Ubuntu One Contact sync gets better Android device support

Errata: This an updated version of our previous post on the Android Application which wasn't entirely clear about what was on offer. The Android application for Contact Sync is free - and always will be - rather the 30 day trial offering users free access to the sync feature - a staple of the Ubuntu One paid accounts -has been extended until October. Alongside that comes greater device support and and improved application.

The Ubuntu One team have just issued a piece of exciting news for Ubuntu One loving Android users out there: the free Ubuntu One Contacts Sync application now sports an improved interface and boasts even more support for popular Android devices including the Google Nexus One, Motorola Droid & HTC Dragon.

Naturally an Ubuntu One account is required to make use of the app - which can be found in the Android Market, just search 'Ubuntu one' - and the 30 day trial offer introduced in June has now been extended until October 10th.

If you've got a free account, loved the idea of contact sync but want to see whether it's worth it then why not take advantage? All you need is your Ubuntu One username and password and et voila - contact sync.

The team also invite the those with an interest in learning how the app works to “download the source code”.

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Ubuntu One KDE style - Alpha available

Ubuntu One gets a revamp for the Kubuntu desktop thanks to Harald Sitter’s Google Summer of Code project.

We briefly mentioned the proposal to mash Ubuntu One awesomeness with KDE tech back in April when the list of accepted projects were made known.

Now blogging on his blog, the self-confessed Kubuntu-Ninja has given a tight run down of his initial success - and how to get an ‘alpha quality’ build for Maverick Meerkat - and boy does it look good.

I urge you to head over to his site for a proper rundown but, in summary some of the features currently present include: -

• Creating an Ubuntu One Status Notifier for the system tray that provides the ability to start, view and configure Ubuntu One
• Ubuntu One embedded in System Settings’ network area
• Ubuntu One entry in KInfoCenter

Install

Before you read any further this alpha only works with Ubuntu 10.10. For more information refer to this mailing post before adding the repository below.

• sudo add-apt-repository ppa:apachelogger/ubuntuone-kde
• sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ubuntuone-kde

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Ubuntu One has cool new features for Maverick

Ubuntu One has many changes and new features planned for release alongside Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat this October. These new features such as Windows syncing and improvements to speed might be just the thing users are after!

From their Roadmap wiki page, here's a preview of what's to come:

Mobile music streaming

• Store your music library in your personal cloud and stream to your mobile phone
• Works with iPhone and Android devices
• Uses Subsonic streaming technology - Visit www.subsonic.org for more information
• Premium feature for paid subscribers

Mobile contacts sync

• Refined log-in process to support Ubuntu Single Sign-On (SSO). No longer need a special username and password
• Updated look and feel
• Minor tweaks to the UI for better usability and more user feedback
• Updates coming soon to mobile app marketplaces

Enhanced sync performance - Speed improvements for...

• Regular sync activity such as enabling folders to sync
• Adding folders with lots of files
• First sync when adding a new computer

Windows file sync

• Addresses the needs of the many Ubuntu users who operate in a mixed platform environment of Ubuntu + Windows
• Will support syncing files between Windows desktops and your Ubuntu One personal cloud

Easier subscribe and login

• Redesigned the desktop application for subscribe and log-in
• Refined the interface for modifying Ubuntu One sync preferences and device management

Updated web dashboard

• Brings more of your important information to the front including how much of your capacity is used by files, notes, contacts and bookmarks
• Easier access to information about new features, setup instructions, and usage tips
• First phase recently released into production for all users

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Ubuntu One iphone & Android app client source code released

The source code for the Ubuntu One iPhone application has been made available for users to download.

• iphone:  https://launchpad.net/ubuntuone-ios-client
• android: https://launchpad.net/ubuntuone-android-client

The source code for the as-yet-unreleased Android Ubuntu One app will also be made available as soon as development on that project as soon as development is "...out of the exploration stage."

Martin Albisetti, in announcing the source codes availability, said that the delay in releasing the source code was down to "bureaucracy and crazy work deadlines" rather than forgetfulness - or as others may have assumed - a closed-code policy.

The Ubuntu One client for iOS is available in the Apple AppStore. The Android client is due sometime later this year.

(source)

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Meerkat will make sharing your fave tracks easy

Ubuntu 10.10 will make sharing your favourite tracks with all your friends and online buddies a breeze.

The Ubuntu One Music Store in the Maverick Meerkat introduces a new 'link share' button to Rhythmbox.

When listening to a track you think the world should also be toe-tapping alone to just hit the 'Link Share' button in the toolbar to perform a quick search for the track in the 7 Digital catalogue. Once found you can hit the 'tweet' button to send your message directly to Gwibber or copy and paste the link to share via e-mail, blog posts or in instant messages. The link will open in a browser where a user can hit a 'Get it' button to preview and/or purchase the track and a ‘I have it’ button allows a mire some so-and-so the option to forgo the chance to expand their musical palette.

