Cairo-Dock is an  application launch bar for your ubuntu, comparable to the dock in Mac OS X or Rocket Dock (for Windows).it is compatible with Beryl, Compiz, Metacity+xcompmgr and kwin.Even though there are applications like Simdock  and AWN in ubuntu for dock stimulation ,I think this one faster and eye candy.Cairo-Dock can work with  GNOME, KDE and XFCE desktop environments.

Installation

From Repository( for ubuntu 8.04 to 9.10 only )

1.Open the sources.list file to add your Cairo-dock repository

gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

2.Add the appropriate repository to the end of the file according to your version of Ubuntu

deb http://repository.cairo-dock.org/ubuntu karmic cairo-dock // For Ubuntu 9.10

deb http://repository.cairo-dock.org/ubuntu jaunty cairo-dock // For Ubuntu 9.04

deb http://repository.cairo-dock.org/ubuntu intrepid cairo-dock // For Ubuntu 8.10

deb http://repository.cairo-dock.org/ubuntu hardy cairo-dock // For ubuntu 8.04

3.Type in

wget -q http://repository.cairo-dock.org/cairo-dock.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -

4.Finally to install cairo-dock give this command in Terminal

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

You are done.Enjoy the dock customising it further.

keywords linux dock cairo dock gnome ubuntu 9.10 compiz beryl kwin

I know you need to shift to Linux from Windows as you can’t afford the side effects of windows. If you are having this feeling then this article is really for you. Like you i too, was a user of Windows and decided to shift to Linux when i was fed up with it. This was mainly because of the virus attacks and lack of stability of Windows . You know once i installed windows XP four times a day. One of my friends advised me to take a look at Linux . I have taken his advice , but soon came back to windows , when i found it was not right for me. But more and more nasty windows events took place and i made my mind to shift to Linux and the first Linux distribution in my life was Knoppix. Later i came to use Ubuntu and the journey in my Linux world continues.
Let me say, these days almost all programs which are for Windows are available for linux, atleast something like that do exist. Here are a list of few programs you should not miss when shifting to linux.
1. vlc player for linux , Mplayer also recommended.
2.Mozilla Firefox (available by default for most distributions).
3.OpenOffice
4.If you are an IRC freak then consider, Xchat
5.Interested in Virtualization , Virtual Box from Sun is a good option.
6.Amarok Music Player
7.For bittorrent clients consider Deluge , Azure, or Ktorrent .
8.K3B for cd burning.
9.GIMP image editor
10.Gwenview , default image viewer for KDE.
11.Text Editor Nano or Emacs or Vi(advanced).

Personally it is best to start with Ubuntu and if needed you can change to other advanced distros. Now Ubuntu 9.10 is available.If you are too skeptic about your Windows XP, then there is smooth shuffle program for linux which transforms your old XP to a virtual machine. Download any Linux distribution and feel the spirit of free software.

keywords windows becomes linux linux windows

Gnome 3 the new member of linux desktop have finally hit the tech world with its new technologies posing as a strong rival for the windows 7.With GNOME 3, developers will be introducing a number of new concepts and technologies to the Linux desktop, including more advanced 3D as well as more tightly integrated messaging system.

screen shots for gnome 3

n GNOME 3, most of the user interface level stuff is JavaScript that is built on top of clutter toolkit. clutter is an opensource framework for the development of apps  which provides enhanced support for 3D environment.Most of the users complain that  search and the ability to find applications easily are not effective in GNOME 2.x. This problem will be effectively solved in the new gnome 3.Also unlike transition from KDE3 to KDE4 the transition of gnome 2 to gnome3 will be much more smoother.So we suggest all our readers to try out this and post your valuble comments here.

With the release of fedora 12 ,we decided to give it a try with a 64 bit live cd on a Toshiba machine.There is no good difference in appearance with the older editions of fedora ,just some changes in Nautilus icons.What to say,they offer a clear and clean appearance.

Firefox is preloaded with some addons like java and media works.But flash is not present.If needed you can install them.

The overall performance of the system has increased with the new launch.Moreover on the instant messaging companion Pidgin has been replaced with Empathy.The wireless device support is simply amazing and it detects all hardware easily.Bluetooth options have been increased and it even supports file sharing with via bluetooth.

Fedora has introduced a  third party product for Fedora called Easy Life which helps you to configure anything you need .

