d like to see this, or something similar, built into a future release of Ubuntu and other distros.

What It Does

Load Wallch for the first time and you’ll need to add some pictures. You can add individual pictures or entire folders; just click the buttons to the right of your “playlist”:

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Once you’ve added some pictures you can organize your collection. Remove shots that won’t work as wallpaper, or put the pictures in the order you desire. Or, if you don’t desire order, select the random option. You can set an amount of time for wallpapers to stick around, or you can randomize the timing as well.

Head over to settings (click “Edit“, then “Preferences“) to get a bit more control over the application:

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You’ll almost certainly want to turn off wallpaper notifications. I’ve no idea why someone would want a bubble popping up telling them their wallpaper has changed. Isn’t seeing the different wallpaper enough? Whatever.

Earth At Night!

Want something a little different? Wallch offers, as an alternative to folders full of wallpaper, a wallpaper that reflects reality. It’s a satellite image of earth showing where it is day and where it is night.

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The really cool part? This updates to reflect the real world. Every half hour you’ll have a slightly different picture reflecting the earth’s rotation and its effect.

Do you want to set this up? Click Edit, then click Extras. You’ll then see a simple configuration menu.

href="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/wallch-liveearth.png"> class="size-full wp-image-84548 aligncenter" title="wallch-liveearth" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/wallch-liveearth.png" alt="linux desktop rotator" width="580" height="260" />

You’ll need to press “Stop” in the main windows before you can do this, if you had a slideshow running already. Once you do that you’ll have access to one of the cooler wallpapers in existence.

Install Wallch

Ready to install? href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/wall-changer/files/2.0/Gnome%202%20Version/">Download Wallch at SourceForge. Debian and Ubuntu users will find a handy .deb file; other Linux users will need to compile source code. Hopefully packages for other Linux distros are coming soon. Heck, this program is ready to be added to repositories.

Conclusion

Wallpaper switchers aren’t exactly useful, but they can be fun. Computers can become mere workplaces, but every office needs some decoration. This software lets you customize your virtual workplace easily. I’m glad I found this one, even if I plan on mostly using the world at night wallpaper.

Do you find this program useful, cool or neither? Let me know in the comments below, along with any alternative programs for the job. Also feel free to post links to your favorite desktop wallpapers.

I found this program href="http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/08/wallch-wallpaper-changer-adds-unity-features/">thanks to OMG! Ubuntu, an Ubuntu blog I love to read. Thanks guys!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/kde_logo_intro.png" alt="" />One of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/linux">Linux‘s most popular desktop environments, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/kde/">KDE, released their latest series (version 4.7) at the end of July. This version improves on work done in previous releases by adding new features while improving performance and stability.

However, this new version does not provide a drastic change such as class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/gnome-3-beta-desktop-linux/">GNOME 3, as most changes are under the hood and are not visually reflected. Needless to say, you will still see an improvement while working, but they do not fall under the aesthetics category.

Major Improvements To KWin

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class="vt-p" href="http://userbase.kde.org/KWin">KWin, the compositing window manager for KDE, has had quite a lot of work put into it in the last six months. All of this work is supposed to help make the Plasma Workspaces (the overall desktop of KDE) more portable so that it can be used on mobile platforms. This has been achieved by making use of new Qt technologies (Qt being the application framework) and adding support for OpenGL ES 2.0.

However, regular desktop users can benefit from all of this work done to KWin, as I can say that KWin’s performance has improved quite a bit. Virtually all desktop effects are now more responsive and execute more smoothly. I tend to turn on more desktop effects than I should, so this is a welcome improvement. You can also see that the options window for Desktop Effects has received a very slight makeover as well.

Updates To The Application Suite

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As with every KDE release, the KDE suite of applications has received a nice update as well. Many of the updates to these programs increase stability and performance, along with varying levels of feature changes, depending on the application. Although KDE 4.7 is, from what I’ve heard, supposed to go hand in hand with Qt 4.8, it has been working very well on my system which currently still sports Qt 4.7.

Emerging New IM Platform

KDE 4.7 also introduces a new instant messaging program, currently titled under the project name “KDE-Telepathy“. The end result of this project, once it matures, is designed to replace the current instant messaging client, Kopete. The new instant messenger is supposed to provide more features, flexibility, and overall stability and performance.

Already included is some initial desktop integration in the form of a panel widget. KDE-Telepathy isn’t installed by default, however, and may or may not even be included in your distribution’s repositories (well, at least those that include KDE 4.7). Either once distributions release a new version that includes KDE 4.7, or once the KDE-Telepathy project matures enough, will it be included in the repositories. Such a decision is placed upon each distribution for them to choose.

