Lightbox-Style Image Viewer `PhotoQt` Updated With Window Mode, GraphicsMagick Support

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://photoqt.org/">PhotoQt</a> (previously called "<a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/photo-is-fancy-image-viewer-written-in.html">Photo</a>") is a fast, stylish image viewer that supports basic image manipulation and file management and more. </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The application has been updated recently, getting a window mode (previously it was full-screen only) along with other interesting changes. Also, the application now uses <a href="http://www.graphicsmagick.org/">GraphicsMagick</a> which means it supports 80+ file types.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/photoqt.png"><img alt="PhotoQt" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieJY_YQaFJIIqhUZYWzP4sSUA-7aPJG81FBJKScfgaRcwWrF-MfRRBOfwWLoUBbSfBuovYA5jOuPA2IvHXTLgZB-ofDavtUbm9rVv4J0oB2EA5dY8pQG5xlPv4u1lb_5F2Hl9DSA9eJqE/s320/photoqt.png" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">PhotoQt looks similar to the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightbox_%28JavaScript%29">Lightbox</a>" Javascript plugins available on many websites: it uses a semi-transparent background and there are thumbnails at the bottom which can be used to easily navigate through the images available in the current folder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides some basic image manipulation (rotate, flip, zoom) and file management (rename, delete, move, copy) features, the application also comes with customizable keyboard and mouse shortcuts, can display EXIF information, display images as slideshow and more. </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Here are the most important <b>changes in the latest PhotoQt 1.0:</b></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">A window mode has been added and it can be used with or without window decorations;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">PhotoQt now uses GraphicsMagick;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Significantly faster start-up (on average more than 7 times faster);</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Revamped style of most widgets;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">You can now set an image as wallpaper from PhotoQt;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Dropdown menu updated and image manipulation functions moved to image context menu;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Smart context menu options;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Improved thumbnail handling and view;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Dynamic thumbnail creation (only create those thumbnails currently visible);</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Faster image and directory loading;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Improved fading between images;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Natural sort of images;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Many other improvements.</li></ul><b><br /></b> <br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To use PhotoQt in window mode</b>, from its menu select <i>Setting > Look and Behaviour</i>, then on the Behaviour sub-tab, check the "Run PhotoQt in Window Mode" box. If you want the application to use window decorations, also check the "Show Window Decoration" box.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The menu is hidden by default - to access it, point the mouse to the top right edge of the application window:</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/photoqt-menu.png"><img alt="PhotoQt" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/photoqt-menu_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><br /><h2>Install PhotoQt in Ubuntu</h2><br /><b>Ubuntu Saucy, Raring, Quantal and Precise users can install the latest PhotoQt by using Sam Rog's PPA:</b><br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:samrog131/ppa<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install photoqt</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For other Linux distributions</b>, see the PhotoQt <a href="http://photoqt.org/down">downloads page</a> (there are packages available for Arch Linux, Debian, Fedora, Mageia and Mandriva as well as source files).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Report any bugs you may find @ <a href="https://github.com/luspi/photoqt/issues">GitHub</a>.</div>

Lightbox-Style Image Viewer `PhotoQt` Updated With Window Mode, GraphicsMagick Support

PhotoQt (previously called " Photo ") is a fast, stylish image viewer that supports basic image manipulation and file management ...

+ Read more »

