Openshot Video Editor Gets HUGE Update - 30 New Effects, Preview Window, Green Screen, PPA...

OpenShot - one of the best video editor available for Linux - finally has a PPA! That's news enough in-itself as it means pain free installation but the even better news is it now comes complete with effects!

New Effects

30 awesome video effects are now included - including Chroma Key (green screen) allowing you to create all sorts of awesome videos. These are in addition to the 15+ transitions included!

The new effects include: -

• Black and White
• Blur
• Glow
• Mirror
• Old Grain
• Pixelate
• Water
• Sepia

3 new audio effects make it into the latest release, too: -

• Phaser
• Pitch
• Echo

And in the spirit of OpenShot, it's as easy as dragging and dropping an effect on a clip.

PPA

You can install PPA in Jaunty and Karmic using the following official PPA: -

Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty)
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/openshot.developers/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/openshot.developers/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
GPG Key: sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys B9BA26FA

Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openshot.developers
The PPA also contains the latest versions of all necessary dependencies that OpenShot requires - such as FFmpeg, MLT, Frei0r, and x264 so no worries about not being able to run it!


WARNING: Currently installing OpenShot via PPA will break video playback. You are advised to use the .deb's from the official site or follow the advice here.

Installation

Once you've added the PPa you can install it via Add/Remove or Software Centre or via the terminal using: -

• sudo apt-get install openshot

Ibex or Hardy users can grab pre-made .deb's @ http://www.openshotvideo.com/download.html

Thoughts

So far testing the new version of OpenShot in Karmic I've found it to freeze up a lot so karmic users be warned. Other wise it's the same awesome quality I've come to expect from the OpenShot team who, let's face it, have created the de facto video editor for Linux. OpenShot is to Linux what iMovie is to OS X.

"OpenShot Is The De-Facto Video Editor For Linux."

PiTiVi is another popular video editor that has a lot of potential but as OpenShot point out in their announcement, despite PiTiVi having full time paid developers it's progress is incredibly slow. It lacks most of the important user-end features that OpenShot has - effects, titles, transitions...

Be sure to check out the following official demo video!


OpenShot Video Gets Effects!!! from Jonathan Thomas on Vimeo.

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Run Google Tasks On Your Desktop With Google Chrome Or Mozilla Prism

Run Google Tasks on your desktop - complete with all the features from the online version thanks to Mozilla Prism.

Installation

You can install this via the standalone Mozilla Prism package from the repo's however i suggest using the Prism Add-On for Firefox - and you'll see why in a bit!

Firefox Prism Add-On: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6665

Or

Standalone Prism: sudo apt-get install prism

Configure

Once installed you need to point your Firefox browser towards one of the following: -

• http://mail.google.com/tasks/ig

Or you can use a nicer (but far larger!) version designed for Android using: -

• http://mail.google.com/tasks/android

Firefox users should now go to tools > Convert Website To Application to "prism' the tasks app.

Standalone Prism users open Prism and enter either of the above addresses in the URL field of the new Prism App window.

For the best effect with Google Tasks leave all of the navigation/status/etc options unchecked.

Check 'Install Shortcut On Desktop'. 

Firefox users have the option to change the icon used for the application. You can leave the icon as it is (it will be pixelated, mind)



or you can specify your own one. For Google Tasks i use the following : -

You'll find the launcher placed on your desktop. You will need to double-click it and mark it as trusted for the icon to show.

You can move this icon anywhere you like! I created a Google Apps entry in my Main Menu where i keep mine: -

Update: 

You can also create the same effect but using Google Chrome/Chromium. You just need to use the "create  application shortcut" button from the control menu.

Although chrome doesn't give you an option to change the icon, it's simple enough to do yourself. Just right click the app shortcut, go to properties, click on the icon and choose a new one!

Google Tasks running Google Chrome

There are big differences between using Chrome or Firefox to make shortcuts - it's purely down to which browser you use.

That said, any extensions used in Chrome will also work in Chrome Shortcut Apps unlike Prisms which can't. (E.g adblockers, userstyles, etc)

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Poll: Ubuntu Login/Shutdown Sounds - Love or Hate?

