Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

PPA Updates: Tor Browser Bundle 3.5, Sublime Text 3 Beta Build 3059

| Date: December 19, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: browser, ide, internet, privacy, sublime text, text editor, tor, ubuntu

Quick update for Ubuntu / Linux Mint users: our PPAs were updated today with the latest Tor Browser Bundle 3.5 and Sublime Text 3 beta build 3059.

Fedora 20 Available For Download

| Date: December 17, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: distro, fedora, gnome 3, linux

Fedora 20 screenshots

Fedora 20 "Heisenbug" has been released, featuring the latest stable GNOME 3.10 along with other interesting changes.

TRIM Enabled By Default For SSDs On Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

| Date: December 17, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: linux, optimize, sdd, Trusty Tahr, ubuntu

Intel SSD

SSDs are finally trimmed out of the box starting with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr.

Install The SteamOS Session In Ubuntu

| Date: December 17, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: games, linux, steam, steamos, ubuntu

Valve released SteamOS Beta a few days ago as an early first-look public release. Based on Debian 7, the new operating system comes with a session called SteamOS which is a modified Big Picture mode that uses a custom SteamOS Compositor (based on xcompmgr) optimized for Steam and gaming, and some other tweaks.


If you want to run the official SteamOS session along with the custom SteamOS compositor in Ubuntu, you can easily do so by installing two packages. Once you install these packages, you'll be able to directly log in to the SteamOS session from the LightDM login screen.

Manipulate Images In Nautilus Or Nemo With `Image Tools` Extension

| Date: December 13, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: extensions, images, linux mint, nautilus, nemo, ubuntu

`Image Tools` is a handy extension for Nautilus or Nemo created by Lorenzo @ atareao.es, that lets you manipulate images from the Nautilus or Nemo context menu.

The extension lets you perform the following actions:
  • resize, rotate or flip images;
  • convert images from/to bmp, gif, jpg, png and more;
  • enhance images: change the brightness, color, contrast and sharpness;
  • apply effects such as: black and white, blur, border, contour, greyscale, negative, shadow, vintage or watermark.

Confirmed: Canonical Is Forking GNOME Control Center And GNOME Settings Daemon For Ubuntu 14.04

| Date: December 12, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: gnome, Trusty Tahr, ubuntu

GNOME Control Center

A couple of days ago I was telling you about the possibility of Canonical forking GNOME Control Center and GNOME Settings Daemon for Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr. Well, this was confirmed by Robert Ancell, Technical Lead at Canonical, on the Ubuntu Desktop mailing list.

ownCloud 6 Released With Online Collaborative Document Editing, More

| Date: December 11, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: cloud, collaboration, linux, owncloud, server, sync

ownCloud, a free software alternative to proprietary web services such as Dropbox, Google Drive and others that you can install on your own server, has reached version 6.

ownCloud 6
ownCloud 6

New Nautilus Next (GNOME Files App) Mockups

| Date: December 11, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: gnome 3, mockups, nautilus

Allan Day, UX Designer at Red Hat and GNOME contributor, posted an updated set of designs for the GNOME Files app, which he calls Nautilus Next.

In the mockups (this is not real code yet and it can change later on), a new lists and grids design is presented, in which:
  • the thumbnails are larger and clearer;
  • the grids are responsive;
  • the lists have thumbnails and separators between rows to aid readability.

Nautilus Next mockups

More Work To Support Nvidia Optimus Lands In Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

| Date: December 10, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: graphics drivers, laptops, nvidia, nvidia-prime, optimus, Trusty Tahr, ubuntu

More work to properly support Nvidia Optimus landed in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr.

GTK 3.10 Lands In Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

| Date: December 10, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: gnome 3, gtk3, Trusty Tahr, ubuntu

Ubuntu Trusty GTK 3.10

Despite Sebastien Bacher's (software engineer at Canonical) initial proposal to stay on GTK 3.8 for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, GTK 3.10 landed in the Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr proposed repositories.

Pinguy OS 13.10 Released [Screenshots, Video]

| Date: December 06, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: distro, gnome 3, gnome shell, linux, pinguy os, remaster, ubuntu

Pinguy OS 13.10 (based on Ubuntu 13.10) has been released with GNOME 3.10 by default, along with some new tweaks.