New PPA For Numix GTK And Icon Themes, More

<div style="text-align: justify;">Quick update for Numix fans: <b>a new Numix PPA</b> has been created and it hosts daily builds for Numix GTK theme, two Numix icon themes, a Plank theme and even a Numix wallpaper. More Numix related artwork will be added to this PPA in the future.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, <b>Numix GTK theme is now compatible with GTK 3.4 and Pantheon</b> (it already supported GTK 3.6 and 3.8), meaning it should work properly in Ubuntu 12.04 and <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/08/quick-elementary-os-02-luna-stable.html">elementary OS 0.2 Luna</a>.</div><br />Here are a few screenshots:<br /><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="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/numix-gtk-theme_1.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Numix themes" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjensy3PY_ckUmvwnUjiIvYNInY5S0Lc4UQz3JYwCgsSP-oHHxzzNu-bO2wYO_iHyWt5f6_4o22EDdB4UcK6hbWOHoV0QNZIbhFlEagf-uNg8h_eZN4o_eqDknvuzghjFyKnQI0hjHE-08/s320/numix-gtk-theme_1.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Numix GTK, icon themes and wallpaper (Unity)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a name='more'></a><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="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/numix-gtk-theme-gs_1.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Numix themes" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/numix-gtk-theme-gs_1_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Numix GTK, uTouch icon themes and wallpaper (GNOME Shell)</td></tr></tbody></table><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="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/numix-gtk-theme-pantheon_1.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Numix themes" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/numix-gtk-theme-pantheon_1_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Numix GTK theme (elementary OS Luna / Pantheon)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">And speaking of Numix, if you'd like to use a dark or light variant and want to <b>support the designers</b>, you can purchase these theme variations from DeviantArt: <a href="http://fav.me/d6hds18">Numix with Dark variant</a> | <a href="http://fav.me/d5ygul6">Numix Light</a> or get the official wallpapers:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://me4oslav.deviantart.com/art/Numix-Glimpse-of-the-Future-Wallpaper-387544470">Glimpse of the Future</a> </li><li><a href="http://me4oslav.deviantart.com/art/Numix-Blooming-Spring-Wallpaper-389882686">Blooming Spring</a></li><li><a href="http://me4oslav.deviantart.com/art/Numix-Sumer-Holiday-Wallpaper-394592420">Summer Holiday</a> </li><li><a href="http://me4oslav.deviantart.com/art/Numix-Wallpaper-Glimpse-of-The-Future-Slideshow-393164006">Glimpse of the Future Slideshow</a></li></ul></div><br /><br /><h2>Install Numix GTK and icon themes</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To add the new Numix PPA, available for Ubuntu 13.10, 13.04, 12.10 and 12.04, use the following commands:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:numix/ppa<br />sudo apt-get update</code></pre><br />Then, <b>install Numix GTK theme</b> (supports GTK 3.8, 3.6 and 3.4) using the command below:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install numix-gtk-theme</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">There are two Numix icon themes in this PPA but please note that they are still in their infancy and the regular icon theme doesn't support Unity for now but it should work with GNOME Shell (the uTouch icon theme should work under both Unity and GNOME Shell). <b>Install both icon themes using the command below:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get remove numix-utouch-icon-theme #to avoid conflicts because the package name has changed<br />sudo apt-get install numix-icon-theme numix-icon-theme-utouch</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you're using elementary OS 0.2 Luna and want to use a matching <b>Plank theme</b>, install it using the command below:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install numix-plank-theme</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">And finally, to install the <b>Numix Name of the Doctor wallpaper</b> (which you can see in the first two screenshots), copy/paste the following command in a terminal: </div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install numix-wallpaper-notd</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">To use the Numix GTK or icon themes, install a tool such as <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/03/unity-tweak-tool-available-in-ubuntu.html">Unity Tweak Tool</a>, <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/tweak-unity-with-unsettings-008-now.html">Unsettings</a>, GNOME Tweak Tool and so on and use it to change the theme.</div><br /><b>If you don't want to use the PPA or don't use Ubuntu (and derivatives), here are direct download links:</b><br /><ul><li>Numix GTK theme: <a href="http://satya164.deviantart.com/art/Numix-GTK3-theme-360223962">DeviantArt</a> | <a href="https://github.com/shimmerproject/Numix">Github</a></li><li><a href="https://launchpad.net/~numix/+archive/ppa/+packages?field.name_filter=icon&field.status_filter=published&field.series_filter=">Numix icon themes </a></li></ul><br /><b>Arch Linux AUR links:</b><br /><ul><li><a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/gtk-theme-numix/">Numix GTK</a> | <a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/gtk-theme-numix-git/">Numix GTK (Git)</a></li><li><a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/numix-icon-theme-git/">Numix icon theme (Git)</a></li><li><a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/numix-utouch-icon-theme/">Numix uTouch icon theme</a> | <a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/numix-utouch-icon-theme-bzr/">Numix uTouch icon theme (Bzr)<br /></a></li></ul>

New PPA For Numix GTK And Icon Themes, More

Quick update for Numix fans: a new Numix PPA has been created and it hosts daily builds for Numix GTK theme, two Numix icon themes, a Plank...

