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Design Color Schemes From A Single Color In Ubuntu With Agave

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Agave is a Linux application for easily designing and saving color schemes. It provides users with the option to select web safe colors, Gnome icon palette, Visibone or Tango theme Palette. Once selected, you can generate color schemes from a single color selected from the given graph and save color schemes using the Add (+) option. In other words, Agave acts like a color picking utility, which is often found in applications like CorelDraw, that enables generating color schemes based on the selection of a single color block. Once you select a color, adjacent blocks are automatically filled with matching colors, which makes it possible to select a decent color combination, without endlessly pondering over a combination or going through a laborious trial and error process (for matching colors). Read More

StreamDesk: Open Source Application To View & Manage Multiple Streams

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Videos streams are a great way for companies, as well as individuals, to get their message to people around the world. It can be anything from a news feed to the video of a live performance of a band playing in a concert hall. I, being a huge fan of the multiplayer game DOTA (Defense of the Ancients), follow a lot of video streams of international players showcasing their game play. If you follow, or want to follow, a lot of video streams, it can be a bit of a hassle to manage all of them from your browser. Instead of cluttering up your browser bookmarks, take a look at this stream manager. StreamDesk is an open source client that allows you to view and manage multiple video streams. Usually, to view multiple streams, you need to open each one in a separate tab in your browser, but StreamDesk allows you to watch multiple streams in a single interface without even opening your browser. Keep reading to find out more about StreamDesk. Read More

Mendeley: View/Sync PDF Files, Research & Collaborate With Friends

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Mendeley is an open source and cross-platform PDF organizer, which provides options for easy document management. It allows easy reference management to help you organize your work, collaborate with friends, and to obtain latest research (via its social network). It automatically generates bibliographies, makes it possible to collaborate with others, import data, sync and access your papers from anywhere (via the internet), and more. It requires users to store all basic data on Mendeley servers, which enables accessing copies of the data any time. Read More

Conqu Is A Cross-Platform Application To Schedule, Manage & Sync Tasks

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With each passing day, the pace of life has been increasing all over the world. Compared to our ancestors, we are required to perform a lot more tasks in lesser time. With all the different things one has to complete in a day, it is almost must to have a good task manager to help you remember and manage them easily and efficiently. Back in October 2011, we reviewed a cross-platform task management application for Android called Conqu. The same task manager is now available for Windows with all its functionality. Read More

Gnome Photo Frame: Desktop Gadget For Rotating Images In Ubuntu

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We have previously brought you some wallpaper rotating applications for Ubuntu, including Desktop Drapes and Desktop Nova. This time, we have an Ubuntu gadget that rotates images within a photo frame on your desktop and in full screen mode (like a screen saver). Gnome Photo Frame is a desktop picture frame that enables rotating images from sources, such as a local folder, F-Spot database, Shotwell database, Facebook, Flickr, Picasa Web Albums, Tumblr, Haikyo Clock and an RSS Feed. Read More

Best 60 Linux Applications For Year 2011 [Editor's Pick]

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At the beginning of each year, we at AddictiveTips compile a list of the best applications from numerous platforms, to deliver a summary of the most useful applications (of the previous year) for our readers. We have already brought you a compilation of the best Windows applications, Mac OS X applications, Windows Phone 7 applications, Android and iOS apps of 2011. Additionally, we also brought you a list of the best Cydia tweaks, as well as the best browser extensions and web apps of 2011. Last, but not least, it is now time to take a look back at the best Linux applications of last year. While there has been extensive development at the end of the aforementioned platforms, Linux has not lacked behind either. There have been numerous OS version coming out for numerous Linux flavors, and Ubuntu itself saw Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal and Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot in the same year. With the release of these new operating systems, came new applications and updates for old ones. Let’s take a look at some of the very best Linux applications that we covered in 2011. Read More

newrez: Increase Screen Resolution For Linux Netbooks

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Sometimes, the maximum netbook resolution can be inconvenient for the end user. This is particularly the case for people who suffer from a weak eye sight. Newrez is a Nautilus-based script that enables enhancing the screen resolution of Linux computers by specifying a resolution higher than the available resolutions. For example, if your maximum resolution is 1024x600, then you can scale it up to 1280x800 or higher (depending on your eyesight). The good thing about Newrez is that it does not overclock the actual hardware of your laptop, and instead, it builds an image with a higher resolution, which is located in a buffer. This image is then scaled to fit your screen for better visibility. This means that you are not constrained to standard resolutions anymore. Read More

