Skippy-XD: Expose-Like Window Picker For Xfce, LXDE, Etc.

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://code.google.com/p/skippy-xd/">Skippy-XD</a></b> is a lightweight <b>full-screen window picker</b> for X11, <b>similar to the Mac OS X "<i>Exposé</i>" feature</b>, useful for desktop environments like as Xfce or LXDE, which don't have such a feature by default.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">There are Compiz and KWin plugins that offer similar functionality (and GNOME Shell has this built in) however, Skippy-XD should work with pretty much any NETWM or GNOME WM Specs compliant window-manager: Xfwm4, OpenBox, FluxBox, WindowMaker, IceWM and so on.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/skippy-xd.jpg"><img alt="Skippy-XD" src="http://img.netupd8.com/skippy-xd_thumb.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Skippy-XD is triggered by a hotkey and it displays thumbnails for windows on the current desktop, allowing you to easily pick a window by using the mouse or keyboard. You can also<b> close windows by middle clicking them</b>.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The application supports <b>live previews</b>, videos included, and uses compositing, but only when you press the hotkey to display the window picker.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Skippy-XD development stagnated for a while but now it has a new maintainer and appears to be active again. Recently, the application received support for closing windows (middle click), customizable tooltip position, VI movement keys (h,j,k,l) and many bug fixes. Right now, Skippy-XD doesn't display window decorations but according to a <a href="https://github.com/richardgv/skippy-xd/issues/13">bug report</a>, that should change soon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Below you can watch an old video with Skippy-XD in action:</div><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gVRPCd7OS38" width="560"></iframe><br />(<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVRPCd7OS38">direct video link</a>)</center><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Note that the video shows adding the Skippy-XD daemon on startup but from what I've read, the daemon is pretty buggy so you should simply use "skippy-xd" to launch it - or the script I've posted below, under "Usage", which works around an issue with Skippy-XD not showing minimized windows.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install Skippy-XD in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu users can install the latest Skippy-XD from GIT by using a PPA. Add the PPA and install Skippy-XD using the following commands:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:landronimirc/skippy-xd-daily<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install skippy-xd</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">You'll also need to create a configuration file called "skippy-xd.rc" under <i>~/.config/skippy-xd</i>/. You can install the default Skippy-XD configuration file by using the commands below:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>mkdir -p ~/.config/skippy-xd<br />wget https://raw.github.com/richardgv/skippy-xd/master/skippy-xd.rc-default -O ~/.config/skippy-xd/skippy-xd.rc</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This file has various Skippy-XD options which you can change: the window update frequency, colors, opacity, mouse bindings and so on.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Arch Linux</b> users can install the latest Skippy-XD from GIT via <a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/skippy-xd-git/">AUR</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For other Linux distributions, you can grab the Skippy-XD source code from <a href="https://github.com/richardgv/skippy-xd">GitHub</a>.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Report any bugs you may find @ <a href="https://github.com/richardgv/skippy-xd/issues?state=open">GitHub</a>.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Usage</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Skippy-XD has a bug and doesn't display minimized windows. A work-around for this is to use a script created by <a href="http://forum.xfce.org/viewtopic.php?id=8105">B. Murphy</a>.</b> Download and install the script using the following command:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install xdotool<br />wget https://raw.github.com/hotice/webupd8/master/skippy-xd-fix -O /tmp/skippy-xd-fix<br />sudo install /tmp/skippy-xd-fix /usr/local/bin/</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Now let's assign "/usr/local/bin/skippy-xd-fix" a keyboard shortcut from the system settings. If you're using Xfce, you can assign a keyboard shortcut to the Skippy window picker via <i>Settings > Keyboard</i>, on the Application Shortcuts tab, click "Add" and under command, use "skippy-xd-fix".</div><br />See how to set up keyboard bindings for <a href="https://urukrama.wordpress.com/openbox-guide/#Key_mouse">Openbox</a> | <a href="http://fluxbox-wiki.org/index.php/Keyboard_shortcuts#How_to_use_the_keys_file">Fluxbox</a>.<br /><br />If you want to use the Skippy-XD daemon instead, see <a href="http://code.google.com/p/skippy-xd/wiki/SetupGuide">THIS</a> wiki page.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To set up a hot corner for Skippy-XD under Xfce, LXDE, etc., you can use an application called <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2011/04/set-up-hot-corners-edge-flipping-in.html" title="Set Up Hot Corners, Edge Flipping In Ubuntu With Brightside [Without Compiz]">Brightside</a>.</b></div>

Skippy-XD: Expose-Like Window Picker For Xfce, LXDE, Etc.

