The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the beta release of Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop and Server. Codenamed “Intrepid Ibex”, 8.10 continues Ubuntu’s proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.

The final version of Ubuntu 8.10 is expected to be released in October 2008.

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Here’s a nice little program to setup rsync jobs using a GUI. It is also available from the Ubuntu software repository.

Grsync is a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for rsync, the commandline directory synchronization tool. It makes use of the GTK libraries and is released under the GPL license, so it is opensource. It doesn’t support all of rsync features, but can be effectively used to synchronize local directories and supports remote targets in a limited way (read: manual). For example some people use grsync to synchronize their music collection with removable devices or to backup personal files to a networked drive.

OPByte Software: Grsync rsync GUI interface frontend.

Here are the packages from Ubuntu’s repositories that I like to install on my Ubuntu box:

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Intrepid Ibex

sudo apt-get install amarok audacity beagle beagle-backend-evolution build-essential compizconfig-settings-manager cream exiv2 fdupes festival festvox-kallpc16k gnome-commander gnome-ppp gnucash gparted grsync hplip-gui imagemagick jpilot jpilot-plugins k3b lame libimage-exiftool-perl libk3b2-extracodecs libmp3lame0 libsox-fmt-all libvcdinfo0 libxine1-ffmpeg lm-sensors mail-notification mailutils msttcorefonts nautilus-actions nautilus-gksu nautilus-open-terminal ntfsprogs openssh-server pdfedit sensors-applet secpanel smbfs sox sshmenu-gnome ssmtp thunderbird thunderbird-beagle thunderbird-gnome-support ubuntu-restricted-extras vlc wine wipe

acidrip emerald libvlc0 mozilla-plugin-gnash pitivi seahorse

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Hardy

sudo apt-get install acidrip amarok audacity beagle beagle-backend-evolution build-essential compizconfig-settings-manager cream emerald exiv2 fdupes festival festvox-kallpc16k gnome-commander gnome-ppp gnucash gparted grsync hplip-gui imagemagick jpilot jpilot-plugins k3b lame libimage-exiftool-perl libk3b2-extracodecs liblame0 libsox-fmt-all libvcdinfo0 libvlc0 lm-sensors mail-notification mailutils mozilla-plugin-gnash msttcorefonts nautilus-actions nautilus-gksu nautilus-open-terminal ntfsprogs openssh-server pdfedit pitivi seahorse sensors-applet secpanel smbfs sox sshmenu-gnome ssmtp thunderbird thunderbird-gnome-support ubuntu-restricted-extras vlc wine wipe

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Here are the programs that I install or build from source on my Ubuntu box:

http://earth.google.com/
http://picasa.google.com/linux/
http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
http://www.aczoom.com/tools/cdinsert/#download
   then build http://sourceforge.net/projects/gtkcdlabel/
http://kornelix.squarespace.com/fotox/

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Here are the applets that I enable or add to my gnome panel on my Ubuntu box:

Applications/Accessories/Terminal
Applications/Internet/Pidgin
Applications/Internet/Thunderbird
Applications/Office/GnuCash
Applications/Office/Jpilot
Applications/Office/OpenOffice.org Word Processor
Applications/Sound & Video/Amarok
Custom Launcher: secpanel
Hardware Sensors Applet
System Monitor Applet
Weather Applet

This is a slick little perl script to move sites from a Windows web server to a Unix web server.

When websites are built on computers running Microsoft Windows, the case of file and directory names is often ignored. Other “widowsizms” are also introduced such as ending files with .htm instead of .html. This causes BIG problems if the site is served under unix.

nodoze is a “quick and dirty” Perl program to repair these websites so that they will work properly on a unix server.

nodoze - prepares websites built using Microsoft Windows for unix servers

Garmin: POI Loader

Import customized points of interest created by others with the help of Garmin’s new POI Loader software. In today’s fast-paced world, points of interest are ever-changing. With the help of POI Loader, you can now add your favorite new restaurant, or that supermarket having the grand opening, as points of interest (POIs) to your compatible Garmin GPS. The possibilities are endless — upload safety cameras or school zones, and you will receive a warning if you are traveling too fast. In addition, an optional proximity-alert feature notifies you of upcoming custom POIs. Our free, new POI Loader software lets you personalize your GPS, giving you the freedom and flexibility to literally go anywhere.