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Why Ultrabooks Should Run Ubuntu 11.10 Posted: 16 Sep 2011 03:33 AM PDT When Steve Jobs unveiled the slim but powerful Macbook Air, it was as if a magician had pulled a flailing rabbit out of a hat. Everyone was amazed at how laptop technology had moved forward, and instantly the latest Macbook Air became a massive success. The Macbook Air might be an awesome product, but there are currently no alternatives for folks who don't want to get converted to the Apple religion. But don't get disappointed just yet; come Q4 2011, Intel will be bringing us the new revolution in computing called Ultrabooks. Touted as the direct competitor to Macbook Air, Intel's ambitious project will leave no stone unturned to prove itself in the not-so-dead laptop market. While it is not confirmed as to which operating system manufacturers will be using, there is a high chance that Windows 7 will be the one. However, we here at TechSource believe that running Ubuntu 11.10 (or higher) on Ultrabooks might actually be more profitable. Here's why: Old friends: Intel and Linux Have you ever used an Intel desktop with Linux? If so, I'd wager that you rarely had any major issues with the drivers. This is because, unlike NVIDIA and ATI, Intel's graphics drivers are open source, making Intel-based graphic cards a heaven to work with. Also, Intel has been making significant contributions to the open source world, thus making it a great chum of penguin. Ubuntu, which almost runs flawlessly on Intel desktops, will be a great contender for the OS spot on these lightweight monsters. If any of the Ultrabook manufacturers managed to see potential in Ubuntu 11.10, there are chances that it'll make our dreams come true. Low cost The Macbook Air costs around a $1000. Now, to beat a price like that, Intel has to do a lot of hard work, especially if it is serious about taking up 40% of the laptop market. Intel has announced that the Ultrabooks will be low-cost and may cost less than a $1000. If Intel somehow gets Ubuntu on its devices, they could save a lot of money. If manufacturers are planning to market it as a low-cost device, they should play hardball with Microsoft. With the "professional" versions of Windows 7 priced very high, they will have to make some tough choices as to which operating system they use. Of course, we know that Windows 7 is going to take the spot anyway, but some manufacturers can get innovative and use Ubuntu on them. Using Ubuntu will significantly lower the price making the product much more affordable. Evolving Ubuntu If you've seen the latest screenshots of 11.10, it's way different from the Unity we all whined about. The interface has changed a lot, and yes it looks quite classy so to speak. As far as the stability goes, only time will tell. Nevertheless, Unity is quickly maturing into something that can actually deliver in the tech market. Now is the perfect time to invest in Ubuntu. The Windows 8 killer Intel is currently eyeing Windows 8 that is yet to be released. Well, since it's a Microsoft product, there are some pretty good chances that they'll screw up badly this time. The new experimental UI, no matter how modern it is, might not go down well with many users. Ubuntu can become the perfect alternative to Windows 8, if somehow Canonical manages to make Unity stable enough for mass consumption. Sell it like the droid With Android's huge success, the tech industry has finally seen that Linux is something that can gain massive mainstream popularity. If the investors somehow manage to see things from this angle, Ubuntu could surely end up on an Ultrabook someday. Finally, it's Linux the beast as we know it We all know that Linux can make a low-spec machine run like a marathon champ without making us pay a single penny. Manufacturers can make those i5 processors run to their full potential by putting Ubuntu on their devices. A normal user who has used Windows before might be pleasantly surprised at the performance capabilities of Ubuntu and Linux in general. Ultrabooks will be released around the end of 2011, and many people have already dissed off the idea of them being a success. However, there are others who believe that Intel will pull it off and takeover most of the laptop market. Whatever the case maybe, we definitely want to see at least one manufacturer going with Ubuntu. I've got my fingers crossed! Written by: Abhishek, a regular TechSource contributor and a long-time FOSS advocate.

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[HowtoForge] Newsletter 09/15/2011

HowtoForge Newsletter 09/15/2011
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*** Version 1.2 of the ISPConfig 3 Manual ***
=============================================

The next update of the ISPConfig 3 Manual is available in PDF format (version 1.2 for ISPConfig >= 3.0.3.3; Date: 05/04/2011).

