Ubuntu Might Become A Rolling Release Distribution Between LTS Releases

<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="ubuntu logo" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vLAGqfY7eyU/UP_WL2A6sGI/AAAAAAAAM4o/__IomtcuFfw/s200/ubuntu-logo.png" /></div><br /><b>Ubuntu may become a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_release">rolling release</a> distribution, but keeping LTS (Long Term Release) releases every two years.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leann Ogasawara, Canonical Kernel Team Manager has said in a recent Google+ hangout that it has been discussed to use a rolling release model between LTS releases. This is just a discussion for now, but it could become a reality starting with Ubuntu 14.04:</div><br /><a name='more'></a><blockquote>The plan was by 14.04 to target what we're calling a rolling release and go from a LTS to LTS only model and eliminate these intermediate releases. That was being discussed earlier, we didn't set anything in stone but that's still in the cards as a possibility of happening when we hit the next 14.04 release so <b>it could go from 14.04 to 16.04 and everything in between is what they consider a rolling release</b> [...], following the latest package releases, not only for the Kernel but for the entire distribution [...].<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">- Leann Ogasawara (approximate quote from the video)</div></blockquote><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If this becomes reality, I'm sure a lot of users will be very happy because they'd get the latest updates for all packages (and new packages would be available a lot quicker) without having to upgrade to a newer Ubuntu release. This might have an impact on stability, but some users already consider non-LTS releases to be "glorified betas" so at least this way Ubuntu users would get the latest updates in exchange for the stability offered by a LTS.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides possible stability, there's another downside which Canonical takes into consideration: a lot of hype is generated and many users get excited for each Ubuntu release, but using a rolling release model between LTS releases would mean there would be 3 less Ubuntu releases for every 2 years and thus, Ubuntu users would be less enthusiastic.<br /><br />These and probably many other factors count towards taking a decision, but the most important one should be: "will this make Ubuntu users happy?". So, what do you think, would you like Ubuntu to use a rolling release model between LTS releases?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Below you can watch the full Google+ hangout video with Leann Ogasawara (video embedded from the minute where Leann begins to talk about the rolling release model):</div><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AQvOIExkCaw?start=2513&end=3649" width="560"></iframe><br />(<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQvOIExkCaw#t=41m53s">direct video link</a>)</center><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>seen on <a href="http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/01/ubuntu-considers-huge-change-that-would-end-traditional-release-cycle/">ArsTechnica</a></i></div>

Ubuntu Might Become A Rolling Release Distribution Between LTS Releases

Ubuntu may become a rolling release distribution, but keeping LTS (Long Term Release) releases every two years. Leann Ogasawara, Canonical ...

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Unity Reboot (Launcher To Quickly Reboot In A Different OS) Updated For Ubuntu 12.10 And 13.04