Pinguy OS is a remastered Ubuntu with a lot of useful default applications - great for those who don't like to do a lot of tweaking and want an OS that "just works".

This is the final 13.10 release but it's called beta because only LTS releases are considered stable. 

Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu On A Chromebook Using Crouton

| Date: December 06, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: chrome os, chromebook, crouton, laptop, linux, ubuntu, unity, xfce

Yesterday I wrote about installing Ubuntu on your Chromebook using Crouton. However, Crouton only installs a few apps so here's what you should install on your new Ubuntu installation running on top of Chrome OS and a few thing that you may want to fix, like the brightness and volume keys or how to get Ubuntu Software Center to work.

Note: Below I'll only cover Unity and Xfce but there are some generic tips as well.

Remote Desktop Tool `TeamViewer` 9 Available For Download

| Date: December 05, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: linux, macosx, remote desktop, teamviewer, ubuntu, windows

TeamViewer, the popular software for remote support and online meetings, has reached version 9, receiving Wake-onLAN support, notifications for Computers & Contacts and more.

TeamViewer9 Linux

Install Ubuntu On Your Chromebook Using Crouton

| Date: December 05, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: chrome os, chromebook, crouton, laptop, linux, ubuntu, unity, xfce

HP Chromebook 11

I recently got a Chromebook and decided to install Ubuntu on it. There are two ways (that I know of) of doing this: using Crouton, which uses a chroot environment and lets you run both Chrome OS and Ubuntu in the same time and you can switch between the two using a keyboard shortcut, and ChrUbuntu, which works you can dual boot with Chrome OS but it only supports x86-based Chromebooks.

Since I have an ARM-based Chromebook (HP Chromebook 11 - it's not on sale currently due to some issues with the charger), I've used Crouton. I actually prefer Crouton for the way it allows switching between Chrome OS and Ubuntu without having to restart.

If you own a Chromebook and want to install Ubuntu using Crouton, here's how to do it. I've tested this on HP Chromebook 11, but it should work on any Chromebook.

Oracle Java PPA Updated With ARM Support

| Date: December 03, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: arm, Java, linux, oracle, ubuntu

Java ARM

Starting today, both Oracle Java 7 and Java 8 (JDK) installers available in the WebUpd8 Java PPA support ARM.

Tor Browser Bundle Ubuntu PPA

| Date: December 02, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: browser, firefox, linux, privacy, tor, torbrowser, ubuntu

Tor Browser Bundle is a web browser based on Firefox ESR (Firefox with extended support), configured to protect users' privacy and anonymity by using Tor and Vidalia, tools that come bundled with it. The bundle also includes 4 Firefox extensions: TorButton, TorLauncher, NoScript and HTTPS-Everywhere.

Tor Browser Bundle Ubuntu

Linux Mint 16 `Petra` Released [Screenshots]

| Date: December 02, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: distro, linux mint

Linux Mint logo

Linux Mint 16 "Petra", based on Ubuntu 13.10, was released recently and is available as usual in two editions: MATE and Cinnamon. Let's take a look at what's new.

Linux Deepin 2013 Available For Download [Video, Screenshots]

| Date: November 28, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: distro, linux, Linux Deepin


Linux Deepin 2013 has been released with various improvements and enhancements as well as two new applications: Deepin Terminal and Deepin Game Center.

Save Up To 80% On Steam Thanks To The Steam Autumn Sale

| Date: November 28, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: games, steam, valve


Quick update for Steam users: Valve has launched the "Steam Autumn Sale" and many games available for Linux (not only, obviously) can be purchased with discounts of up to 80% or maybe even more, depending on the upcoming daily deals and flash sales.

Ubuntu Unity Global Menu Can Now Be Disabled For Individual Applications

| Date: November 28, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: appmenu, tips n tricks, Trusty Tahr, ubuntu

After a recent update in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr, it's possible to whitelist or blacklist individual applications from using the Ubuntu AppMenu (global menu).

Y PPA Manager 0.9.9.2 Adds Support For Linux Mint 16 And Ubuntu 14.04

| Date: November 27, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: linux, linux mint, ppa, ubuntu, y ppa manager

Quick update: today I've released Y PPA Manager 0.9.9.2 which adds support for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr and Linux Mint 16 Petra.