Skippy-XD is a lightweight full-screen window picker for X11, similar to the Mac OS X " Exposé " feature , useful for desktop en...

+ Read more »

Google Drive Client `Insync` For Linux Out Of Beta, Gets Selective Sync Support

<div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.insynchq.com/">Insync</a> is an unofficial Google Drive client that "extends Drive's web functionality to your desktop by integrating tightly with Windows, Mac and Linux so you can get work done".</i></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRKt5ql7FVhIQz7oUscxU02J4c2xLSkWDsFtqwfA93PeiGNzbMAU767-vZrxosecClTUYLoK00YQtNTlt3l8CEZFx1A36Pv8RJuIcXjB4DO-EtxZag6Kui60r_ES8bEUeq41jkXTQl8I/s1600/insync-linux-stable.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRKt5ql7FVhIQz7oUscxU02J4c2xLSkWDsFtqwfA93PeiGNzbMAU767-vZrxosecClTUYLoK00YQtNTlt3l8CEZFx1A36Pv8RJuIcXjB4DO-EtxZag6Kui60r_ES8bEUeq41jkXTQl8I/s320/insync-linux-stable.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Insync for Linux: Nautilus integration / Ubuntu appindicator</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Insync for Linux is out of beta</b> and it now offers the same features available for the Windows and Mac clients: </div><a name='more'></a><ul><li>multiple account support</li><li>selective sync (all files and folders)</li><li>offline access to Google Docs</li><li>symlink support</li><li>built-in sharing (without using a web browser)</li><li>file manager integration</li><li>recent changes </li><li>more</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The Linux version also comes with a feature that allows you to add any folder on your system to Insync via the file manager context menu (using a symbolic link).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Insync was free to use while in beta only so to use the latest stable release you must pay a<b> one-time fee of $9.99 per Google account</b> (which includes unlimited installs across all desktops). <b>You can try the stable release for free for 15 days</b>. The trial period can be extended by 15 days if you <a href="https://www.insynchq.com/referrals">refer a friend</a> (both you and your friend get an extra 15 days).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tool supports Ubuntu, Debian, Linu Mint, PCLinuxOS, MEPIS and Fedora with the following desktop environments: Unity, Cinnamon, GNOME Shell, KDE, LXDE, Xfce, MATE and Openbox + fbpanel and 5 file managers: Nautilus, Nemo, Caja, Dolphin and Thunar.</div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1g84mfR-eHEo5jG9W3lDU53FyRzTQ-xtUcLKN7o9Fbb_pv_P2Up7oT8wak1wvpD8ReCdpMcYXOk0FvuRiNGbQB-dIc_ml7RCM2OYwbdTNNmgQKUOjvAqDCFBeYjMR6rv84v7w5EDE-cw/s1600/insync-linux-stable_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1g84mfR-eHEo5jG9W3lDU53FyRzTQ-xtUcLKN7o9Fbb_pv_P2Up7oT8wak1wvpD8ReCdpMcYXOk0FvuRiNGbQB-dIc_ml7RCM2OYwbdTNNmgQKUOjvAqDCFBeYjMR6rv84v7w5EDE-cw/s320/insync-linux-stable_2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Insync for Linux: account settings</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://www.insynchq.com/">Download Insync</a></b> *</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">* The installer will try to detect your desktop environment and install the package required for file manager integration. If you change the desktop environment or use a different file manager, you'll have to install the file manager integration package from the repositories (the Insync repository is added automatically): simply search for Insync in Ubuntu Software Center, Synaptic, etc. and install the package for your file manager, like insync-thunar, insync-nemo, insync-nautilus and so on.</div>

Google Drive Client `Insync` For Linux Out Of Beta, Gets Selective Sync Support

Insync is an unofficial Google Drive client that "extends Drive's web functionality to your desktop by integrating tightly with Wi...

