Monthly Archives: July 2008

PyTube: the best YouTube manager, downloader and video converter for Linux!

This week, in our Linux Page (in Spanish), we have posted a short review about PyTube, an opensource software which allows you to easier search, manage and convert your YouTube videos. Installing PyTube is very simple; for example, on Ubuntu you can directly add this software using the Synaptic Package Manager and marking it for installation from the menu (as usual, using the Search field you will reduce your searching time). The graphical interface is very simple and all the features can be intuitively understood. Using the search bar you are able to find all the related videos very rapidly, and you can select just the videos you desire to download. PyTube has also many interesting “minor” features like merge-rotate-resize video or -generate a ringtone- contained in the “Multimedia Tool” menu. Moreover PyTube is able to convert them to avi, in just a click. I found this software very useful to improve my Ubuntu knowledge and I recommend to all the people who need a flexible software to deeply navigate YouTube. Recommended! AddThis mp3 link

Just a simple Flock icon with the transparent background.

Flock icon - transparent backgroundSome days ago, after the update from Firefox 3.0 to the 3.0.1 version I completely lost my favorite browser. I have not already solved the problem so I installed Flock but I was not able to find a Flock icon with a transparent background to insert on the AWN dock. So I decided to create a 48×48 icon using a common Flock icon with a white background. For this purpose I used KIconEdit (version 3.5.9 – Ubuntu version) and in just five minutes I solved my problem. The result is not perfect but acceptable so I would like to share it with all you. I hope it would be useful to someone. Enjoy it! AddThis mp3 link

XBMC: the best multiplatform, open source media-player on the web.

Today, in our Linux Page (in Spanish) we added a brief post about XBMC, the best open source (GPL), free entertainment hub you can find on internet. XBMC is really easy to install (for Linux users, especially in Ubuntu) and its features are very intuitive and simple to configure. Moreover the graphics themes are very attractive and it is able to manage many multimedia formats, “playlists, audio visualizations, slideshow and weather forecast functions”. It is also possible to add many interesting third-party plugins that you can find through a simple google query (XBMC plugin). Last, but not least, XBMC is a multiplatform software, in fact the download page contains four different versions for Windows, XBox, Linux and MAC OSX. When we compared XBMC to the Windows Media Center we did not notice any loss in this open-source media center and, honestly, we were positively impressed by all the XBMC featured we tested. Recommended! AddThis mp3 link

Project Neon: the fastest way to install Amarok 2.0 on your Kubuntu!

Project NeonThis week, in our Linux Page (in Spanish), Frank has added an interesting post about Project Neon which is the best solution for people who desire to have the new nightly builds service for Amarok. Following the simple instructions contained in Project Neon you will able to enjoy the last developing packages for Amarok 2.0 without waiting the release of the stable version. Project Neon also provides simple instructions to install Amarok 2.0 on your Ubuntu in just five minutes. Last but not least, it is necessary to remember that Amarok 2.0 is not in its final version  yet and it could potentially create some serious problems on your PC. To install it just add:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/project-neon/ubuntu hardy main

in your sources (/etc/apt/sources.list) and the install it using the following command lines:

$ sudo apt-get uptdate

$ sudo apt-get install amarok-nightly

Enjoy it! AddThis mp3 link