How to clean your Facebook Apps

While you are using Facebook many Apps are asking to access your account in order to use them. It's always a good idea to clean Applications that you no longer use or those which you don't want to have access in your profile's photos, messages, friends etc. So go to your Facebook Application Settings.

 Here you will find a list with all the Apps that have access in your account.

If you click on an App you can see exactly where this App has access to and when it last accessed your account.

To remove an Application you no longer need simply press the X button and confirm.

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How to colorize the output of grep

Grep is a very useful Linux command. In short grep searches an input stream for a pattern and displays the results. In this guide I will show you how to colorize the output of grep by highlighting the pattern you were searching for.

Supposing that you are using the bash shell open ~/.bashrc with your favorite text editor:

gedit ~/.bashrc

and paste the following line:

alias grep="grep --color=auto"

Now open a new terminal (or source ~/.bashrc) and try the grep command. This is how the default and colorized grep look like:

Of course you can change those colors. In ~/.bashrc to change the foreground color paste the following line:

export GREP_COLOR="1;37"

or to change bot foreground and background

export GREP_COLOR="1;37;42"

Here is the output of grep.

The first number indicates that we want the font to be bold. The second one is the foreground (the text's) color, and the third one is the background color. Here is a list with the color numbers of the shell.

Color
                        
Foreground
                        
Background
                        
Black
                        
30
                        
40
                        
Red
                        
31
                        
41
                        
Green
                        
32
                        
42
                        
Yellow
                        
33
                        
43
                        
Blue
                        
34
                        
44
                        
Magenta
                        
35
                        
45
                        
Cyan
                        
36
                        
46
                        
White
                        
37
                        
47
                        

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How to make Chrome the default browser in iPhone and iPad

Google has released Chrome browser for the iPhone and iPad in its I/O 2012 conference. However a problem is that if you open a link in another app your iPhone will use Safari. If you own a jailbroken device there is a little tweak you can do to bypass this behavior.

BrowserChooser is an application by developer Ryan Petrich, which allows you to switch the default browser between Chrome, Dolphin and more. To install BrowserChooser for free in Cydia tap Manage > Sources > Edit > Add, type rpetri.ch/repo, and search for BrowserChooser. Next go to Settings, tap BrowserChooser and select the browser you want to use. As simple as that!

Chrome is available for download in iTunes.

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Best GNOME Shell extensions

It has been a couple of weeks now that GNOME launched a public alpha version of their extensions sitewhich makes adding extensions to GNOME Shell with a single click. To use the extensions through his site first of all you must have install GNOME Shell 3.2 or newer. Fedora has version 3.2 by default. In a previous guide of mine I've shown you How to install Gnome Shell on Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot. Moreover you must have Firefox installed for this to work. There were some bugs in the browser plugin shipped in GNOME 3.2 that prevent it from working properly under WebKit-based browsers like Epiphany and Chromium. These bugs have been fixed and should be released when GNOME 3.4 ships at the beginning of March, next year. So, here is a list with some useful gnome extensions.

Alternative Status Menu

Replaces GNOME Shell Status Menu with one showing Suspend/Hibernate and Power Off as separate items. (install)

Applications Menu

Adds a gnome 2.x style menu for applications. (install)

Auto Hide Top Panel

Automatically hide the top panel. Useful if you have a small screen, a netbook for example. (install)

Battery Percentage Indicator

Puts a percentage label next to the battery panel icon. (install)

Frippery Bottom Panel

Adds a bottom panel to the shell. Useful, especially when you are working with a large number of windows and switch them frequently. (install)

noa11y

Removes a11y (Accessibility) icon/menu from panel. (install)

Places Status Indicator

Adds a systems status menu for quickly navigating places in the system. (install)

Window List

Adds a list to the top panel with all your open windows. It also displays a preview of the window if you place your mouse over it. (install)

Workspace Indicator

Puts an indicator on the panel signaling in which workspace you are, and give you the possibility of switching to another one. (install)

To update extensions for the time being you have to uninstall them manually and reinstall them. Gnome 3.4 will include features to make sure that your extensions can be updated automatically for you.

To uninstall an extension remove the extension's directory which is stored in ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions and afterwards log out and log back in.