+ Read more »

Lubuntu 13.10 Changes: Firefox, zRAM Added By Default, LightDM Used For The Lock Screen

<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7nK7bHhKHt69cx3XaaGqAEGwE1eVRJOgYf5OmKPp6e6J89TN6_YaXBSH8jb5ladyxWbUM2EIrPbZEgOKwaKYBJxA1CgHI2x4HVpwRwX5p3LGCApAbxb2wP27XbgoHDPJhO1r7nInhyphenhyphenA/s1600/lubuntu-ff-zram.png" imageanchor="1" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander" border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7nK7bHhKHt69cx3XaaGqAEGwE1eVRJOgYf5OmKPp6e6J89TN6_YaXBSH8jb5ladyxWbUM2EIrPbZEgOKwaKYBJxA1CgHI2x4HVpwRwX5p3LGCApAbxb2wP27XbgoHDPJhO1r7nInhyphenhyphenA/s320/lubuntu-ff-zram.png" title="Lubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander" width="320" /></a></div><br />After an <a href="https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/saucy/+source/lubuntu-meta/0.50">update</a> today, <b><a href="http://www.lubuntu.net/">Lubuntu</a> 13.10 Saucy Salamander, the LXDE Ubuntu flavour, has switched to Firefox as the default web browser, replacing Chromium</b>, which is a bit of a surprise, considering that Ubuntu 13.10 may switch from Firefox to Chromium. <b>Other Lubuntu 13.10 changes include the addition of <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2011/10/increased-performance-in-linux-with.html">zRAM</a> by default and the removal of Xscreensaver, Lubuntu now using LightDM for the lock screen</b>.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4XO24p9Zmbkx6qcTmb0T7eZCT-Z1dqKQTdSwgngCH-LmEJcDP1InW23SkoyrZL3EsDbXgUu9jVvB_T2z9yppPWmyn42KKsfhGZ12hyRCh5tbk6aSHhFteHFNaNg7Zx6RHwrGEP47pj8/s1600/lubuntu-ff.png" imageanchor="1" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander" border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4XO24p9Zmbkx6qcTmb0T7eZCT-Z1dqKQTdSwgngCH-LmEJcDP1InW23SkoyrZL3EsDbXgUu9jVvB_T2z9yppPWmyn42KKsfhGZ12hyRCh5tbk6aSHhFteHFNaNg7Zx6RHwrGEP47pj8/s320/lubuntu-ff.png" title="Lubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">According to Julien Lavergne, lead developer, among the <b>reasons behind the decision to replace Chromium with Firefox</b> are: <i>good behaviour on old hardware</i>, <i>PowerPC support</i>, <i>customization support</i> and <i>no "It's dead Jim" bug</i>, which happens often on old hardware, this being Lubuntu's main target:</div><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul><li><i>Good behaviour on old hardware: thanks to your tests, Firefox seems to behave well on old hardware. I also saw it on my own testing system. It's difficult to say if 1 is better than another one, but a 1 tab use of Firefox seems a bit better, and many users still use only 1 tab;</i></li><i> </i><li><i>PowerPC support: Firefox support is still limited, but Firefox exists on powerpc. No need to advertise the fact that we have 2 different browsers;</i></li><i> </i><li><i>Customization support: you can add bookmarks and other customization to Firefox. Chromium doesn't have it (yet ?). There is also (still ?) a module to install flash support;</i></li><i> </i><li><i>No "It's dead Jim" bug. It may be fixed in the future, but I'm not sure it will be critical enough for Canonical to but a lot of effort to fix it. It mostly affects us only, not Ubuntu.</i></li></ul></blockquote><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">He also adds that "<i>in a politic view, it's better to have a product managed by a foundation</i>" because even though Chromium is open source, "<i>it's still very close to Chrome and Google"</i>.</div><br /><b>You can read Julien's complete email, <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lubuntu-users/2013-June/004481.html">HERE</a>.</b><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Another change that has landed in Lubuntu 13.10 today is the <b>addition of zRam by default</b>. zRam is useful for low-RAM machines - it increases the performance by creating a RAM based block device which acts as a swap disk, but is compressed and stored in RAM instead of swap disk (which is slow), allowing faster I/O and increasing the amount of memory available before the system starts swapping to disk. More about <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2011/10/increased-performance-in-linux-with.html">zRAM</a> (including installation instructions).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Julien Lavergne says zRAM will be tested in the Lubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander cycle to see if it's useful or not. According to some messages on the Lubuntu mailing list, one of the main reasons for the zRAM addition is to prevent the installer from crashing during graphical installation on computers with very low RAM (256MB-512MB), which seems to have <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lubuntu-users/2013-June/004419.html">happened</a> for some users.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And the third interesting change in Lubuntu is the <b>removal of Xscreensaver</b>. <b>For the lock screen, Lubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander is currently using LightDM</b>, a change that was announced for Ubuntu as well a while back, but didn't make it for now:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21RjV08jWPPcwtN-45mvcEXlfwTbcONld7zADHa83oi_kP7cVHp-W97-w41KradfdtDnuYw9cEoZBZ3Q7quw30tNvUHAYYMHT281pK_APx8oPSMN9CyfgD-4Ss9X2ZPKXlf_7KmEf4GY/s1600/lubuntu-lock-screen.png" imageanchor="1" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander" border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21RjV08jWPPcwtN-45mvcEXlfwTbcONld7zADHa83oi_kP7cVHp-W97-w41KradfdtDnuYw9cEoZBZ3Q7quw30tNvUHAYYMHT281pK_APx8oPSMN9CyfgD-4Ss9X2ZPKXlf_7KmEf4GY/s320/lubuntu-lock-screen.png" title="Lubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Lubuntu 13.10, just like the other Ubuntu flavours, will be released on October 17th. The complete release schedule can be found <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SaucySalamander/ReleaseSchedule">HERE</a>.</div>

