1- Install the GIMP

The GIMP was removed from Ubuntu as a default application since 10.04, but it’s as great as ever. For most people, the GIMP covers all their image-editing needs. Is there anything more to say?

2- Install Arista

Arista Transcoder makes it easy to convert your media files for use on all your devices. It’s a non-geek oriented application in which you choose the device you have first and the file type. The device comes with presets for everything, from the iPad and multiple Android devices to the web and the Playstation 3. You can also download additional presets here so you can be sure that you’ll never have a problem converting your media files for a device. It’s both worry-free and powerful, the perfect app for everyone.

3- Install Redshift

I’ve reviewed redshift before, but that was when it’s wasn’t in the official repositories yet. My conclusion was unambiguous nonetheless; I can’t live without it. Redshift changes the color temperature of your screen as the day goes by, making it much easier to work during the night. You might think your screen color is too red at first, but after two days of use, I guarantee that you’ll love it!

4- Install Gnome Do

Gnome Do is a very popular add-on to the Gnome Desktop Environment. It’s designed to accelerate almost all tasks, like launching an application, doing system actions (shutting down the computer, controlling window actions, etc.), searching for files and more just by typing a word or two. Not only is it extremely efficient, but it’s also intuitive and fun to use.

5- Install a Dock

Apple’s signature item on their Mac operating system is the dock. I’m not a complete fan of the concept, but I have to admit that it is a great alternative to the bottom panel. Which dock you will prefer depends on your taste. If you want a highly configurable dock, get Avant Window Navigator (AWN or Avant for short). If you prefer a simple, worry-free solution, I’d say that the best ones are Docky.

Extra:

As an alternative (and if you’re geeky enough), you can get both Gnome-Do and Docky together. Docky is a derivative of Gome Do’s theme of the same name. The Do team wanted to create a mix between the two concepts and improve the way the user interacts with the OS. Unfortunately, this addon is missing from the Gnome-Do package on 10.10. It will return in Gnome Do version 2.2. In the meanwhile, you can downgrade your Gnome Do by uninstalling the package and installing the older version here, at then downloading the plugins here and docklets here.

6- Configure the desktop effects

Ubuntu ships with Desktop effects provided by Compiz-Fusion. Compiz makes your desktop beautiful, fluid and more fun, but it can also make you more productive. Effects like zooming out of multiple desktops are enabled by default (Super+E) are great, but who wants to reach for their keyboard everytime they want to zoom? CCSM (Advanced Desktop Effect Settings) is available in the Software Center. It’ll permit you to configure virtually anything on your desktop. Personally, I recommend activating the “Scale” plugin (akin to the Mac OS Exposé) and using at least two of your screen corners.

7- Stop Ubuntu from locking on sleep, suspend, and hibernate

There’s one thing in Ubuntu that really annoys me. Everytime I walk away from my laptop, anywhere between 5 minutes to a whole day, the desktop locks. That’s annoying if you keep closing and re-opening your PC, or if you use your machine only intermittently. Fortunately, there’s a fix for that.
If you want your computer not to lock when it goes to sleep, all you need to do is to uncheck the “Lock screen when screensaver is active” option in the Screensaver Preferences main window (System>Preferences>Screensaver). Disabling automatic screen-locking during suspend and hibernation is slightly harder. First of all, you have to run the Gconf editor, then unearth the right options. To bring up Gconf, hit F2 and then type “gconf-editor” (without the quotes). When the window appears, navigate to “/apps/gnome-power-manager/lock” and uncheck the “hibernate” and “suspend” lines.

8- Install Burg

If you are reading this article, chances are that you have more than one OS on your computer. If so, you see an ugly GRUB screen every time you boot your PC. The solution? Install BURG. BURG “beautifies” your bootloader with pretty themes, something you’d like to look at, something you’d appreciate to see.

To install BURG, first add the BURG PPA and download BURG to your system with the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bean123ch/burg

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install burg burg-themes

You can then install burg to your MBR using the command below (substitute ‘hd0’ with an alternative drive if your MBR is not on your first hard drive).

sudo burg-install “(hd0)”

Finally, update BURG (If you do not do this, nothing will happen and you will still see your default GRUB):

sudo update-burg

BURG is now installed! When you see the default BURG screen hit ‘T’ and chose the theme that you prefer!

9- Set up Ubuntu One

I know this is not a tweak per se, and it can’t be considered an application as it comes pre-installed with Ubuntu 10.10, but you should really consider using Ubuntu One. Ubuntu One, for those who don’t know, is Ubuntu’s cloud solution. It’s incredibly well integrated with the OS; I’ve never seen a cloud solution as simple to use as this one. And if you have more than one computer, I don’t think there’s anything better to sync their files. Simply go to “System>Preferences>Ubuntu One”, create your account, and you’re ready to go!

