Archives For November 30, 1999

gnome shell

Want to display internet speed in Ubuntu panel? I used to use an indicator applet in Ubuntu when the Unity desktop was the default. Now in Ubuntu 18.04 this can be done via a Gnome shell extension.

The Gnome shell extension system is a replacement for the “applets” or “widgets” system. Extensions can add their own items to the top panel. And NetSpeed extension display internet speed in Gnome panel.

To install NetSpeed extension, simply open Ubuntu Software, search for and install “netspeed”:

It displays internet speed in top-right system tray area once you installed the extension. For settings, go to Ubuntu Software -> NetSpeed -> Extension Settings.

That’s it. Enjoy!

Indicator Network is a stupid traffic monitor applet for Ubuntu Unity, inspired by the old netspeed GNOME applet.

It displays the total current network traffic on system tray area on panel and you can check out the current download & upload speed from its drop-down menu.

The indicator will be put left of all your other indicators. If this is undesirable, the ordering index can be changed in gsettings:/apps/indicators/netspeed (use dconf-editor, available in Software Center).

To install this indicator applet:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, choose one method from below and run the commands one by one:

1. Compile from source (github.com):

sudo apt-get install build-essential libgtop2-dev libgtk-3-dev libappindicator3-dev git-core

git clone git://github.com/mgedmin/indicator-netspeed.git

cd indicator-netspeed

make

sudo make install

Once installed, start the applet via:

indicator-netspeed &

You need to manually add this applet into Startup Applications (open it from Unity Dash).

2. Install from PPA (webupd8.org):

Webupd8 Team has made this into PPA, available for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04. Add the PPA and install the applet via below commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install indicator-netspeed

Once installed, netspeed indicator automatically starts at next login.