+ Read more »

Evernote Linux Client `NixNote 2` To Ditch Java For C++ / Qt, Alpha Version Available

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2011/02/evernote-for-linux-nevernote.html">NixNote</a> (previously Nevernote) is an unofficial open source Evernote client written in Java, but it seems this will change with the next major release and C++/Qt will be used instead.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For those not familiar with <a href="http://evernote.com/">Evernote</a>, this is a popular note-taking service that besides regular notes, supports images, video and audio, handwritten notes and basically all kind of information you could add to a note. There are Evernote applications for Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry and so on, but not for Linux.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">NixNote has almost all the features present in the official Evernote application for Windows, but it's written in Java and many users have complained about its memory usage. But this will change with <b><a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/nevernote/files/NixNote2-alpha/">NixNote 2</a>, an effort to rewrite Nixnote from scratch, having speed and a reduced memory footprint as the main goals</b>. According to its developer, NixNote 2 will be written in C++ using Qt's framework and there might be some Java pieces, but he's hoping to keep them to an absolute minimum.</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="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/nixnote2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nixnote 2" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmhKtBq6tkPYktAyXHg6I2Kiu_ZYzYBLCowtHhpUoIa3CTVMEhyphenhyphena9ZtdpzsYZJazmZ0aJN5WrBPOOMtFQIjOsvAF2-0AiP1DN2lucxbbSTCY6Ln80JqghYZWWNXCwFGP6rghTIE_zOKA/s320/nixnote2.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nixnote 2 alpha 3</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you want to try the latest NixNote 2 alpha 3, you can download it already, but only for 64bit. Also, remember that <b>this is an alpha version released for testing purposes only</b>, so you may find bugs and also, some features aren't working yet, like uploads to shared / linked notebooks, encrypted text in notes, you can't pin a note or color it, you can't close a notebook and more. For more info about this, visit the NixNote 2 alpha 3 <a href="http://sourceforge.net/apps/phpbb/nevernote/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=377">thread</a>.</div><br /><br /><h2>Try Nixnote2 alpha in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The latest Nixnote 2 alpha 3 is only available for 64bit</b> (no source available yet) and in my test, it <b>has worked in Ubuntu 13.04 and 13.10 </b>(I didn't test it in Ubuntu 12.10). Unfortunately, the binary is built against <i>libpoppler-qt4-4</i> which isn't available in Ubuntu 12.04, meaning that <b>the current build won't work in Precise</b>.</div><br /><b>Before proceeding, install the required dependencies:</b><br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install libpoppler-qt4-4 tidy mimetex</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Then, <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/nevernote/files/NixNote2-alpha/">download Nixnote 2 alpha</a> </b>(make sure you read the release notes before using NixNote 2 alpha!), extract the downloaded archive and simply double click "nixnote" from the extracted folder.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Important:</b> since this is alpha quality, uploads are disabled by default. To get Nixnote 2 alpha to sync with the Evernote servers do the following: in the NixNote preferences (<i>Tools > Preferences</i>), on the Debugging tab, uncheck the "Disable uploads to server" box, then click Ok:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/nixnote2-uploads.png"><img alt="Nixnote 2" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/nixnote2-uploads_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">And finally, click the "Sync" button on the toolbar, enter your Evernote username and password and your notes should then sync with the Evernote servers.</div>

Evernote Linux Client `NixNote 2` To Ditch Java For C++ / Qt, Alpha Version Available

NixNote (previously Nevernote) is an unofficial open source Evernote client written in Java, but it seems this will change with the next ma...

+ Read more »