Y PPA Manager Linux Mint

How To Downgrade Proposed Repository Packages In Ubuntu

| Date: November 27, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: downgrade, fix, tips n tricks, ubuntu

Enabling the proposed repository in Ubuntu is usually not a good idea because it's a testing area for updates so things can break. If you've enabled the proposed repository and something broke, here's how to revert the changes by downgrading the packages installed from the proposed repository.


Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr Might Get A New Icon Theme

| Date: November 21, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: design, icons, Trusty Tahr, ubuntu


In an Ubuntu Developer Summit session today, Matthieu James (Graphic/Visual Designer at Canonical) presented the design guidelines as well as some of the work done to create a new icon theme for Ubuntu (both desktop and touch).

Experimental Ubuntu Touch Emulator Released

| Date: November 20, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: emulator, linux, ubuntu, Ubuntu Touch, unity8

The Ubuntu developers have released an experimental Ubuntu Touch emulator running Unity 8 and Mir.

Ubuntu Touch Emulator

Australis UI Lands In Firefox Nightly, Install It In Ubuntu (PPA)

| Date: November 20, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: australis, firefox, ubuntu

Australis, a new Firefox user interface, has finally landed in Firefox Nightly.

Firefox Nightly Aurora Linux

Possible Changes In Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr)

| Date: November 14, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: Trusty Tahr, ubuntu, uds-t

A new Virtual Ubuntu Developer Summit (uds-1311) will start next week and some interesting changes will be discussed, such as enabling TRIM for SSDs by default, supporting touch apps on Ubuntu desktop and more.

Below you'll find some of the changes proposed for the upcoming Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) as well as some other interesting UDS tracks.


Android x86 Emulator `Genymotion` 2.0 Released

| Date: November 13, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: android, android-x86, emulator, linux, macosx, ubuntu, windows

Genymotion 2.0 has been released with Android 4.3 support as well as new features such as drag&drop to copy files and APKs to the virtual device.

Genymotion Android emulator

Genymotion is a fast, cross-platform Android emulator that comes with pre-configured Android (x86 with OpenGL hardware acceleration) images. The emulator features Ethernet support, multi-touch gestures, emulation widgets for GPS, battery, camera and more.

Cinnamon 2.0 No Longer Breaks Unity In Ubuntu 13.10 [Quick Update]

| Date: November 12, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: cinnamon, desktop environment, tips n tricks, ubuntu

A quick update for Ubuntu 13.10 users: the latest Cinnamon from the stable PPA no longer breaks Unity so it's safe to install it in Ubuntu 13.10 (Saucy Salamander).

cinnamon 2.0 ubuntu

Install Brackets In Ubuntu Via PPA (Open Source Code Editor For HTML, CSS And JavaScript)

| Date: November 07, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: brackets, code editor, ide, linux, macosx, ubuntu, windows

Brackets is an open-source code editor for web design and development built on top of web technologies such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript, available for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.

The application was originally created by Adobe, but is now maintained by the community.

Brackets code editor Ubuntu

Avant Window Navigator Gets New Maintainer, Ubuntu 13.10 PPA

| Date: November 05, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: avant window navigator, dock, ubuntu

Avant Window Navigator is a dock / task manager for Linux founded by Neil J. Patel, who was later hired by Canonical to work on Unity.

Avant Window Navigator

A quick update for AWN fans: after several years of inactivity, Avant Window Navigator is maintained again thanks to Povilas Kanapickas, who took over the project recently.

Metro: Last Light Available For Linux (Steam)

| Date: November 05, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: fps, games, linux, metro: last light, steam, ubuntu

Metro: Last Light, a popular single-player first-person survival horror video game, is available for Linux, through Steam.


Google Calendar Indicator 0.2.0 Released With Bug Fixes

| Date: November 04, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: apindicator, calendar, google calendar, ubuntu

Calendar Indicator, an Ubuntu AppIndicator for Google Calendar, was updated to version 0.2.0, receiving some important bug fixes, including a fix for the calendar events not showing up in the indicator menu under Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander.

Google Calendar Indicator Ubuntu

TopFeed: A Fancy Feed Widget For Your Ubuntu Desktop

| Date: November 04, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: feed reader, ubuntu, widgets

TopFeed is a new smart feed widget that lets you stay up to date with your favorite websites by displaying the latest news on your Ubuntu desktop.

