#7 Cinnamon Desktop in Ubuntu 12.04
Cinnamon is an alternate desktop environment forked from gnome shell interface. This is developed by the Linux Mint team. It much looks and feels like Gnome 2 with all the new effects. If you are not comfortable with unity then you can easly install this
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gwendal-lebihan-dev/cinnamon-stable sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install cinnamon
It has a good classic usefull bottom menu and the minimize taskbar.
Source : http://cinnamon.linuxmint.com , smashingweb.ge6.org, techhamlet.com
#6 Install Restricted Drivers (Graphics Drivers, Webcam Drivers and Wireless Drivers) in Ubuntu 12.04
For Graphics/Video card
If you are using any graphics/video card or sound card or webcam then you must install the appropriate drivers/softwares for that. Ubuntu 12.04 can automatically detect graphics card and a pop-up window may appear with the suggestion but you need to make sure that you’re installing the right driver for the device. In the snapshot (below) – you can see I need to install Nvidia proprietary drivers in order to enjoy the power of graphics card.
Install Nvidia Driver in Ubuntu 12.04
Sometimes even it won’t be detected automatically, in that case you can install manually (go to System Settings -> Additional Drivers). You need to do the same thing for sound card, otherwise you may be facing some sort of performance problem or instability.
Open your Terminal – Ctrl+Alt+T, and paste these commands
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current
sudo apt-get install nvidia-settings
Install ATI Catalyst Drivers in Ubuntu 12.04
If you have a ATi video card or built in ATi graphics chip you can go for ATi Driver.
sudo apt-get —purge remove fglrx* sudo apt-get install dh-make execstack dh-modaliases dkgcc1 libc6-i386ms lib32
this will install additional packages to install ati driver then
Go to amd.com and download your driver
cd ~/Downloads
sudo chmod +x ati-driver-installer-11-10-x86.x86_64.run
sudo sh ati-driver-installer-11-10-x86.x86_64.run —buildpkg Ubuntu/precise
this will build the packages from the scratch and install the ati driver
Source : sudobits.com, smashingweb.ge6.org
#5 My Unity in Ubuntu 12.04 – Tweak Unity Interface as you like
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My Unity is a dedicated tool to configure the ubuntu unity interface as a user like. Change themes, icons, transparancy etc. It can change
Unity Launcher color, Unity Launcher transparency, Unity Launcher size,Unity Launcher backlight, Unity Launcher display mode, Unity Launcher behavior, Show mounted devices on the Unity Launcher, Display available and recent apps in Unity Dash, Change Unity Dash blur, Change Unity Dash size, Change Unity Panel transparency etc…
In Ubuntu 12.04 you can install MyUnity 3.0 using the following command or search for myunity in the software center:
sudo apt-get install myunity
Source : http://unity.ubuntu.com/ , smashingweb.ge6.org
#4 Ubuntu Tweak in Ubuntu 12.04 - Tools for Tweak Ubuntu
This is the tool for Ubuntu to tweak every system settings as you like. This make easy to change hidden system and desktop settings. Ubuntu Tweak is only for Unity Desktop Environment.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tualatrix/next
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak
This will install the great tool for ubuntu. It has a very good pre-configured list of repositories that can be installed with just a few mouse clicks.
Source : ubuntu-tweak.com , smashingweb.ge6.org
#3 For Playing Encrypted DVD
If you want to play encrypted DVD then you should also install CSS (Content Scramble System) decoder/unscrambler. The free software library libdvdcss2 is very popular for reading the encrypted DVDs.
To install libdvdcss2, execute the following command(s) -
sudo apt-get install libdvdread4
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh
Source: sudobits.com
#2. Install Proprietary stuffs (Plugins/Codecs/Libraries)
To install the most commonly required plugins and codecs/libraries, just install the ubuntu-restricted-extras package, because most popular codecs/plugins are bundled together in this meta package. It has
Execute the following command to install the proprietary stuffs (described above)
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras
Source: sudobits.com
#1. Update Your System
It’s the first thing to do, just after the installation, to update the repository cache and packages you have installed (by default or custom (if you did)). You can start the update manager (and click on ‘install update’)
To do this Just open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and type
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
Source: sudobits.com
On Monday, the New York City Department of Education published its first set of guidelines for the use of social media, underscoring the importance for teachers and staff to keep a clear distinction between the use of their personal and professional accounts.
“In an increasingly digital world, we seek to provide our students with the opportunities that multi-media learning can provide—which is why we should allow and encourage the appropriate and accepted use of these powerful resources,” schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said in an e-mail to principals, according to the Journal.
Mainly, teachers are expected to use common sense: inappropriate offline behavior would also be inappropriate online. However, teachers are being told that their interactions with students on professional social networking services will be monitored and that there is “no expectation of privacy,” and that administrators and officials should have access to the professional accounts.
» via ars technica
In Italy, solar-powered phone booth offers wifi and electric-vehicle charging
We’ve already seen the humble phone booth repurposed for charging electric vehicles, but a new effort in Italy is taking that concept even further. Specifically, in early April the city of Turin launched what it calls the “Smart Booth,” a solar-powered unit offering touch-screen calls, wifi, pollution monitoring and electric-vehicle recharging. READ MORE…
Electronic spoon reveals when soup is too salty
Restaurant and processed foods are notoriously saltier than home-cooked varieties, which can prove a problem for those with high blood pressure or other conditions that require a reduced sodium intake. Since it’s sometimes hard to tell just how salty a soup really is, the Salinity Monitor Spoon is now on hand to help by measuring the salinity of liquids and sauces. READ MORE…