Version 1.2 for ISPConfig >= 3.0.3.3 (Date: 05/04/2011)
Author: Falko Timme
308 pages

The manual can be downloaded from these two links:

http://www.ispconfig.org/ispconfig-3/ispconfig-3-manual/
http://www.howtoforge.com/download-the-ispconfig-3-manual

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ISPConfig Monitor App for Android Phones
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With the ISPConfig Monitor App, you can check your server status and find out if all services are running as expected. You can check TCP and UDP ports and ping your servers. In addition to that you can use this app to request details from servers that have ISPConfig installed; these details include everything you know from the Monitor module in the ISPConfig Control Panel (e.g. services, mail and system logs, mail queue, CPU and memory info, disk usage, quota, OS details, RKHunter log, etc.).

Download/Usage
==============

For download and usage instructions, please visit http://www.ispconfig.org/ispconfig-3/ispconfig-monitor-app-for-android/ .

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*** HowtoForge Now Has Its own Facebook Page ***
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We at HowtoForge are proud to announce that our new Facebook page is now available under http://www.facebook.com/howtoforge. As most of you probably have a Facebook account, we want to use this additional channel to post updates and get feedback from you. Therefore we would like you to "Like" our page, share it with your friends, post comments, etc. :-)

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New HOWTOs:
===========

* How To Set Up SSL Vhosts Under Nginx + SNI Support (Ubuntu 11.04/Debian Squeeze)
* Upgrade/Migrate VMware ESX / ESXi 4.* To ESXi 5.0
* Virtual Users And Domains With Postfix, Courier, MySQL And SquirrelMail (CentOS 6.0 x86_64)
* Basic HTTP Authentication With Nginx
* How To Create A Debian Wheezy (Testing) OpenVZ Template
* Installing MySQL Administrator Tool To Connect To Remote Databases

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How To Set Up SSL Vhosts Under Nginx + SNI Support (Ubuntu 11.04/Debian Squeeze)
================================================================================

This article explains how you can set up SSL vhosts under nginx on Ubuntu 11.04 and Debian Squeeze so that you can access the vhost over HTTPS (port 443). SSL is short for Secure Sockets Layer and is a cryptographic protocol that provides security for communications over networks by encrypting segments of network connections at the transport layer end-to-end. In addition to that I will show how to make use of SNI (Server Name Indication) to allow multiple SSL vhosts per IP address.

You can find the document here:
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http://www.howtoforge.com/how-to-set-up-ssl-vhosts-under-nginx-plus-sni-support-ubuntu-11.04-debian-squeeze

Upgrade/Migrate VMware ESX / ESXi 4.* To ESXi 5.0
=================================================

VMware has recently released its new VM hypervisor product, VMware ESXi 5.0. VMware is replacing its current ESX model with ESXi and the biggest change (between ESX and ESXi) is the architecture, as most of you VM gurus are well aware of, but for the people that don't know I will quickly explain.

You can find the document here:
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http://www.howtoforge.com/upgrade-migrate-vmware-esx-esxi-4-to-esxi-5.0

Virtual Users And Domains With Postfix, Courier, MySQL And SquirrelMail (CentOS 6.0 x86_64)
===========================================================================================

This document describes how to install a Postfix mail server that is based on virtual users and domains, i.e. users and domains that are in a MySQL database. I'll also demonstrate the installation and configuration of Courier (Courier-POP3, Courier-IMAP), so that Courier can authenticate against the same MySQL database that Postfix uses. The resulting Postfix server is capable of SMTP-AUTH and TLS and quota. Passwords are stored in encrypted form in the database. In addition to that, this tutorial covers the installation of Amavisd, SpamAssassin and ClamAV so that emails will be scanned for spam and viruses. I will also show how to install SquirrelMail as a webmail interface so that users can read and send emails and change their passwords.

You can find the document here:
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http://www.howtoforge.com/virtual-users-and-domains-with-postfix-courier-mysql-and-squirrelmail-centos-6.0-x86_64

Basic HTTP Authentication With Nginx
====================================

This tutorial shows how you can use basic HTTP authentication with Nginx to password-protect directories on your server or even a whole website. This is the Nginx equivalent to basic HTTP authentication on Apache with .htaccess/.htpasswd.

You can find the document here:
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http://www.howtoforge.com/basic-http-authentication-with-nginx

How To Create A Debian Wheezy (Testing) OpenVZ Template
=======================================================

This tutorial explains how to create an OpenVZ template for Debian Wheezy (Debian Testing) that you can use to create virtual Debian Wheezy machines under OpenVZ. I searched for a Debian Wheezy OpenVZ template, but couldn't find one, that's why I decided to create it myself. This guide can also be used for creating Debian Lenny templates and templates for recent Ubuntu versions.