One caveat with this pretty nifty treat is the requirement for the person viewing your link, and particularly in wishing to purchase via it, to be running Ubuntu and using the Ubuntu One Music Store.

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The Ubuntu One Control Panel: Beauty in simplicity

Signing up for and managing your Ubuntu One account could be about to get a whole world easier in later releases of Ubuntu with the introduction of a new desktop-based Ubuntu One Control Panel from Canonical.

The aim of the redesigned-application is to improve the user experience of using the Ubuntu One service, allowing users to join, sign in and manage their accounts directly from the Ubuntu desktop.

Users will find the “data dashboard” will give them easy to understand visual overviews of what data syncs, where it syncs and from which devices.

Making things even easier

For new-users, or those without an Ubuntu One account, signing up up for an account won’t even require a user to open a browser window. Instead all the necessary ‘paperwork’ (aside from your e-mail verification e-mail, natch) will be done using a super-slick “sheet”. If it looks as nice in reality as it does in mock-up then tally-ho!
Those already using Ubuntu One will find both logging in and setting-up syncing a breeze. Instead of hitting “Join” you hit ‘connect this computer to Ubuntu One’ and you’re away.

Better still, for those who love the cloud storage service so much they want to upgrade their storage plan - it’s all just a click or two away, too! 

Managing your account

The new look ‘hub’ will make managing devices, contacts, permissions and syncing applications much easier, with informative options presented in a clear way.
Other basic account-related features will be accessible such as changing or ‘remembering’ your password and disabling sync on the computer in use.

Caveats

Readers should note that this is a proposed inclusion and, as is so often the way of development, change and adaptation should be expected - this is far from being the final iteration. What you see here today is certainly a promising proposal and one that clearly shows that Canonical are keen to make using the Ubuntu One service as easy and stress-free to use as possible.

Ace stuff!

Images | © Canonical

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Google Summer of Code: Projects for Rhythmbox, UbuntuOne, Banshee, More

With Google’s annual Summer of Code very nearly upon on us the list of accepted projects that developers will spend the summer getting paid to work on are all but out. With that in mind I’ve picked a handful of accepted projects that I'm really excited about seeing progress on.

Rhythmbox

• Improved Last.FM plug-in | Jamie Nicol

Last.fm is a fantastic tool for browsing and listening to music, unfortunately Rhythmbox's current Last.fm plug-in has an unintuitive user interface. It also uses an old and deprecated API. This project will port the plug-in to use the current API, as well as making the user interface more intuitive and rewarding to use.

• DACP support in Rhythmbox | Alexandre Rosenfeld

This proposal intends to create an open-source implementation of the DACP protocol, aka iPhone/iPod Remote app, as a plugin to the Rhythmbox music player as the "server" and a proof-of-concept GObject-based "client".

Banshee

• More useful Now Playing source for Banshee | Alex Launi

The Now Playing source is an underutilized component of the Banshee user interface. The goal of this proposal is to extend that interface to be a source for extended information about the currently playing media. After the completion of this project, the Now Playing source will replace (or augment) the current behavior of the Context Pane, but also be extended to account for other media types such as podcasts, videos, audio books, and internet radio.

UbuntuOne

Two projects at GSoC will try to bring the UbuntuOne client to both the KDE desktop and to Google’s mobile operating system Android, with the Android project seeking to: -

…enable Ubuntu users not only to browse files in the cloud from their phone, but also share experience on the spot using URLs to their published U1 resources, instantly upload camera pictures or download music. Eventually, the aim would be to implement full-featured syncdaemon for specific UDFs. Let's take that cloud mobile!

And don’t forget… 

Organization application Getting things GNOME!  will be rocking out this summer adding integration with online services such as Remember the Milk, Evolution and even Twitter (!).

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Gorgeous Replacement UbuntuOne Folder Icons

The stock UbuntuOne folder icon in Ubuntu 10.04 is nothing special. Many users would love to have a more purpose-defined folder icon a la the Pictures folder or the Documents folder etc. Mathieu Comandon over @The Hacking Capybara has created a set of replacement icons specifically this reason (including for a few other folder types, too) and boy do they look nice! Download Grab the .tar file @ strycore.com/2010/04/extra-folder-icons-for-humanity-theme Install Installing is painless.

1. Extract the downloaded archive and move the icons somewhere safe
2. Right click on your Ubuntu One folder and choose properties
3. Click the folder icon the upper left corner and navigate to the ubuntuonefolder.svg you extracted previously.
4. Done!

