Linux Road

Synapse is a quick launch application for Linux. It can search for applications, documents, pictures, videos, and other files on your local machine for quick access. Synapse make use of Zeitgeist engine.

Synapse is quite similar to GNOME Do, but is far more powerful. Search capabilities are good and normally shows relevant results. Synapse can be launched by using following short-cut key at anytime:

crtl + space

Once Synapse is launched simply type, search, and go.

Results are sorted per frequency of use. Means that the applications that you use more often will be displayed first.

Plugins are available to find other stuff as well:

• Applications - searches your desktop files
• Banshee - allows you to play/enqueue music files in Banshee
• Commands - runs any command (ie. "sudo apt-get update")
• Devhelp - search documentation using Devhelp
• Dictionary - find definitions of words
• Directory search - allows opening of commonly used directories
• Gnome session - log out, shut down, restart
• Hybrid search - complete Zeitgeist results by searching for similar files
• Rhytmbox - play/enqueue music files in Rhythmbox
• UPower - suspend & hibernate your computer
• Zeitgeist - search anything logged by Zeitgeist

Other than default theme, three more themes are available, shown as follow:

Mini

Virgilio

Dual

Get Synapse

Ubuntu users can get Synapse by using the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:synapse-core/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install synapse

For other distros follow the official link.

Canonical has decided to change the interface of the next release of Ubuntu (Natty Narwhal 11.04) from GNOME to Unity. Unity is an open source project that focuses on simplified interface and three dimensional displays.

Canonical has to make this decision because the views of developers at Canonical were starting to diverge from the views of the GNOME team. Canonical had different ideas about how a desktop interface should look and operate, according to Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth.

"We were part of the GNOME shell design discussion, we put forward our views and they were not embraced by designers," Shuttleworth said during a press briefing. "We took a divergent view from the GNOME shell folks on key design issues, for example how application menus should appear on the system, how one should search to find applications, [and] how one's favorite applications should be presented."

Ubuntu's next release Natty Narwhal (11.04) is set to be launched in April 2011. Natty Narwhal (11.04) will have Unity shell that will support three dimensional interface. Shuttleworth announced on Monday, at the company's Ubuntu Developer Summit, being held this week in Orlando, Florida. For previous desktop versions of the software, Gnome was the default shell.

Canonical and the developers of GNOME, an open source project led by the GNOME Foundation, have had an increasingly disharmonious relationship over the past year due, in part, to these design issues.

Because Canonical was already developing Unity for netbooks for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customers, "We went ahead and did the engineering" for a general desktop interface for the next release, Shuttleworth said. "Essentially, it is a very different product from the GNOME shell, and has a very different way of organizing things," he said.

Even though Canonical will switch from GNOME in the next release of Ubuntu, but according to Mr. Shuttleworth users will have little problem. Shuttleworth has also promised that all GNOME application will run without any modifications.

"We have no plans for proprietary extensions to Unity whatsoever," Shuttleworth said.

To give it a more neat look Computer, Home, Network, and Trash icons are hidden on Ubuntu desktop by default. Most Linux user prefer not to have these icons on the desktop as they are easily accessible from the Places menu from the top panel. But, a user coming from Windows background might like to have these on the desktop. There is an easy way to make them visible on the desktop, just follow the following simple steps:

First you have to open Ubuntu's Configuration Editor. To open configuration editor press Alt + F2 (hold alt button and press F2). This will open a Run Application windows, now type the following command in the input box:

gconf-editor

Now press the run button, it will open Configuration Editor's window.

From the tree menu on the left, click the plus button besides apps, and search for nautilus. Open nautilus and click on desktop.

On the right hand side you will see the options, computer_icon_visible, home_icon_visible, network_icon_visible, and trash_icon_visible, check all (or some) of them. Close the windows and you will see the icons on the desktop.

Bisigi Themes are a result of Bisigi Project, and are arguably some of the more attractive set of themes available for GNOME (one can disagree, because it is all about choices in the end). The aim of this project originally was to improve the visual appearance of Ubuntu. But since they are made for GNOME desktop they can work very well on any distribution that uses GNOME.

Major Objectives of Bisigi Project

• Making GNOME / ubuntu visually more attractive
• Making Gnome customization more accessible
• Doing promotion of Free Software and Participate to this ecosystem

Bisigi Themes Guidelines

• Submitting Several Atmospheres:
• All Bisigi themes should submit several atmospheres. Colors palettes must allows user to change his desktop atmosphere very quickly.
• Simplicity and Coherence:
• Created themes must be simple, coherent and homogeneous. Mainly based on optimized themes engines (for gtk) like murrine or clearlooks. It has to allow to design powerful themes.
• Ease of Installation and Update:
• Making themes available on a Launchpad repository to facilitate themes installation and update.
• Out of the Box:
• When a theme is installed, it must be directly usable on the default gnome desktop (without user intervention).
• Keeping Gnome Philosophy:
• Themes must follow Gnome philosophy. Guidelines of this page: http://www.gnome.org/about/ must be the basis of each theme creation.

Available Themes

Installing Bisigi Themes on Ubuntu

1. Add the repository

• sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bisigi && sudo aptitude update

2. Install Themes

• sudo aptitude install bisigi-themes

Installing Bisigi Themes on ArchLinux

• Bisigi themes are available on ArchLinux, in AUR repository. You can install those themes by using yaourt for example

• yaourt -S nomdutheme

• To list available themes, you can use this command:

• yaourt gnome-theme

Installing Bisigi Themes on Frugalware

• To install a bisigi theme on frugalware, you just have to do:

• pacman -S nomdutheme

• You can find the package list here: http://frugalware.org/packages/?op=pkg&arch=i686&ver=current&srch=gnome-theme

Installing Bisigi Themes on Mandriva

Open a terminal window, type su, press Enter, type root password, press Enter. Then we strongly suggest to install all 14 Bisigi themes, with the following script:

• Mandriva 2010.1 – 32 bit

• urpmi.addmedia --update MIB-basic http://mib.pianetalinux.org/MIB/2010.1/32/basic/
  urpmi -a task-bisigi-gnome-themes
  urpmi.removemedia MIB-basic

• Mandriva 2010.1 – 64 bit

• urpmi.addmedia --update MIB-basic http://mib.pianetalinux.org/MIB/2010.1/64/basic/
  urpmi -a task-bisigi-gnome-themes
  urpmi.removemedia MIB-basic

For more information please visit the original website. Please support, promote, and credit the original artist.

Too busy to open the email client, or you are just too lazy to make some clicks. Both ways you will find this tip useful to send emails without making a lot of effort. This method works for both KDE and GNOME, just press "alt + F2" and in the dialog box that appears just type in the following command:

mailto:address@host.com 

Once you have added your desired address press enter and you will be directed to your email client either KMail (on KDE Desktop) or Evolution (in case of GNOME). Now simply speak your mind out and you are ready to press the big send button.