You can find the document here:
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http://www.howtoforge.com/how-to-create-a-debian-wheezy-testing-openvz-template

Installing MySQL Administrator Tool To Connect To Remote Databases
==================================================================

This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions on how to install MySQL Admin tool on an Ubuntu 11.04 system and how to connect to a remote host with it. This should also work on most Debian based operating systems.

You can find the document here:
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http://www.howtoforge.com/installing-mysql-administrator-tool-to-connect-to-remote-databases

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Best Android Puzzle Games To Help Boost Your Brain Power Posted: 14 Sep 2011 04:13 AM PDT If you are not into those racing or combat games that many mobile users are hooked to these days, then why not try some great puzzle games for Android. Playing challenging games will not only get you through a boring workday but will also give your brain the workout it needs. Reports have suggested that playing challenging puzzle games cuts the risk of diseases like Alzheimer's. So, if you're looking to keep your brain fit and fine, here are some of the best puzzle games you can download on your Android device: Memory As the name suggests, this game tests your memory skills. The rules of the game are simple; you have to turn over pairs of matching cards. You must use your short-term memory to outwit this game. You can spice up the game by switching between 4 different themes (more in the Pro version). With over 1000K downloads so far, Memory is a great time-waster and more importantly, a fun way to improve your memory. DOWNLOAD HERE Open Sudoku Sudoku is a logic-based number-placement puzzle which is completed by filling a 9x9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 sub-grids that compose the grid (also called "boxes", "blocks", "regions", or "sub-squares") contains all of the digits from 1 to 9. The game so popular that Sudoku World Championships are held each year. Bringing Sudoku to your little Android device is the open source (and free) application called OpenSudoku. Once installed, you can download puzzles from the web or enter them by hand. The game also records your game time and history, so that you can brag about your ninja sudoku skills to your friends. For the clumsy-fingered masterminds, there are 2 ways to input numbers, either using touchscreen or by a separate numeral pad at the bottom. To change things up a little, you can also switch between different themes. The game's absolutely free, so go ahead and download it now. Also, don't forget to thank us if you go on to win the Sudoku World Cup some day. DOWNLOAD HERE Cut the rope Cut The Rope is a physics-based puzzle game that has won massive critical acclaim worldwide. This BAFTA-winning game is one of the most popular puzzle games around. All you have to do is to feed the hungry little monster Om Nom by cutting ropes that hold the candy he wants. To release bundles of sweets into his mouth, just swipe your fingers across the screen. The other objective is to pick up to 3 stars per level by touching them with candy. With more than 40 million players worldwide, Cut The Rope is a definite must-have game for your Android. DOWNLOAD HERE Word Feud Word Feud is a cross-platform multiplayer word game wherein you challenge friends and random opponents to play up to 30 separate games simultaneously. The game features a 15x15 tile board where you place the right words on the right tiles to score high points. While playing the game with a friend, you can also chat with him or her, making the game even more fun. Word Feud has over 3 million players worldwide (iPhone and Android combined) and has a 4 and ½ star rating on the App Market. N.B: This is an online game and you need to register for a free account to play it. Also, make sure you have a good Internet connection so that your feuds will never be interrupted. DOWNLOAD HERE X Construction X Construction is a simple physics-based puzzle game that involves building a bridge so that a train can safely cross a valley. Folks who've played World of Goo will find it quite familiar. X Construction has about 21 levels in the full version and has been installed more than 100K times. The full version is not free but you can always try the lite version. DOWNLOAD HERE The Moron Test This is a fun puzzle game wherein you start as a moron (yes, you heard me right fellas). By solving tricky puzzles and challenges, you advance from a moron to a proud genius. The Moron Test presents challenges where you use your brain to advance through various levels each of which are extremely fun. The game is well designed, with characters and environments you'll absolutely adore till the very end. The Moron Test is not free, but considering its huge popularity, it is definitely worth your every penny. DOWNLOAD HERE