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Today I've updated <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2011/09/unity-reboot-ubuntu-unity-launcher-to.html">Unity Reboot</a> to work with the latest GRUB 2.0 available in Ubuntu 12.10 and 13.04.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Unity Reboot is a custom Unity launcher that can be used to quickly reboot into a different OS / Linux distribution, useful for those who dual boot (or triple boot </b>or... it should work with any number of operating systems, including Windows, various Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora, etc.). This isn't just for Unity and <b>it should also work with docks that support Unity quicklists</b>, like DockBarX, Cairo Dock or Plank.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's a screenshot with Unity Reboot in Ubuntu 12.10 on a system on which I triple boot: Ubuntu 12.10, Fedora 18 and Windows 7 (in VirtualBox, set up just for testing this):</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MYrNP3RV1Rk/UP7qcaxIkcI/AAAAAAAAMyM/9rbPt0ZP4MI/s1600/unity-reboot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="unity reboot ubuntu fedora windows 7" border="0" height="252" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MYrNP3RV1Rk/UP7qcaxIkcI/AAAAAAAAMyM/9rbPt0ZP4MI/s320/unity-reboot.png" title="unity reboot ubuntu fedora windows 7" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">This is how it works: selecting an entry from the quicklist, the system will reboot and that entry will be selected in the GRUB menu. That means you can still boot to a different OS if you change your mind. You can set the GRUB menu timeout to 0 and you won't see the GRUB menu and instead, the system will directly reboot into the selected OS. This only applies for that system restart (so only one time) and after that, the first boot entry should be selected, like it is with the default GRUB settings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The GRUB menu has changed starting with Ubuntu 12.10 and the various options for an OS (like old kernels for Ubuntu) are displayed in a sub menu which isn't displayed by default, so I've had to tweak Unity Reboot to work with this new GRUB 2 menu. <b>The new version also uses pkexec</b> (so you'll get a nice password prompt in GNOME Shell for instance) <b>instead of gksu for the reboot command.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>You can select to reboot without having to enter your pasword</b>, by right clicking the Unity Reboot launcher icon and selecting <i>Settings > Don't ask for password on restart</i> (for the settings, gksu is still used and not pkexec).</div><br /><br /><b>Important notes:</b><br /><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">clicking the icon on the Unity launcher doesn't do anything (a notification will be displayed if you left click it). All the functionality is in the quicklists so you need to right click the icon and select an an item. Your computer will then reboot and automatically select the item you've clicked in the GRUB menu;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Unity Reboot only works if Ubuntu (the installation on which you're using Unity Reboot) has been installed after the other operating systems. So for example, if you triple boot Windows 7, Ubuntu 12.10 and Fedora 18, Unity Reboot will only work if Ubuntu 12.10 was the last you've installed from these 3 (basically, it needs to run on the Linux distribution that has installed GRUB).</li></ul><br /><br /><h2>Install Unity Reboot in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1. Unity Reboot is available in the main WebUpd8 PPA. To add the PPA and install it, use the following commands:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install unity-reboot</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The latest Unity Reboot 0.2 is only available for Ubuntu 12.10 and 13.04, but an older version is also available in the same PPA for Ubuntu 12.04, 11.10 or 11.04.</div><br />If you want to get the code and tweak it to your needs, you can get it via <a href="https://github.com/hotice/unity-reboot">GitHub</a> (it uses simple bash scripts and <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2010/12/yad-zenity-on-steroids-display.html">YAD</a> for the settings dialog).<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2.</b> After the installation has finished, run the following command in a terminal to initialize Unity Reboot (this is only required once):</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>unity-reboot</code></pre><br />Don't worry, this command won't reboot your system.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>3.</b> Now you need to add the Unity Reboot launcher icon on the Unity Launcher (or a dock that supports Unity quicklists). To do this, open Nautilus, press CTRL + L (so you can type the location), enter "<i>~/.local/share/applications</i>" without the quotes in the Nautilus location entry (or manually navigate to "<i>~/.local/share/applications</i>") and drag and drop the "<i>Reboot in...</i>" icon to the Unity launcher / dock.</div><br />Now right click it to see the available options:<br /><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Clicking an OS entry in the launcher will reboot into that OS, after you enter your password;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">In the settings, you can set Unity Reboot not to ask for a password when rebooting in a different OS. Warning: if you disable the password prompt, the system will reboot as soon as you select an OS from the quicklist, without any confirmation dialog.</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I've tested Unity Reboot on my laptop on which I dual boot Ubuntu 13.04 and 12.10 as well as in VirtualBox with triple boot: Windows 7, Ubuntu 12.10 and Fedora 18. If you encounter bugs, please post them in the comments below. </div>

Unity Reboot (Launcher To Quickly Reboot In A Different OS) Updated For Ubuntu 12.10 And 13.04

Today I've updated Unity Reboot to work with the latest GRUB 2.0 available in Ubuntu 12.10 and 13.04. Unity Reboot is a custom Unity la...

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Unity Revamped PPA Is Back For Ubuntu 12.04 (Unity Launcher Dodge, Minimize On Click Features)

