Podcasts are audio files that are distributed by RSS (Real Simple Syndication). This sounds complicated, but it’s actually quite simple. When you’re subscribed to a particular podcast, the audio files are downloaded automatically in the background, so that the latest episodes will always be available. This makes keeping up with the latest podcasts effortless. Most … Read more
With Banshee, you can listen to a number of predefined Internet radio stations or add your own. Provided the MP3 codec software is installed, as discussed earlier, Banshee is compatible with streaming MP3-based playlists, such as those listed at http://shoutcast.com. If you’ve never looked for online radio before, Shoutcast.com is an excellent place to start. … Read more
Banshee allows you to purchase albums from Ubuntu One and other online music stores, such as Amazon.com. To see what a store has to offer, just click the name of the store or archive from the Online Media link. This shows you the content of the store, which for every store is different. In the … Read more
Audio playback under Ubuntu is normally handled by the Banshee Media Player. This is a feature-packed piece of software that can play back all kinds of audio files, including podcasts, Internet radio, and even CDs. In addition to audio, Banshee also handles digital video. There are some other programs as well that allow you to … Read more
Since the advent of digital distribution, record companies and content producers have sought ways of restricting the ability of users to copy music and films. This usually means digital rights management (DRM), which often has the side effect of restricting playback of various media formats on noncommercial operating systems, as the DRM required to play … Read more
In the last few years ever-increasing processing and storage capacity led to reduction of their costs. It soon became evident how much efficiency could be gained just by outsourcing those resources to the cloud. Ubuntu, or Linux for that matter, is not a cloud-centric operating system the way Google Chrome OS is. It still relies … Read more
In the last few years, the use of social networks has experienced staggering growth. Sites like Twitter and Facebook serve millions of users per day and generate terabytes of data. Ubuntu 10.04, released on April, 2010, was designed to be “social from the start,” which means that it integrated with social networks seamlessly. Natty Narwhal … Read more
Ekiga, an open source alternative to Skype, offers a similar feature set. It can be installed using the Ubuntu Software Center and is available from Applications ➤ Internet ➤ Ekiga Softphone. When the software is launched for the first time, you’ll be prompted to create an Ekiga.net account, which will give you a SIP address … Read more
Instant messaging is a way of chatting with other people in real time. It’s as if you were having a phone conversation, but you’re typing instead of speaking. You can talk to one other person or a whole group of people and sometimes share files with them. The instant messaging program under Ubuntu, Empathy, offers … Read more
The Memos and Tasks modes are the simplest components within Evolution. Memos mode allows you to jot down simple notes, and Tasks mode allows you to create a to-do list. In both modes, which can be selected by clicking their buttons at the bottom left of the screen, the program window consists simply of an … Read more