Kupfer – Handy Linux Tool

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Nov 032014
 

The beauty of Linux is the plentiful availability of useful tools.

And magically they’re all free.

Quick App Launcher

In this post, we’ll take a look at Kupfer, a quick application and document launcher.

This is an useful tool since there are only so many icons you can place on your panel or in the favorites section (in Linux Mint).

You can download Kupfer via the terminal or through the Software Manager for Linux Mint. If you’re on Ubuntu, head to the Software Center to get this handy application.

Once you install Kupfer, you can open the lightweight application by pressing Ctrl + spacebar. From there, you can open any application or file on your computer by typing in just a few letters of the folder or file name. Press the spacebar and you’ll see a drop-down box if you have multiple folders or files starting with, for example, Linux.

You can even open any of the folders on your computer or search directly on your preferred search engine (Google, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo etc). There are a bunch of plugins too adding more value to the app.

I recommend you right click on the Kupfer icon on your PC, click ‘Preferences’ and check the box for ‘start automatically on login’ so that the tool is always available to you.

Kupfer is available for several Linux distributions including Debian, Arch Linux, Linux Mint and Ubuntu. Keep in mind that Kupfer requires Python 2.6 or later, and Python modules gtk, dbus, and xdg.

The latest release of Kupfer is v208, which came out in June 2012.

Check out Kupfer and use it to complete your tasks faster via the keyboard.

LibreOffice 4.3.2 Lands with 80 Fixes

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Sep 252014
 

Users of free office suite LibreOffice should be pleased as punch today.

Version 4.3.2 debuted today with 80 fixes that address interoperability issues when reading or writing Microsoft Office DOCX, XLSX and PPTX files.

Release 4.3.2 is the second minor release of the LibreOffice 4.3 “Fresh” family.

People interested in technical details of the release can access the change logs here.
LibreOffice - Free Office Suite

Where to Download

Users may download LibreOffice 4.3.2 “Fresh” and LibreOffice 4.2.6 “Still” from this download link.

The update arrives just before the fourth anniversary of the LibreOffice project on September 28, 2014.

LibreOffice is available for Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.

Momentum

The LibreOffice community is said to be gaining traction for the past four years, attracting at least three new developers per month plus several volunteers active in localization, quality assurance and marketing and development of local communities.

LibreOffice is now available in over 100 languages.

Show your appreciation for the LibreOffice project by making a donation.

Samsung Ditches Notebooks in Europe

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Sep 232014
 

Samsung Kills Laptops, Chromebooks Business in EuropeSamsung has pulled out of the notebook market in Europe.

The South Korean giant said it would stop selling its Ativ Windows notebooks and Chromebooks in Europe but left open the possibility of a return to the business at a later date.

A Samsung rep told PC Advisor:

We quickly adapt to market needs and demands. In Europe, we will be discontinuing sales of laptops including Chromebooks for now. This is specific to the region – and is not necessarily reflective of conditions in other markets.

PC Market Slowdown

Tablets, phablets (large screen smartphones) and smartphones are eating into the PC market hitting most vendors. Continue reading »

Linux IMAP Mail Client Geary gets Better

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Sep 222014
 

Geary IMAP E-Mail Client Linux IMAP e-mail reader/client Geary has recently been updated to version 0.8.

Note for Linux Mint 17 users – The Software Manager in Linux Mint still offers Geary 0.6. So if you want the latest version (0.8), you’ll have to download it here.

If you’re unsure how to go about installing Geary 0.8, read these instructions first.

Geary 0.8 – Enhancements

* Redesigned mail composer (now presented inline in main window)
* Support for signatures in mail Continue reading »

5 Useful Information Organizers for Mac

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Sep 302013
 

Is there an office worker anywhere who is not drowning in an ocean of information?

Information overload, and the struggle to make sense of the tsunami of data, is one of the biggest drains on productivity.

To help individuals and small businesses manage the information flow and use it profitably, software companies have been spitting out a slew of applications for the Mac and Windows as well as for mobile platforms like iOS and Android.

Here are five information organization tools for the Mac that should help to make your work life more manageable:

Evernote – The most popular information organization service is available for Mac, Windows and as a web app. Evernote also offers apps for the two major mobile platforms – iOS and Android. The app syncs across devices, which means if you’re on the road you have access to the same desktop information on your mobile phone or tablet. The big plus of Evernote is that it offers an ad-supported free option that lets users upload 60MB of data a month. Premium version is $5/month ($45 a year) and allows up to 1GB of uploads. I’ve used the free version for a few years and have no complaints.

SohoNotes – A note taking app that lets you organize, sync and share text notes, PDFs, images, voice recordings, videos and web archives. Costs $40. Syncs with the company’s NoteLife app ($5) app for iPhone and iPod touch. Free trial version available. Continue reading »

If You’re Not Using Pocket, Start Now

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Sep 262013
 

When I read this morning that the Pocket read it later online service had crossed the 10-million users milestone I was very happy for the San Francisco company’s founder Nate Weiner and his team of developers.

Pocket works with both text articles and video.

Pocket is a Great Service

Great Service

For over two years, I’ve been using Pocket (and its earlier avatar Read It Later), mainly to save web articles for later reading, and am delighted with it.

Pocket is a convenient tool for the present age when even 29-hours in a day would be insufficient to complete all our chores.

I save a page on my Mac to read it later and, voila, the page is right there on my iPad instantly.

I delete the page on the iPad and, poof, it instantly disappears on the Mac. Continue reading »

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