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/05/how-to-get-dodge-windows-and-minimize.html">Unity Revamped PPA</a> is back for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS</b>. This is a PPA that comes with a <b>custom Unity build that brings back the old "Dodge windows" and "Dodge active window" Launcher hide behaviour</b> as well as a feature that many have requested: <b>minimize / restore windows by clicking on their icon in the Unity Launcher</b>.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHHVKv2Z3Vs/UP3uOGC6WyI/AAAAAAAAMxA/cSaZNk8Uemg/s1600/unity-revamped.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="unity dodge windows revamped" border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHHVKv2Z3Vs/UP3uOGC6WyI/AAAAAAAAMxA/cSaZNk8Uemg/s320/unity-revamped.png" title="unity dodge windows revamped" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, there are some issues with the patches for the latest Unity available in Ubuntu 12.10 (6.x) , but at least the PPA now works again with Ubuntu 12.04 (Unity 5.18, available in the official Ubuntu 12.04 Updates repository).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the extra features that used to be in the Unity package available in the Unity Revamped PPA isn't available with this update unfortunately, or at least I couldn't find it in my test: the option to disable global menu autohide in CCSM. But the window dodge and minimize on Unity icon click features work great.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Below you can watch a video I've recorded a while back, demoing Unity with the dodge windows and minimize / restore on click features in Ubuntu 12.04:</b></div><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q2rj18H0M38" width="560"></iframe><br />(<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2rj18H0M38">direct video link</a>)</center><br /><br /><h2>Get "Dodge windows", "Dodge active window" and minimize on click for Unity in Ubuntu 12.04</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To add the <a href="https://launchpad.net/~ikarosdev/+archive/unity-revamped">Unity Revamped PPA</a> and upgrade Unity to the custom build available in this PPA (for Ubuntu 12.04 only!), use the following commands:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ikarosdev/unity-revamped<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get upgrade</code></pre><b>Then, log out and log back in.</b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Now try to minimize an open window by clicking its icon on the Unity launcher - this should now work.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To get the "Dodge windows" or "Dodge active window" Unity launcher behaviour, install CompizConfig Settings Manager:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, launch CompizConfig Settings Manager from Dash, click the Unity plugin and on the "Behaviour" tab, under "Hide Launcher", select "Dodge windows" or "Dodge active window".</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Revert to the original Unity packages</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you want to revert the changes and go back to the original Unity packages from the Ubuntu repositories, use the following commands:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install ppa-purge<br />sudo ppa-purge ppa:ikarosdev/unity-revamped</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Thanks to Isaac Joseph for his work on the Unity Revamped PPA!</i></div>

Unity Revamped PPA Is Back For Ubuntu 12.04 (Unity Launcher Dodge, Minimize On Click Features)

The Unity Revamped PPA is back for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS . This is a PPA that comes with a custom Unity build that brings back the old "Dod...

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Unity Changes - Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail

<div style="text-align: justify;">As you probably know, there will be <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/ubuntu-1304-alpha-releases-dropped-only.html">no alpha milestones</a> for Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail and Unity has got some minor, but interesting changes since the Raring development has begun, so I though I'd make a video showing some of these features so you can see what's new.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZL5beWCRHw8/UPoxTaVX_iI/AAAAAAAAMus/FGHeToE4sd8/s1600/unity-dash-ubuntu13.04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="unity ubuntu 13.04 raring ringtail screenshot" border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZL5beWCRHw8/UPoxTaVX_iI/AAAAAAAAMus/FGHeToE4sd8/s320/unity-dash-ubuntu13.04.png" title="unity ubuntu 13.04 raring ringtail screenshot" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For instance, in an <a href="https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/raring/+source/unity/6.12.0daily13.01.18-0ubuntu1">update</a> last night, the BFB (the Ubuntu logo button used to open Dash) got the new asset (icon) we wrote about a <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/new-icons-for-ubuntu-software-center.html">while back</a>. The same update has brought refreshed Launcher tile assets and the removal of the 32px minimum Launcher icon size limit.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, a few days ago, some new options were added in <i>System Settings > Appearance > Behaviour</i> tab: "Show desktop icon to the launcher" and "Enable workspaces".</div><br />And some older changes include:<br /><ul><li>Bigger, chameleonic overlay shortcuts (the shortcut hints displayed on the Unity launcher icons which show up when holding the Super key);</li><li>Spread improvements such as a selected window outline, better window titlebar and also, the Spread now works properly with all window themes;</li><li>Improved Dash Previews design (and the previews are a lot faster now by the way);</li><li>The workspace switcher has a new icon which is dynamic, meaning that the current active desktop is represented by the workspace switcher icon;</li><li>New lens icons; </li><li>Overlay scrollbars for Dash.</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>You can watch the Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail (with Unity 6.12.0daily13.01.18) video below:</b></div><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JtbvStm0Sp8" width="560"></iframe><br />(<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtbvStm0Sp8">direct video link</a>)</center><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Unity has also received many bug fixes and under-the-hood changes and of course, more improvements are expected until the final release.</div><br /><br />In other non-Unity Ubuntu 13.04 news:<br /><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/how-to-enable-intel-sna-acceleration-in.html">Intel SNA</a> (a 2D acceleration architecture for the open source Intel Linux graphics driver that provides improved X.Org driver performance) may be turned on by default soon;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">The Intel HDA audio drivers <a href="http://voices.canonical.com/david.henningsson/2013/01/18/upcoming-changes-to-the-intel-hda-drivers/">will be</a> unified, which will make it easier to support new drivers;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Gvfs has been updated in Raring bringing a new MTP backend which allows users to access Android 4.0 devices which do not support the USB Mass Storage.</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail will only have one beta milestone, expected on March 28th, while the final release should be available for download on April 25th.</div>

