This app has been updated. See here for new download and installation instructions.
Google+ might be the cool new kid in town but big ol’ Facebook remains the grandaddy of social networking for many.
Keeping up with Facebook on Ubuntu has never been an issue; there are a tonne of applications available that let you do everything from read your stream to upload photos and update your status.
If that much Facebook on your desktop sounds like too much you might benefit from ‘Faccialibro [link now dead]‘ – a simple Unity Launcher applet that lets you know of unread messages, notifications and friend requests – and nothing more.
Download and install the Facebook Applet for Unity
Want to add it? First install ‘python-facebook‘ (click link to install)’.
The applet can be downloaded from the site of the of the developer, mirko, at mirkoweb dot org/Faccialibro.tar.gz
Let the download fully complete, then extract the archive into your Home folder.
Next, open into your Home folder and press CTRL+H to reveal hidden file and folders.
Locate and open the folder ‘.faccialibro‘ (note the period proceeding the name)
Inside this folder right-click on the file named ‘Faccialibro.desktop’, selecting the ‘Properties’ item from the menu.
Replace the name ‘mirko‘ present in the ‘Command’ field to that of your username. Your username can be seen next to the Home folder icon at the top of the Nautilus sidebar. To apply the icon drag the ‘facebook.png’ icon into the icon field square. to the left of the entry fields.
Lastly select the ‘Permissions’ tab, where you should check the box next to ‘Allow executing file as program’.
All that remains now is to drag the ‘Faccialibro‘ file onto the Unity Launcher so we can use it: –
Authorise the application with Facebook
In order for Faccialibro to receive notification of alerts it first has to be ‘authorised’ with Facebook. This isn’t a hassle; click on the Faccialibro icon now in your launcher to launch Facebook in your browser where a prompt will appear asking you to ‘Allow’ permission to the app.
Once authorised you can close the window and let the applet do the work.
Tip | mirko