SharpShot Is One-Stop Tool For All Your Basic Image Editing Needs

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These days, image editing is done both professionally and for fun, and to cater to the needs of this diverse market, both free and paid application are available for people to choose from. The differentiating factors between these applications lie in the level of customization, methods of interaction with the image and the learning curve of the application. Even though Photoshop and Gimp are very useful applications for editing images, their main strength can also come off as a weakness when you only want to perform basic editing functions to an image. SharpShot is a multi-platform, portable application that allows you to easily edit images without any major complications that usually come with comprehensive image editing tools, such as Photoshop or Gimp. Read More

Benchmark PC Hardware To Diagnose System Issues With Ubuntu Live Disk [Guide]

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There are certainly sheer number of benchmarking utilities available for PC, which put primary system components, including CPU, Main Memory, GPU etc., through a diverse range of tests to measure their health, ability and performance. The benchmarking apps are generally built to diagnose PC problems and check the actual ability of a component and its performance in presence of other installed system devices. For instance, a high-end GPU may not be able to perform at its peak ability with one or more incompatible system components. Similarly, main memory requires compatible motherboard and CPU to give its best performance. Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple way to benchmark all the system components, and therefore, one needs to manually check each component’s performance while using the installed OS. Read More

SyncWall: Sync & Auto-Change Wallpapers With Effects Between Multiple Computers

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I have covered various wallpaper applications in the past, the reason for which being my own fondness for new and attractive looking wallpapers. One of the awesome feature introduced in Windows Vista was its ability to automate the wallpapers, so you don't have to look to the same old boring background everyday. Third-party applications however, simply provide a lot more. Desktop wallpaper managers we have covered, such as, DisplayFusion, Mourao Wallpaper Changer and Kuvva, let you manage and automatically change desktop background after a certain period of time. These software were good for sure, but as we are always looking for something even more feature-rich, it looks like we found one.  SyncWall is an open source wallpaper manager that allows you to synchronize wallpapers between multiple computers. It lets you  changes wallpaper periodically and also has multi-display support. Coupled with a neat looking design, it enables you to set schedules for automatically changing wallpaper, define global hot key for changing the wallpaper, and add special effects to wallpapers, such as emboss, blur, sharpen, edge etc. Wallpapers can be synchronized, along with the basic display parameters, between multiple computers, by defining the server and clients. More on SyncWall after the break. Read More

Perform IP Address Calculations With Gip IP Address Calculator

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Gip is an open source Linux calculator for system and network administrators for performing IP address calculations, e.g., an administrator who may require finding out the IP prefix length, subnets, etc. To calculate IP address related information, simply type the IP, subnet mask and prefix length. Furthermore, Gip can split subnets using a given IP subnet mask, and perform other necessary calculations for converting IP address ranges. Read More

Super Flexible File Synchronizer: Backup Linux Files With FTP, Amazon S3, Google Docs etc

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Super Flexible File Synchronizer is a cloud based backup and synchronization service, capable of supporting FTP, Amazon S3, SSH, WebDAV and Google Docs. Super Flexible File Synchronizer allows setting up different jobs to run manually, or to schedule them for syncing data between local directories or cloud based servers. It provides many synchronization modes, including Standard Copying, Mirror and SmartTracking. While Super Flexible File Synchronizer works on a number of platforms, only the Linux version of it’s (client) application is available for free. Read More

Create Videos From Memorable Pictures & Clips With ffDiaporama

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Home videos and memorable pictures are organized by many people in the form of videos that can be played back on media devices and shared with loved ones. For this purpose, pictures and videos are sent to editing professionals, for processing them according to the customer’s requirement. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the fact, that the same tasks can be done with the help of some easy-to-use applications. ffDiaporama is a cross-platform application for assembling photos and videos and transform them into videos. It can read images and videos in many formats, including from a large number of cameras and camcorders. The program also comes with 140 transitions and a device database for generating videos for more than 50 different models of video viewing devices, including home cinema systems, smart phones and tablets. Read More