Unity Changes - Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail

As you probably know, there will be no alpha milestones for Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail and Unity has got some minor, but interesting chan...

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Latest Nemo File Manager From GIT Gets Breadcrumbs, Option To Hide The Menu, More

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/12/how-to-install-nemo-file-manager-in.html" title="How To Install Nemo File Manager In Ubuntu">Nemo</a>, the default Linux Mint (Cinnamon) file manager, forked from Nautilus 3.4, has got a lot of interesting changes in GIT recently.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The most visible change is the <b>addition of breadcrumbs</b> which look great if you're using the Mint-X theme (default Linux Mint theme, also available in the <a href="https://launchpad.net/~webupd8team/+archive/themes">WebUpd8 Themes Repository</a>) as you can see below:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/nemo-file-manager-latest.png" rel="image_group" title="Nemo file manager"><img alt="Nemo file manager" src="http://img.netupd8.com/nemo-file-manager-latest_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Other themes need to be tweaked to correctly display the new Nemo breadcrumbs, although with some themes like <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/01/beautiful-mediterraneannight-gtk-36.html" title="Beautiful MediterraneanNight GTK 3.6 Theme Pack Updated">MediterraneanNight</a> or <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/8-gtk-36-compatible-themes-available-in.html" title="8 GTK 3.6 Compatible Themes Available In PPAs For Ubuntu 12.10">Evolve</a>, it doesn't look that bad (it looks pretty bad with some themes though, like Ambiance):</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 href="http://img.netupd8.com/nemo-mediterranean-theme.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Nemo file manager: breadcrumbs with MediterraneanNight theme"><img alt="Nemo file manager breadcrumbs mediterraneannight" src="http://img.netupd8.com/nemo-mediterranean-theme_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nemo with MediterraneanNight theme</td></tr></tbody></table></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://img.netupd8.com/nemo-evolve.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Nemo with Evolve GTK theme"><img alt="Nemo file manager breadcrumbs Evolve theme" src="http://img.netupd8.com/nemo-evolve_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nemo with Evolve theme</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The <b>statusbar has been re-worked</b> (if enabled, because you can also disable it and have a floating mini-statusbar) and it now includes <b>options to toggle displaying the places sidebar, treeview or completely hide the sidebar.</b> Also, the <b>zoom controls have been moved from the main toolbar to the bottom right corner of the new statusbar</b> (and a slider is now used instead of +/- buttons).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And finally, the <b>Nemo menu can now be hidden</b> (like the old <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2011/03/install-nautilus-elementary-2322-in.html">Nautilus elementary</a>) by deselecting <i>View > Menubar </i>and you can then toggle the menu by using the ALT key:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/nemo-file-manager-hide-menu.png" rel="image_group" title="Nemo: hide menu"><img alt="Nemo file manager hide menu" src="http://img.netupd8.com/nemo-file-manager-hide-menu_thumb.png" /></a></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://img.netupd8.com/nemo-no-statusbar-no-menu.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Nemo file manager with no menu and no statusbar"><img alt="Nemo file manager without statusbar and menu" src="http://img.netupd8.com/nemo-no-statusbar-no-menu_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nemo file manager with no menu a<span style="color: #0000ee;">nd</span> statusbar<u><br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Nemo is under heavy development these days and the new features mentioned above are subject to change.<br /><br /><br /><h2>How to install the latest Nemo file manager from GIT</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For how to install the latest Nemo file manager from GIT in Ubuntu or Linux Mint (via PPA), see our previous post: <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/12/how-to-install-nemo-file-manager-in.html">How To Install Nemo File Manager In Ubuntu</a></b>.</div><br />Arch Linux users can install Nemo via <a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/nemo-git/">AUR</a>.<br /><br />For other Linux distributions, you can get the Nemo source code via <a href="https://github.com/linuxmint/nemo">GitHub</a>.

