Showing posts with label 16. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 16. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
16 Things You Can Do In Android Lollipop But Not In KitKat
16 Things You Can Do In Android Lollipop But Not In KitKat
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After what feels like a long time since we saw the L Preview first appear, Google is now rolling out the final version of Android 5.0 Lollipop to its existing Nexus devices, and it also appears on the brand new Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 gadgets. Get to know the best version of Android yet by working through this selection of tips and tricks, covering all of the new features, major and minor, that are built into the operating system.
1. Tap and go
When youre setting up your new Lollipop device for the first time, youll be presented with the option to "tap and go." This NFC-and-Bluetooth-powered data transfer lets you move all of your Google Account details, configuration settings, data and apps over to a new device just by placing your old phone or tablet against it. Widgets and wallpaper are swapped over as well.
2. Use the flashlight
Flashlight apps have always been popular on Android, so Google has decided to roll one into Lollipop to save you the trouble of having download a third-party one. Pull down the notification drawer then tap the top bar to reveal the flashlight app alongside other options like airplane mode. The app will only appear if your device has an LED flash alongside its camera.
3. Prioritize your apps
Android 5.0 Lollipop lets you set up a list of important apps that are allowed to disturb you even when most arent. Head to Settings -> Sound & notification -> App notificationsand you can choose to block each app or mark it as a priority one. Tap the volume slider on your device to activate priority mode indefinitely or for one hour (a star will appear in the status bar).
4. Deal with notifications from the lock screen
In Lollipop all of your app notifications appear on the lock screen ready for viewing. Not only that, but you can interact with them as well. Swipe to dismiss, tap to reply and so on, depending on the app in question. A double-tap gets you into the relevant app. Head to Settings ->Sound & notification -> When device is locked if you want to hide sensitive alerts.
5. Pin apps
If you want to hand over your device to one of your kids or a friend, you can "pin" them inside one single app. First, activate the feature via Settings -> Security -> Screen pinning. Then, when you activate the multitasking screen via the square Overview button, youll see a pin icon appear in the lower right-hand corner of the bottom app (drag it up if you cant see it).
Holding down the Back and Overview buttons is enough to exit the pinned mode and get back to other apps. When you activate the pin, youll be asked if you want to use a code or pattern to unlock it. This is tied to the same protection applied to your device, so if your lock screen isnt protected by a code or pattern then the option wont appear when youre pinning apps.
6. Jump to app settings
The lock screen really has been given a major overhaul with the Android 5.0 Lollipop update, and the improvements include the ability to jump straight to an apps settings or information panel right from the lock screen. Long-press on any notification and (depending on the app) youll see a cog icon (the app settings shortcut) and an info icon (the app notification settings shortcut).
7. Predict battery life
New to Android 5.0 Lollipop is the ability to see how much time is left before the battery runs out of juice, or how long you need to wait before your device is fully charged up. Tap on the battery icon in the notification drawer to see either reading (the time-until-charged information also appears on the lock screen a few minutes after youve connected your device to a power source).
8. Search settings and networks
Googles search bar is getting more ubiquitous with each passing version of Android, and in Lollipop its made it into the Settings app. Tap the magnifying glass icon to use it. It can be a quick way of finding a particular option youre looking for, especially if you dont already know what menu or heading its under. You can use the same feature to bring up saved Wi-Fi networks too.
9. Enter Guest Mode
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Sharing devices with other people (friends, colleagues, family members, distracted children) can be a real pain, but Lollipops new Guest Mode eases it somewhat. You can access Guest Mode by dragging down the notification drawer, tapping on your user account avatar, and then selectingAdd guest from the menu (or just Guest if youve been through the process before).
10. Improve text legibility
If you were wondering if the Accessibility menu within Settings would get overlooked in the Android 5.0 upgrade, theres a new experimental feature here called High contrast text. Essentially, it gives white or difficult-to-read text a black outline when its being viewed on a light background. Its applied to the "OK Google" text inside the home screen search bar, for example.
11. Chromecast more quickly
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Theres an official Chromecast app from Google that lets you screencast from any device running Android 4.4.2 or higher, but the functionality is built right into Android 5.0, which is great news for anyone with one of the compact streaming dongles to hand. Its right in the notification drawer—tap on the Cast screen icon to locate your Chromecast and begin screencasting.