TopFeed Ubuntu

The application presets all the feed items in a single column and tries to move what it thinks are the more important news to the top of the widget. The importance of news items is determined based on the following factors:

Football Manager 2014 Released, Available For Linux

| Date: October 31, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: football manager, games, linux, steam

football manager steam

Football Manager 2014 has been released on Steam and, as it was announced a while back, is available for Linux:

Install Nemo With Unity Patches (And Without Cinnamon Dependencies) In Ubuntu

| Date: October 30, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: cinnamon, linux mint, nemo, unity

Update: for Nemo 3.x, available for Ubuntu 16.04 and 16.10, there's a new PPA. See THIS article for more info.

Nemo, the default Cinnamon file manager, needs Cinnamon to be installed, even if you want to use it in some other desktop environment such as GNOME/Unity. That's not the only issue that makes using the latest Nemo under Unity difficult - Cinnamon 2.0 breaks Unity in Ubuntu 13.10, Nemo no longer draws the desktop icons and so on.

Update: the PPA now provides Nemo 2.8.7 for Ubuntu 16.04, 15.10, 15.04 and 14.04.

nemo file manager ubuntu unity

I wanted to use the latest Nemo under Unity, but without Cinnamon dependencies so I used the Nautilus Unity patches modified for Nemo by Jacob Zimmermann, which I updated to work with the latest Nemo, and I also added some extra patches to remove the Cinnamon dependencies (except for cinnamon-translations but that shouldn't be an issue), re-enable Nemo to handle the desktop icons and allow Nemo to use GNOME Control Center / Unity Control Center to change the desktop background or set a picture as wallpaper via context menu.

Get The Ubuntu One Nautilus Integration Back In Ubuntu 13.10

| Date: October 28, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: cloud, fix, sync, tips n tricks, ubuntu, ubuntu one

In Ubuntu 13.10, there's no Nautilus integration for Ubuntu One because the package containing the Nautilus extension was removed.

Some of that functionality is integrated with the Sync Menu, but not all: currently, there is no way of knowing if a file is currently in sync with Ubuntu One. Also, some users might prefer to right click a file in Nautilus to share it / get a share link, instead of opening the main Ubuntu One interface. Read on to find out how to get this back in Ubuntu 13.10.

UbuntuOne Nautilus integration Ubuntu 13.10

Edit Samsung TV Channel List With SamToolBox

| Date: October 25, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: linux, samsung, tv, ubuntu

I recently needed a tool to edit a Samsung TV channel list and I've tried a few tools but all were pretty buggy. I ended up using an application called SamToolBox which, even though it is a bit buggy and not very intuitive, gets the job done.


SamToolBox is available for Linux and Windows and it should work with all Samsung TVs that support extracting the channel list.

GIMP 2.9 (2.10 Development Builds) Available In New Ubuntu PPA

| Date: October 24, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: design, gimp, image editor, linux, ubuntu

Thorsten Stettin has created a new PPA for Ubuntu / Linux Mint users who want to use the latest GIMP 2.9 development builds.

There won't be a GIMP 2.9 stable release - 2.9 is used for development and will result in the next stable GIMP version, 2.10.

The major new feature in GIMP 2.10 will be a complete port to GEGL / high bit depths and the latest GIMP from GIT already allows working in 16bit and 32bit per color channel mode, both integer and float:

System-Wide PulseAudio Equalizer Updated For Ubuntu 16.10, 16.04 And 14.04, Linux Mint 18 And 17

| Date: October 24, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: equalizer, pulseaudio, ubuntu

I've uploaded the unofficial system-wide PulseAudio equalizer to main WebUpd8 PPA for Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr. 

 Update: the equalizer was updated to support Ubuntu 16.10. The PPA now supports Ubuntu 16.10, 16.04, 15.10, 15.04, 14.04 and 12.04, as well as Linux Mint 18 and 17.

The package update comes with a fix for a crash that occurred when no presets were found. The issue that caused audio to be muted as soon as PulseAudio Equalizer was enabled, disabled, or adjusted, was also fixed.


Get The Sound Working In Skype With Ubuntu 13.10

| Date: October 22, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: fix, skype, ubuntu

Skype Linux

Ubuntu 13.10 (and derivatives) users: if you're using Skype downloaded from its official website and not from the Ubuntu repositories, chances are the sound in Skype is either distorted or there's no sound at all.