Latest Nemo File Manager From GIT Gets Breadcrumbs, Option To Hide The Menu, More

Nemo , the default Linux Mint (Cinnamon) file manager, forked from Nautilus 3.4, has got a lot of interesting changes in GIT recently. The m...

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How To Use Xfce4 Terminal 0.6.x As A Drop-Down Console (Guake-style)

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/xfce4-terminal-xfce.png" rel="image_group" title="Xfce4 Terminal drop-down running in Xfce"><img alt="Xfce4 Terminal drop-down running in Xfce" src="http://img.netupd8.com/xfce4-terminal-xfce_thumb.png" /></a></div><b><br /></b> <br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://docs.xfce.org/apps/terminal/start">Xfce4 Terminal</a></b> has been updated recently, two new versions being released: 0.6.0 and 0.6.1, and many <b>new features were added, including an option to use the terminal as a drop-down console, like Guake or Yakuake</b>. But this new feature isn't available as an option in the Xfce4 Terminal preferences, so here's how to use it.</div><br /><b>Among the new features added in the latest Xfce4 Terminal 0.6.x, are:</b><br /><ul><li>Added search dialog;</li><li>Terminal tab color changes when activity occurs in a tab since last viewed;</li><li>Support for color presets and some presets were added by default, including "Solarized Dark", my favourite terminal / text editor color scheme that I've been using everywhere for a long time (see: <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2011/04/solarized-must-have-color-paletter-for.html">Solarized: A Must Have Color Scheme For Gnome Terminal, Vim, Gedit And Lots More</a>)</li><li>Drop-down window support when using "--drop-down" parameter</li></ul><br /><a name='more'></a>Changelogs: <a href="http://mail.xfce.org/pipermail/xfce-announce/2012-December/000240.html">0.6.0</a>, <a href="http://mail.xfce.org/pipermail/xfce-announce/2013-January/000242.html">0.6.1</a><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install Xfce Terminal 0.6.x in Ubuntu / Xubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Before installing Xfce4 Terminal, please note that installing it in desktop environments other than Xfce will also install some Xfce packages.</div><br /><b>To install Xfce 4 Terminal 0.6.x in Ubuntu / Xubuntu 12.04, firstly add the Xfce 4.10 PPA and do an upgrade:</b> <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/05/install-xfce-410-in-xubuntu-1204.html">Install Xfce 4.10 In Xubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin Via PPA</a>. This isn't required for Ubuntu 12.10.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Now, to install Xfce4 Terminal 0.6.x in Ubuntu / Xubuntu 12.04 or 12.10, use the following commands:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xubuntu-dev/xfce-4.12<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install xfce4-terminal</code></pre><div style="text-align: justify;">(you may also want to run an upgrade to get the other Xfce 4.12 development packages from the Xfce 4.12 PPA if you haven't already)</div><br />For other Linux distributions, you can download the latest Xfce4 Terminal 0.6.x source from <a href="http://archive.xfce.org/src/apps/xfce4-terminal">HERE</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><h2>How to use the Xfce4 Terminal drop-down feature</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">To use Xfce4 Terminal as a drop-down window, make sure you're running version 0.6.1 or newer. The terminal doesn't have a GUI option to run as a drop-down (it can only be used as a drop-down terminal by using the "--drop-down" command line parameter), so you must set a keyboard shortcut in your desktop environment to call "xfce4-terminal --drop-down":</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/xfce4-terminal-shortcut-xfce.png" rel="image_group" title="Xfce4 Terminal drop-down keyboard shortcut settings in Xfce"><img alt="Xfce4 Terminal drop-down keyboard shortcut Xfce" src="http://img.netupd8.com/xfce4-terminal-shortcut-xfce_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>in Xfce</b>: open <i>Settings Manager > Keyboard > Application shortcuts</i>, click "Add" and add the "<i>xfce4-terminal --drop-down</i>" command, then a dialog will pop-up - now press the keyboard shortcut you want to use to open the drop-down terminal (I've used F12).