nixCraft » Gnome

Linux / Windows Application For Prevention Of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury)

Vivek Gite — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:21:00 +0000

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is occupational overuse syndrome, non-specific arm pain or work related upper limb disorder. RSI caused from overusing the hands to perform a repetitive task, such as typing, writing, or clicking a mouse. Unfortunately, most people do not understand what RSI is or how serious it can be. You can easily prevent RSI using open source software called Workrave.

Download Fedora 11 CD / DVD ISO

Vivek Gite — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:06:24 +0000

Fedora Linux version 11 has been released and available for download ( jump to download link ). Fedora Linux is a community-based Linux distribution. Fedora is sponsored by Red Hat, Inc.

One of Fedora's main objectives is not only to contain free and open source software, but also to be on the leading edge of such technologies. Fedora 11, codenamed "Leonidas", was released on June 9, 2009. The features include ext4, a 20-second startup, and the latest GNOME, KDE and XFCE releases. Firefox 3.5 and Thunderbird 3's latest pre-releases are available as well.

How To: Print Labels in Ubuntu Linux

Vivek Gite — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 06:24:22 +0000

I haven't had to use MS-Office / word in years and I have never had a problem with awesome OpenOffice.org software. I have been using it in Linux for a long time, and recently at work we started using it in windows-xp systems too. I have also got a couple other people in my school, work and small business to use it as well. This tutorial explains the approach you take when you want to print labels under Ubuntu Linux using gLabels. It is a label, business and media cover designer for the GNOME. The intuitive editor allows to create text fields, insert images, simple objects, and create barcodes. It is designed to work with common laser/inkjet printers peel-off label and business card sheets. From the article:

Ubuntu has no shortages of software for printing labels. Many users content themselves with the label and mail merge features in OpenOffice.org Writer or in Abiword or KOffice. All these solutions will do a basic job, especially with text. But what if you want elaborate formatting or graphics with your labels? What if you want a smaller, dedicated program that is quicker to load than a complete word processor? In these cases, you should consider turning to gLabels instead.

=> Printing Labels in Ubuntu

Linus Torvalds Switched Back To Gnome

Vivek Gite — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 20:54:55 +0000

Linus Torvalds, Linux's creator, dislikes the GNOME desktop. There was a big flame war(s) between Linus Torvalds and the GNOME community. At one point he claimed that - "Gnome seems to be developed by interface Nazis and that its developers believe their users are idiots". And guess what? Who made the switch to Gnome?

Tutorial: OpenOffice.Org Mail Merge

Vivek Gite — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:14:35 +0000

Mail merge is a software function describing the production of multiple documents from a single template form and a structured data source. This helps to create personalized letters and pre-addressed envelopes or mailing labels for mass mailings from a word processing document which contains fixed text, which will be the same in each output document, and variables, which act as placeholders that are replaced by text from the data source. The data source is typically a spreadsheet or a database which has a field or column matching each variable in the template. When the mail merge is run, the word processing system creates an output document for each row in the database, using the fixed text exactly as it appears in the template, but substituting the data variables in the template with the values from the matching columns.

This technique of merging data to create mailshots gave rise to the term mail merge. OpenOffice.Org has a in built software mail merge feature.

If you haven't tried OpenOffice.org's mail merge feature because you find it confusing or difficult to use, you are in luck. Mail Merges in OpenOffice.org and StarOffice provides a detailed description of the mail merge feature from start to finish. Among other things, it shows how you can use the mail merge to create letters, labels, and envelopes.

=> You can download this excellent PDF ebook for your persusal or read the article online - Mail Merge in Openoffice.org: Everything You Need to Know.

New Notification System for GNOME and KDE

Vivek Gite — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:51:55 +0000

Canonical the makers of Ubuntu about to introduce a new desktop notification system proposal. New changes should improve the usability of the Linux desktop including desktop notification system for both GNOME and KDE. From the Mark Shuttleworth blog:

The key proposals we are making are that:
* There should be no actions on notifications.
* Notifications should not be displayed synchronously, but may be queued. Our implementation of the notification display daemon will display only one notification at a time, others may do it differently.
That's pretty much it. There are some subtleties and variations, but these are the key changes we are proposing, and which we will explore in a netbook device with a partner, as well as in the general Ubuntu 9.04 release, schedule gods being willing.

I think new changes looks more like Growl system used in Mac OS X. You can read more about proposal including mockup video that shows new notification system here.