Quick elementary OS 0.2 Luna (Stable) Overview

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Two years after the "Jupiter" release, <a href="http://elementaryos.org/">elementary OS</a> 0.2 Luna (stable) has been made available for download recently. With a bit of a delay, here's a quick overview of what to expect from Luna, along with screenshots and of course, a video.</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_10.png"><img alt="elementary OS Luna screenshots" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bm1c7sLVhjAUUSnwKL_waztDjxKCm8lcXcb3FMrHohhHwUznDQe022TZl0xfQbSgIPF6CGj0PCHNYBBYeSFzqRLJP-BuD1dqNHQH4hYr1sW0FFWhIWQ7KUpnhbtCK2NkdvNX5fYcqJs/s320/elementaryos-luna-stable_10.png" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><h2>elementary OS 0.2 Luna stable</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Based on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, which will be supported until April 2017, elementary OS Luna ships with its own shell called Pantheon and applications that respect the elementary OS philosophy: beautiful, fast and minimalistic</b>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">elementary OS Luna uses a window manager called Gala, based on <i>libmutter</i>, which comes with <b>smooth animations</b> along with a really cool workspace switcher (Super + s) and a beautiful Expose-like feature (Super + w):</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_7.png"><img alt="elementary OS Luna screenshots" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_7_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_8.png"><img alt="elementary OS Luna screenshots" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_8_thumb.png" /></a></div><br />You can see these in action in the video at the bottom of this article.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Slingshot</b>, the menu / application launcher used by default in elementary OS Luna, lets you either search for the application you want or browse the available application categories:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_6.png"><img alt="elementary OS Luna screenshots" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_6_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The top panel, called <b>Wingpanel</b>, doesn't come with the "wing" design used in its first versions (though you can achieve that by following <a href="http://www.elementaryupdate.com/2013/06/safely-use-wingpanel-slim.html">these</a> instructions), but it still stands out from other panels such as the Unity panel, thanks to the cool design used by the indicators:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_3.png"><img alt="elementary OS Luna screenshots" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_3_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">For the application switcher, elementary OS Luna uses <b>Plank</b>, a dock that supports intellihide along with other hide modes as well as some Unity features such as badges, progress indicators or quicklists:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_9.png"><img alt="elementary OS Luna screenshots" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_9_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Plank, along with other aspects of the desktop can be customized by using <b>Switchboard</b>, elementary's system settings which comes with some custom "plugs" such as the Desktop plug, which lets you set the wallpaper, change the dock icon size, hide mode or theme as well as set hot corners:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_4.png"><img alt="elementary OS Luna screenshots" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_4_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As for the <b>artwork</b>, Daniel Fore's beautiful GTK and icon themes are of course used by default. Through the Luna development, both have received various improvements: for instance, Luna uses new folder icons and the GTK theme has received new switches, infobars, spin buttons and much more. You can see these changes throughout the screenshots in this article.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">elementary OS 0.2 Luna is truly <b>special</b>: the beautiful indicators, the smart dock, the lightweight default applications of which most are especially designed for elementary OS and the classy effects fit really well together and offer a clean, consistent desktop. And all of this, on top of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS which means you have access to all the applications available for Ubuntu and the long term support (supported until April 2017).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, since besides the default applications there are very few apps that follow the elementary OS design guidelines, this consistency can easily be broken by simply installing a few extra applications and this takes away some of elementary's charm.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another issue, some would say, is the lack of various options / customizations for some of the default elementary OS applications. The main reason behind this is that the elementary team tries to provide a good set of defaults so you don't have to tweak anything yourself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><h2>Applications</h2><br /><b>Default applications include:</b><br /><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Pantheon Files - a Marlin fork which is very fast and features multiple views, including Miller Columns as well as optional extensions for Ubuntu One or Dropbox;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Noise (Music) - the default music player offers multiple views, including a browser based on album covers, an equalizer, iPod sync, Last.fm integration and more;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Geary - an email client developed by Yorba (the team behind Shotwell) and the elementary team, has replaced Postler, and features new email notifications, multiple accounts support and more;</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><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 rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="elementary OS Luna screenshots" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_1_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pantheon Files</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><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 rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="elementary OS Luna screenshots" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_2_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noise (Music)</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><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 rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_11.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="elementary OS Luna screenshots" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_11_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geary (Email client)</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Other applications included by default in elementary OS are Maya (calendar), Scratch (text editor), Pantheon Terminal, Midori (web browser), Empathy, Totem, Simple Scan, Shotwell and of course, Ubuntu Software Center.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><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 rel="image_group" href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_5.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="elementary OS Luna screenshots" src="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/elementaryos-luna-stable_5_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scratch (text editor)</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><br /><h2>elementary OS Luna video</h2><br />Below you can watch a quick elementary OS Luna video overview:<br /><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KE-2BSg_e4U" width="480"></iframe><br />(<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE-2BSg_e4U">direct video link</a>; for more videos, subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/nilarimogard">YouTube channel</a>)</center><br /><br /><h2>Download elementary OS Luna</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://elementaryos.org/">Download elementaty OS Luna</a> (32bit and 64bit ISOs available)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can also purchase physical elementary OS Luna CDs (as well as branded t-shirts and stickers) from the <a href="https://www.wepay.com/stores/elementary">elementary store</a>.</div><br /><i>Also see: <a href="http://elementaryos.org/journal/the-road-to-luna">The Road to Luna</a></i>

Quick elementary OS 0.2 Luna (Stable) Overview

Two years after the "Jupiter" release, elementary OS 0.2 Luna (stable) has been made available for download recently. With a bit ...