The login and shutdown sounds for Ubuntu haven't changed in what seems like eternity!

Given the current emphasis on creating a more modern looking Ubuntu desktop one has to ask who forgot about the system sounds?!

So the poll this week is: 

Poll Now Closed. Thanks for voting!

Ubuntu Login/Shutdown sounds - Nice or Not?

In-case you lack any speakers (or just quickly hit mute everytime you login!) here's our Keith with a quick reminder: -

Login Sound
Logout Sound

Reasons to love
They're part and parcel of Ubuntu. A part of it's identity if you like, in the same way that the brown/orange colour scheme is. Changing the sounds would be like taking part of Ubuntu's personality away.

Reasons not to
Well... you just have to listen to them! Aside from a high-pitched hissing sound emitted from the .ogg's, audible on high-end speakers, they're just a throwback to Ubuntu's past that needs to keep pace with the rest of the evolving maturing operating system.

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Customize The Gnome Panel Clock To Match Karmic's New Icons

Karmic may not be released, but this little tweak is too sexy not to mention! It changes the system clock applet to match the rest of the "new" style panel theme.

For comparison, here's the default set-up: -

Easy Peasy Lemon Gconf

• Launch gconf-editor either via ALT+F2 or the terminal
• Naviagte the folders  /apps/panel/applets/clock_screen0/prefs 
• Right-Click on “format”
• Select “Edit Key”
• Set to “custom” (lowercase, minus the quote marks!)
• Right-Click on “custom_format”
• Choose “Edit Key”
• Paste in the tiny code from here http://pastebin.com/f52910886

Customize

You can replace the font with any you have installed - I use Droid purely because the rest of my system does. Same goes for the font size - though bear in mind the smaller you go the harder it'll be to read!

Also my panel is set to 28px in the screenshots - play around until you get something that works for you.

You may or may not need to restart gnome-panel to see the changes. This is a simple: -

• killall gnome-panel

in a terminal to kill and restart it.

Super thanks to zacbarton who's script i'm shamelessy plugging :)

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Quirky Wallpaper Series: Real Time Earth View Wallpaper

removed.

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GDM Updated In Karmic Alpha 6 (Screenshot Now Included!)

The Login screen for Karmic Koala has finally been pushed on the servers and made available through update manager.

As i mentioned earlier this week the GDM sticks closely to the mock-up design proposed for the new GDM but does bear one or two differences - mostly cosmetic as you can see: -

Animation wise, this updated GDM shows off a very elegant fade to a fully loaded desktop after logging-in, which enhances the experience as a whole.

Screenshot take by shafin

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Quirky Wallpaper Series: Random NASA Wallpaper Script

'Quirky Wallpaper' is a short series of posts about different types of wallpapers for Gnome/Ubuntu. These range from having a real-time earth displayed as your wallpaper to an entirely animated desktop!

Random NASA Wallpaper

This script downloads a random wallpaper from NASA's 'Astronomy Picture Of The Day' archive and sets it as your background - all with one click!

And when you're bored of the one you've got, click it again to automatically get a new one.

 

 

Downloaded wallpapers are saved in nasa-wallpaper folder in your home folder - so if you fall in love with one it's there to keep!

Download: -
You can grab the script from: -

• http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/random-nasa-wallpaper?content=112717

Installation:
Extract the script and move it somewhere where you're not likely not accidentally delete it!

Right click the script and choose Properties.

Navigate to the Permissions tab and check 'Allow Executing File As A Program'.
You can now double click the script and choose 'run' to change your wallpaper.

Create a menu entry
An easier way to use the script is to create a menu entry for it. This way you can summon and run it via gnome-do and bypass the need to choose 'run' each time you want to change your wallpaper.

Select

• menu editor

from the

• System > Preferences

menu. Or by right click the Ubuntu Menu and choosing

• edit menus

Decide which menu you would like to have the entry placed in and click on it. I've placed mine in 'Accessories'.
Hit

• New Item

and enter a name for the launcher. I've named mine 'Nasa Wallpaper'.
Next to the 'Command' field select the browse button and navigate to where you have the script saved. Choose it by clicking 'Open'.