Sync And Collaboration Tool `Seafile` 2.0 Beta Brings New Desktop Syncing Client

| Date: October 22, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: cloud, seafile, server, sync

Seafile is an open source cloud synchronization and collaboration tool which you can install on your own server. The tool uses a version control model somewhat similar to GIT but with some differences such as: automatic syncing, no history stored on the client side so the data is not stored twice (GIT is not efficient with large files), resumable transfers, more user-friendly file conflicts and more.

First Development Release Of Parole Media Player 0.6 Is Out, Install It In (X)Ubuntu

| Date: October 21, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: linux, parole, ubuntu, video player, xfce

The first development release of Parole Media Player 0.6 (version 0.5.90) was released recently, bringing changes such as: improved GStreamer 1.0 support, completed the port to GTK3, a nice new overlay for the playback controls and more.

Parole Media Player

Y PPA Manager 0.9.9.1 Released With Ubuntu 13.10 Fixes

| Date: October 21, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: linux, ppa, ubuntu, y ppa manager

Today I've released Y PPA Mangager 0.9.9.1 which brings bug fixes for the latest Ubuntu 13.10 as well as some changes on how the tool works.

Y PPA Manager

For those not familiar with Y PPA Manager, this is a tool that lets you easily add, remove or purge PPAs as well as search for packages in Launchpad PPAs, a feature that should be very useful when you can't find a PPA for your favourite app on WebUpd8 or other similar websites. Other features include:

Xubuntu 13.10 Sound Indicator Fix

| Date: October 21, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: fixes, xfce, xubuntu

The Sound Indicator doesn't work by default in Xubuntu 13.10 but there is a quick work-around you can apply to get it to work.

Xubuntu 13.10 Sound Indicator fix

Ubuntu 14.04 Codename Revealed: Trusty Tahr

| Date: October 18, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: Trusty Tahr, ubuntu

Trusty Tahr

Mark Shuttleworth has announced the codename for the next Ubuntu release (14.04 LTS): Trusty Tahr:

Pinguy OS 13.10 Alpha Released With GNOME 3.10

| Date: October 18, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: distro, pinguy os, ubuntu

Pinguy OS 13.10 alpha, an Ubuntu remaster that ships with many popular applications and tweaks, is available for testing.

Pinguy OS 13.10 screenshots

8 Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 13.10 (Saucy Salamander)

| Date: October 17, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: tips n tricks, tweak, ubuntu, unity

Ubuntu 13.10 was released today and for those of you who plan on doing a clean install, here are 8 useful things to do after the installation.

Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander

See What`s New In The 13.10 Release Of Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu And Ubuntu GNOME

| Date: October 17, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: desktop environment, distro, gnome, kubuntu, lubuntu, ubuntu, ubuntu gnome, xubuntu

Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu and Ubuntu GNOME reached version 13.10. Let's take a quick look at what's new!

Ubuntu 13.10 Available For Download

| Date: October 17, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: distro, linux, ubuntu, unity


Ubuntu 13.10 was released today and while there aren't as many new features as in the previous releases, there are some interesting changes. Read on to see what's new in Ubuntu 13.10 (Saucy Salamander)!

Cross-Platform BitTorrent Client `qBittorrent` 3.1.0 Released With Support For Atom Feeds, Other New Features

| Date: October 16, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: bittorrent, linux, macosx, qbittorrent, ubuntu, windows

qBittorrent is a cross-platform BitTorrent client that aims to provide a free software alternative to uTorrent. The application comes with an integrated search engine, web interface, sequential download support, bandwidth scheduler, advanced RSS support with download filters, torrent creation tool, IP filtering and other useful features.

qBittorrent screenshot

Fix Bumblebee libturbojpeg.so Issue In Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander

| Date: October 16, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: bumblebee, fix, nvidia

In Ubuntu 13.10 (Saucy Salamander), it seems that the libturbojpeg .so filename has changed from libturbojpeg.so to libturbojpeg.so.0 and this breaks Bumblebee. Below you'll find a quick fix for this issue.

VirtualBox 4.3 Released With Multi-Touch And Video Capturing Support, More

| Date: October 15, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: linux, macosx, ubuntu, virtualbox, windows

Oracle released VirtualBox 4.3 today with some exiting new features such a new virtual multi-touch USB interface to support touch-based operating systems, video capturing support and more.