Lubuntu 13.10 Changes: Firefox, zRAM Added By Default, LightDM Used For The Lock Screen

After an update today, Lubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, the LXDE Ubuntu flavour, has switched to Firefox as the default web browser, replac...

+ Read more »

Variety Wallpaper Changer 0.4.15 Released With Cinnamon 1.8 And MATE 1.6 Support

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKO3elYvY3vGpuxxy5h3gOht_1UxWoVJgJcPK7T1mPVYrZEaL6OUl02ptnHigTHXH7YfSKrwRX8987hLPpv7N6EeaMUnmVFS2mf-B4OizVqbD4gC29MAjXEI5qoIJS3HW4jpiklEiZ8Y/s1600/variety-wallpaper-changer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Variety Wallpaper Changer" border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKO3elYvY3vGpuxxy5h3gOht_1UxWoVJgJcPK7T1mPVYrZEaL6OUl02ptnHigTHXH7YfSKrwRX8987hLPpv7N6EeaMUnmVFS2mf-B4OizVqbD4gC29MAjXEI5qoIJS3HW4jpiklEiZ8Y/s320/variety-wallpaper-changer.png" title="Variety Wallpaper Changer" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://peterlevi.com/variety/">Variety</a> is a <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/keep-yout-desktop-fresh-with-variety.html">wallpaper changer</a> that automatically downloads wallpapers </b>from sources such as <b>Wallbase, Flickr, Wallpapers.net, Desktoppr, NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day</b> as well as World Sunlight Map: <b>a live Earth wallpaper</b> which changes throughout the day. Using it, you can get a new, beautiful wallpaper automatically at the interval you set in the application preferences.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The application supports most desktop environments: Unity, GNOME Shell, KDE, LXDE, Xfce, Cinnamon, MATE and Pantheon.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Variety 0.4.15</b> has been released yesterday, bringing <b>support for the latest <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/05/cinnamon-18-gets-its-own-control-center.html" title="Install Cinnamon 1.8 in Ubuntu">Cinnamon 1.8</a> and <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/mate-16-released-install-it-in-ubuntu.html" title="Install MATE 1.6 in Ubuntu">MATE 1.6</a></b>, which are used in the two main <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/05/linux-mint-15-olivia-available-for.html">Linux Mint 15</a> editions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3T3s7bakuKsdXyo_SEF9qAIianSAl4RJgX7wcA3s6eMf-sZA54DsrvptYTJqZlZndHAMVy0KVthKURSYGQfDdJWp4OX2GapirUV2i-5_xlugkyotiqIdp_ssL7QIkJiQKvLOKuhSsojo/s1600/variety-lightdm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3T3s7bakuKsdXyo_SEF9qAIianSAl4RJgX7wcA3s6eMf-sZA54DsrvptYTJqZlZndHAMVy0KVthKURSYGQfDdJWp4OX2GapirUV2i-5_xlugkyotiqIdp_ssL7QIkJiQKvLOKuhSsojo/s320/variety-lightdm.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The new version also brings better support for LightDM</b>: in the Variety Preferences, on the "Customize" tab, check the box under "Login Screen Support" - this will make sure the wallpaper set by Variety will be used by LightDM login screen. LightDM automatically displays the wallpaper you set for your desktop, however, for this to work, some wallpaper permissions need to be changed; using this option, Variety does this automatically for you so the wallpaper it sets can be used by LightDM.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The latest Variety 0.4.15 also brings many bug fixes, including a fix for the problems with the folder choosers.</div><br /><br /><h2>Install Variety Wallpaper Changer in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To add the Variety PPA and install the application in Ubuntu, use the commands below:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:peterlevi/ppa<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install variety</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Arch Linux</b> users can install Variety Wallpaper Changer from <b><a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=63454">AUR</a></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For other Linux distributions</b>, the Variety source code can be downloaded via <b><a href="https://launchpad.net/variety/+download">Launchpad</a></b>.</div>