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Best Android Tablet Computers of 2011 (so far) Posted: 12 Sep 2011 05:04 AM PDT Ever since the iPad came out, tablets have given all the gadget freaks one more reason to be excited about. Though the Apple's ingenious device broke all the records, Google's Android tablet computers are slowly catching up with them. Apple's biggest fear is that Android might beat them at their own game, much like it did in the smartphone market. With the number of Android-based tablets that have come out this year, it appears as if their fears are coming true.  Even though Android on tablets hasn't taken off quite as well as Google expected them to, they've certainly proven themselves as a perfect alternative to the iPad. Moreover, the relatively lower price point, and the variety of choices offered makes Android an important player in the impending tablet wars.  If you, like many Android fans, are stoked about tablets, we can help you choose the right one through our list of the best Android tablet computers of 2011. This list doesn't include upcoming tablets, so if you find the perfect one for you through this list, you can quickly run to the store and buy one right away. Also, we've excluded low-cost tablets from the list, making this a list of the absolute best tablets that can perform as good as, or even better than the iPad 2. Motorola Xoom Motorola Xoom is the first tablet to be sold with Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Unveiled at CES 2011, the Android tablet features a 5MP rear-facing camera and a 2MP front-facing camera for video chat. With a 1280x800 display, you can catch your favorite movies in high quality thanks to the 720p video playback. If you want to watch those movies on a bigger screen, Xoom comes with support for HDMI-out. With an Nvidia Tegra 2 Soc chip, Motorola Xoom sports a 1 GB DDR2 memory, 32GB external storage, 3-axis accelerometer and gyroscope, micro-USB support and more. Most of the new models come with Honeycomb 3.1 with micro-SD and Flash support. (Both of these features were unavailable in the first release). Deemed as "the best of CES" by CNET, Motorola Xoom is priced at $499 (Wi-Fi) and $799 (Wi-Fi + 3G).  Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1  The successor to the highly popular Galaxy Tab, this tablet from Samsung has been in the news right from the start; sometimes for good reasons, and most of the times mired in controversy. The powerful and sleek tablet comes in two variants, one is the 10.1" model and other is the 8.9" one. Due to similarities in design, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is often called the tablet version of Samsung Galaxy 2. Temporarily banned in most of EU for 'blatantly copying' the iPad, Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes with a quite amazing set of features. It is loaded with an 8-megapixel camera (front-facing), 1280x800 display, 1GB Memory, 1GHz Dual-core Tegra 2 processor and Android Honeycomb 3.1. The feature set is so impressive that it can pass off as a good replacement for the standard desktop in many cases. Apple however, wasn't quite impressed by it; they were pretty pissed off to see the Touch Wiz UI looking exactly like their iOS. Since then, the tablet has been in a lot of trouble in many countries but its popularity continues to rise. Galaxy Tab 10.1 is marketed differently in some countries; for example, in India, it is sold as Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 with some slight modifications. If you're a German and are looking to get your hands on this beast of a gadget, you're out of luck. Thanks to Apple's lawsuit, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 isn't available in Germany.  LG G-Slate Unveiled in March 2011, the G-Slate is a sleek new tablet running Android Honeycomb. It comes packed with some interesting features and some rather unique ones for a tablet. First of all, the 1GHz NVidia Tegra 2 processor makes it stand apart from other tablets. Then there are features like 5.0-megapixel camera, 1280x768 display and a nice HDMI port. What makes LG G-Slate stand apart is the fact that it can shoot HD videos, and yeah that too in 3D. The G-Slate is one-of-a-kind tablet to support 3D video viewing as well as 3D video recording. Even though you still have to put your funky glasses on, the 3D capabilities might create a whole new market for this tablet. Although 3D recording is good, I personally think shooting with a tablet is a bit messy. Nevertheless, the G-Slate is a nice, high-performance tablet that will give you desktop-like performance with the goodness of Android. Asus Eee Pad Transformer Is it a tablet? Is it a laptop? No, it's the new Asus Eee Pad Transformer. The Eee Pad is Asus's new offering bringing a new twist to the tablet wars. Running Android 3.2, this new tablet device doubles up as a laptop by attaching itself to a keyboard dock. Though the keyboard dock is an optional feature, the tablet alone doesn't look that bad. With 1GB RAM, 1GHz dual-core processor, and 5-megapixel camera, the Eee Pad Transformer does look impressive. The tablet when used without the dock can last for about 9 - 9.5 hours. With the dock however, the battery life can be extended to about 16 hours. The dock features a full-sized and nicely designed keyboard with a touch pad to turn the tablet into a fully functional laptop.