+ Read more »

Tips and Tricks to Make Your Blog Stand Out

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><style>.infox { display: none; } </style> <br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0BlUZevFoPzBjVHdTIm5uA9jKB9-fzQzLXMNb4hwSo6HCUj9niOV7Hh0fFRw2F2qSIDnFWkJH0NKHErTefclBx7S1X3cb5DyP1il33BJLMWIBF99EeD6-M5boKknOCIFlxuP5jNJMhtQ/s1600/make+your+blog+stand+out.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Tips and Tricks to Make Your Blog Stand Out" border="0" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0BlUZevFoPzBjVHdTIm5uA9jKB9-fzQzLXMNb4hwSo6HCUj9niOV7Hh0fFRw2F2qSIDnFWkJH0NKHErTefclBx7S1X3cb5DyP1il33BJLMWIBF99EeD6-M5boKknOCIFlxuP5jNJMhtQ/s200/make+your+blog+stand+out.png" title="Tips and Tricks to Make Your Blog Stand Out" width="200" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It seems like everyone has a blog these days, so it can be really hard to make your blog stand out. For every wildly successful blog with thousands of daily readers, there are dozens of <a href="http://ichibikarin.blogspot.com/search/label/Blogger" target="_blank">blogs</a> that are lucky enough to get a few clicks a week. If you are wondering why no one is reading your blog, these tips can tell you why and help you stand out from the crowd.</span></div><br /><h3>Hone in on Your Target Niche and Audience</h3><br />The blogs with the highest number of visitors all share the same essential characteristics. They focus on writing about a single <a href="http://ichibikarin.blogspot.com/search/label/Templates" target="_blank">theme</a> of topics and they make sure to write content that is in line with their target audience's interests. Your blog is yours to do whatever you want with it, but if you fail to grasp the attention of an audience, how can you expect it to stand out. Making the blog all about what you want and not about what your potential readers want is one of the most common ways that people irritate potential visitors.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Say Things Worth Saying</h3><br />The old adage, “content is king” is especially true when it comes to writing a blog. It is not enough just to put a lot of words down on the page and hope people will look at it. You have to focus on writing interesting, informative, and most importantly compelling content if you want to stand out. Establish yourself as an expert in your area and show your readers that you have a lot to teach them. If your content weren’t worth reading, why would visitors bother to stick around?<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Have a Good Design</h3><br />Your blog design doesn't have to be perfect, but it should be visually interesting, functional and free of flaws. You do not have to build your site from scratch, but you don't want to choose a very limited platform either. WordPress is one of the greatest blogging platforms for new and experienced bloggers alike because it is user-friendly and offers a lot of options for customization. You can purchase affordable <a href="http://themefuse.com/" target="_blank">premium WordPress themes</a>  to add a design flair and organization to your blog. Make sure to keep the design of your blog uncluttered. Keep the number of distracting ads to a minimum, and make sure the content is the most visible part of your blog. Readers aren't too picky when it comes to design, but if your website is hard to navigate or barely functional, readers will not want to stick around.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Find Ways To Bring in New Readers</h3><br />Getting initial traffic to your blog is one of the hardest things to do as a blogger. If you aren't getting any visitors to begin with, you won't even have the chance to make your blog stand out from the competition. Focus on drawing new visitors to the site with a few simple marketing strategies, and then keep them coming back for more with your stellar content. Your marketing approaches don't have to be expensive or sophisticated, but you will have to work hard to build a steady stream of traffic.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Offer Something of Value</h3><br />It might seem like a counterintuitive idea to give away your good ideas for free on your blog. However, the best blogs are the ones that offer something of value to the readers. If they don't get any benefit from reading the blog, then you aren't doing your job. Your blog posts should at least be either informative or entertaining, and ideally they would be both. You should strive to make a lasting impression on people with your blog post, by offering useful advice or information, or even by giving them a good laugh.<br /><div><br /></div></div><style>#ath { background:#f8f8f8; margin:0 0 1px 0; padding:5px; border: 5px outset #e8e8e8; -moz-border-radius: 10px; border-radius: 10px; overflow:hidden; font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; color: #1f497d; } .pro { background:#FFF !important; float:left; margin:0 10px 0 0; padding:4px; border: 2px inset #e8e8e8; } </style> <br /><div id="ath"><div><img class="pro" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUsxvjBm06s7_TzN1jRyT0xtj3MyhqbQ2lNGINA8ufYsPiw69wFa3Gs8Lpt129PaxYOv2mLV7mUg2nH2yEjQYx_uXGsRkMOgjiB6daEPhIxc9p29hH1rGizMExLzozVYXE0pkro3puN4/s1600/themefuse.jpeg" width="55" /><i><strong style="font-size: 18px;">About author:</strong></i>Anny Solway is a dedicated writer at ThemeFuse – a leader in the <a href="http://themefuse.com/" target="_blank">WordPress premium themes</a> area. She likes to discover new ideas about internet marketing, social media and blogging.</div></div></div>

