How to make pidgin display Instant Messenger protocol ID

I heard some people complained that pidgin does not show the messenger protocol for the buddies associated with your account. Actually this feature was indeed incorporated in Pidgin, only it is not enabled by default.

To enable the it, you only need to go to Buddies->Show, and select Protocol Icons option. Pidgin should display messenger protocol icon on your buddies list.

Here’s a screenshot which explains the step

pidgin1.jpg

pidgin2.jpg

From the screenshot you can easily spot which buddies are from jabber protocol and Yahoo Messenger protocol. I hope this particular tip would be useful to you!

How to Randomize login screen in Ubuntu (GDM)

There’s nothing wrong with the default brownish “Human” Ubuntu login screen, but sometimes your brain might get bored with the same login screen overtime. So in this post I’ll be showing you how to randomize the GDM login screen through these simple steps :

From Desktop, go to System->Administration->Login Window

gdm.jpg

Choose “Random from Selected” from the selector in the Login Window dialog. And check all the GDM themes that you wish to be cycled each start up.

gdm-prefs.jpg

That’s it! close the dialog and logout from your GNOME session, it should display random login screens each time when you switch on your computer.

Need more themes?
You can always find and install more cool themes from Gnome Looks !

Hugin: Software To Create Panoramic Photograph in Ubuntu Linux

I’ve always wanted to try and take panoramic photographs using my dad’s Nikon Coolpix 5200. That day finally arrived when I finally have the free time to do so last week when I’ve to accompany my dad traveling to the countryside of my hometown.

separate.jpg

Using a tripod, I took 4 sets of photographs with the help of Nikon built-in panorama helper function. I was excited and about to use a Windows computer to stitch those photograph using software supplied with the camera when suddenly I thought of searching for a similar application on my trusty Ubuntu box.

To my delight I found Hugin! An open source panorama maker software which I use without hesitation to create a my first ever panoramic photos.

Hugin Panorama Maker

The interface was simple enough to use even for a first time use like me. What you need to do is to load all images into Hugin using the “Load Images” button, and it will start to process your images immediately.

After finished processing the photos, Hugin lets you fine tune the result using a dialog similar like below.

panorama2.png

After retouching and minor adjustment, I’ve ended with this panoramic photo!

p/s: Well the photo is not perfect in detail, but hey its my first try!

Quick Way to send files to mobile device via Bluetooth in Ubuntu Linux

Previously I’ve written a post about how to send/receive file over the bluetooth using CLI. Now i’m going to show you a quick way to send files over bluetooth using the standard “Send To” on GNOME. Like this

bluetooth

To enable this, you need :

  • gnome-bluetooth (available from the repository)
  • a Bluetooth dongle / device attached to your computer

After all requirements have been met, all you need to do is select the files which you wish to be send over bluetooth, and click “Send To”.

You should see a dialog similar like above, prompting you to select the desired bluetooth device.

It’s easy with Linux!

Ubuntu Mobile Edition running on Sony Ericsson P990i?

While Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded Edition isn’t quite ready yet, seems to me somebody tries to get creative by posting this video on Youtube.

[coolplayer width=”425″ height=”350″ autoplay=”0″ loop=”0″ charset=”utf-8″ download=”1″ mediatype=””]
Ubuntu on Sony Ericsson P990i
[/coolplayer]

Meanwhile, here’s the correct video that shows the current progress of Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded Edition UI.
Continue reading “Ubuntu Mobile Edition running on Sony Ericsson P990i?”

How to use SVN for beginners

surface from Linux by Examples has written two ‘getting started for SVN’ articles that I find it interesting and useful for beginners.

The article covers important SVN operation (checkout,diff,update,import, check in) necessary for managing a software project.

Here’s the link to the article :

What is SVN (Subversion)
SVN or subversion is an open source tool used for revision control system similar to CVS. It is widely use by popular open source project such as Apache, KDE, Gnome, Python and Samba as their version control program.

Open Source repository site like SourceForge and Google Code Project Hosting provides SVN hosting for free and open source project.

Further Reading
You can find more information about SVN (or Subversion) and maintaining open source software by reading these books:

Visit SVN (Subversion) Official website for more information about the system.

Recommended Reading