</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/xfce4-terminal-shortcut-gnome.png" rel="image_group" title="Xfce4 Terminal drop-down keyboard shortcut settings in GNOME / Unity"><img alt="Xfce4 Terminal drop-down keyboard shortcut in GNOME / Unity" src="http://img.netupd8.com/xfce4-terminal-shortcut-gnome_thumb.png" /></a></div><b><br /></b> <br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>- in GNOME (including Unity)</b>: open <i>System Settings > Keyboard > Shortcuts</i>, under "Custom Shortcuts" click "+" to add a new shortcut, under "Name" enter "Xfce4 Terminal" and under command, use: "<i>xfce4-terminal --drop-down</i>". Then click the shortcut on the right to add a keyboard shortcut and press the key you want to use for triggering the drop-down terminal (I've used F12).<br /><br />This also means you don't have to add the terminal to your startup applications and instead, the application will start the first time you use the keyboard shortcut you've assigned using the instructions above. </div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, press the keyboard shortcut you've used to open the terminal. Even though initially Xfce4 Terminal doesn't have any custom drop-down settings, now that you're using it as a drop-down terminal,<b> a new tab called "Drop-down" should show up in its preferences</b>, which allows you to tweak the way the drop-down works. </div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/xfce4-terminal-dropdown-unity.png" rel="image_group" title="Xfce4 Terminal drop-down running in Unity"><img alt="Xfce4 Terminal drop-down running in Unity" src="http://img.netupd8.com/xfce4-terminal-dropdown-unity_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Here, if you use Unity (maybe on other DEs too) make sure you uncheck "Use shortcut to focus visible window" so the terminal closes when you press the keyboard shortcut you've set above. Without this, the terminal will only close/retract when it loses focus (unless you select "Keep window open when it loses focus" in which case it won't close when focus is lost) in Unity, although this doesn't occur in Xfce (so you don't have to check this option in Xfce for this purpose).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the Xfce4 Terminal preferences you can <b>customize</b> a lot of the drop-down terminal settings, including the <b>window width, height, opacity, the duration, horizontal position and so on</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's also a button on the bottom right of the terminal that you can use to quickly toggle "Keep window open when it loses focus" on / off.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Xfce4 Terminal supports multiple screens</b> so if you select to display the terminal in the center (top center) of the screen, it won't show up on both screens in a dual screen setup, but <b>on the center of the active monitor</b>, something that you can't do with Guake for instance. <b>If you only want it to show up on the main monitor,</b> uncheck the "Move to monitor with pointer" option in the Xfce4 Terminal preferences (Drop-down tab).</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Xfce4 Terminal drop-down feature seen on <a href="http://blog.desdelinux.net/un-vistazo-a-lo-que-vendra-en-xfce-4-12/">desdelinux.net</a> & <a href="http://www.lffl.org/2013/01/le-novita-del-nuovo-xfce-412.html">lffl.org</a></i></div>