Ubuntu Linux Time Saving Tips

Vivek Gite — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:57:46 +0000

Excellent collection of short tips except for recommending root login! From the article:

The end of October saw the much anticipated release of Ubuntu 8.10 - affectionately called the Intrepid Ibex.
It's a release that sees Ubuntu going from strength to strength.
And with its popularity reaching stratospheric proportions, we thought that now was the perfect time to pool together our favourite tips into one place.
If you've never tried Ubuntu, there's never been a better time to dive in. If you're already a convert, read on to discover how to get the best from your installation.

Kill a Frozen or Crashed UNIX / Linux X Desktop

Vivek Gite — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 10:33:03 +0000

Here is a quick tip to kill a crashed Linux / UNIX X desktop system. Many new user do not know this simple tip and end up hitting computer reboot button. Press CTRL + ALT + Backspace to kill GUI and get back to login screen. There are more ways to kill a crashed desktop without restarting your computer.

Install Flash 10 Under Ubuntu Linux 64 bit Edition

Vivek Gite — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:59:38 +0000

I've already written about installing Flash player 10 under 32 bit version. But, couple of our readers asked about installing Flash player 10 final version under Ubuntu Linux 64 bit edition. This small post will cover flash 10 Ubuntu Linux 64 bit installation.

Download Of The Day: GIMP 2.6 For Linux / Windows / Mac OS X

Vivek Gite — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:30:27 +0000

GIMP version 2.6 has been released and available for download. It is a free raster graphics editor used to manipulate digital graphics and photographs under Linux and other operating systems. It is often used as a free software replacement for Adobe Photoshop, the most widely used bitmap editor.

Gnome Desktop Tip: Quickly Open Any File / URL / Write Email

Vivek Gite — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:20:38 +0000

There are three ways to open any file under Gnome Linux / UNIX Desktop. gnome-open is the quickest and easiest way to open any file or url.

How To Open VMware Server Remote Console with Firefox 3.0.1

Vivek Gite — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:23:45 +0000

Explains how to activate / open VMware Server Remote Console plugin with Firefox 3.0.1 under Linux.

Linux / UNIX: Geany Lightweight Integrated Development Environment

Vivek Gite — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:34:31 +0000

Geany is cross platform (UNIX/Windows/BSD) fast, powerful, easy to use integrated development environment for PHP, Java, C and much more. If you wanted to quickly edit source code, Geany is for you. Here's an introduction to using Geany's built-in features, including the IDE and built-in development capabilities.

Gnome Desktop Add Folder Shortcut To Left Panel File Browser ( Places )

Vivek Gite — Sat, 03 May 2008 10:07:16 +0000

This task is really simple, just drag folder and drop to left panel. I was trying to use bookmark (CTRL + D) feature but it never worked for me :(

Flickrfs: Access / Backup Flickr Photos From Linux

Vivek Gite — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 02:50:25 +0000

Flickrfs is a virtual filesystem which mounts your Flickr account on a Linux machine, allowing you to browse through your photos as if they were on a locally connected drive.

Identify and Verify Gnome Users Based on How They Type

Vivek Gite — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:05:31 +0000

This tutorial explains GDM (GNOME Display Manager) modification to support user verification through keystroke-dynamics processing. Modified GDM allows only you to login. If you go ahead and tell your password to a friend. They still won't be able to log in using GDM without knowing the precise method of typing required when entering your user [...]

Linux Create Incremental Backups Using FlyBack GUI Time Machine Backup Software

Vivek Gite — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:12:20 +0000

This is an excellent backup utility for new Linux user. Apple's Time Machine is a great feature in their OS, and Linux has almost all of the required technology already built in to recreate it. This is a simple GUI to make it easy to use. Time Machine, like many backup utilities, creates incremental backups [...]

Linux Kernel Source Code Screensaver

Vivek Gite — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:50:10 +0000

If you are looking for a screensaver that would show you something really cool about your system, try Linux kernel source code Screensaver. You need xscreensaver-data-extra and kernel source code packages. See Jason Kress blog for more information on installing and configuring Linux kernel source code screensaver.

Linux: Synchronize Personal Data / Email / Pictures with Online Service or Other Computer

Vivek Gite — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:34:43 +0000

Conduit is a synchronization software solution for Linux GNOME desktop. With this software you can take your email, files, bookmarks, and any other type of personal information

How to: Customize Ubuntu Linux

Vivek Gite — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 13:25:22 +0000

This guide will let you pimp you Ubuntu Linux to look like Windows Vista or Mac OS X. Linux is awesome. From the article: Changes are part of Nature so as with Technology, though this cannot be True for Windows and Mac cause the life cycle of a single Version is too much which is [...]