Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

Ambient Noise (ANoise) Player Fixed For Ubuntu 16.04 And Newer

| Date: June 14, 2017 | View Comments | Tags: anoise, cinnamon, gnome shell, media player, productivity, sound, unity

Ambient Noise, or ANoise is a simple, lightweight application for playing ambient noises, such as waves, rain, fire, and so on, useful to help you stay focused and boost productivity, or fall asleep.

The application didn't work in Ubuntu 16.04 and newer until recently, when it was updated to GStreamer 1.0 and Python 3, along with some bug fixes.

Ambient Noise Ubuntu

GNOME 3.24 Released, See What`s New

| Date: March 22, 2017 | View Comments | Tags: desktop environment, gnome, gnome shell, linux

GNOME 3.24 desktop

After being in development for six months, GNOME 3.24 was released today, bringing improvements such as Night Light, weather information in the date / time indicator, along with updates to its applications, and more.

Fix VirtualBox 5.1.x Focus Issues On GNOME Desktops (Not Being Able To Move VM Windows In GNOME Shell, Clicking On Indicators In Unity)

| Date: March 09, 2017 | View Comments | Tags: fix, gnome shell, linux, tweaks, ubuntu, unity, virtualbox

If you use VirtualBox 5.1.x with a GNOME desktop (GNOME Shell, Unity and possibly other GTK-based desktops as well), you may have noticed that there are some focus-related issues:
  • in GNOME Shell (host), virtual machine windows can't be moved unless clicking on another window, then moving the virtual machine window;
  • in GNOME Shell (host), the Activities Overview can't be accessed if a virtual machine is focused;
  • in Unity (host), clicking on an indicator while a virtual machine is focused results in the indicator menus not being displayed.

Here's a screenshot showing what happens in Unity when indicators are clicked while a VirtualBox 5.1.x virtual machine is focused:

VirtualBox indicators focus bug Unity

Argos Lets You Create GNOME Shell Extensions From Scripts (W/ BitBar Plugin Support)

| Date: February 28, 2017 | View Comments | Tags: bash, bitbar, cli, extensions, gnome, gnome shell

Argos is a tool inspired by the BitBar app for Mac, which makes it easy to create your own GNOME Shell extensions, using information provided via scripts.

Being a GNOME Shell extension itself, Argos adds a button with a dropdown on the GNOME Shell top panel. This button can display or expose functionality provided by a script, be it Bash, Python, Ruby, and so on (remember to make it executable or else Argos won't use it).

Here's Argos in action (gif via Argos GitHub page):

Argos GNOME Shell script extension

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

| Date: February 23, 2017 | View Comments | Tags: appindicator, gnome, gnome shell, linux, pomodoro, time tracking, ubuntu, utility

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

6 Cool Internet Radio Players For Linux

| Date: February 01, 2017 | View Comments | Tags: appindicator, cli, gnome shell, internet, linux, radio, ubuntu

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.

`Dash To Panel` Is A Cool Icon Taskbar For GNOME Shell

| Date: January 27, 2017 | View Comments | Tags: customization, dock, extensions, featured, gnome, gnome shell, linux, tweaks, ubuntu

Dash to Panel is a fairly new GNOME Shell extension that moves the dash into the top bar, to achieve a single panel (combined app launchers and system tray) design similar to that of KDE Plasma or Windows 7+.

Dash To Panel GNOME Shell

The extension provides numerous features, including the ability to move the panel to the top or bottom, change the panel size, live window previews, and more.

How To Easily Create AppFolders In GNOME Shell Using GNOME AppFolders Manager Or GNOME Software

| Date: June 16, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: customization, gnome, gnome shell, linux, tweaks, ubuntu

By default, the GNOME (Shell) overview displays applications in two views: "all", where all the applications are listed in alphabetic order, and "frequent", in which the frequently used applications are displayed.

GNOME Shell supports grouping applications in app folders, and there are two such predefined folders, "Utilities" and "Sundry". Some might not know how to create custom app folders, so here are two ways of achieving this.


Get Chrome And Firefox 52+ To Support Installing GNOME Shell Extensions From The GNOME Extensions Repository

| Date: March 29, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: extensions, gnome shell, google chrome, linux, ubuntu

[Quick tip for GNOME Shell users] By default, users are able to install GNOME Shell extensions from extensions.gnome.org only by using Firefox or Epiphany (Web) browsers.

Until GNOME Software will be able to install and update GNOME Shell extensions, Google Chrome / Chromium users are a bit left out, at least as far as the default experience goes. 

However, there is an easy way of installing GNOME Shell extensions using Chrome: with the help of a Chrome extension and a native connector that provides integration with GNOME Shell and its extensions repository, extensions.gnome.org.

Update 1: the extension also supports other Chromium-based web browsers such as Opera and Vivaldi.

Update 2: Chrome GNOME Shell now also supports Firefox. This is important because with version 52, Firefox no longer supports NPAPI plugins.

Google Chrome GNOME Extension Repository integration
extensions.gnome.org integration for Google Chrome

Mailnag Email Notifier 1.2 Released With New IMAP Folder Chooser, Updated Popup Menu Layout For GNOME Shell, More

| Date: March 25, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: cinnamon, email, email notifier, gnome, gnome shell, linux, linux mint, mailnag, ubuntu

Mailnag is a desktop-independent email notifier for Linux. The application supports both POP3 and IMAP servers and on email arrival, it performs various actions like visual or sound notifications, allows executing a script and more.