If you want to add an icon simply click on the 'Spring' icon and choose a new icon. I've used the following .png as mine: -

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PDfmod – Simple, Easy PDF Editor

PDF Mod is an easy-to-use straight-forward application for modifying and basic editing of PDF documents.

Simplicity is the name of the game with PDFmod so don’t expect excessive amounts of configuration options or tools not relevant because PdfMod does exactly what it needs to and that’s it!

Features

PdfMod let’s you: -

• Reorder pages
• Rotate pages
• Remove pages
• Export images
• Edit the title, subject, author, keywords, etc
• Merge and arrange separate PDF documents
• Drag and drop images and documents
• Save the modified PDF as a new PDF

Features planned or being thought about for upcoming versions include: -

• Adjustable compression
• OCR implementation

UI

The user-interface is a snap to use; PDfMod lays out all of the pages of a PDF in a grid and allows you to easily select odd, even or similar pages to that selected.

Most editing can be done from the right-click menu and through dragging pages around.

Download

As always i recommend using a PPA where possible as this will ensure you’re kept up-to-date with all the latest bug-fixes and new releases.

PdfMod PPA: https://launchpad.net/~pdfmod-team/+archive/ppa

Source: http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/pdfmod/0.7/pdfmod-0.7.tar.gz

Git: http://gitorious.org/pdfmod

Installation

If compiling from source you will also need the following dependencies: -

• sudo apt-get install mono-gmcs

To install just extract and navigate to the folder in a terminal using the cd /folder/to/extracted command and then run the usual: -

• ./configure
• make

and then either

• make run

if you don't’ want to install it fully but just want to try it out, or: -

• make install

if you wish to install it permanently on your system.

Website

http://live.gnome.org/PdfMod

 

On Mono

As of today i will be labelling any mono-using application with a little banner pointing out as such.

I personally have no issue with Mono however i know some people do and would like to be made aware before downloading, etc. So for those folks who like to avoid Mono – look out for the following banner.

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Get Rid of Panel Shadow

If you’ve installed a theme in Ubuntu that gives you a big ruddy shadow under your panel, removing it is just a copy ‘n’ paste away! 

With shadow: -

Without Shadow: -

Remove Panel Shadow

• Open up your Compiz Config Settings Manager (‘System’ > ‘preferences’ > CompizConfig Settings Manager.
• Select the ‘Window Decorator’ option
• Change the Shadow Windows to: -

 (any) & !(class=Gnome-panel)

Et voila! Shadow free panel!

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EarCandy – Smart Volume Management App

EarCandy is a smart volume manager for PulseAudio that fades applications in and out based on your current activity.

It will automatically mute your music when a Movie or a YouTube video starts. And will mute the video when a Skype call comes in.

EarCandy can ‘sniff’ out applications to tell what kind of app they are meaning less work for you!

 

It’s easier to watch this app in action than to explain it! Take a peek below: -

Installation

You can install EarCandy by adding the following PPA: -

Jaunty/Karmic PPA: https://launchpad.net/~earcandy-devel/+archive/ppa

Update and then install with: -

• sudo apt-get install earcandy

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Lucid Lynx – What We Know So Far

It was named last week and will make the first tentative footsteps into the world in early December – but what do we know about the Lucid Lynx?

The Lynx’s Lair

What kind of desktop will the Lynx be calling home? Gnome 3.0 will be out by the time the Lynx is calling, however Ubuntu 10.04 will remain using Gnome 2.0 for it’s Desktop Environment. This is partly because it will be a LTS Release (supported for _ years as opposed to normal releases ) years) and Gnome 3.0 will, likely, be just too buggy to be such a crucial part of a crucial release.

A Shiny New Coat?

So the Lynx will be sticking to what it’s knows, but what will it look like? Karmic Koala will be coming with a refined and polished semi-new look, but what will the Lynx look like?