How To Use Xfce4 Terminal 0.6.x As A Drop-Down Console (Guake-style)

Xfce4 Terminal has been updated recently, two new versions being released: 0.6.0 and 0.6.1, and many new features were added, including an...

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Download AirDroid 2 APK, Now With Remote Camera, Find My Phone Features [Android]

<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://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="AirDroid 2 browser interface"><img alt="AirDroid 2" src="http://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AirDroid 2 - browser (web) interface</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.airdroid.com/">AirDroid</a> is a free Android application that you can use to control your Android device from your desktop</b>, by using a web browser (so it on Linux and any other OS). It can be used to <b>transfer files</b> (upload to the phone or download to your desktop), <b>browse images, quickly send or read an SMS</b> and many others.</div><br />We've covered AirDroid before, so take a look at our <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2011/12/airdroid-manage-your-android-device.html" title="AirDroid: Manage Your Android Device Using A Browser">initial post</a> for more info. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The latest <b>AirDroid 2</b> beta could only be downloaded by using an invitation, but the apk can now be downloaded by everyone, although it's not on Google Play just yet. The new version comes with many <b>cool new features such as a new "Find my phone" service, a remote camera feature and others</b>.</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="http://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2-android-app.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="AirDroid2 Android app"><img alt="AirDroid2 Android app" src="http://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2-android-app_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AirDroid 2 Android app</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Here are some of the new features available in the latest AirDroid 2:</b><br /><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">new remote <b>Remote Camera feature</b>: take photos using your phone from the AirDroid web interface;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">new "<b>Find my phone</b>" feature which uses the device GPS to display its current position, useful if you lose your phone or it gets stolen. <b>You can remotely lock or wipe the phone;</b></li><li style="text-align: justify;">quick drag'n'drop area: you can now drag and drop files or apks in a special drag'n'drop area to quickly upload / install them to the Android phone or tabled, without having to open the AirDroid file manager;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">new option to <b>take a screenshot of your Android device from AirDroid web interface</b>. This feature requires root access on the Android device;</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>the Android device doesn't have to be in the same wireless network </b>as the computer you're using to access it and you can now <b>use AirDroid over 3G / 4G;</b></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>other small new features:</b> quick access to frequent contacts, add folder shortcuts on the web interface desktop, etc.<b><br /></b></li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Below you can see a few screenshots with some of the new AirDroid2 features in action:</b></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://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2-camera.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="AirDroid2 remote camera"><img alt="AirDroid2 remote camera" src="http://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2-camera_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remote camera </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://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2-find-phone.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="AirDroid2 - find my phone"><img alt="AirDroid2 find my phone" src="http://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2-find-phone_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Find my phone</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://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2-screenshot.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="AirDroid2 remote screenshot tool"><img alt="AirDroid2 screenshot" src="http://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2-screenshot_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remote screenshot feature</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>When you start AirDroid v2, you'll be prompted to login with your AirDroid account</b> so if you don't have one, you'll have to create it. Please note that I've encountered an error when trying to create an account: AirDroid allows you to use Twitter, Google and other services to create the account and if the username entered exists on Twitter (even though you didn't select Twitter) but it's not your account, you won't be able to register, so you may have to enter an username that doesn't exist on Twitter. Some users have reported some other more or less similar issues when registering and the AirDroid developers are working on a fix for this.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>You can still use AirDroid 2 without an account, but you won't have access to all the features</b>. For instance, you'll be able to control the camera from the browser, but the phone finder service won't work and you won't be able to transfer files over 3G / 4G. You can, however, transfer files over WiFi if you're not using an AirDroid account. When you start it, enter the local address (e.g: 192.168...) in a web browser, and you'll then be prompted to accept this connection on your device and you're ready to go (no password is required any more):</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://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2-accept-connection.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="AirDroid2: local connection with no account, accepting the connection"><img alt="AirDroid2 local connection no account" src="http://img.netupd8.com/airdroid2-accept-connection_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Accept connection (local, no account)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Another small issue I've encountered was when using a local connection (without an AirDroid account) and a HTTPS connection: the web page (AirDroid web interface) wouldn't load in Firefox, but it did work in Google Chrome. However, let's not forget that AirDroid v2 is still in beta, so all of these small issues should be fixed soon!<br /><br />Since AirDroid v2 is still in beta, new features might be added later on. </div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">AirDroid is probably the best solution to transfer files to/from your Android 4.0+ device on Linux, considering the current issues with this. Or, you can use <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/12/how-to-mount-android-40-ubuntu-go-mtpfs.html" title="How To Properly Mount Android 4.0+ Devices In Ubuntu Using Go-mtpfs">Go-mtpfs</a> which works, but is not so easy to use as AirDroid.</div><br /><br /><h2>Download AirDroid v2</h2><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://airdroid.com/invite/airdroid_v2.apk">Download AirDroid 2 (beta) apk</a></b></div><br /><br /><i>I've tested AirDroid 2 beta using a Samsung Galaxy S2 phone running CyanogenMod 10.1 nightly (Android 4.2.1).</i><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>seen on <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5976628/airdroid-2-beta-finds-your-lost-phone-works-over-mobile-data-and-is-free-and-open-to-all">LifeHacker</a> and <a href="http://www.chimerarevo.com/airdroid-2-il-nostro-test-per-ora-e-un-no/">chimerarevo.com</a></i></div>

Download AirDroid 2 APK, Now With Remote Camera, Find My Phone Features [Android]

AirDroid 2 - browser (web) interface AirDroid is a free Android application that you can use to control your Android device from your deskt...

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