You can also view your all your installed extensions and disable some of them temporarily simply by pressing the on/off button.

What are your favourite extensions? Which ones do you think are the best ones?

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How to install Gnome Shell on Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot

Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot comes with Unity preinstalled. Unity is a shell interface for the Gnome Desktop Environment developed by Canonical for its Ubuntu Operating System. On Ubuntu 11.10 it's pretty easy to install Gnome Shell and Gnome Shell classic, the one with the two panels on top and at the bottom. Here is how.

To install Gnome Shell (3.2 is the latest version at the moment) open Software Center and search for gnome shell or open a terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

Now logout and select GNOME from the LightDM login screen. Here is how it looks like:

To install Gnome Fallabck (3.2 is the latest version at the moment) open Software Center and search for gnome session fallback or open a terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install gnome-session-fallback

Now logout and select GNOME Classic from the LightDM login screen. Here is how it looks like:

Here is a screenshot with the options on the mogin manager. These packages might already be installed on your system, so take a look first.

So, which is your favorite desktop environment? Unity, Gnome or something else? Personally I am using KDE for many years now and despite Canonical's ang GNOME's team efforts I am not going to change!

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Google Voice Actions versus Siri

In a previous article of mine I've shown you what Siri can do or in other words how can you talk to Siri, iPhone's 4S voice assistant. Of course Android devices and Google have their own voice assistant as well. It's called Google Voice Search.

With Google Voice Search you can

• Send text messages Say "send text to [recipient] [message]"
• Get directions Say "navigate to [address/city/business name]"
• Call contacts Say "call [contact name] [phone type]"
• View a map Say "map of [address/city]"
• Write a note Say "note to self [message]"
• Listen to music Say "listen to [artist/song/album]"
• Call businesses Say "call [business name] [location]"
• Send email Say "send email to [recipient] [subject]* [body]"
• Go to websites Say "go to [website]"
• Search Google Say "[your query]"

On the other hand Siri has more options. Just ask it "What can I say?" and take a look at the list on your iPhone 4S.

• Call people or numbers
• Play songs stored on your iPhone
• Text people
• Setup meetings
• Setup reminders
• Ask for directions
• Email people
• Find out stock prices
• Set alarms
• Ask for address info from your contact list
• Find your friends using the Find My Friends utility
• Create notes
• Get answers to calculations and trivia via Wolfram Alpha
• Search the Internet

Here is a more detailed article on How to talk to Siri.

Google Voice Actions supports only English for the time being and I don't know if this is going to change with Ice Cream Sandwich. Unfortunatelly all my contacts are not in English so I can't try it myself. However the other commands worked ok.

Who do you think will be the winner in the Google Voice Actions vs Siri battle?

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5 applications to customize your Android lock screen

In this guide I will show you 5 applications to customize your Android phone lock screen. You can add widgets and application shortcuts so that you can directly access them from your lock screen without having first to unlock your phone and afterwards use them. Note that CyanogenMod and MIUI roms are giving you the option to customize the lock screen. Therefore this guide refers mostly to pure android lockscreen.

WidgetLocker Lockscreen

WidgetLocker Lockscreen allows you to fully control the look, feel and layout of your lock screen. You can add sliders, widgets and application shortcuts.

 

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.widgetlocker

FlyScreen

Embed your twitter, facebook, news, weather, sports- your favourite web services, right onto your lock screen. Through FlyScreen you can download through a lot more widgets and place them on your lock screen.

 

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.flydroid.FlyScreen

LockMenu

With LockMenu you can configure up to 9 sliders and make them launch applications, direct dial phone numbers, send text messages and configure the date, time and screen layout. It has a free version with advertisements and a paid one without any ads.

 

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.husmithinc.android.lockmenu

Lockscreen Calendar

Locksreen Calendar does what it says. You can see your upcoming calendar events directly on the lockscreen! However this doesn't work with Samsung Galaxy S/S2 and HTC Sense.

 

https://market.android.com/details?id=de.j4velin.lockscreenCalendar

No Lock

If you are tired of having to unlock your phone each time you want to use it this app is for you. Run it just once and now each time you wake up your phone it will be ready for use.

 

https://market.android.com/details?id=org.jraf.android.nolock

Are you using any modifications or widgets on your lock screen? Personally I am not using an application like those! 