Tips and Tricks to Make Your Blog Stand Out

It seems like everyone has a blog these days, so it can be really hard to make your blog stand out. For every wildly successful blog with t...

+ Read more »

TrueCrypt With Ubuntu AppIndicator PPA

<div style="text-align: justify;">Ubuntu doesn't support tray icons by default and further more, the <i>systray whitelist,</i> which could be used to get applications to use the systray, has been <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/02/unity-notification-area-systray.html">removed</a> with Ubuntu 13.04.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is pretty bad for <a href="http://www.truecrypt.org/">TrueCrypt</a>, an open source disk encryption application that still uses a tray icon and doesn't come with an Ubuntu AppIndicator, because you can't bring the mount/dismount dialog up once you close the main window unless you kill the application (it closes to the tray which isn't visible).</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3JWlXf0eiq0Nm13wQgVP50vnLMr6lxoTnkMMkYSonimzRYGl32i-RbPIGZm_eOUPNaORmjsCJSKj3sc8hm_Uiget2EkaQllUTry0xev5y_yeq1LiXiLKzIt13750sSqJL3d6l5UZsY0w/s800/truecrypt-ubuntu-appindicator.png"><img alt="TrueCrypt Ubuntu AppIndicator" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3JWlXf0eiq0Nm13wQgVP50vnLMr6lxoTnkMMkYSonimzRYGl32i-RbPIGZm_eOUPNaORmjsCJSKj3sc8hm_Uiget2EkaQllUTry0xev5y_yeq1LiXiLKzIt13750sSqJL3d6l5UZsY0w/s329/truecrypt-ubuntu-appindicator.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">For this reason, Stefan Sundin has created an <b>Ubuntu PPA for TrueCrypt which has been patched to use an Ubuntu AppIndicator instead of a tray icon</b>.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><h2>Install TrueCrypt with AppIndicator instead of tray icon in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To install TrueCrypt with Ubuntu AppIndicator support (PPA available for Ubuntu 13.04, 12.10 and 12.04), use the commands below in a terminal:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stefansundin/truecrypt<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install truecrypt</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The AppIndicator exits when hiding (closing) the main TrueCrypt window - to fix this, open the TrueCrypt preferences and on the "<i>Background Task</i>" tab, uncheck "<i>Exit when there are no mounted volumes</i>".</div><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Thanks to recover for the tip!</i></div>

TrueCrypt With Ubuntu AppIndicator PPA

Ubuntu doesn't support tray icons by default and further more, the systray whitelist, which could be used to get applications to use th...

+ Read more »

Nuvola Player 2.1 Beta 1 Released [Cloud Music Player With Desktop Integration]

