Digg has just rolled out its long anticipated integration of Facebook Connect. The move allows non-Digg users to sign into the social news site using their Facebook credentials, while enabling current Digg users to connect their account with the social network.

Once Facebook Connect has been activated, you’re able to publish your Diggs, comments, and submissions back to your Facebook News Feed. You can also quickly invite your Facebook friends to Digg. Kevin Rose gives a quick tour of the integration in the video below:

This is an important move for both companies. For Digg, it means a lot more exposure on Facebook, as their millions of existing users link their accounts and publish information back to their News Feeds. For Facebook, it represents a huge new partner for Facebook Connect, which the company hopes will become an identity standard for users across the Web. The partnership was first announced all the way back in August of last year.

(Via Mashable!.)

After you have downloaded and installed Ubuntu 9.04, what is next thing you should do?

Getting Ubuntu onto your hard disk is only the first step. It is still in the raw and unpolished state. To get the best out of it, you really need to configure and customize it to suit your needs. In part 3 of the series, I am going to go through the important things that you need to do after you have got Jaunty up and running.

1) Enable the repositories

Every time I do a fresh install of Ubuntu, the first thing that I do is to enable the universe, multiverse, backport and Canonical’s ‘partner’ repositories. These repositories open up new application choices and allows you to install popular third party software easily and quickly.

Go to System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager.

Click on Settings -> Repositories.

Checked all the boxes.

Go to the Third-Party Software tab. Check all the boxes too.

Close the window and press the Reload button at the top left corner to update the repositories.

2) Modifying GRUB menu

The GRUB menu is the black screen that you see when you boot up your computer. You can easily modify the setting, including whether it is hidden or how many seconds before it boots up. One of the useful application that allows you to modify your GRUB menu easily is Startup Manager

sudo apt-get install startupmanager

Before you modify your GRUB menu, it is best to  back it up.

sudo cp /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/menu-backup.lst

Open your Startup Manager, here is where you can change the timeout, how many kernel entries to keep and show/hide the grub screen.

3) Configure Firewall

If you are concern about your security, then it is pertinent that you activate the firewall and prevent any unauthorized access to your computer.

UFW is installed by default, but if you need a graphical interface, install GUFW.

sudo apt-get install gufw

Alternative to GUFW is Firestarter which is a simple but powerful app that allows you to monitor your traffic

sudo apt-get install firestarter

4) Wine

Wine is a must-have application for those who can’t live without their Windows applications, It allows you to install your Windows application in your Ubuntu machine and run them like native Windows apps.

sudo apt-get install wine

Once you have installed Wine, remember to run the configuration (Applications -> Wine -> Configure Wine) before attempting to install your favorite Windows app.

5) Ubuntu-Restricted-extras

Can’t listen to MP3? Can’t watch Youtube video? Can’t run Java? Don’t worry, all you need to do is to install the ubuntu-estricted-extras package and it will install all the necessary files/codecs for you. Some common applications in the package include MP3 codec, Adobe Flash player, Java runtime and Microsoft core fonts.

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

6) Ubuntu Tweak

Ubuntu Tweak allows you to tweak your system settings, all in one place. You can install new applications, customize your desktop settings, configure your startup applications, changing the system filetype association and many more tweaks in this single application.

To install Ubuntu Tweak, first open your sources.list files

gksu gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

insert the following lines to the end of the file. Save and close.

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/tualatrix/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/tualatrix/ubuntu jaunty main

In the terminal, update the repository and install Ubuntu Tweak

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak

7) VLC

After trying out several media players, including Totem and MPlayer, I still prefer VLC for its great support for almost any kind of multimedia format out there.

sudo apt-get install vlc

Gnome Do

Gnome Do is a small application that allows you to search and do things faster and more efficiently in your Ubuntu machine. It is similar to QuickSilver in Mac and Launchy in Windows. For those who have not tried Gnome Do before, it might take some time for you to get used to it. But once you’re hooked to it, there will be no turning back for you.

Gnome Do also comes with a dock interface that you can use it like any other docks.

sudo apt-get install gnome-do

9) Eye candy

Some people like to have nice beautiful effects on their desktop while others may just want a minimal desktop. If you belong to the former, here are some applications that you can install to beautify your desktop.

• CompizConfigSettingsManager: The  configuration manager for Compiz. Inside you can find lots of interesting (and useless) desktop effects.
• Avant Windows Navigator, Cairo dock – Mac OSX style dock for your desktop
• conky, greklim – display system setting on your desktop.

