GNOME 3 tip: remove title bar from maximised windows

Note: This tip was presented by the Web Upd8 site but I wanted to mention it here in case people hadn't already seen it there.

In a standard GNOME 3 windows have a titlebar which contains only the window's title and a close button. To maximise the amount of vertical space available, the tip presented on the Web Upd8 site changes the theme so that maximised windows no longer have a title bar. Since the name of the application also appears in the panel at the top of the screen, there's no information lost there. And even though the close button is no longer visible, you can easily access the window controls menu by pressing [Alt] + [Space].

If you have a netbook or simply want a little extra vertical space, try this tip for yourself.

Searching for the "right" application

As I often do, I have recently been trying to find just the right application to meet my needs. My latest search is for a "communications client", whatever that means. I am usually online when I use my PC but there are also times, usually when I'm writing the Frugalware Linux newsletter, that I am not so I need offline access.

Like most people, I use both online and offline communications:

• Online - instant messaging: usually IRC;
• Offline - mail and RSS feeds.

For offline access I believe a traditional email client would probably suit since I use an IMAP server and so can download select IMAP folders. I have tried several email clients and the results so far are summarised below. In this case I was trying to find an application which had several features, which I know goes against the Unix way but that's my preference in this case.

Thunderbird

* Mail

It looks good, works well in sync-in select IMAP folders, just as I want. Thunderbird's configuration seems more complex than that of most other applications, especially when you have multiple mail accounts. Like all other mail clients, you can easily maintain a list of contacts. In summary Thunderbird works as I expect it to but I can't seem to get comfortable with its user interface with elements that I think take up too much space. I could use it if I need to.

* RSS feeds

Thunderbird works well with RSS feeds, including allowing you to import your RSS feed list.

* Extra features?

Thunderbird can also sync calendars via the Lightning extension so that's a bonus. The only problem here is that Lightning is an add-on, not an integral part of Thunderbird so as I upgrade I need to wait for Lightning's development to catch up. Of course I didn't mention above that I want sync-in of my calendar but if the application can do it I think it's a bonus.

Evolution

* Mail

Same as Thunderbird. Evolution's configuration dialog boxes seem a lot simpler than those of Thunderbird.

* RSS feeds

It seems that there was once an extension for Evolution to allow this but the project appears to be dead. Of course I can use something like Liferea but that means I don't have all my offline communications in one place.

* Extra features?

Evolution offers calendar sync-ing as a native feature and works well with Google Calendar, for example.

Opera

* Mail

I like the look and feel of Opera, user interface and so like its mail interface. I particularly like that you can compose messages in a tab, which it seems none of the other two offer. There are of course reasons for and against this so it's usually a matter of personal taste. What is annoying about Opera is trying to troubleshoot problems with mail sync-ing. It only offers a log file and then only if you manually configured it to do this. Otherwise its error reporting is poor because it doesn't help you find what's wrong. In summary I like Opera a lot but it's not open source. :(

* RSS feeds

Like Thunderbird, RSS feeds appear in Opera's mail panel and are easily managed and read.

* Extra features?

Where Opera is lacking is that there's no calendar sync-ing function, even as an extension. It has several other features that neither Thunderbird nor Evolution offer but they're not really related to this blog post.

 

I haven't yet found the "right" application but I'll keep looking...

Online and offline notes for Chrom(e|ium)

I often need to make a note of something when browsing the web and, since my current web browser of choice is Chromium, I have been looking for a suitable extension. I soon discovered Scratchpad, an extension developed by Google. It allows you to keep free-format text notes which are stored locally and, if you choose, synchronise them with a Google Docs account. This looked to do what I wanted but after a little testing I found it annoying because when you click on the extension's icon it appears in a small window in the top right-hand corner of the browser's window. I also found that items I was deleting via the extension were not being deleted from my Google Docs account.

I then started using an extension called Quick Note which offered much the same functionality but synchronised with Diigo, not Google Docs. Later I stumbled across a blog post which revived my interest in Scratchpad because it showed a simple method of having it open in a full tab instead of a tiny window. Since I discovered this tip I have again switched my storage of online and offline notes back to Scratchpad from Quick Note.

Since I plan to store all sorts of information (some would say "rubbish" :P ) via Scratchpad, having a full-content search capability would be useful. The above blog post also listed a solution to this, with Google Docs is used as a custom search engine solely for documents stored via Scratchpad.

