[Cloud] Image management - closing the install gap

I introduced the concept of an ‘install gap’ in this illustration that I used in ‘Image management - an introduction‘:

Installing by hand

Scripting

A painting analogy

Containment

Conclusion

How To Install Emerald In Ubuntu 13.04, 12.10 Or 12.04 [PPA]

HalfTime Emerald theme

Divergence IV “A New Hope” Emerald theme

Radial Emerald theme

LittleGlass Emerald theme

Ordinary Emerald theme

Install Emerald Window Decorator in Ubuntu 13.04, 12.10 or 12.04

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install emerald

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

Reverting the changes

sudo apt-get remove emerald

[Maps] It’s Friday Fun with Google Maps

xkcd Fame for GeoGuessr

GeoGuessr has rightly been getting a lot of great coverage lately. It has now even been featured in an xkcd strip.

Google Maps has featured a number of times over the years on xkcd. I think however this is the first time that a specific application using the Google Maps API has starred on its own.

Fame indeed!

Just in case you still haven’t played GeoGuessr:

The game drops you into a random Street View and then asks you to guess where in the world you are. Points are awarded for how close your guess is to the actual location.

[Ubuntu Solved] Install Latest VLC in Ubuntu 13.10, 13.04, 12.10, 12.04

This simple and brief tutorial will show you how to install the latest version of the popular VLC media player in Ubuntu 13.04 Raring, 13.10 Saucy, 12.10 Quantal, 12.04 Precise.

VLC is available in Ubuntu Software Center by default, but it may be old. You can always get the latest version by adding the PPA repository. Hit Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal, run following 2 commands one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:videolan/stable-daily

sudo apt-get update

After that, you can keep it up-to-date by running regular update or using Synaptic Package Manager.

Enjoy!

Author: Meilin
Source: ubuntuguide.net

[Maps] Indian Real-Estate with Commute Times

HouseinCity is a Google Maps based real-estate engine for a number of Indian cities.

HouseinCity allows house hunters to search for a property by location, price, the number of bedrooms and by the property’s builder. In what I think is a first for Indian real-estate websites, HouseinCity also offers users the option to search by commuting time.

The map includes two commuting time options. ‘Metro Connectivity’ overlays a heat map of metro travel times on the map. The heat map shows the average commuting time for a morning commute on the metro. Alternatively, for the driving times of a commute in morning traffic, users can use the ‘Project Connectivity’ option.

It is also possible to display local amenities, like schools, shopping malls etc. on the map. If you select any of the local amenities on the map you can instantly view the travel time that it will take to reach the amenity from your selected location.
Author: Keir Clarke
Source: www.mapsmaniac.com

Pinguy OS 13.04 (Final, Yet Beta) Released With GNOME 3.8

“The 6 month Pinguy OS releases will be missing features that will be in the final LTS, but the release will be very usable. It just won’t be at a stage where I am happy to call it stable due to missing features or things not quite working as they should. The goal of the 6 month releases is to help give users insight and influence on where Pinguy OS is heading and help shape the LTS release”

Pinguy OS

GNOME 3.8

GNOME Control Center 3.8

Gno-menu extension

Messaging Menu extension

• Activities Configurator: lets you configure the Activities button (text, padding, hide text or icon, hot corner sensivity, etc.);
• Alternatetab: ALT-Tab replacement that allows you to cycle between windows and doesn’t group by application;
• Alternative status menu: replaces the GNOME Shell Status menu with one that displays Suspend / Hibernate and Power Off as separate items;
• AppIndicator Support: the extension we wrote about a while back that adds Ubuntu AppIndicator support to GNOME Shell, though you need to set the indicators placement in panel from its settings (via GNOME Tweak Tool) for it to work;
• Default minimize and maximize: displays minimize and maximize buttons on windows, which isn’t available by default in GNOME Shell;
• Frippery move clock: the clock is moved to the right;
• Media player indicator: Ubuntu Unity-like sound indicator;
• Messaging Menu: Unity-like messaging menu;
• Move-free Message Tray: Returns the Message Tray to pre-3.6 behavior where your whole screen doesn’t move;
• more.