Conclusion

This is not a list about the popular applications out there that you should have, but a list of basic stuffs that you need to have for better performance. Initially, I wanted to include more of my favorite apps such as Songbird, Thunderbird, Adobe Air, VirtualBox, Filezilla, Checkgmail etc, but I find that they are more of a personal perferences rather than a must-have for everyone. If you favorite application is not in the list, do tell me about it in the comments.

(Via Make Tech Easier.)

Ping.fm Updates All of Your Social Networks from One Place [Social Networks]: “

Web site Ping.fm creates a single entry point for updating all of your social networks in one fell swoop, from Twitter and Facebook to AIM and GTalk.

The service is simple to use. Just sign up, add whatever networks you want (it supports almost 40 services), and you’ve got an easy way to update your status across multiple networks from your Ping.fm dashboard. Ping.fm can categorize services into three groups: Status updates, blogging, and micro-blogging, and you can send out updates to one or all of them without much effort. The service also supports updates via SMS, IM, email, and third-party apps.

We try to steer clear of too many social networks (we enjoy our sanity and productivity), but if you’ve got ten different buckets to update whenever you want to announce something to the world, Ping.fm is a great way to streamline the process.

(Via Lifehacker.)

Open-source media center Boxee debuted a new Alpha release tonight, adding support for Pandora music streaming, PBS video feeds, and changes to the API and browser that indicate there’s a lot more multimedia goodness to come.

Here’s a look at what’s new in the latest build, as well as the newest plug-in from some Boxee-loving code tweakers:

• Pandora: Built using a newly-released API for developers, Pandora’s official plug-in allows users to sign in and track their listening, listen to favorite stations and create new ones. And anyone can create a ‘quickmix’ or type in artist or song names for ’sounds like’ listening. It should be available in the App Box section, under ‘Add New Application.’
• PBS: This one comes from the folks at BoxeeHQ, who offer an repository of some neat Boxee plug-ins.
  

  To get PBS videos, GameTrailers clips, and other BoxeeHQ stuff, head to the App Box section of the left-hand menu in an up-to-date alpha release. Navigate to the category list at the top and head to ‘Repositories,’ then move down to click ‘Add Repository.’ Type in dir.boxeehq.com, and you should see ‘BoxeeHQ’ added as one of your repositories.

  Now head up and click the ‘New Applications’ menu, then choose PBS or whatever else you’d like to add. You’ll find PBS in your Video/Internet menu. It was working pretty well this afternoon, and offers a pretty impressive range of shows.

• Radio Time: Boxee’s support for Radio Time brings more than 100,000 local and regional radio stations into your media center, and it knows which stations are near you for easy streaming.
• New API, new browser framework: More of interest (hopefully) to content providers and Python hackers, but pretty good news for everyone. Boxee opens up with a new API specification that allows anyone with some Python knowledge, an RSS feed, and/or XML skills to create plug-ins that can be added through repositories, just as with the PBS plug-in above.

  UPDATED: The browser that powers Boxee’s web video playback is switching over to an XUL framework. In other words, it’ll have the same kind of guts as Firefox, and the developers are hoping that makes it easier to play back all kinds of stuff on the net. The immediate effect, according to the Boxee folks, is that any HTML page can be displayed in Boxee, and videos or other media embedded in feeds should play a lot smoother. Those clicking on the Hulu RSS feeds, for example, should ’see the Hulu page for a few seconds and then the video will start playing in fullscreen.’

Boxee’s newest alpha is a free download for registered beta users of Mac OS X, Linux, and patch-sticked Apple TVs. Windows users who have gotten into the private alpha should check in at their download location to grab the latest release.

(Via Lifehacker.)

Sheesh — this is dangerously close to getting out of hand. We’ve got Hulu, boxee, ZeeVee and Vuze (amongst others) all vying for your attention in the wide world of broadband video, but it’s the latter dishing out a potent new offering with its latest version. Today, Vuze has announced a new iteration of its online video portal application that integrates playback with iPhone, iPod, AppleTV, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 devices. So far as we can tell, no other competitor offers that much integration (read: direct Mac / PC-to-device transfers) across so many products. Of course, none of this matters if you aren’t a fan of Vuze itself, but you can surf on over to download it (gratis, naturally) in order to test the waters.

(Via Engadget.)

Hey Linux kernel! You’re 15! You know what that means—look back on fond times, recompile, and gather all of your copyright-reform-loving, terminal-typing friends and have a rager!

After 15 hard punches to the flipper, we’ll recount the important moments in your life and the accomplishments you’ve managed to rack up before even being allowed to legally buy cigarettes and porn in most states:

• 1987: MINIX, the more dangerous and hardcore older brother you’ve always idolized, was born.

