News, Tutorials, Howtos for Ubuntu Linux
For Linux with GNOME, there’s now new configuration tool to tweak advanced settings in this desktop environment.
It’s Refine, a free open-source tool that uses GTK4 + LibAdwaita for a modern UI to tweak desktop settings in Fedora Workstation, Arch, Manjaro Linux, etc with vanilla GNOME Desktop.
Sadly, this app so far does NOT work in Ubuntu. And, it seems that the developer does NOT prefer to support Ubuntu. See this bug report for details.
Remember GNOME Pie or Fly-Pie? There’s now a similar pie menu launcher for most Linux desktops as well as Windows and macOS.
It’s Kando, a free open-source application written mostly in TypeScript programming language.
With it, user can trigger a circular application launcher on desktop, then either use mouse clicks or draw gesture to launch apps, run custom scripts/commands, simulate shortcut key, or open files/websites.
Ubuntu is working on a new desktop security center and prompting-client. Here’s how to try it out in current Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
It’s an experimental new feature that will land in next Ubuntu 24.10. Which, provides graphical interface to make it easier for users to control the file/folder access permission for Snap apps.
For example, when browsing web via Firefox (the preinstalled Firefox is a Snap package). You found a good image and want to save it to local folder, or you just want to download something. Before the downloading process starts, it will pop-up a dialog as the screenshot shows you, asking for user permission to allow writing to the file or folder.
Pop-up for file/folder access permission
Want to chat with AI models locally without internet connection? Here’s a simple app can do the job in Linux Desktop!
It’s Alpaca, a free open-source application written in Python programming language. It uses Ollama as backend to manage and chat with multiple AI models, without needing any API keys.
By using GTK4 plus Adwaita toolkits, it provides a modern and simple graphical interface that’s well integrated into Ubuntu, Fedora Workstation and other Linux with GNOME desktop.
Looking for a system monitor, task manager, and service manager app for your Linux Desktop? Try Mission Center!
It’s a free open-source application written in Rust programming language, and uses GTK4 + LibAdwaita for its modern user interface that’s well integrated into Ubuntu, Fedora Workstation, and other Linux with GNOME Desktop.
With it, you have a Windows Task Manager look like interface that can monitor your CPU, Memory, Disk, Network and GPU usage with graphs.
Mission Center
Looking for Microsoft Sticky Notes alternative app for Linux Desktop? Here I’m going to introduce some for you.
Sticky Notes is useful to write your sudden idea, to-do lists, and important messages on computer screen. There are quite a few free open-source sticky notes apps for Linux Desktop. And, here are some of them still work in 2024.
Looking for an app to transfer files and send messages over local network? LocalSend is good choice that works for most devices.
LocalSend is a free and open source application which promotes itself as alternative to Apple’s AirDrop. It’s a cross-platform app that allows to securely send files and messages over local network without an internet connection.
It works in Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Fire OS. Meaning you can use the file transfer app in most PC and mobile devices. And, the app doesn’t require an internet connection or external servers. It uses REST API for secure communication. All data is sent securely over HTTPS, and the TLS/SSL certificate is generated on the fly on each device.
Looking for an app to sign, annotate, or edit PDF files in Ubuntu Linux? Here I’m going to introduce some for you!
PDF, stands for Portable Document Format, is a file format that’s popular for office use. Besides using Adobe Acrobat, Linux has quite a few applications that can edit this file format.
Looking for lightweight Linux Distributions that play smoothly on old PC or laptop with low end specs? Here are some of them for you!
Advanced users can always install and set up a lightweight desktop environment manually on top of current OS. However, for beginners and those who don’t want to take time customizing the desktop, then a ready to use distribution is a better choice.
In Linux world, XFCE, MATE, LXQt/LXDE are commonly used desktop environments for lightweight distributions, though there are also many others for choice. And, here are 9 of them for beginners.
Have many Flatpak app packages installed on your Linux desktop or mobile? Here’s an app to install, remove, downgrade, and manage app data with a simple graphical interface.
Flatpak is getting popular in today’s Linux, and some (e.g., Linux Mint, Fedora, and Pop!_OS) even have it support out-of-the-box. User can install (or uninstall) a Flatpak package by either using system package manager or running a Linux command in terminal. And, there’s a popular graphical tool Flatseal to manage permissions for each app package.
For users who want to get more controls for their Flatpak app packages, there’s a free open-source tool warehouse available for choice.