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Best root only applications for Android devices

Rooting your Android device allows you to have full access to it. Most users root their phones and tablets in order to install a custom ROM. However once you have rooted your device you are able to install some apps that require root permissions and you normally wouldn't be able to use. In the article below you will find a list with the top applications every user with a rooted device should try. Most of them are free. Some of them have a paid version as well with extra features.

Titanium Backup

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup

Titanium Backup is the most powerful backup tool on Android. You can backup, restore, freeze (with Pro) your apps + data + Market links. This includes all protected apps & system apps, plus external data on your SD card. You can do 0-click batch & scheduled backups. Backups will operate without closing any apps (with Pro). You can move any app (or app data) to/from the SD card. You can browse any app's data and even query the Market to see detailed information about the app.

ROM Manager

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.koushikdutta.rommanager

ROM Manager allows you to flash almost any ZIP to your phone, whether it be a kernel, ROM, app package, or radio image. ROM Manager does this through Koushik Dutta's ClockworkMod Recovery (Koush, coincidentally, is also the author of ROM Manager). Once a ROM or other flashable ZIP file is selected, ROM manager will automatically reboot your phone and flash it through ClockworkMod
Recovery.

It's main features are

• Flash your recovery to the latest and greatest ClockworkMod recovery.
• Manage your ROMs via a handy UI.
• Organize and perform backups and restores from within Android!
• Install ROMs from your SD card.
• Install your favorite ROMs over the air!

 

Market Enabler

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.notenking.mf

There are some apps, especially paid apps, that cannot be seen in the Market depending on the region you are in. Market Enabler allows you to spoof your mobile network region thus allowing you to access applications that normally you wouldn't be able to install.

 

SetCPU for Root Users

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mhuang.overclocking

SetCPU is a tool for changing the CPU settings, capable of overclock and underclock, on a rooted device in order to improve performance or save battery. SetCPU also allows you to set up powerful profiles to change the CPU speed under certain conditions, such as when the phone is asleep or charging, when the battery level drops below a certain point, when the phone's temperature is too high, or during certain times of day.

 

ES File Explorer

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.estrongs.android.pop

ES File Explorer is an all-in-one file manager. It gives you root level access to the file system allowing you to modify the system files. Moreover it allows you to have access to your home PC via WiFi with SMB.

Battery Calibration

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.nema.batterycalibration

Battery Calibration is a useful application for users who frequently change ROMs. Calibration needs to be done after flashing a new ROM, but you can calibrate any time you think your battery is miscalibrated. This program does it by removing the batterystats.bin system file. The OS generates a new clean batterystats file soon, thus any fake information from the previous ROM is removed.

SD Maid

SD Maid frees up space on your phone's SD card by cleaning it of unnecessary data left behind by apps no longer installed on your device or logs, crash reports and debug files you don't really need. Without root, functionality is limited as SD Maid won't have access to all necessary directories.

 

So that was my list with my favourite applications that require root. Which Android apps are your favourtite ones?

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Attach files up to 10GB in Gmail by using Google Drive

Gmail has added a new feature which let's you insert files from Drive directly into an email without leaving your Gmail. Moreover with Drive you can insert files up to 10GB. And since you send a file stored in the cloud all the recipients will have the same, up-to-date version of it.

Just click the "Insert files using Drive" button in the Compose box and choose the file you want to send.

If you try to send a file which isn't shared with everyone you'll be prompted with the option to change the file's sharing settings.

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Google search app and Chrome browser for Windows 8

If you have started using Windows 8 you may be looking for a couple of Google products that you are using every day. Google has built a new search app and Chrome browser for Windows 8 along with a simple site which helps you get your Google back.

The Google Search app comes with a clean and recognizable user interface and its new voice search lets you naturally speak questions. The image search and image previews are built for swiping. And, as usual, you get immediate results as you type with Google Instant. The doodles you enjoy on special occasions will be right there on the homepage and even show up on the Google tile on your start screen.

The Chrome browser is the same Chrome you know and love, with some customizations to optimize for touchscreens, including larger buttons and the ability to keep Chrome open next to your other favorite apps. It delivers the fast, secure web experience you’ve come to expect from Chrome on all your devices.

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