At least for the moment I'm very happy with Scratchpad and so will continue to use it. Keep an eye on my blog though, in case I find something I like more. :P

I think I'm in love...with a GTK theme

Yes, I have to admit it - I love the Murrine-Unity-Carbonite GTK theme. I am often searching for the "perfect" theme but am usually disappointed. I can't recall where I first saw the Murrine-Unity set of themes (Carbonite being the grey version) but it was probably the Gnome Look site. What can I say but it's everything I ever wanted in a theme and more: it's not glossy, menus look good, buttons look good, the GNOME panel looks good, in fact everything looks good to my eyes. I have also tested it under Xfce and it looks good there too! I sometimes get excited (yes, I agree that I should get out and see more of the world) by a theme under GNOME and then find out that it doesn't look quite as good under Xfce. Sign. :(

For the moment I am very happy with this theme and I hope we're together for a long time. That doesn't mean I can't look at other themes, just not while I'm using Murrine-Unity. :)

I hope you like what you see.

Guayadeque - a nice desktop-neutral media player

I have been searching for an audio player which can take the place of Rhythmbox, because I switch between the GNOME and Xfce desktop environments. My main problem has been that I don't know what I am looking for, only what I don't want. :( I have tried all of the GUI audio media players available in the Frugalware repositories. After a long search I am currently using Guayadeque - http://guayadeque.org. It's quite light on dependencies but is very full featured, including support for:

• Cross-fade


• Lyrics


• Downloading album artwork


• Audio


• Podcasts


• Recording

I may not use an audio player like most people because I usually listen to just one album at a time. Guayadeque suits me but I can't explain just why I like it. Just as different text editors suit different people, the same applies to audio media players. I am beginning to understand just why there are so many media players available on Linux: not everyone's the same. The only thing I now need to do is find an application which allows me to rip tracks from a CD into my preferred format. I'm thinking that a console-based application would be best. When I find one I like I'll report back here.

For the moment, keep on rocking!

My current favourite Chrom(e|ium) extensions

 

Here are the Chrom(e|ium) extensions and apps which I am currently using and the purpose for which I have them installed. This list may not be of use to anyone else but at least if I lose all my extensions I know where to get a list of those I did have installed. :)

I'm trying to keep the list of extensions to a minimum because I know they use memory all the time they're running.

 

Extensions

Scribefire - blog entry writing, which allows for writing entries offline. Since I usually think of stuff I want to blog about while offline, this was an important feature.

App Launcher - provides an icon in the top bar from which I can choose an installed application.

Adblock PLus for Google Chrome - blocks ads. :) I'm still not sure if this is worth having installed but I'll wait and see.

Diigo Bookmark etc... - to bookmark pages of interest. I am experimenting with this extension as a way of bookmarking and storing web pages which I want to read later.

Google Tasks - provides a full-window view of tasks in Google Tasks.

Quickrr World Clock - displays the current time in whatever locations around the world you choose. I use this when chatting in IRC and want to know the local time elsewhere.

RSS Subscription Extension - I use this to subscribe quickly and easly to RSS feeds.

 

Apps

imo - This is basically a link to the imo chat web site which provides a web interface to multiple instant messaging networks.

Quick Note - allows you to store text and images both locally and synchronise with your personal Diigo "library". I am testing this as a way of making notes about stuff that I need to have access to offline.

 

HOWTO: Download Blip.tv content for offline viewing

I was recently reading a post from the official Disqus blog and they mentioned that they had given a talk at Pycon 2011, with the video being available at Blip.tv. I hadn't viewed anything at Blip.tv before and found that the videos are, of course, shown using Flash. I wanted to be able to view them offline and, since I use Chromium as my prefered browser, went looking for an extension would allow me to download them. I couldn't find anything but I did find a bookmarklet which launched a Javascript application which showed the link to the video content, allowing you to download it offline.

I tried the bookmarklet and it worked as advertised but it linked to a web site which displayed ads. I thought "Hey, if all it's doing is finding the link, why can't I do that myself?" So went back to Blip.tv, viewed the source and looked for the link(s) to the video file and entered the link alone in the address bar. This started dispaying the video and only the video in Chromium and I could then right-click on the video and use the "Download" link to save the video file locally.

If anyone has suggestions as to how this might be done better I'm happy to receive comments. I'm just happy that I can download the videos.