Section: How To

Discover an eclectic mix of tutorials covering everything from ways to install neat apps, or enable new features, to workarounds for known issues, and configuring your Ubuntu system.

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Installing Picasa 3.8 in Ubuntu via WINE: What works, what doesn’t.

Google Picasa 3.8 was released yesterday to much online fanfare. A bunch of neat new features landed including: – Edit photos in Picnik directly from Picasa 3.8 Batch upload Photo properties and the show stealing […]

18 August 2010
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Remove thumbs.db files from folders automatically

Windows thumbnail cache files (thumbs.db) are useful for speeding up file browsing on Windows-based operating systems but are largely useless in Ubuntu. Granted, they aren’t a massive space-hogger nor are they any sort of threat, […]

16 August 2010
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iX – Ubuntu-based OS for iPhone / iPod Touch

Running a custom version of Ubuntu on your iPhone or iPod Touch may sound crazy but it’s yet another example of the versatile and adaptable nature of Linux as a whole. Now, If your first […]

16 August 2010
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make breadcrumbs in Nautilus toast by switching the default back to ‘text entry’.

Love to kick your file-browsing old-school? Think that the default navigation bar in Nautilus in crumby? Want to switch back to the traditional olde ‘location entry’ mode, rendering those breadcrumbs toast? Okay, enough of the […]

15 August 2010
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Edit, work on & save your Google Docs via Nautilus, no browser needed!

Ever wanted to mount your Google Docs library as a drive in Nautilus so you can edit and save to your Google Docs directly from your desktop, no browser-needed? Everyone’s favorite tea-drinker Martin Owens has […]

12 August 2010
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Sonar theme pack for Ubuntu – give your desktop a green makeover (link fixed)

OpenSUSE’s default GNOME theme ‘Sonar’ is often regarded as one of the best Gnome themes around. That is, of course, open to debate but the green hues and light gradients used by the Chameleons’ theme […]

12 August 2010
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Enable HQ WebGL graphics in Firefox 4 Beta

Of the many new features Mozilla are stuffing the next edition of their premier browser with is support for the 'work in progress' HTML 3D graphics API WebGL. This will provide high-quality 3D graphics in-browser without the need for plugins. OMG!'s good friend Bilal "bug crusher" Akhtar sent over some instructions for getting it up and running in Ubuntu Lucid which i've printed below.

11 August 2010
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Ubuntu 10.10 Countdown Script lets you know how many days until meerkat lands – directly on your desktop

Stat junkies & Ubuntu addicts who need to know exactly how many days remain until everyones favourite Meerkat scuttles into release-land may wish to consider the following small notification script, created by ironic-gnome. The countdown […]

6 August 2010
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Safely remove USB drives using a nifty application indicator (updated with new icon)

I love application indicators and I also love yanking out my USB drives without properly ejecting them. These two passions have meet each other in a nifty new application indicator by developer Eugeny Pankov. The tiny app has been […]

4 August 2010
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Create the Mac OS X ‘Genie Effect’ in Compiz

Compiz and Docky users wanting to add the slick OS X style ‘genie’ minimizing effect to their arsenal of bling should sit up straight and pay attention. Whilst the default ‘magic lamp’ effect in Compiz […]

3 August 2010
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Share your music with your mates using Firefly

Earlier this year I was looking for a way to set up music sharing for my flatmates. I knew that Rhythmbox supported DAAP sharing, so I set that up using the DAAP plugin and that […]

2 August 2010
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Restore default Gnome settings in Ubuntu (quick tip)

Installed, hacked and tweaked Ubuntu a bit too much? Wish there was a glowing red ‘reset’ button you could press? Well there sort of it… Reset GNOME defaults in Ubuntu Restoring the default GNOME settings […]

1 August 2010