12. Add trusted devices
A trusted device is a specified Bluetooth or NFC-enabled gadget that will automatically disable the security code or pattern on your your Android phone or tablet when its in range. This means you dont have to fiddle around unlocking the Lollipop device when youre at home or in the car, for example. Head to Settings -> Security -> Smart Lock to set up the feature.
13. Hang a do not disturb sign
This works a little bit like the priority app notifications we mentioned earlier, but its based around times and days more than apps. Go to Settings -> Sound & notification ->Interruptions to set it up—its perhaps best used overnight when you dont want to be disturbed, but there is the option to let certain contacts through as well as messages and alarms, if necessary.
14. Get back to your apps after a reboot
If you reboot your device in any version of Android before 5.0, all of your recently opened apps will disappear. In Lollipop, theyre still present on the Overview screen, so you can quickly get back to a previous conversation or website if you need to (not all apps will remember exactly where you were in the app). To remove a card from the list, swipe it away to the left or right.
15. Play Googles Flappy Bird clone
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Like earlier versions of Android, Lollipop has an Easter egg to unlock. Go to Settings ->About phone then tap quickly four times on the Android version entry. Once the Lollipop graphic appears, tap quickly on it several times then finish with a long press to launch a clone of Flappy Bird with an Android robot in place of the bird. Its just as frustrating to play as the original too.
16. Save the battery
Available link for download
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Thursday, December 1, 2016
A Quick Look At Budgie Remix 16 04 The Unofficial Budgie Desktop Ubuntu Flavor
A Quick Look At Budgie Remix 16 04 The Unofficial Budgie Desktop Ubuntu Flavor
Budgie Remix 16.04, the unofficial Ubuntu flavor that uses Budgie Desktop by default, was released recently.
For now, Budgie Remix is an unofficial Ubuntu flavor however, its developers aim at making it an official member of the Ubuntu family. The next step towards this goal is to release Budgie Remix 16.04.1 in three months, followed by a first Budgie Remix 16.10 alpha in July.
Budgie Remix 16.04 is based on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and it includes the latest Budgie Desktop 10.2.5. Budgie Desktop integrates tightly with the GNOME stack and it features a libmutter-based window manager and a customizable panel which includes an applet, notification, and customization center, called Raven.
I have to note that Budgie Desktop doesnt support AppIndicators and tray icons dont seem to work either, or at least some dont work (I tried Shutter and Transmission in Budgie Remix 16.04 and the tray icon didnt work for either of them), this being my only issue with Budgie desktop.
I have to note that Budgie Desktop doesnt support AppIndicators and tray icons dont seem to work either, or at least some dont work (I tried Shutter and Transmission in Budgie Remix 16.04 and the tray icon didnt work for either of them), this being my only issue with Budgie desktop.
The new unofficial Ubuntu flavor already includes its own artwork, with custom Plymouth and LightDM theme, and the beautiful Arc GTK and Faba icon themes.
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| Budgie Remix 16.04 LightDM theme |
Since Budgie is a shell for GNOME, Budgie Remix 16.04 ships with GNOME Settings (Control Center / Settings Daemon):
Furthermore, Budgie Remix 16.04 includes Nautilus 3.18, and not the version available in the official Ubuntu 16.04 repositories, which is 3.14:
Thats possible because Budgie Remix is not an official Ubuntu flavor, so it uses a PPA by default, which provides not only Nautilus 3.18, but also the whole Budgie Desktop, artwork and so on.
You can use this PPA to try Budgie Desktop in Ubuntu, but keep in mind that it will update Nautilus to a version that doesnt have any Unity patches (you can lock the current Nautilus version to avoid that though).
Other applications included by default with Budgie Remix 16.04 include Plank (0.11.1) dock, which is used on the left of the screen with Intellihide and a beautiful theme called Arc by default, along with:
- Gedit 3.18
- GNOME Photos 3.18
- gThumb 3.4.3
- Rhythmbox 3.3
- Totem 3.18
- Eye Of GNOME (Image Viewer) 3.18
- GNOME Terminal 3.18
- LibreOffice 5.1.2
- Firefox 45
- Transmission 2.84
- and various utilities like Calculator, Disks, Calendar and so on.
For installing new software and updates, Budgie Remix uses GNOME Software and Software Updater, just like Ubuntu (with Unity):
Under the hood, just like Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Budgie Remix includes GTK+ 3.18.9, Mesa 11.2.0, Xorg server 1.18.3 and the Ubuntu Linux Kernel 4.4.0-21, based on the upstream 4.4.6 Linux Kernel.