It does the following:

• Sets “sudo” command up for your regular user.
• Configures RPMFusion repository for extra and non-free software for use.
• Installs Flash Player plugin for .swf,.flv file formats.
• Installs all kinds of multimedia Codecs for playing video and audio.
• Installs additional fonts.
• Installs Skype.
• Integrates Sun Java with system-switch-java for easy use.
• Installs Google applications like Picasa, Desktop etc.
• And many others…

Fedora  has done a great job considering security and performance in this release .As usual it is easy to use .

fedora 12 screenshots..

More linux related news.. ,KDE VS GNOME .. linux wallpapers gallery

Windows 7 even in its beta state has created a great hype and won appreciation for being stable and at the same  time flashy.I too installed windows 7 recently as many of my friends kept recommending it to me.To my surprise i found a lot of things common between windows 7  and the latest kde version 4.3.2 .Upon the startup itself i was stunned by the similarity windows 7 was exact ditto of kde4.Large buttons, password login, glassy superbar , dynamic animation buttons with glow, Scenic control themes, start bar were all the same.

KDE IN KUBUNTU

Windows 7

Another striking feature was the taskbar.The large transparent taskbar and animation reminds any common linux users about KDE.Other features like Aeroshake and Aero peek were copied from KDE.”Aero Shake” lets you minimize all running windows except the one which you are currently using on using a simple mouse shake .Aero peek has replaced the old “Show Desktop” feature in Windows 7. It can be found as a small rectangle present at last in Windows 7 taskbar. When you hover the mouse cursor over it, it allows you to peek behind all open windows by hiding all windows and showing only outlines of all windows.

Overall windows 7 is nothing but a modified(quite polished) Kubuntu Kwin theme. Also there is no point in arguing that KDE copied from Win7.Windows 7 was not planned before KDE.KDE started development on 11/05/2007. Windows barely had a working GUI when KDE was started.So why still going for win7   ,switch over to KDE linux the– real one and that too for absolutely free of cost. Also see gnome vs kde and Gnome 3.

Which is better  KDE or GNOME????….I have heard this question many a times from my friends who are new  to linux systems.So today i decided to write my new post aiming to choose the best one for them.

WHAT IS KDE AND GNOME???

KDE and GNOME are two kinds of linux desktop environments.Both of them contain many integrated softwares and graphical features associated with themGnome uses a window manager called metacity, KDE uses kwin. Both these desktops can be used with any other window manager if you are not comfortable with the default choice.

KDE in very similar to windows in its appearance and interface.It is very customisable and ‘flashy’ compared to Gnome.It is provided with many graphical tools to assist you.Most Linux programs written for the X-display are designed for KDE.However it is a bit slower in loading compared to GNOME.The latest version of KDE is KDE 4.3 which includes many window animation techniques and addons .It has a different theme called Air which replaced the earlier one -Oxygen.

GNOME on  the other hand is linux’s ‘own’ desktop environment.It is more popular through  linux ditros like ubuntu and is more common to normal linux users.It is much more simple than KDE and gives more importance on performance rather than on look.Also Nautilus is quoted as being more stable than Konqueror, file manager of KDE.

WHICH IS BETTER FOR ME

If you are a complete newbie to linux and  prefers appearence better than performance then KDE is for you.It has features very similar to windows environment.On the other hand if you’re running an old machine and just require stability and a simple desktop then you’re best looking into Gnome. Also see How to install kde in ubuntu 9.10

Fedora 11,the latest release of fedora series was released this year on june 9.As true to Fedora’s mission statement is: “Fedora is about the rapid progress of Free and Open Source software” fedora 11  showcases the latest advancement in the open source field.The developers has tried their best to improve upon every single detail of the code.Here’s a look at some of the major features of this version of the distribution.

Fedora 10 ,the previous version was notorious for its long boot times, and 11 attempts to solve this problem. One salient  feature for this distribution is a startup  in thirty seconds or less to login to the welcome screen. This does not mean that the menus and graphics aren’t as pretty as previous version.And believe me it took me only a 10 minutes  to finish the whole procedure of installation.And  the reboot is  unimaginably fast.

You’ll get a number of installation options when putting Fedora on your machine, including use of existing partitions, the ability to format all data and use the whole disk, or to install the system in one already on your hard disk. EXT4 formatting is the default, and the process, even when formatting the whole disk, is extremely quick. This is one of the speediest, most responsive operating systems available i have seen.

it has two desktop environments GNOME 2.6  and KDE 4.2  and both are stunning in appearance.The GNOME users may not experience much of new features but for the Volume control. They haven’t left out XFCE, fedora comes with the latest release, 4.6.It also shows great support for codecs and fonts.

They also paid neccessary heed to virtualization too. Virtual guests have improved graphical consoles with accurate mouse pointer and higher screen resolution