For Unity and GNOME Shell, there are two Mailnag extensions that further integrate the application with the desktop. 

Mailnag email notifier Unity
Mailnag Unity integration with Messaging Menu

Using the Mailnag Unity plugin, the application integrates with the Messaging Menu, while using the GNOME Shell plugin makes Mailnag available on the top panel, and it includes an email counter and popup menu (updated with the latest 1.2 version), which you can see below. 

Mailnag email notifier gnome shell
Mailnag GNOME Shell extension

GNOME 3.20 Released With Various Refinements And Application Updates

| Date: March 23, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: desktop environment, gnome, gnome shell, linux

After the usual 6-month development cycle, GNOME 3.20 was released today and it includes changes such as updated Software app, which can now handle operating system upgrades, image editing capabilities for the Photos app, a new shortcuts window which displays the available keyboard shortcuts in most GNOME apps, and much more.

GNOME 3.20 screenshots


GNOME 3.18 Released, See What`s New

| Date: September 23, 2015 | View Comments | Tags: desktop environment, gnome, gnome shell, linux

GNOME 3.18

After six months of work, GNOME 3.18 was released today, bringing some important Files application improvements, built-in Firmware upgrades, as well as a new preview application called 'To Do'.

GNOME 3.16 Released With New Notification System, Updated Visuals [Video, Screenshots]

| Date: March 25, 2015 | View Comments | Tags: desktop environment, gnome 3, gnome shell, linux

GNOME 3.16 screenshots

GNOME 3.16 was released today and it includes some important changes, like a new notification system, updated visuals, 3 new preview applications and much more. Read on to find out what's new!

How To Run Gedit And Nautilus As Root With pkexec Instead Of gksu

| Date: March 18, 2015 | View Comments | Tags: customization, gedit, gnome shell, nautilus, pkexec, ubuntu, unity

gksu hasn't been updated since 2009 and is not recommended any more. In fact, Ubuntu no longer ships with gksu by default (though it may be installed for many of you, because some apps still depend on it) and it may even be completely removed at some point.

The recommended replacement for gksu is pkexec. Applications like Synaptic, Ubuntu Software Center, Software & Updates and others use it for some time but what if you want to use pkexec with applications like Gedit or Nautilus?

By default, you can't because pkexec can't run graphical applications without having a PolicyKit file installed in /usr/share/polkit-1/actions/ for the app you're trying to run as root, and Ubuntu doesn't ship with PolicyKit files for Nautilus or Gedit.

pkexec Unity
pkexec authentication dialog under Unity

Ozon OS `Hydrogen` Beta Available For Download

| Date: March 10, 2015 | View Comments | Tags: distro, fedora, gnome shell, linux, ozon os

Ozon OS "Hydrogen" beta is available for download. This is a Linux distribution based on Fedora, created by a collaboration between Numix Project and Nitrux S.A., "designed to not get into your way and and be simple, sleek and modern while focusing on helping you to get stuff done quickly".

Ozon OS Hydrogen beta

The latest Ozon OS "Hydrogen" beta is based on Fedora 21 and it uses GNOME Shell (3.14.x), customized with various extensions. And of course, since Numix Project and Nitrux S.A. are known for their beautiful design work, Ozon OS ships with gorgeous GTK, GNOME Shell and icon themes, which you can see in the screenshots throughout this post.

Install Ambiance And Radiance Themes With Fixed Header Bars For GNOME 3.12 [Ubuntu GNOME]

| Date: October 14, 2014 | View Comments | Tags: eyecandy, gnome 3, gnome shell, themes, ubuntu gnome

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):

Ambiance GNOME header bars

Radiance GNOME header bars

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).

GNOME 3.14 Released, See What`s New

| Date: September 24, 2014 | View Comments | Tags: desktop environment, gnome shell, gnome3, linux

After six months of development, GNOME 3.14 was released today and it includes quite a few interesting changes such as 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. Let's take a look at what's new!

PPA Updates: Atraci 0.6.0, Atom 0.123.0, Brackets 0.42, GPaste 3.10.3 And 3.12.2, Minitube 2.2, Oracle JDK 7u67 And More

| Date: August 18, 2014 | View Comments | Tags: atom, atraci, brackets, fresh plugin, gnome shell, gpaste, Java, kkedit, minitube, oracle, tor, unity, wimlib, y ppa manager, youtube

As you might have noticed, I was on holiday* until today and because of that, there were no new articles on WebUpd8 and no updates for the WebUpd8 PPAs. Today I updated the PPA packages for most applications that had a new release while I was away, and to speed things up, below you'll find a quick list with what was updated / what's new.

Mailnag Email Notifier Sees New Major Release, Is No Longer Just For GNOME Shell

| Date: July 14, 2014 | View Comments | Tags: gnome shell, linux, mail notifier, mailnag, ubuntu, unity

Mailnag, an email notifier that was initially developed for GNOME Shell only, was updated to version 1.0 recently, getting numerous changes such as a plugin system for easy extensibility and also, the application is now desktop-independent.

Mailnag

GNOME Shell 3.12 and GTK+ 3.12 Available In The Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn Repositories

| Date: June 12, 2014 | View Comments | Tags: gnome shell, ubuntu, ubuntu gnome, Utopic Unicorn

Quick Ubuntu / Ubuntu GNOME 14.10 Utopic Unicorn update: GNOME Shell 3.12 and GTK+ 3.12 have recently landed in the official Utopic repositories. 

GNOME Shell 3.12 Ubuntu 14.10

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