VirtualBox 4.3 screenshot

Pipelight 0.2.0 Released With Multi-Plugin Support (Silverlight And Flash For Now)

| Date: October 15, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: linux, microsoft, netflix, pipelight, silverlight, ubuntu

Pipelight, a project that allows you to install Silverlight to any Linux browser that supports the Netscape Plugin API (Firefox, Chrome, Midori), has been updated today, receiving multi-plugin support.

Silverlight Firefox Linux

Clementine 1.2 Released (Amarok 1.4 Inspired Cross-Platform Music Player)

| Date: October 15, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: clementine, linux, macosx, music player, ubuntu

Almost a year after the previous major release, Clementine 1.2 is finally available for download with some interesting new features such as support for playing music from your Box, Dropbox and Ubuntu One account, a new Android app that lets you control Clementine remotely and more.

Clementine music player 1.2 screenshot

Install Rhythmbox 3.0 In Ubuntu 13.10 Or 13.04

| Date: October 11, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: music player, rhythmbox, ubuntu

Rhythmbox 3.0 was released more than a month ago, bringing an improved user interface, Python 3 support for the plugins and more. Unfortunately, the new version didn't make it into Ubuntu 13.10, but there's a PPA you can use to install it (also available for Ubuntu 13.04).

Rhythmbox 3.0

Cinnamon 2.0 Released, Becomes An `Entire Desktop Environment`

| Date: October 10, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: cinnamon, desktop environment, gnome 3, linux mint, ubuntu

Cinnamon 2.0 has been released today featuring many bug fixes as well as some new features.

According to the release announcement, with version 2.0, Cinnamon is no longer a frontend ontop of the GNOME desktop like Unity or GNOME Shell, but "an entire desktop environment". Cinnamon is still built on GNOME technologies and uses GTK, but "it no longer requires GNOME itself to be installed" because it now communicates with its own backend services, libraries and daemons.

cinnamon 2.0

How To Disable Amazon / Shopping Suggestions And Other Unity Scopes In Ubuntu 14.04 Or 13.10

| Date: October 08, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: privacy, scopes, smart scopes, ubuntu, unity

In Ubuntu 13.04, if you want to get online search results in Dash without shopping suggestions, you can simply remove the Unity Shopping lens. In Ubuntu 13.10 (Saucy Salamander) and 14.04 (Trusty Tahr) you can't remove the Shopping lens but there is another way to achieve the same thing and it seems this isn't obvious because I've seen quite a few users complaining about it. So here's how to disable the shopping scopes or any scope for that matter, in Ubuntu 13.10 or 14.04, without disabling all the online search results.

Update: this article was initially written for Ubuntu 13.10 but everything here was tested and it works with Ubuntu 14.04 too.

Unity Dash sopping suggestions
Unity Dash with shopping suggestion

Sync And Collaboration Tool `SparkleShare` 1.2 Released [Ubuntu PPA]

| Date: October 08, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: cloud, linux, macosx, sparkleshare, sync, ubuntu, windows

SparkleShare is an open source cloud collaboration/synchronization tool that uses Git under the hood and can be used with your own Git repository or with services such as BitBucket, GitHub, Gitorious and Plan.io.

sparkleshare

Xfwm4 4.11.0 Released With Sync to VBlank Support, Install It In Xubuntu

| Date: October 07, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: linux, ubuntu, xfce

Xfwm4 4.11.0 has been uploaded recently to the Xfce 4.12 PPA for (X)Ubuntu 13.10, 13.04, 12.10 and 12.04, bringing Sync to VBlank support for the Xfwm4 (Xfce's window manager) compositor, which should prevent tearing when dragging/resizing windows, media players and flash applications, etc.

xfce sync to vblank

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS To Stay On GTK/GNOME 3.8?

| Date: October 02, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: 14.04, gnome 3, ubuntu

Ubuntu GNOME

Sebastien Bacher, software engineer at Canonical, recently posted a message on the Ubuntu Desktop mailing list in which he proposes that Ubuntu stays on GTK/GNOME 3.8 for the next cycle (Ubuntu 14.04 LTS).

Ubuntu 13.10 Will Not Use XMir By Default

| Date: October 02, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: mir, Saucy Salamander, ubuntu

ubuntu saucy salamander

Canonical has decided not to switch to Xmir by default for Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander.

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