Default applications

Download Pinguy OS 13.04 beta

[Tech] Catalyst Leadership

I read a list post thread tonight that saddened me. I won’t say what community it is part of, or point out the participants, because it is far too common in many of our community meeting places, whether they be lists, IRC or forums. Stereotypes are used rather than names here.

Newperson speaks up, I think for the first time, wondering when a new project result will be put to use, and offering a possible sample.

Longtime Devel speaks up, using rather angry questions about how the old symbol came to be displaced.

Another Oldtimer speaks up defending the symbol, accusing Longtime Devel of being out of touch.

And on. And on. The listowners don’t redirect the discussion, and when questions are asked, they are answered angrily.

Newperson probably has departed by this point.

This seems like a small occurrence, but it is bad for every single participant, and each bystander has the power to change the conversation at each point.

This blog is a call for each of us to think about our power to influence the community spaces we inhabit, to exercise leadership, to become a catalyst for dialog, to open up trust. When I was first asked to become an IRC channel operator, I was asked to read the Freenode Philosopy: Catalysts. Whether or not you use IRC, I recommend reading this page to change your thinking about how you interact with others in your free software project. In fact, these ways of thinking about personal interaction would transform business, education and politics if put into wide use.

We know that bullying in schools can be brought to a stop by bystanders who show the courage to immediately speak up on behalf of the victim, and walk away from the confrontation. While I don’t want to label those who use abusive language as bullies, we can transform tense situations in similar ways by speaking up in a positive, calm manner, as outlined in the Catalyst page.

Labeling people as trolls doesn’t defuse the situation, or create an atmosphere of trust and dialog.

Please folks, if you are in an IRC channel, on a list, or help out on a forum: read the Catalyst page, and remind yourself often to be the change you want to see in the world. You don’t need to be an op, a listowner, or a moderator, to be a leader; bloom where you are! Our Codes of Conduct aren’t bludgeons to be used against evildoers; rather they are guides to our everyday interaction with one another.
Author: Valorie Zimmerman
Source: linuxgrandma.blogspot.com

[Maps] Find Garage Sales & Plan Your Route Map

gsalr.com is a garage sale, yard sale and estate sale listing service with a handy Google Maps interface and trip planner that can help you plan your weekend garage sale trips.

If you select a sale’s marker on the map you can view details of the sale and click on the ‘add to trip planner’ button to add the sale to your personal trip planner. After you have selected all the sales that you plan to visit you can then click on the ‘View Route and Directions’ button in the side panel to open another map with a planned route and the directions to all your planned sales. 
Author: Keir Clarke
Source: www.mapsmaniac.com

[Google] Finding your photos more easily with Google Search

Your photos represent some of your most important memories and life events, yet they are increasingly difficult to manage as you build up your photo library, accumulate new devices and make new friends. In many cases, searching for your photos can be challenging because the information you’re looking for is visual.

Starting today, you’ll be able to find your photos more easily and connect with the friends, places and events in your Google+ photos. For example, now you can search for your friend’s wedding photos or pictures from a concert you attended recently. To make computers do the hard work for you, we’ve also begun using computer vision and machine learning to help recognize more general concepts in your photos such as sunsets, food and flowers.

[Maps] Post Tornado Satellite Imagery - Updated

NPR has released a map showing aerial imagery of the damage from the tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma. Zoom In On Oklahoma Tornado Damage displays imagery collected on May 20th.

The map includes a tool to view building footprints, the tool can be turned on and off by clicking on the ‘Hide Labels’ button.


This Open Street Map map of aerial imagery also shows the devastating damage caused by the tornado in Moore.

Unfortunately the map doesn’t have any zoom controls or an option to view aerial imagery of the same location before the tornado struck. The map, however, does include a dynamic URL that gives the latitude and longitude of the current view. Therefore, if you want to compare before and after views of the tornado, you can grab the latitude and longitude of a view and paste it into Google Maps.

The aerial view above shows Plaza Towers Elementary School.  Below is the aerial view of the same school on Google Maps, taken before the tornado.


Update: Google Crisis Map now also has the same post-tornado imagery. The Google Crisis Map also includes aerial imagery taken at the end of April, so users can compare the pre and post-tornado imagery on the same map.

The New York Times has also created two evocative custom Street View images of the devastation caused by the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma - Before and After: 360° Views From Moore.
Author: Keir Clarke
Source: www.mapsmaniac.com