Budgie Remix 16.04 video
To see Budgie Remix 16.04 in action, check out the video below (by Riba Linux):
(direct video link)
Download Budgie Remix 16.04
Download Budgie Remix 16.04
If you like Budgie Remix, check out its Google+ and Reddit pages.
Available link for download
Thursday, October 20, 2016
A Quick Look At Ubuntu MATE 16 04 LTS
A Quick Look At Ubuntu MATE 16 04 LTS
Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS was released today and it includes some interesting changes, like a complete overhaul of the MATE Welcome user interface, a new panel layout option in Ubuntu MATE Tweak, which mimics Unity with a dock-like panel and global menu setup, and more.
Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS video
Below you can watch a quick video which shows some of the new features / changes in Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS:
(direct video link; for more videos, subscribe to the WebUpd8 YouTube channel)
Changes in Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus)
Ubuntu MATE, the Ubuntu flavor that became official with its 15.04 release, uses MATE, a GNOME 2 fork that lets you use the old GNOME 2 desktop interface, with support for both old (like the old Gedit 2 which was forked as Pluma, or Nautilus 2, which was forked as Caja) and new (header bar) applications.
- fixes and improvements for GTK3 support across the entire MATE Desktop including GTK 3.18 support;
- significantly improved touchpad support, which now supports natural scrolling, 2 finger and 3 finger clicks;
- improved multi monitor support;
- the power applet now displays model and vendor information;
- improved session management which now includes screensaver inhibition while playing media;
- extended systemd support.
Those are just the changes in MATE desktop. Ubuntu MATE 16.04 ships with quite a few other improvements. For instance, Synapse, a popular quick application launcher, is now installed by default but its not active (it can be enabled using MATE Tweak, under Interface > Enable launcher):
Another new default package is MATE Dock Applet, a configurable MATE Panel applet that can display open windows as icons:
TopMenu Applet, the applet that can be used to add a global menu on the MATE panel, is now installed by default. Its not used by default though so if you want to use it, right click the panel, select "Add to panel" and add "TopMenu" or use the new Mutiny panel layout from MATE Tweak:
This global menu implementation supports GTK2 and GTK3 applications only (it doesnt work with Qt applications, among others).
Probably the most important applications user experience-wise in this Ubuntu flavor, MATE Welcome and Ubuntu MATE Tweak have received significant improvements.
MATE Welcome:
- complete overhaul of the user interface, with applications separated in a "Software Boutique" section. It includes a expandable/collapsible "More Details" section for each application, which provides screenshots, source (repository), website, platform and license information;
- added System Specifications page;
- added detection of graphics card (including VirtualBox) including one-click enablement of the graphics-drivers PPA if Nvidia is detected;
- added one-click enablement of the LibreOffice Fresh PPA to continually track stable LibreOffice releases;
- added multiple new applications, including Kodi, Nuvola Player, Pinta, Vivaldi, SparkleShare, GNOME Software, OBS Studio and many others.
Ubuntu MATE Tweak:
- added keyboard led indicator option;
- added launcher (Synapse) option;
- added capability to enable/disable animations;
- added support for Compton hardware compositing for Marco and Metacity;
- added Mutiny panel layout which includes Mate Dock Applet and TopMenu Applet.
Other changes in Ubuntu MATE 16.04:
- improved client-side decoration app theming, with resize area and shadows, minimal style for CSD windows running without a compositor, etc.
- Plank dock was updated to version 0.11 which adds docklets, option (available via Dconf Editor / gsettings) to use multiple docks, and theres also a new Plank theme for Ubuntu MATE;
- MATE Desktop CPU resource requirements have been reduced across the board;
- Google Chrome and Chromium windows are now considered Compiz windows in fullscreen to avoid tearing;
- much more.
Under the hood, Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS ships with Mesa 11.2.0, Xorg server 1.18.3 and the Ubuntu Linux Kernel 4.4.0-18.34, based on the upstream 4.4.6 Linux Kernel.
Also see: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) Available For Download, See What`s New
Also see: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) Available For Download, See What`s New
Download Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus)
Download Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS
Also see the official release announcement.
You can now use Ubuntu MATE on Raspberry Pi 2 and 3. For more information and download links, see THIS page.
Available link for download
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