• 1991: Linus Torvalds is pissed he can’t access his university’s UNIX servers to his liking, so he wrote the code that would become your DNA. Which I guess is better than your parents just getting blind drunk and conceiving you in their Vegas drive-through honeymoon suite.

• March 13 1994: Judging by this pretty hardcore looking log file, you’re version 1.0 was release on this day 15 years ago.

• 1996: You’re two years old, and you already have a logo. Tux the penguin is created.

1998: Richard Stallman, kind of like your step dad, shaves his beard. It grows back to the same fullness the next day.

• November 2000: The first Linux-powered cellphone is announced, the IMT-2000 in Korea. It was developed by SK Telecom, Seoul National University and ‘PalmPalm Technology.’

• 2003: IBM releases those creepy ads comparing Linux to an (autistic?) sponge-like kid soaking up all the world’s knowledge.

• 2004: Ubuntu’s first release. You’re going mainstream kind of!

• ???: Linux will finally power the toaster in my home.

It’s been a great life, and here’s to many nerdier years to come.

Ok I just wrote a birthday card to an operating system. I think I need to go shotgun a Coors Lite to balance out the 1,020 geek points I just accumulated. Shotgunning it just because, not in honor of any birthday or anything.

(Via Gizmodo.)

We knew this day would eventually come, but somehow we’re still misting up a little — Linux has been ported to the iPhone and iPod touch. Dev Team member planetbeing is the mastermind in charge of bringing everyone’s favorite open-source OS to Apple’s handhelds, and while it’s a little rough around the edges (read: no touchscreen drivers, sound, or WiFi / cell radio support), it’s definitely the first step on the road to hacking nirvana. The team is hard at work, and it even sounds like they’re thinking about porting Android in the near future (!), so hit the read link to try it out and lend a hand if you can — or just head on past the break for a quick vid of the port in all its text-scrolling glory.

[Via iphone-dev.org]

Continue reading Linux hits the iPhone!

You know what they say – necessity is the mother of all invention, and Eric Skiff decided to use some of his spare time to carve out this laptop stand from cardboard. This green piece of low-tech computer peripheral ought to provide not only relief to your body while working, but your pocket as well. This DIY stand consists of a trio of cardboard pieces that have been cut to specifications, so head on here to download the pattern files before you begin. A good way to introduce art & craft to the little ones in these days of electronic distractions.

(Via Ubergizmo.)

Netatalk is a kernel level implementation of the AppleTalk Protocol Suite that allows any Unix/BSD system to run as a file, print and time server for any Mac machine.

While the Netatalk package is included in the Ubuntu Intrepid’s repository, the package is broken and does not work in the way it is intended to. The following instructions can help you to build, install and configure Netatalk to work in your Ubuntu Intrepid (It works in Ubuntu Hardy too).

In your terminal,

mkdir -p ~/src/netatalk
cd ~/src/netatalk
sudo apt-get install devscripts cracklib2-dev dpkg-dev libssl-dev build-essential
sudo apt-get build-dep netatalk
apt-get source netatalk
cd netatalk-2.0.3
DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=ssl dpkg-buildpackage -us -uc
sudo debi

That’s it. Netatalk should now be installed and started.

You will have to start everytime you log in.

To start Netatalk,

sudo /etc/init.d/netatalk start

To restart Netatalk

sudo /etc/init.d/netatalk restart

To Connect to Ubuntu From Mac OS X

In your Mac OS X, open the Finder. On the menu, click Go -> Connect to server.

Enter the IP address of your Ubuntu machine and click Connect.

It should ask you for verification. Enter your login name and password.

You should now see your Ubuntu Home folder on the left pane of Finder.

Enjoy!

[Reference: Ubuntu Forum]

(Via Make Tech Easier.)

Jon Bennett created a nifty wireless telepresence bot out of a thrift store RC car, a Linksys WRT54GL router running the Open-WRT Linux firmware, a network camera, and a microcontroller. He’s built two variations: one controlled by a PIC microprocessor, and the other controlled by an Arduino. You can use whichever processor you are more comfortable with, and make one of your own for very little cost using this guide.

The goal of this article is to give a high-level overview of the project and provide some implementation details of the software and electronics. It is not meant to be a step-by-step how-to guide, but there should be enough information for someone with motivation and some background knowledge in electronics and software to be able to make their own Wifi Robot. All of the source code is being released under the terms of the GNU GPL v2, so by all means, use the code, and improve it!

This is one of those basic projects that you can take in a number of directions. Jon’s guide will get you through interfacing with your typical RC car electronics and controlling it remotely. From here, it’s all software. Someone should take a stab at adding an image processing routine on the remote end to create an autonomous sidewalk cruiser.

Wifi Robot

(Via Hackszine.com.)