Variety Wallpaper Changer 0.4.15 Released With Cinnamon 1.8 And MATE 1.6 Support

Variety is a wallpaper changer that automatically downloads wallpapers from sources such as Wallbase, Flickr, Wallpapers.net, Desktoppr, N...

+ Read more »

Variety Wallpaper Changer Sees New Release

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://peterlevi.com/variety/">Variety</a>, a cool <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/keep-yout-desktop-fresh-with-variety.html">wallpaper changer</a> that works with most desktop environments (KDE, LXDE, Xfce, Unity, GNOME Shell, Cinnamon or Pantheon), has reached version 0.4.12.</b></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/variety-wallpaper-changer.png"><img alt="Variety wallpaper changer" src="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/variety-wallpaper-changer_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><b>Changes in Variety 0.4.12:</b><br /><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><b>quotes support</b> - Variety can fetch quotes from QuotesDaddy and display them on top of the desktop. The quotes are highly customizable: you can change the text color, backdrop color, font, transparency, shadow, placement, and you can also filter quotes by tags or authors or set the interval between quotes</li><li><b>customizable appindicator icon</b>: you can now select between dark and light appindicator icons but not only that. In the latest Variety, you can also use the current wallpaper to be used as an indicator icon (so the icon changes with the wallpaper). The icon can also be hidden in which case you can control Variety via keyboard shortcuts or using the Unity quicklists</li><li>the option to display a digital clock on top of the wallpaper has been enhanced: <b>both the clock and the date font can be customized</b> (the typeface as well as the font size)</li><li>Preferences take effect immediately</li><li>Support for XMP/EXIF image ratings</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/variety-quotes.png"><img alt="Variety wallpaper changer - quotes" src="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/variety-quotes_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><br />For those not familiar with Variety, here's a quick feature list:<br /><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>should work under KDE, LXDE, Xfce, Unity, GNOME Shell, Cinnamon or Pantheon (elementary OS)</li><li>can automatically download wallpaper from Flickr, Wallbase.cc, Wallpapers.net as well as NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day.</li><li>Ubuntu appindicator support; you can scroll over the indicator icon to change the wallpaper</li><li>can apply fancy filters to the images: grayscale, heavy blur, oil painting, charcoal painting, pointilism, pixellate</li><li>option to display the time on the desktop, using a nice digital clock</li><li>clipboard support: can monitor the clipboard for image URLs and fetch them</li><li>more</li></ul><br />Below you can see the latest Variety 0.4.12 in action:<br /><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="280" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/54322138?badge=0" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="500"></iframe><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/54322138">Direct video link</a></center><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install Variety wallpaper changer</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Variety is available in the Ubuntu Software Center (for Ubuntu 12.04 / 12.10), but the version is quite old so to install the latest version, you can use its official Ubuntu PPA:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:peterlevi/ppa<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install variety</code></pre><br />Arch Linux users can get Variety wallpaper changer via <a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=63454">AUR</a>.<br /><br />For other Linux distributions, the Variety source code can be downloaded via <a href="https://launchpad.net/variety/+download">Launchpad</a>.