Image by Mathieu Comandon

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UbuntuOne Being Ported To Windows

UbuntuOne, the cloud storage service from Ubuntu, is being ported to Windows at this years PyCon by the UbuntuOne team. Many users have refrained from using the cloud storage solution thus far due in part to the lack of cross platform syncing. As such, the UbuntuOne team will be running a 'sprint' at PyCon 2010 to provide just that.

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UbuntuOne KDE Frontend Coming Soon (PPA Inside)

KDE dev Harald Sitter has been working on something a lot of Kubuntu users are going to love: A native UbuntuOne frontend for KDE. And boy-oh-boy is does it look the business!

The systray application notifies you when of transfers uploading or downloading, when they’ve started and when they have finished. “Additionally”, Harold wrote on his blog announcing this preview, “it will show up whenever there is a problem with the connection.”

Awesome stuff!

Of course, I've gently skipped over the fact that this is merely a post-protoype preview and not in any way a stable snapshot of a release. Hardold himself warns that users can expect “…crashes, start-up failures and missing functionality…”.

Try it out

You can install this early glimpse of this KubuntuOne-client (as i like to call it) via the following PPA: -

https://launchpad.net/~apachelogger/+archive/ubuntuone-kde

However do note the following on how to get it up and transferring: -

Before you do anything you need to run the GNOME client (ubuntuone-client-applet) at least once to obtain authentication from the Ubuntu One server, then you can just quit the GNOME client and start the KDE one (you need to start it with --nofork or it will not work).

Future Plans

Sitter plans for this to land into Kubuntu Lucid, so expect some prompt development over the next coming months. Authentication needs to be implemented and he even talks about possible Dolphin integration, too.

Nice!

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How To Install UbuntuOne In Kubuntu Karmic

Shock of all horrors - Ubuntu One, the free cloud storage service from Canonical, is not installed by default in Kubuntu Karmic Koala.

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UbuntuOne Gets ANOTHER New Icon - This Time It's Pretty Nice!

UbuntuOne received a new icon (again) in today's Karmic Updates. Gone is the slightly indecipherable HDD and Cloud emblem and in just a fluffy cute cloud.

This time the icon achieves it's aim: it is distinguished from the rest of the "system" icons, yet it's as visually obtrusive as it was in previous versions.

Non-connected: -

Thanks to reader motang for letting me know there was an update!

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UbuntuOne Gets A (Rubbish) New Icon

UbuntuOne - Ubuntu's cloud storage service - has been given a new icon in the latest Karmic updates. The new icon is, presumably, to better integrate UbuntuOne into the new Karmic Panel Icon style.

I will warn you that it is not spectacular in the slightest.

It sucks. Simple as. I understand what it's trying to do (a HDD and a cloud = cloud storage) but it looks more out of place than the previous brightly coloured icon. it does match the "grey" theme of the rest of the panel icons, but it doesn't match the style and as such sticks out just as much as before.

For anyone wanting a proper greyscale UbuntuOne icon in their panel - be sure to check out this previous post: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2009/10/ubuntuone-match-karmic-panel.html

(I also apologise for the late posting of this change, i noted it earlier this morning. )

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My Thoughts On UbuntuOne

I finally received my invitation to Ubuntu One a few days ago. Since then I've been using it daily, and i have to admit that it's integration with Ubuntu is, as expected, second to none.

This isn't meant to be a critical blow-by-blow account of using Ubuntu One because you pop files in folder and it then syncs them to your online storage. What else is there to say, really? Instead it's just a quick rundown of what Ubuntu One installs and how it works.

Integration

Ubuntu One places a folder in home/username called 'Ubuntu One'. Inside you have "My Files" and "Shared With Me". A shortcut to this folder is placed in your "Places" menu.

When viewing the Ubuntu One folder there is a dialog along the top (similar to that in the 'Deleted Items') allowing you to connect and disconnect from the service. This makes connecting really easy. Successfully uploaded items gain an emblem next to them.

Ubuntu One also has a tray icon/applet. The icon animates when connecting or syncing files, and has a red cross when it is disconnected.

Left clicking the tray icon will open your Ubuntu One folder, and right clicking gives you an easy access menu for connecting, reporting a problem, opening your Ubuntu One folder and going online to view your files.

Overall

Having already used DropBox (a very similar service) i much appreciate Ubuntu's tight integration. I also find that Ubuntu One sync's much quicker than the same files in my dropbox folder - this might be dependent on server traffic for each service, however. Canonical have said that Ubuntu One will expand and boast new features along the way - vital if it wants to succeed as a subscription based option. Currently for the same $ per month you get far more storage from Dropbox than Ubuntu One.

Both offer 2GB for free options - which is what I'm currently using on both, and i find it more than enough.. so far!

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