Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

Pandora Radio Client Pithos 1.3.0 Released, Available In PPA

Pithos 1.3.0 was released recently and is now available in its official PPA, for Ubuntu 17.04, 16.10 and 16.04. The new version brings support for MPRIS playlist and tracklist interfaces, improved accessibility UI, and more.

Pithos

Pithos is a Pandora Radio (only available in Australia, New Zealand and the United States) client that supports Pandora features such as love / ban / tired, allows creating, editing and switching between stations, and more.

The application integrates tightly with the desktop, providing notifications, MPRIS v2 support (it integrates with the Ubuntu Sound Menu / GNOME Shell, etc. ), media keys, can inhibit the screensaver and so on.

New KDE Connect Indicator Ubuntu / Linux Mint PPA

The KDE Connect Indicator (fork) PPA maintainer is not available any more, and I was asked to create a new PPA. 

KDE Connect Indicator

Since I'm a KDE Connect Indicator user myself, I couldn't say no, so I created a new KDE Connect Indicator PPA, which provides packages for Ubuntu 17.04, 16.10 and 16.04 / Linux Mint 18.x.

Todo Indicator Fork Adds Context Filtering [Quick Update]

Todo Indicator is an AppIndicator to for todo.txt-style todo lists. The indicator displays the list of tasks from a todo.txt file and lets you mark tasks as done directly from the indicator.


The original Todo Indicator was last updated back in May, 2014, so WebUpd8 reader William decided to fork it and add a new feature: filtering based on a specific context or project. Furthermore, indicator was updated to work with either Python 2 or Python 3.

Meteo Qt Is A Nice Qt5 Weather Tray Application

Meteo Qt is a tray application that displays the current weather temperature on the panel, with a 6-day forecast easily accessible from its menu. 

MeteoQt Kubuntu
Meteo Qt in Kubuntu 17.04

The application is based on Python 3 and Qt 5, and while it is aimed at Qt-based desktops (like KDE Plasma or LXQt), it works pretty well on GTK-based desktops as well (either as a tray or as an AppIndicator).

GNOME Pomodoro: A Pomodoro Timer With AppIndicator And GNOME Shell Support

GNOME Pomodoro (not an official GNOME app) is, like the name suggests, a Pomodoro timer for GNOME. The application website mentions that it's currently only for GNOME Shell, however, an AppIndicator is also available.

GNOME Pomodoro AppIndicator
GNOME Pomodoro AppIndicator

Computer Eye Strain Prevention App `SafeEyes` Sees New Release

SafeEyes is a Linux application which tries to protect your eyes from eye strain by reminding you to take breaks, while also providing some simple exercises.

SafeEyes Ubuntu

The application was updated to version 1.1.5 (then quickly to 1.1.6 to fix a bug) recently, bringing some new features, like an option to disable SafeEyes - you can now choose to disable it for 30 minutes, 1, 2 or 3 hours, or until system restart.

Easily Use Free VPNs From VPN Gate In Linux With These 2 Tools

Below you'll find 2 tools that make it easy to use free OpenVPN servers from VPN Gate in Linux.

In case you're not familiar with VPN Gate, this is project that offers free VPN servers that are ran by volunteers who use SoftEther. It was designed with the Great Firewall of China in Mind and is sponsored by the University of Tsukuba, Japan.

It's important to note that free VPNs are insecure, and they shouldn't be used for sensitive / important stuff!

6 Cool Internet Radio Players For Linux

There are quite a few Linux applications that can play Internet radio, but I thought I'd make a list of some of the most interesting apps that focus on this.

The list includes lightweight Internet radio players, a fully fledged desktop application, a command line radio browser and player, as well as a GNOME Shell extension.