Ubuntu Unity is a smart attempt to bring innovation to the the desktop and program handling of Linux users. Actually Linux is far more user-friendly the people think, it has repositories since the last century, and if you don’t know what repository is. It’s an app-store. Yes, Linux invented the app store, this means you just have to search and click to install a trusted and tested program.

Why doesn’t anybody knows this? Because it’s free software, so it lacks advertisements budget, so it won’t make it into the newspapers, because newspapers nowadays are filled with advertisements on one side and press-releases and sensational breaking news on the opposite side. And if they write about innovation it’s about lifestyle and things you can buy.

Another strong  and catching feature is the Compiz, a window manager that brings 3D and hardware acceleration to your desktop. Scaling, fading, sliding of programs adds to the fun of daily work on your computer and it works amazingly fast and smooth. Off-course you need a graphics card, but most will do, like integrated Intel.

Unity doesn’t bring all the shortcuts you want, so how do you move program windows from one monitor to another, in a two monitor big desktop setup. Just install  wmctrl, you will find it in the Linux appstore. In short;

1. Install  wmctrl
   
sudo apt-get install <em>wmctrl</em>

2. Open  CompizConfig Settings Manager (CCSM),
   
ccsm

3. or install it if you don’t have it:
   
sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

4. Add this in the command settings
   
wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -e 0,1920,-1,-1,-1


   and

   
wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -e 0,0,-1,-1,-1


5. Add shortcuts to this commands in the next `key-binding`tab,
   CTRL SUPER RIGHT
   CTRL SUPER LEFT

Now you can switch any program that has focus between monitors with your keyboard. Change 1920, if your left monitors doesn’ have that resolution and offcours you need a huge desktop setup with two monitors left and right. And the best, you don’t need Unitu for this it works in all Ubuntu versions with compiz, and even without compiz, you can set the commands with metacity.

Ubuntu has brought a major change to the Linux desktop with their 6 months update of the Linux OS and it’s called Unity. Ubuntu tries to innovate on two fields: maximising workspace for the user, remove clutter form the interface and speed up window and program handling.

Like most new innovations reactions are mixed. Some people like it, and some don’t , mostly because they hate changing their daily habits, or because they lost control how to tweak things.

I like the improvements that Unity brought, so let’s take a look. (more…)

We need to see a lot these days now the Golden Age of Television meets the Platinum Age of Internet; hundreds of television channels and billions of webpages. Sure I have a remote control and started tabbed browsing since ages (Opera in 2000), but we’re absolute in the need of dual screens now: better, easier and they will raise productivity!

My old 17 inch CRT died. I took the step and bought a 22 inch 1920×1080 TFT to replace it . My first 19 inch 1280×1024 became second. A hefty 3200×1080 desktop in sight. Wow!

But could I get it working on my ordinary Dell with ATI X600 and Ubuntu?

A quick look on the ATI website said, that 1920×1080 was only supported under Windows (XP/Vista). I didn’t take that serious.

Never knew why all hardware vendors are promoting Windows, but it’s a fact, they probably get paid for it. Of course they lie: 3200×1080 is supported out of the box by Ubuntu 9.04 with default drivers, no extra proprietary ATI drivers needed.

Setting up was quite easy but not 100% trivial, here is how I did it:

• delete all settings in /etc/X11/xorg.conf. It’s a textfile and can be understood by humans, there isn’t much in it these days, just some virtual desktop settings, you can’t get wrong.
• enable both screens in `system -> preferences -> display` and drag them to right position.
• uncheck `mirror screens`

Somehow my second monitor was still black. I could mirror the screens but a virtual desktop did not work. If the same happens to you, a few extra steps.:

• edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
  [sourcecode language=’shell’]
  sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
  [/sourcecode]
• Make your file look like:
  [sourcecode language=’shell’]
  Section “Screen”
  Identifier “Configured Screen Device”
  Device “Configured Video Device”
  SubSection “Display”
  Virtual 3200 1080
  EndSubSection
  EndSection
  [/sourcecode]
• Open a terminal and run: [sourcecode language=’bash’] xrandr [/sourcecode]

• Note the ID of your monitors (in my case DVI-0 and second VGA-0). Run
  [sourcecode language=’shell’]
  xrandr –output VGA-0 –mode 1280×1024 –right-of DVI-0
  [/sourcecode]

The second monitor got active and did after rebooting. That was all. Only desktop eye candy by Compiz is not supported because 3D rendering is hardware limited by ATI to max 2054px. I can live with it; no shades or transparency makes my computer faster.