10-Keep a tweak tool handy

Great! You’ve tweaked your system as I’ve told you (or not), now what? Well, there are thousands of applications to install so why not start by checking the Software center for more? There are also thousands of tweaks that you may discover to be perfect for you. Unfortunately, most of them are hidden. Fortunately, there are apps that serve as perfect tweaking guides for the customization-avid Ubuntu user. What tools do I recommend you? Two of them caught my attention: Ailurus and Ubuntu-Tweak, and both are pretty good. Ailurus (you can read my review here) is a great tool for users who want to learn more about their system, get accustomed with it, and then become good enough not to need the tool. Ubuntu Tweak, on the other hand, has no intention of teaching you about your system. it’s simpler to use, and has a better interface. The caveat is that you mught get a bit dependent on it in the long run (if you like customizing too much). You can download Ailurus here and Ubuntu Tweak here.

And so here they are, my ten recommended tweaks and apps for your new Ubuntu 10.10 install. Have I missed anything? Would you not recommend any one of this. What are your experiences? Please comment below.

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The first emotion that came upon me when testing the new Ubuntu was disapointment. The last release, although an LTS (Long Term Service) release had brought some radical changes to Ubuntu’s interface, featuring a complete new lookand the all-new “indicator applets”. Ubuntu 10.04 was exciting, and although I was disapointed by some details, I couldn’t stop the child in me to rejoice. I felt as though Canonical had released the first really good Ubuntu release, the one all would future versions would be measured against. That is not the impression I had when first trying the Meerkat.The theme has barely changed and some obvious defects in the OS have remained. I was almost considering turning my back to this release and waiting for the next one. A deeper look revealed that there was much more to 10.10.

The name

Dubbed “the perfect 10,” Canonical founder Mark shuttleworth promised even more open-source greatness for this release, and maybe even a new way of looking at the OS. According to the tradition, this version will be numbered as of the year and month of the release ( the first 10 for the year and the second for October) and given an animal name with an adjective starting from the same letter, following the alphabet’s progression. Ubuntu 10.10 is code-named “Maverick Meerkat.” Why? According to Mark, meerkats are smart and social, and that’s what this release of Ubuntu has been designed to be.

The look

Maverick looks a lot like it’s predecessor, Lucid. It features a purple desktop and the now-not-so-new black ambiance theme, together with orange icons. But it’s not because the theme is in keeping with the preceding version that we can say that the design team was bowling for the last six months. There are a lot of changes to be seen, and they’re all for the better as far as I can tell.

First of all, brown was dropped completely. In Lucid, the text-selection color was a washed-out version of the traditional Ubuntu theme-color. But the days when Ubuntu was synonymous with brown are over. The selection color is now officially orange.

That doesn’t mean that I’m pleased with the color choices. I love the purple, but I really don’t believe it goes well with orange. If I were in the Ubuntu Art Team, I’d push for a complete conversion to purple.

There’s one great change since the beta days of 10.10. The Art team had ditched the old default wallpaper that had caused quite a stir in the community because of it’s perceived ugliness for something that definitively feels more smooth. The old wallpaper apparently was Lucid’s with two bright orange blurs added to it. Not good.

My advice to everyone who upgrades: switch your color scheme to purple. In just a few clicks, your desktop looks much better. It’s just an opinion, but you should at least try.

I’m not a fan of dark window theme either. It’s the best that I’ve ever seen on Ubuntu, but I don’t think it can compete with Mac OS’s or KDE’s lighter themes. That said, the Ambiance theme has been improved. Most notably, the window buttons are less pronounced and don’t feel as aggressive as before. Also, a small line has appeared between the window titlebar and the similarly colored menu-bar. I’m not sure if I approve of that last change, but it does have the advantage of making the window look a tad more balanced.

The main problem I see with the black-ish Ambiance theme is that it makes the title and menu -bars seem out of touch with the rest of the window. In my opinion, a clear contrast between the top and bottom of the window should be eliminated, instead to be replaced by a feel of unity from the top to the bottom of each application.

The “Ubuntu” Font now comes as default font for supported languages in the Meerkat. The font that has been in private beta for long time was made available for all users and looks quite good. It’s also very readable and has personality, something that most default fonts do not have.

The Applications

The applications included in the default install haven’t changed much, and the one thing that changed has nothing more exciting than the removal of a wallpaper would have. What is that change you ask me? Ubuntu has ditched the F-Spot Photo management program for Shotwell.

I know, exciting isn’t it?

I won’t bash it though. Shotwell is a great application, andit does bring a cleaner (and more beautiful) interface to photo management. If you use this sort of application, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Shotwell is a great app built by Yorba, a small open-source development studio based in California that aims to bring simple-yet-powerful tools for our Linux media management. As well as great photo-organization features, it includes some limited image editing features. My lack of enthusiasm may be due to the fact that don’t use any photo-manageent application. If I did, I’d be pleased with the switch (though probably not over-excited either).

Apart from that you won’t be seeing anything new under the applications menu.

The Software Center

One thing to have received a major overhaul is the Software Center. A quick look at it revealed a lot of important new features and now just bug-fixing and slight aesthetic improvements.

The first big addition is the “for purchase” option for downloading new applications. Ubuntu 10.04 had introduced a “Canonical Partners” button now place right above it that hinted on it’s appearance. As of the time of writing, the only paid application available for purchase is the Fluendo DVD player (at $24.95)., but more are sure to come.