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Expensive Software and their Free and Open Source Software Alternatives Posted: 10 Sep 2011 03:47 AM PDT Ouch! Those pricey software are really starting to hurt in this crumbling economy. Every year, people spend billions of dollars on propriety software when they could easily get their work done on something a lot cheaper; and by cheaper I mean free. The rapidly ascending popularity of Free and Open Source software coupled with the dampened economy has convinced many users to seek out free alternatives to propriety software they use in their day-to-day life. While many use Free Software because they cannot afford commercially available ones, there are a few folks who refuse to use any kind of proprietary software (e.g. Richard Matthew Stallman). Whatever their reasons might be, if you're prowling the Internet for some great free alternatives to all those expensive software, look no further. Here's a list of some expensive applications and their free and open source alternatives: Photo Editing The Expensive choice: Adobe Photoshop Price: $629 Adobe Photoshop CS5 costs around $629, which one will surely say is quite expensive. You could buy a netbook or even a full-fledged laptop at that price. Though some people might argue that this is a tool that is used by all the pros of the digital media, it's still quite expensive. Now, if you're working in a professional studio, you can't go around behaving like an evangelist trying to convert people to use FOSS alternatives. However, if you spend $629 from your pocket just to fix red-eyes in one of your recent party snaps, you could do much better than that. The free alternative: GIMP The best alternative to Photoshop right now is GIMP (see: Why GIMP is Better than Adobe Photoshop). Yeah, weird name I know, but they're planning to change it soon. Anyways, coming to the main point, GIMP is Free, it's open source and it's easy to use. The term 'easy to use' itself is quite ambiguous as there is a lot of subjectivity involved in its usage; so, I'd rather prefer using the term 'easy to learn'. Once you download and install GIMP, you can start exploring the interface or just browse through the manuals they've released. If you don't have time for all that and just want to make a quick reflections-filled logo for your website, no problem. Just google the words and a list of community-made tutorials (including videos) will show up. If you're not a visual person, you can always purchase (or freely download) books written specially for turning you from a GIMP noob to a GIMP Pro in no time. Video Editing The Expensive Choice: Final Cut Pro Price: $400 If you spend tons of money just to edit that family vacation video of yours, there are some nicer alternatives for you. You can simply download free software like Openshot, Avidemux or Virtual Dub or even use Windows Movie Editor. If, of course, you're working on a movie or a big video project, you'll need something more professional. Now, Final Cut Pro is the de facto industry standard when it comes to video editing. The $400 Mac-only software is insanely popular amongst filmmakers and video editors. If you're a little strapped on cash, don't even think of investing you hard-earned money on FC Pro. And if you don't own a Mac yet, that would simply pile up your costs taking your budget through the roof. Thankfully enough, there's an amazing open source alternative that you can use for free. The Free Alternative: Lightworks Currently, the best alternative for FC Pro is Lightworks, the recently open-sourced video editor. Even though the open source version is in beta, it's almost as stable as any other 'professional' software. And yes, don't think of Lightworks as some unpopular underground software for editing enthusiasts, it is quite a well-known application that has already won the technical Emmy and Academy Awards. The Academy-nominated film (for editing) King's Speech was edited using Lightworks. It is completely free for the moment, and you can download it any time from their website just by registering for an account. Office Software The Expensive choice: MS Office Price: $384 The quintessential office software, MS Office has been used everywhere: from colleges to governments, from schools to offices; it is quite omnipresent. The professional version costs around $384, which could take an organization's budget through the roof especially if it is a small company or a startup. Free alternatives: LibreOffice and Google Docs A good replacement to the dreaded MS Office is LibreOffice, which has almost all the features that Microsoft offers, plus many other unique ones. Another advantage of using LibreOffice is the fact that it's cross-platform, so whether you're a PC, Mac or Linux, you'll have the same experience everywhere. If your work involves simply editing documents and low-level spreadsheets work, then you can opt for Google Docs. Having Google Docs for your organization will ensure easy collaboration between employees and clients. Recently, Google Docs has started adding offline capabilities to its apps, making it a great investment for a small organizations and startups. CAD The Expensive Choice: AutoCAD Price: $949 When it comes to 2D, 3D design and drafting, AutoCAD is always the first choice. Developed by Autodesk, this Computer-Aided Design (CAD) application has been around since 1982. AutoCAD is a trusted name CAD department and has been a standard in the industry for quite a long time. However, the high price ($900+) makes it almost inaccessible for new businesses and startups that have limited budget. Thus, many FOSS developers have come out with free alternatives to AutoCAD that will be good enough for your engineering needs. The Free Alternatives: BRL-CAD, Open CASCADE, QCAD and FreeCAD AND Varkon If you've been following our site religiously, you must have noticed a small post we did about the free and open-source CAD software. The 5 alternatives, which are BRL-CAD, Open CASCADE, QCAD, FreeCAD and Varkon, offer the engineer or designer a fair amount of choice. Some of these applications are in development, and some are quite mature (e.g. BRL-CAD), so the user won't feel that he or she is using just a poorly written copy of AutoCAD. So, quickly head over to our earlier post and choose your favorite CAD tool from the list. N.B: Prices are from Amazon.com listings and are subject to change, but then again, it doesn't really matter. Written by: Abhishek, a regular TechSource contributor and a long-time FOSS advocate.