KMail, KOrganizer & Akonadi Improvements

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Although this ultimately falls under all the other minor features that are being included, I simply had to include my personal favorite features of this new release. KDE 4.7 includes a completely reworked (but it keeps the same look) version of KMail, which works a lot better with the Akonadi resource framework. In addition, Akonadi now supports CalDav, so all of you who wanted to have more than one Google calendar included in your KOrganizer now can.

As Google Calendar supports CalDav, people can finally add all the calendars they wish to KOrganizer. One of the few things I had against KDE was the fact that I simply couldn’t use my Google calendars as I wanted to, but this issue has finally been resolved.

Conclusion

KDE 4.7 is overall a great release that you should update to whenever your distribution supports it. As it currently stands, Kubuntu has a class="vt-p" href="http://www.ubuntubuzz.com/2011/07/install-upgrade-kde-470-to-kubuntu-via.html">PPA that ships KDE 4.7, openSUSE has class="vt-p" href="http://en.opensuse.org/KDE_repositories#Upstream_release_aka._KR47_.28KDE_SC_4.7.29">numerous KDE repositories that people can choose from (“Upstream” will include KDE 4.7), and Fedora currently offers KDE 4.7 through the unstable branch of the class="vt-p" href="http://kde-redhat.sourceforge.net/">kde-redhat repository for Fedora 15. As it appears, Kubuntu 11.10, openSUSE 12.1, and Fedora 16 should all ship with KDE 4.7 when they each release.

What do you think of KDE’s latest release? What do you like or dislike about it? Let us know in the comments!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bohdi-icon.png" alt="linux for old computers" />Try a lightweight, beautiful Linux distro that works on very old hardware. Bodhi Linux can run on processors with only 300 mhz so imagine how well it will work on your machine. With the Enlightenment desktop environment, class="vt-p" href="http://www.bodhilinux.com">Bodhi looks great and runs light. With the Ubuntu repositories, Bodhi has access to a plethora of quality free software. With a little work, it can become your perfect desktop.

You’ll need to install your favorite software of course, and you might want to spend some time tweaking things. In many ways Bodhi reminds me of time spent tweaking early versions of Ubuntu to make everything work just right. We’ve shown you class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-visually-pleasing-linux-distributions-enlightenment/">visually pleasing Linux distributions that use Enlightenment, and those are worth checking out. Bodhi Linux is different because it’s up to date, completely free to use and compatible with the Ubuntu repositories.

Choose Your Look

Bodhi, it seems, is committed to choice above all. The distribution boots quickly, and the first thing it presents you with is a decision. With various desktop modes to choose from and a few themes to check out as well, you’ll be wanting to explore a little:

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Pick a profile based on your needs and you’ll quickly see the main desktop for Bodhi. Here’s how it looked based on my decisions:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bodhi-desktop.png" alt="linux for old slow computer" width="580" height="290" />

This familiar (read: Windows-like) layout is unique in the world of Enlightenment-based distros, but don’t worry, you can customize the desktop quite a bit if this isn’t your style.

Use Your Desktop

So how does one use this thing? You’ll be wanting to pull up the menu to launch applications. You can do this by clicking anywhere on the desktop or by clicking the button.

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Yep, it’s a start button. The menu, to begin with, is sparse, but you can explore the distribution by customizing the look and feel. Much of the fun of older Linux distributions was experimenting with the look and feel in order to get everything set up exactly the way you wanted it. Bodhi recaptured this spirit for me; you should explore it yourself.

Installing Software

Like I said earlier: there’s not a lot of software installed by default. That’s intentional, and is related to the previously mentioned commitment to choice. To quote Bodhi’s about page:

At Bodhi Linux, we believe in User Choice, so we don’t give you three pre-installed mail clients to choose from. It does not mean that there is every browser possible at the click of a button. What it does mean is that we have our own repositories and these are accessible via the apt-get command line, GUI package manager or better still our online software store ( see “Add Software” in menu above!). Out of the box we give you the tools to access the resources you need to be able to build your system.

So choice means the freedom to install whatever software you like, and there is quite a bit of freedom there to be sure. A handy website gives you quick access to many familiar programs:

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The site makes use of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/singleclick-links-software-installation-ubuntu/">aptURL to provide single-click installs, but offline installation packs are also available if you prefer.

Want more control than a website with download links can give you? Don’t worry, all the standard class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/repositories-package-management-ubuntu/">Ubuntu package management tools are here for you to use. Synaptic, for example:

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You’ll find apt-get works from the command line as well, so there’s another choice for you.

Conclusion

What really impressive about this distribution is how fast it runs. This is Ubuntu stripped down without any sacrifice in terms of look and feel. Here are the minimal hardware specs:

• 300mhz i386 Processor.
• 128MB of RAM.
• 1.5GB HD space

If a computer is still running today it almost certainly meets those criteria, so there’s no harm in giving Bodhi a chance. class="vt-p" href="http://www.bodhilinux.com/">Download it now.

What do you think of Bodhi? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, along with any Enlightenment tweaks you can offer.

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