Variety Wallpaper Changer Sees New Release

Variety , a cool wallpaper changer that works with most desktop environments (KDE, LXDE, Xfce, Unity, GNOME Shell, Cinnamon or Pantheon), h...

+ Read more »

Lubuntu (w/ LXDE) 12.10 - Quick Overview

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://lubuntu.net/">Lubuntu</a>, an official Ubuntu flavour starting with version 11.10 which uses LXDE, a lightweight desktop environment by default, has reached version 12.10.</b><br /><br /><i>I'm posting this article a bit late, since Lubuntu 12.10 was released 5 days ago, but there are too many Ubuntu flavours to cover in just one day.</i></div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Lubuntu 12.10</b> brings updated artwork, a new session manager, updated file manager which includes an external thumbnailer, along with updated default applications and other changes.</div><br /><b>To see the latest Lubuntu 12.10 in action, watch the video below:</b><br /><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nvLwRGg6r3s" width="560"></iframe><br />(<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvLwRGg6r3s">direct video link</a>)</center><br /><h2>Default applications</h2><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGf6cjHlkrlBQ__M6oGYnTkI2Jl6Wv9fEYQyfCXu8OJhwVY_M7QfJyonkD3veXpiVwPJrlOgXkwfreaZAqyO0B0LXB9rysm_B9OXfo51s3vjq9SDAJ5JUEw2zjy0jKpKIf9miSaFwj7ip/s1600/lubuntu-default-apps.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGf6cjHlkrlBQ__M6oGYnTkI2Jl6Wv9fEYQyfCXu8OJhwVY_M7QfJyonkD3veXpiVwPJrlOgXkwfreaZAqyO0B0LXB9rysm_B9OXfo51s3vjq9SDAJ5JUEw2zjy0jKpKIf9miSaFwj7ip/s320/lubuntu-default-apps.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Lubuntu 12.10 ships with applications such as Pcmanfm as the default file manager, Synaptic Package Manager, Lubuntu Software Center, Chromium as the default browser, Pidgin, Transmission, mtPaint for simple image editing, Abiword, Gnumeric, GNOME Mplayer, Xfburn, Audacious and others.</div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TB9edyVSS7lWWNPhDN-1JBXthaZ9CxqhVCV-Q2-ZeemQo9l2CRc4YISfsShvgO-lWICfuih1WEX2BCkGk-R2je-QRkhQEpujKdkEf8De6PDI9Yejl_CCaryDLz2kwS9k5t-ORa6IZgvy/s1600/lubuntu-software-center.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TB9edyVSS7lWWNPhDN-1JBXthaZ9CxqhVCV-Q2-ZeemQo9l2CRc4YISfsShvgO-lWICfuih1WEX2BCkGk-R2je-QRkhQEpujKdkEf8De6PDI9Yejl_CCaryDLz2kwS9k5t-ORa6IZgvy/s320/lubuntu-software-center.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lubuntu Software Center</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As you can see, most if not all are lightweight tools, and the result is that Lubuntu requires very low system resources - the Lubuntu <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lubuntu">wiki</a> mentions that Lubuntu should run even with 128 MB of RAM, though for decent usage, 256MB or RAM or more are required.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Lubuntu 12.10, a <b>new default application has been added: Catfish</b>, which can be used to search the file system:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBD2x1JvwKYS9cDpW-rzSRyN88Hj5iD-qxUfN_De46fvDrXo8xzUU4Ka3M1mPcPRtvlrzicJuKFSfd1G9nPAYH4wUVFZ6C8PvvMz2fQQBH1zckhwy2JeeEMhDBu4xdYoxromq58rHmENJ/s1600/catfish.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="lubuntu 12.10 catfish" border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBD2x1JvwKYS9cDpW-rzSRyN88Hj5iD-qxUfN_De46fvDrXo8xzUU4Ka3M1mPcPRtvlrzicJuKFSfd1G9nPAYH4wUVFZ6C8PvvMz2fQQBH1zckhwy2JeeEMhDBu4xdYoxromq58rHmENJ/s320/catfish.png" title="lubuntu 12.10 catfish" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Another change is the addition of the <b>Xfce notification daemon (xfce4-notifyd), which has replaced the old notification daemon</b>:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgND6M9CjC6Ugo0GT9tMn61SbnIWJxrTOkc8ss0N1RDd2q5b8ozsswOzWZdUPXk_PWHutiVgX9BO69t5hMBWwZIay5DNwMMEYq17LcQpFqHxrlqd-qL_GgdCA6C1hagxEkscBtM70pP-Tkd/s1600/lubuntu12.10-xfce-notifications.