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Some Great Alternatives to the Ubuntu Unity Launcher Posted: 08 Sep 2011 02:14 AM PDT We've already ranted about the little annoyances of Ubuntu Unity in our earlier article. Though there are many things that are just plain wrong about Unity at this moment, one bad feature that sticks out like a sore thumb is the elusive launcher. Well, I won't say that it's a complete mess, but right now it does need a lot of work. Also, there are plenty of blokes out there who like the launcher. Well, good for them. But as a long time Linux user, I find that fat bar on the left a bit too annoying. If you (like me) are looking for some worthy alternatives to the new Ubuntu Unity launcher, read on as we discuss some great replacements that would fit your needs. Classic GNOME Panel: Well, this one's pretty obvious but we'll include it as a recommendation anyway, just in case you've forgotten about it. The classic GNOME panel, when compared to those used on other modern desktops like KDE, Windows 7 and Mac OSX, has a bit of primitive feel to it. If you're used to opening too many windows at once, the panel gets crowded way too quick, which is the reason why many people have either switched to docks or Unity. However, if you're a die-hard GNOME 2.x fan, I know you'll be more than glad to overlook such minor annoyances. To switch to GNOME 2.x, just go to Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) session menu at the bottom edge of the login screen and choose the 'Classic Ubuntu Desktop' as your session. Docky: This is perhaps the most popular dock for Linux. It sits nicely at the bottom of your desktop, managing your windows efficiently without any clutter whatsoever. With some great features like panel mode, multiple hiding modes, themability and extensions support, Docky makes it easier for new users to bring some of the best features of Mac to their Linux desktop. Docky, by default, ships with 6-7 nice themes to dress up your dock to your liking. If you want to add more themes, you can browse through and download some great community-created themes on their wiki page. You can also extend Docky's functionality by enabling some amazing docklets and helpers it comes with. These extensions allow you to do things like checking unread mail count, check the weather and much more right from the dock. The best thing about Docky is the fact that it has been around for a long while hence it will hardly give you any chance to complain about issues like stability. Also, it is being actively developed so don't expect that minor little bug you just found to stay around for ages. Website: http://do.davebsd.com/wiki/Docky Apt Link: http://apt.ubuntu.com/p/docky AWN: After Docky, Avant Window Navigator (AWN) ranks as the second most popular dock for Linux. Instead of being a traditional dock, AWN gives the users a more panel-like feel while navigating through their windows. Despite being under heavy development, AWN is very stable and solid. The panel is as customizable as the aforementioned Docky, with a plethora of themes available for it. As far as extending the functionality goes, AWN is way ahead of Docky. Instead of docklets or helpers, AWN relies on applets that add that extra zing to your dock. Some of the popular applets include ones like Stack applet (for Mac fans), Terminal applet, weather applet and many more. There are a few users who have rated AWN as a much better application than Docky. However, opinions are bound to vary from user to user. So, make sure you try it out and let us know if it's as awesome as they say it is. Apt Link : http://apt.ubuntu.com/p/avant-window-navigator Download: https://launchpad.net/avant-window-navigator/ GLX Dock or Cairo: GLX Dock or Cairo Dock is the only fully open-source built dock using the OpenGL standard library (hence the name GLX Dock). It is one of the most customizable docks around, and yes, it provides all the nice features like transparency and themability. Since it is written in OpenGL, Cairo dock works smoothly under GNOME, KDE as well as XFCE desktops. Like Docky and AWN, here too, you can extend the dock's functionality by adding some great applets like Pidgin and Web Search. Overall, a great alternative to the two popular docks we've mentioned above. Website: http://glx-dock.org/

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