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdQOe3Tv0G_zqIwcgAgETofsotDb9Proz6SXTM0Bb3qMG2a6Z8iMwUURDxA-DG0Zo9F-dX1H6JcB5XciJu435CZOrx7SixCj6Nm9B8Z3Wquwn7eCa-s9_qFcReZ0JzA9H3VblxlGZJx8/s1600/nuvola-player_1.png"><img alt="Nuvola Player" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdQOe3Tv0G_zqIwcgAgETofsotDb9Proz6SXTM0Bb3qMG2a6Z8iMwUURDxA-DG0Zo9F-dX1H6JcB5XciJu435CZOrx7SixCj6Nm9B8Z3Wquwn7eCa-s9_qFcReZ0JzA9H3VblxlGZJx8/s320/nuvola-player_1.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://nuvolaplayer.fenryxo.cz/">Nuvola Player</a> is a cloud music player that supports services such as Grooveshark, Google Play Music, Amazon Cloud Player, Pandora, Rdio, Hype Machine or 8tracks.</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The application integrates tightly with the desktop, providing notifications, multimedia keys support, Unity quicklists, Mpris v2 (Ubuntu Sound Menu / GNOME Shell Media Player extension integration) support and more. Other features include last.fm scrobbling, proxy support, Dock Manager integration (integrates with Docky, AWN or DockBarX) and lyrics fetching.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><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/AVvXsEh4Kkz8Lg_xmXyZFTC-F1nYyEk4ZdJ54NwKNdbOIacLca9Pl5zkj0n59Up2gMHAPgZXdMfnQovWbpyk58tv8n614GGEiNKq4fHwFowdb0BnKHHbzYpVM64JOTSTNbnthEjJqQFMEIJavUI/s1600/nuvola-player_2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nuvola Player" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Kkz8Lg_xmXyZFTC-F1nYyEk4ZdJ54NwKNdbOIacLca9Pl5zkj0n59Up2gMHAPgZXdMfnQovWbpyk58tv8n614GGEiNKq4fHwFowdb0BnKHHbzYpVM64JOTSTNbnthEjJqQFMEIJavUI/s320/nuvola-player_2.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nuvola Player plugins - it's now possible to specify which service will scrobble your music to last.fm<u><br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Nuvola Player 2.1 beta 1 has been <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110794636546911932554/posts/4eFtmzJZ93E">released</a> today, featuring the following changes:</b></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">new supported service: Deezer;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">format support information: when a plugin is missing, Nuvola Player now displays a warning;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">persistent notifications with actions (so you can skip to the next track, pause or go to the previous track from the notifications) - these are supported by GNOME Shell (including the <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/gnome-shell-how-to-enable-notifications.html">lock screen</a>) and Xfce;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">it's now possible to specify which service will scrobble your music to Last.fm;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">added a few keyboard shortcuts: Go back <shift><alt>Left and go forward <shift><alt>Right<br />"show only toolbar" and "show both toolbar and menubar" have been removed and the main menu has been reorganized. A context menu (right mouse click) provides quick access to go back/forward, go home and reload actions; </alt></shift></alt></shift></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><shift><alt><shift><alt>it is possible to set preference of a dark GTK+ theme (so for instance, if you're using Adwaita, selecting this will make the application use Adwaita dark);</alt></shift></alt></shift></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><shift><alt><shift><alt>service selector is opened in a separate window and uses native GTK+ widgets instead of web view;</alt></shift></alt></shift></li><li><shift><alt><shift><alt>main view respects text size set in Accesibility preferences;</alt></shift></alt></shift> </li><li>many <a href="http://nuvolaplayer.fenryxo.cz/releases/2.1/bug_fixes.html">bug fixes</a> and more.</li></ul><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/AVvXsEjoCp-so5n0tio3M5Lubc6gFh6ZVsMiTPW7V8KbVOULLJ4ACgRSNg9OrmpVkr-pXQAt8Dj-EQbX8Lo-bOChgwnhaqnG54GC30IA1JrB3HoVtCrVNQ4Ihz1Nz_PhkIaqgaZVYKK1ivNworw/s1600/nuvola-player_3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nuvola Player notification gnome shell" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCp-so5n0tio3M5Lubc6gFh6ZVsMiTPW7V8KbVOULLJ4ACgRSNg9OrmpVkr-pXQAt8Dj-EQbX8Lo-bOChgwnhaqnG54GC30IA1JrB3HoVtCrVNQ4Ihz1Nz_PhkIaqgaZVYKK1ivNworw/s320/nuvola-player_3.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nuvola Player persistent GNOME Shell notification with actions</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install Nuvola Player in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu 13.04, 12.10 and 12.04 users can install the latest Nuvola Player 2.1 beta 1 by using its official beta PPA:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nuvola-player-builders/beta<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install nuvolaplayer</code></pre><br />Alternatively, you can also use the <a href="https://launchpad.net/~nuvola-player-builders/+archive/stable">stable</a> or <a href="https://launchpad.net/~nuvola-player-builders/+archive/unstable">unstable</a> PPAs.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>You can download the source or report any bugs you may find @ <a href="https://launchpad.net/nuvola-player">Launchpad</a>.</b></div>

Nuvola Player 2.1 Beta 1 Released [Cloud Music Player With Desktop Integration]

Nuvola Player is a cloud music player that supports services such as Grooveshark, Google Play Music, Amazon Cloud Player, Pandora, Rdio, Hy...

+ Read more »