In addition to being more practical than buying an installation disk or hunting the official website down and then paying with Paypal, the Ubuntu Software Center’s paid apps can be transferred to another computer or reinstalled anytime you want via the user’s Software Store account. Whether Ubuntu users will be able to change their habits and actually buy applications is another story.

Some other less drastic changes have been made. An all-new “History” tab helps you keep track of all the changes you have done to your system, including updates, installations and software removal. The function is simple yet it may prove to be a great tool to the average power user.

The first page has been redesigned to present a sideshow of the “featured” applications, as well as a “what’s new” box. The featured list has quite a few interesting applications all new users should check, including games, productivity software and even web-apps.

The application view (the page you get when you click on “more info”) has been substantially upgraded. Plug-ins are now included at the bottom of the page (below the application’s description and screenshot). You can select them by clicking on the check-box, and they will be installed along with your application. Additionally, a new “find it in the menu” line has been added so you won’t ever again wonder where that installed app disappeared.

Technical packages are not shown by default anymore, so you won’t have any more strangely-named entries all over the place. That’s a significant improvement, and together with the changes mentioned above, it makes the Software Center quasi-perfect. All that’s needed now is to populate the commercial applications’ list to encourage third party developers to write for Linux.

Ubuntu One

Ubuntu One, Canonical’s free (as in beer) cloud solution, has had a welcome upgrade. There have been a lot of bug fixes, and Maverick’s implementation is now much more stable. Better integration with Nautilus, Ubuntu’s default file manager is evident. When browsing within his home folder, the user will see a bar with a check-box asking him if he wishes to sync the folder’s contents with the Ubuntu One server.

Additionally, Ubuntu users can now create their account from their desktop, without having to start-up their browser. Most settings and information about your Ubuntu One account can be found from within the desktop application.

Syncing has also become much more easy. You can view all your synchronized computers from the “devices” tab as well as select what will be synchronized in “services.” You can synchronize bookmarks (through a Firefox plugin installable through the Ubuntu One interface), your “broadcast” massage archives, Evolution contacts and, of course, files. The online interface has been streamlined as well, making it easy to access from other people’s computers, whether they run Ubuntu or another OS such as Windows or Mac OS.

Two application developed by Canonical for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) as well as Google’s Linux-based Android OS have already been released, giving you the option to sync your computer’s music and contacts with your smartphone.

Indicator applets

Before reaching my final conclusion, there is one small feature and one small problem that I’d like to talk about. As you may well remember, indicator applets made an appearance in Ubuntu 10.04, almost completely replacing the now archaic “Notification Area.” Within this applet, one indicator has recieved a major overhaul (and with that, a great deal of attention): the sound indicator. the new sound indicator does more than adjust the sound volume. It now gives you power to control Rhythmbox (and other media players with the available plugins) from within the small menu. That does not seem like much, but it’s extremely practical to be able to control your music without even leaving the window you’re working on.

Some of you may point out that there have been widgets on Mac OS and Linux available that did just that for quite some time, but the inclusion of this tool makes the task more simple and more intuitive than ever with no need to configure your computer. I’d replace it with no other fancy tool.

There are some caveats though. First of all, the sound indicator has a little glitch in it: the background of the music controls are of a slightly different color than the rest of the drop-down menu. Most people won’t notice it, but on some screens, it’ll be slightly annoying, if not very important.

More importantly, the networking applet does not exist yet. this means that, for the second Ubuntu release in a row, we are stuck with a notification applet that does not look, feel and react the same way as the other “indicator applets.” This was inevitable, and I wasn’t expecting Ubuntu to be able to change all notificators with indicators overnight, but it is sad that an applet as important as this one could be overlooked.

Conclusions

Ubuntu 10.10 wasn’t love at first sight. The first thing I noticed was what had not changed, and some of it (like the networking applet) was disapointing. However, on a closer look, a lot of great improvements have been made. The software center is fabulous, the installer is the best I’ve ever seen, and the OS is solid. This is a great release. Should you upgrade? Definitely. It doesn’t cost you anything, and there’s only goodness in Maverick. I’d wait a few days to hear what people say about stability though, but that’s a choice.

Install it, upgrade it. Above all, have fun with the newest Ubuntu release to date!

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Sintel, which means glowing coal, is a fully open-source movie created by the Blender foundation with the use of the open-source application of the same name. Following Elephants Dream and Big Buck Bunny, the short movie is the third such project created by the Blender Foundation, and the fourth project overall. Apart from shorts, the foundation also released a game, Yo Frankie! based on their Bick Buck Bunny movie.

Below, the epic open-source phenomenon in all it’s glory:

Where should we leave this? I was impressed by the quality of the film. The images and the story represent an astounding leap from their previous films. Already, a team is working on a video-game adaptation of the same name that will be based on the movie’s storyline and built using the same program, Blender.

As I see it, Sintel is a demonstration of the power of opensource, and what community-funded projects can achieve. Could Blender someday become a standard for professional studios? We’ll see. In the meanwhile, I’d love to see the GIMP developement team work with artists in the same way.

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