It’s stylish and sleek, the bow-tie-adorned James Bond of the feline set, so you can bet we’ll make sure it’s dressed for the occasion.

~ Mark Shuttleworth

So more new artwork? Hurrah! Given Ubuntu’s look has started maturing in Karmic Koala, it’ll be exciting to see what the Lucid team come up with!

Stealth

Speed is an essential ingredient in the attack of a lynx, and speed remains our goal.

~ Mark Shuttleworth

The time it takes to boot Ubuntu has gotten progressively shorter with each release of Ubuntu since Hardy and the devs are keen to keep improving it yet still.

The road to a “10 Second boot” was started in Karmic and this will remain the aim with Lucid. The feline moniker-ed release will also continue to benefit from Upstart – a startup service designed to replace the init daemon which controls how and when services and tasks start up during the boot process.

Features

Feature wise don’t expect to see too much that you haven‘t seen before as the Lynx’s focus will be on stabilising, bug-fixing and refining the current code base to ensure a truly rock-solid release for those who depend on LTS releases.

We will be more conservative in the new code we bring into Ubuntu during the development cycle, and we will run a longer test period.

~ Mark Shuttleworth

Bigger, better software centre

One area that will be certainly be improved on during Lucid’s reign will be the ‘Ubuntu Software Centre’.

The currently planned features and inclusions for the Software Centre in Lucid are: -

• Replacing Synaptic Package Manager, Software Sources, GDebi and Update Manager with an expanded version of the Ubuntu Software Centre.
• Ability to install non-GUI software from within the centre: fonts, scripts, database software, etc.
• A “collapsed view” interface for displaying updates.
• Ability to handle errors and conflicts.
• Establishing a new rating and review system

Which all sounds good to me - It’d be so great to be able to install fonts through it too!

Karmic’s Leftovers

Sadly, whether due to time or bugs, several user-interface improvements targeted for Karmic have to be carried over to Lucid.

The biggest of these will be the full Wine integration into Ubuntu proposed for Karmic. This will insert installed Windows app into the appropriate gnome menus and allow easy install or removal of Windows software from the Software Centre itself.

Gwibber won’t be making it into Karmic as a default application as first proposed either, however it may have another shot by the time Lucid swings around. This is vital if Ubuntu want to continue pushing their “Social From the Start” mantra.

Banshee may finally become the default Music Player after what seems like years of speculation.

So…

Of course, this list is merely the first few titbits and sound bites we know – the true prep and decisions are still yet to be made; there are no blueprints or checklists as of yet, but you can be sure you’ll read about them here first as and when!

Lucid In Summary: -

• Stick using Gnome 2.0
• “Sleek and stylish” new theme.
• Harnessing the power of Upstart
• Few new “features”
• Stable
• Bigger better Software Centre replacing, well, everything.
• User Interface Improvements
• Implement features that weren't able to make it into Karmic (Wine Integration, Gwibber, etc)

 

What are you hoping to see, find or find gone in Lucid Lynx?

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Ubuntu Software Store Renamed

The new "Ubuntu Software Store" has been renamed to “Ubuntu Software Center”  - caving in to users dissatisfaction over the choice of name.

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Lucid Lynx Release Schedule

The release schedule for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx has been posted to the Ubuntu Wiki.

The Lucid development cycle will see only 3 Alpha builds but adds in an extra Beta to the proceedings. Previous development has taken the form of 6 Alphas, 1 Beta and 1 RC.

• December 3rd – Alpha 1
• January 7th – Alpha 2
• Feburary 4th – Alpha 3
• March 4th - Beta 1
• April 1st – Beta 2
• April 15th – Release Candidate
• April 29th – Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

For more information and deadlines for artwork, featurefreeze etc be sure to head over to : -

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LucidReleaseSchedule

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Ubuntu Wallpaper Nostalgia Trip (Plus Poll)

This week in Ubuntu has seen a proverbial flood of new artwork for our favourite operating system’s latest pet – the Karmic Koala. One of the biggest additions has been a new default wallpaper (for the Alpha’s and Beta’s at least).


Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and look back at what previous defaults looked like…

Ubuntu 4.10 Warty Warthog

Not much to say for Ubuntu’s very first wallpaper except:
OMG! UBUNTU BRANDING!!
This that would later be somewhat advised against.

Ubuntu 5.04 Hoary Hedgehog

EPIC (if ruined by the off-centre Ubuntu logo). The first true “design” of Ubuntu’s wallpaper linage.

Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger

Wonderful original design. The logo somewhat spoils this one by distracting your eye to it.

Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake

Dark. Very Chocolaty. Dark. Nice Swirls. Dark. Dark.

Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy Eft

The first outing of the ‘skin’ tone in Ubuntu wallpapers. Like some later releases, this is a bit too “OS X Aqua” like, but a simple, plain and unobtrusive design nonetheless.

Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn

Having never used Feisty it’s odd to look at this and try to imagine it being the first thing i saw when logging in. It almost looks like like a half finished version of Edgy’s wallpaper, not to metnion you could easil mistake it for a blurry photo of a bruise on someone's skin…

Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon

For some reason this wallpaper always reminded me of Galaxy Chocolate bars, but it holds a special place in my heart as Gutsy was my first Ubuntu and so this was my very first Ubuntu Wallpaper.

In retrospect it was perhaps a bit too dark for a default choice and was evidently inspired/caught up in trying to create a Vista/OSX Tiger type wallpaper.

Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron

A bold visual statement did the Heron make; hardy indeed! Lighter tones made for a more pleasant welcome to Ubuntu and the Heron in “ubuntu colours” was a nice touch. This one certainly stands up well looking back.

Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex

Yes that is a coffee stain… wait not it’s an ibex… wait no it’s one of those psychologists ‘ink splatter’ cards…

I’m actually fond of this one, it’s an artistic triumph. That and I'm a sucker for anything with the mascot on.

Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope

*thanks to those who let me know i'd uploaded the wrong image!

The run of mascots-on-screen came to and end with Jaunty, but just how do you incorporate an antlered rabbit into a desktop background anyway!

I’m jesting, obviously, but the Jaunty wallpaper was a slight disappointment after the striking designs of Hardy and Intrepid… What will Karmic give?

Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala?

This is the current default wallpaper for Karmic Koala (it may/will change) and first reactions: -
OMG! IT’S NOT BROWN! =o P

Vote

To your right you'll see a lovely little poll where you can cast your vote for the best Ubuntu Wallpaper so far.

Poll Results:

[Thanks to http://ubuntu.ecchi.ca/wallpapers/ who’s great archive allowed me to revisit many of these great wallpapers!]

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Karmic's New Default Wallpaper

It landed with the rest of the photo wallpapers in todays updates and replaces the Jaunty default wallpaper that the Alpha's have been using up until now.

Will it remain the default wallpaper past the beta or RC? That we'll have to wait and see... but for now - say hello to Karmic's Default Wallpaper!

[Click to view super-size]

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19 New Photo Wallpapers Included In Karmic Koala

A bevvy of photographic wallpapers from the Ubuntu Photo Wallpaper Shortlist arrived with this morning's Alpha 6 updates.

They range from the "I would never use that": -

To the visually impressive: -

The rest fall in-between with photos of Cherries, Sand, Butterflies and the obligatory grass wallpaper.

In total 19 photographic wallpapers landed (and 1 very curious addition, more on that in a sec...).

You can get them by updating your Karmic Alpha now or, for the Jaunty/Ibex/Hardy curious, downloading the pack @ https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/karmic/+source/ubuntu-wallpapers/0.29/+files/ubuntu-wallpapers_0.29.tar.gz

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Karmic Koala’s New Login Screen Revealed [Updated]

The login window that will be greeting all users of Karmic Koala has finally been revealed!

The GDM design as a whole, like with the XSplash, sticks very closely to the mock-ups the Ubuntu Design Team shared back at the start of this ride…

[Update 26th September]

Although several major websites are saying that this is the new login screen: -

I can assure you that the final login screen will resemble the original mockup.

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