CPU and Memory monitor on Ubuntu Panel and Unity on Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal

Unity users can easily monitor CPU and Memory usage by using indicator-sysmonitor application.

Conky mypapit ubuntu

To install it, you just need to add alexeftimie PPA repository using these simple command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexeftimie/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-sysmonitor

Note that this doesn't work on previous Ubuntu 10.xx releases.

Alternatively, you can install Conky by running the command:
sudo apt-get install conky

Conky mypapit ubuntu

Installing GNOME 3 on Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal

Note that this is an unofficial way to install GNOME 3 on Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal), things might be broken, so proceed with caution.

Step 1: Add GNOME 3 PPA repository
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3

Then update the apt-get repository database by running:
sudo apt-get update

Step 2: Install the Gnome 3 Desktop environment using this command
sudo apt-get install gnome-desktop3

Note that this might screw up your installation, you’ve been warned.

Buzz!! – Yahoo like IM shake with Pidgin Nudge plugin

I think most of you may have already migrated to Empathy, the default Instant Messenger client for the GNOME desktop environment. But I still use Pidgin IM because I like its functionality and its expandable plugin architecture.

I am a Yahoo Messenger user, and one thing that I miss about when using Pidgin (either on Linux or Windows) is the “shake-effect” whenever I receive “Buzz” or “ding” from my contacts. Back in 2003 (when Pidgin still was called Gaim) I tried replicating that effect, but to no avail. However, just a couple of weeks ago I discovered “pidgin-nudge“, a plugin that shakes conversation window when it receives “Buzz”,”nudge” or “ding” from contacts. Here’s how it looked :

Installing pidgin-nude on Ubuntu linux is easy! First make sure you have Pidgin 2.6.x and above installed. Then you have to install “pidgin-dev” package alongside with “build-essential” to compile the plugin source code, as shown in the example below.


sudo apt-get install subversion pidgin-dev build-essential
svn checkout http://pidgin-nudge.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/ pidgin-nudge-read-only
cd pidgin-nudge-read-only
make
sudo make install

Happy Buzzing!

BluePad: Controls Presentation from Your Phone

Recently I had todo a lot of presentations which made me thinking into getting presentation pen, but since my E71 includes a pre-installed Wireless Presenter (WiPresenter), I’ve buried that thought, who needs an expensive presentation pen when a phone can perform equally when?

Bluepad remote control

But as WiPresenter is only compatible with Microsoft Windows operating system, I’m forced to use keyboard or mouse-clicks to control my presentations when I’m using Ubuntu Linux operating system. This is a drawback as I could perform the task easily thru my phone when I’m on Windows XP.

EnterBluepad, an application which enables your mobile phone to act as a Bluetooth controller. Bluepad consists of two applications, a server and a client. The server application sits on your operating system, monitoring for incoming Bluetooth connection. The client application requires a JavaME compatible mobile phone with JSR-82 (Bluetooth) feature.

The installation is straightforward for both client and server side application, the only thing to remember is to activate bluetooth on mobile phone before starting the client application. After that, you can start OpenOffice Impress and use the the phone to remotely control the presentation.