So you’ve read about Ubuntu’s innovative new web apps feature that integrates websites with the Ubuntu desktop, and seen it in action, but what you really want to know is how you can try it, right?
Well here’s how.
How to Install Unity Web Apps in Ubuntu 12.04 & 12.10
Add the following PPA to your Software Sources.
- sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webapps/preview
- sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install unity-webapps-
preview
Log out and back in to Unity and the Web Apps feature will be automatically enabled.
Using Web Apps in Ubuntu
Now we have Web Apps installed let’s start to use it.
Open up either Firefox or Chromium (and it has to be Chromium at present) and begin to browse.
When you land upon a site supported by Unity Web Apps (of which there are currently 33 supported out of the box, including Pandora, Last.FM, GMail, Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo! Mail) a notification bar will appear asking you for permission to integrate.
Click yes to this to start benefiting from the new integration.
Notes
Ubuntu 12.04 users will only be able to get it through the PPA above as there are no plans (at present) to fully backport it to the LTS.
If you’re already testing Ubuntu 12.10 you can grab it by adding the same PPA or, if you’re of a patient temperament, wait for the feature to land in Ubuntu 12.10. We’re hearing that this is likely to happen in the coming week or so.
Finally, as this is preview software you should fully expect to encounter bugs.