WinUSB: Create Bootable Windows Installer USB In Ubuntu Linux

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WinUSB is an Ubuntu application for creating a Windows USB installer for Windows Vista and Windows 7. Like other applications that enable creating installer USBs, you can create a bootable (installation) USB from an ISO disc image or a DVD. While other tools like Unetbootin can perform similar tasks, however, WinUSB is much simpler than other competitors, and delivers a two-click solution for creating a Windows installer USB. This may be a blessing for users who may require creating a USB installer for Windows for dual booting it with Ubuntu or other Linux distributions. Similarly, you might require installing Windows on another system, but do not have Windows installed on a computer to utilize tools such as the Windows 7 USB DVD Tool. Read More

How To Adjust Session Control Options In Ubuntu

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Session control options in Ubuntu are perhaps one of the least likely features that someone might tweak. However, this is not because the options do not require tweaking, but rather the fact that one seldom considers looking for convenience at such a micro level. The session control options include everything from the log out, restart, shutdown options, to the User Menu. Some of these options can often result in confusion, and one can end up repeatedly clicking on an incorrect option when performing session related tasks. In such a case, it is best to simply remove the options that you may not require, or might be better off disabling confirmation prompts for an option (e.g., log out). Furthermore, removing the user menu can also help save some real estate, and make it easier to identify app-indicator menu applets. In this post, we will provide you with a method of performing these simple session control configurations. Read More

Auto Hide Cinnamon Panel & Adjust Other Settings

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Cinnamon is a Gnome Shell fork, created with the aim of providing a Gnome 2 like layout with a bottom panel (with launchers). Recently, we reviewed Cinnamon, and provided you with a walkthrough of its installation (in Ubuntu). Unfortunately, configuring Cinnamon features at the moment is not as easy as one might prefer. For example, some users may wish to auto-hide the panel launcher. In this post, we will tell you how to auto hide the Cinnamon launcher, and to edit related settings. Read More

Encrypt Data In Ubuntu With GPG Or SSL With Turbo-Secure

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Turbo-Secure is a package of Nautilus script that provides the option to safely encrypt & secure personal data. Gnome currently has a program called sea-horse for this purpose, but it is a bit difficult to configure. Apart from that, Turbo-Secure delivers quick SSL and GPG encryption by enabling users to encrypt files and text via right-click context menu in Ubuntu. While Turbo-Secure focuses on securely encrypting your data, it provides numerous encryption types including AES 192bit, 256bit, RC 40bit & 64bit, BlowFish and more. Read More

view3dscene Is Cross-Platform Tool To View & Interact With 3D Models

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2D to 3D transition opened up a new gate in the graphics designing pipeline. Not only does 3D models save a lot of prototyping and designing costs, but also let graphics designers bring various imaginations to life. 3D models have become so mainstream now that they are used in quite every field. From designing a house to modelling a car. Back in December of 2011, we covered Sweet Home 3D, an open source interior design application that lets you design a complete home and place furniture on a 2D plane, with a real-time 3D preview. The application surely was quite feature-laden and one of the best of its kind. However, if you have already got a 3D model, and only want to view it, you can use view3dscene. It is an open source browser and viewer for VRML, X3D and other 3D model formats. Other than viewing 3D models in window mode, as well as full screen, it also allows you to play 3D sounds along with the models. The application has a built-in screenshot capturing feature to take screenshots of a loaded scene. Some of the supported file formats are VRML, X3D, Kanim, Collada, 3D Studio 3Ds, MD3, Wavefront OBJ, and Videoscape GEO. Read More

Install Nautilus Actions 3.1.5 With Alternative Method To Avoid Error

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Nautilus Actions Extra is a set of scripts for Nautilus 3 that adds many useful options to the Ubuntu right-click context menu. While Nautilus Actions can be easily installed in Ubuntu 11.10 via a PPA, some users are facing issues with the installation of Nautilus Actions Extra version 3.1.5. The problem that they are facing is that, during the installation process of Nautilus Actions, the Trace/breakpoint trap (core dumped) error is received. Even if somehow Nautilus Actions gets installed, the Nautilus Actions Configuration Tool auto closes after being launched. In this post, we will provide you with an alternative method of installing Nautilus-Actions (3.1.5), so that you can install it correctly in Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot. Read More