According to its developer, the application was created because he "didn't like [his] Android AOSP system being tainted by Google root services, neither being filed in the Google account database".

I'm sure many Atom users already know this, but I didn't get to write an article about it, so here's a quick update: the Atom developers have started providing 64bit DEB packages for more than a month. Also, 4 days ago, they added official 64bit RPM packages.

Folder Color is a file manager extension that allows you to easily change folders  icon color, useful for instance to organize your folders, make some important folder stand out, etc.

The latest Folder Color, which already supported Nautilus, adds support for Caja (the default MATE file manager) and Nemo (the default Cinnamon file manager):

GNOME 3.14 was released back in September and it includes some interesting changes like multi-touch gestures for both the system and applications, re-worked default theme, new animations as well as various enhancements for the code GNOME applications. More information HERE.


Unfortunately, Ubuntu GNOME 14.10 (Utopic Unicorn) ships with GNOME 3.12 for the most part (there are even some GNOME 3.10 packages, like Gedit or Nautilus) but, as usual, you can install the latest GNOME (3.14) by using a PPA.

ownCloud developer Lukas Reschke has sent an email to the Ubuntu Devel mailing list, requesting that ownCloud (server) is removed from the Ubuntu repositories because the package is old and there are multiple critical security bugs for which no fixes have been backported. He adds that:

Along with the other flavors, Ubuntu MATE 14.10 was released today. This is an unofficial (it will most probably become an official Ubuntu flavor in the near future) MATE-based Ubuntu flavor, "ideal for those who want the most out of their desktops, laptops and netbooks and prefer a traditional desktop metaphor", which had its very first stable release today.

Ubuntu 14.10 is now available for download. This release doesn't ship with any new Unity features and it includes mostly bug fixes. Still, there are some under the hood changes and of course, updated applications.

For those not familiar with Privacy Indicator, this is an Ubuntu AppIndicator especially created for Unity, which allows you to control various privacy aspects.

Syncthing is a cross-platform peer-to-peer file synchronization client/server application written in Go. Similar to BitTorrent Sync, the tool can be used to synchronize files between computers however, unlike BitTorrent Sync, Syncthing is open source.

Ubuntu GNOME with GTK/GNOME Shell 3.12: if you're an Ubuntu GNOME user, you're most probably aware that Ambiance and Radiance (the default Ubuntu themes) don't support GNOME Shell and applications that use header bars look broken. Well, Leo Iannacone has fixed the default Ubuntu themes to work properly under GNOME 3.12.

Here are a couple of screenshots taken under GNOME Shell / GTK+ 3.12 (Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn) with fixed Ambiance and Radiance themes, using proper header bars (client side decorations):

Unfortunately, Leo's fixed Ubuntu themes don't work properly with Unity. For instance, the Nautilus toolbar/pathbar looks pretty weird. So I recommend using them only with GNOME Shell (Ubuntu GNOME).

Blizzard's Battle.net tool was updated recently, probably in preparation for the upcoming WoW expansion called Warlords of Draenor, resulting in either a black screen or distorted / scrambled graphics on Linux (with Wine) with Intel graphics.

It looks like this is not a Wine or Battle.net bug but an Intel graphic drivers bug, at least that's what the Wine developers suggest.

LightDM GTK+ Greeter Settings is a small GUI written in Python which lets you modify various LightDM GTK+ Greeter settings, such as the theme, font, background, window position and more, settings which otherwise can only be set by modifying the greeter configuration files.

You can use "add-apt-repository" in Debian to add Launchpad PPAs however, there are a few things that you should know. Read on to find out how to use "add-apt-repository" in Debian.

TLP was updated to version 0.6 recently, receiving some fixes for Linux Kernel 3.15 and 3.16 along with systemd improvements and other changes.

Also, with this release, TLP is no longer disabled when laptop-mode-tools is detected and instead, a warning is displayed about possible conflicts.

For those not familiar with TLP, this is an advanced power management tool that applies various settings and tweaks to help your laptop save battery power. The app tries to do everything automatically, depending on your Linux distribution and hardware however, you can manually change its settings by editing the TLP configuration file: /etc/default/tlp

Brackets was updated to version 0.44 recently, getting one of the most requested features: vertical and horizontal split view, so you can now view files side by side or one above another.

The new slip view feature can be accessed either from the View menu or from the icon next to Working File (left pane). For now, it's not possible to view the same files in both panes though.

Of course, you can easily manage your Todo.txt tasks with a simple text editor, but using a tool such as QTodoTxt simplifies things, providing a better overview of your tasks by using colored priorities and due dates as well as a sidebar treeview which allows you to quickly access contexts and projects.

The application is developed by Insync, the company behind the popular cross-platform Google Drive client 'Insync' and it's not free and open source software but it's free to use.

Pithos 1.0.1 was released recently and it includes some minor improvements and bug fixes - for instance, the bug that was causing the Ubuntu Sound Menu to stop working when using Pithos was fixed in this release.