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="lubuntu 12.10 notifications" border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgND6M9CjC6Ugo0GT9tMn61SbnIWJxrTOkc8ss0N1RDd2q5b8ozsswOzWZdUPXk_PWHutiVgX9BO69t5hMBWwZIay5DNwMMEYq17LcQpFqHxrlqd-qL_GgdCA6C1hagxEkscBtM70pP-Tkd/s320/lubuntu12.10-xfce-notifications.png" title="lubuntu 12.10 notifications" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Pcmanfm, the default file manager, has been updated, the new version bringing external thumbnailer support and lots of bug fixes:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZZH3ruPCzbc8g0XZRt2r_2I4-CdEc0Y2hKucsSWo3mCtNOI4jwl2ZYQtv17UvMLtPKfssQEnWmBLBEJVV_IAPAgmLw-TClqCQvNJujclhAQmBKMOCh3q_evrvXr0h5NVShoXpN6LAi4b/s1600/lubuntu+12.10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="lubuntu 12.10 pcmanfm" border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZZH3ruPCzbc8g0XZRt2r_2I4-CdEc0Y2hKucsSWo3mCtNOI4jwl2ZYQtv17UvMLtPKfssQEnWmBLBEJVV_IAPAgmLw-TClqCQvNJujclhAQmBKMOCh3q_evrvXr0h5NVShoXpN6LAi4b/s320/lubuntu+12.10.png" title="lubuntu 12.10 pcmanfm" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It's also worth mentioning that, unlike the other Ubuntu flavors, <b>Lubuntu 12.10 continues to offer alternate ISO files for download</b>.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Artwork</h2><br />Lubuntu 12.10 comes with an updated visual identity, which includes:<br /><br />- a new wallpaper:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnsoPz0za_-8k8PERpfho-SaImsScfk6_3yK1qW8bFlFz32T6s0OpQUgK4a4EYYS85PLQxH1yahVtrbxZj1pidYIZUBXYEFkY4he8SHsJ1fUIRAth1KTMcT9_S7y-U_WFYr7MaWHjROwv/s1600/lubuntu12.10-wallpaper.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="lubuntu 12.10 wallpaper" border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnsoPz0za_-8k8PERpfho-SaImsScfk6_3yK1qW8bFlFz32T6s0OpQUgK4a4EYYS85PLQxH1yahVtrbxZj1pidYIZUBXYEFkY4he8SHsJ1fUIRAth1KTMcT9_S7y-U_WFYr7MaWHjROwv/s320/lubuntu12.10-wallpaper.png" title="lubuntu 12.10 wallpaper" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">- a new icon theme (it's not complete yet, and for now it "inherits" icons from the elementary icon theme) called Box:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvtQc4H9oSztNPYQXm5irwd8CvRJCOfdaHAwwyTcX2IxBXtiGugKw4Go1zQUTqz_MUWt0PRIFVLTavlGF6Ql_f5FVsDM2tG_8KuFthvyYJu5K4P8GbmK_bConk41vkAYrr6OWrS-H4rwn/s1600/lubuntu-icon-theme-box.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvtQc4H9oSztNPYQXm5irwd8CvRJCOfdaHAwwyTcX2IxBXtiGugKw4Go1zQUTqz_MUWt0PRIFVLTavlGF6Ql_f5FVsDM2tG_8KuFthvyYJu5K4P8GbmK_bConk41vkAYrr6OWrS-H4rwn/s320/lubuntu-icon-theme-box.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />You can see some of the new icons in most of the pictures in this post. <br /><br /><br /><br /><h2>Download Lubuntu 12.10</h2><br />Download Lubuntu 12.10 from <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Lubuntu/GetLubuntu">HERE</a> and make sure to also read the official <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QuantalQuetzal/ReleaseNotes/Lubuntu">release notes</a>.

Lubuntu (w/ LXDE) 12.10 - Quick Overview

Lubuntu , an official Ubuntu flavour starting with version 11.10 which uses LXDE, a lightweight desktop environment by default, has reached ...

+ Read more »