4 Tips To Make Elementary OS Luna More ‘Elementary’

Editor’s note: This is a contributed post by Victor Clarke, a tech fan who likes to explore programs and OS, gadgets and the Web. Science fiction becomes more real with each day.

Now that Windows XP is officially dead and you’re looking for a decent replacement, it’s time to consider Linux. Most of its distributives are considered to be difficult to master and not that pretty when compared with Mac or Windows 8 interface but you might sing a different tune with Elementary OS Luna. Elementary OS Luna is definitely eye candy â€" it’s simple, beautiful, fast and is based on Ubuntu, which brings to its users all the advantages of Linux.

OS Luna has its own peculiar style with a number of details that make it different from Windows or Mac. Some things were added, others removed. However, just like with the missing Start button in Windows 8, not everyone is happy with some traditional buttons and features missing in OS Luna.

But do not panic: there is an easy way to bring them back to this pretty OS. These simple tips will help. And it won’t be confusing, even if it’s your first steps into Linux.

Recommended Reading: Elementary OS Luna: The Linux Distro That Works Like Mac OS

1. Add Files To Desktop

With Pantheon (the default file manager in Luna) you can’t bring files or folders onto the desktop. But in Nautilus, it’s possible. Launch the Software Center, search for "gnome-tweak-tools" and install it.

Now go to Terminal (CTRL+ALT+T) and type the same (gnome-tweak-tools) to launch it.

From the Desktop menu you can adjust the desktop to your liking. Check Have file manager handle the desktop and other options like display My Computer or Trash icon.

However, we need to make these changes boot with the OS. Go to the System Settings > Startup Applications > Add. Input the Name (Nautilus, for example) and type nautilus -n in Command. This will do the trick.

2. Minimize Window Button

Another uncomfortable thing you will find is that you can’t minimize windows. By default you have to click on the desired application in Dock in order to do so. To bring back the traditional buttons, do the following.

Install Dconf Editor by typing the command sudo apt-get install dconf-tools. Launch it from Applications > System Tools.

Navigate to org > pantheon > desktop > gala > appearance and type :minimize,maximize,close in button-layout.

You can now see the difference in the top-right corner of the window.

3. Replace Default Programs

The applications that arrive with Luna are quite good and actually original, but some of them definitely lack functionality or aren’t elementary at all.

First, you should definitely install a media player. In this case a VLC player is a nice choice. Luna’s default Movie Player lacks great functionality, rich subtitles support, Internet video streaming and YouTube video downloader. VLC media player is availbale at the Software Center.

Second, you should also look for an alternative to File Roller, Luna’s default archive manager. It’s quite a confusing application for Linux newbies.

B1 Free Archiver is way more user-friendly and has good integration with OS Luna’s style. It also has wide support for a lot of formats. Download the Ubuntu version. You might also like its password-protected feature: archives are packed in .b1 format as a way of securing your data transfer, something you may appreciate in light of the recent Heartbleed bug outrage.

And you definitely should get GIMP, the best picture editor for Linux. It usually comes out-of-the-box in Linux distributives, but in Luna it was cut out (probably to make it more lightweight). The Software Center will help you to install this great Photoshop alternative.

It’s up to you to decide on replacing any other applications in Luna, but these three are highly recommended to start you off. All other programs can be easily installed from the Software Center or by downloading the .deb installers for Ubuntu. Alternatively you can launch Windows programs using Wine.

4. Additional Wallpapers

One of the first things most people notice (and praise) in Luna is the wallpapers collection. And you can download some more using this command: sudo apt-get install elementary-wallpaper-collection.

However, you may encounter some problems using this method of download, so here’s a more traditional link you can pick and choose a new wallpaper for your new OS. Here are some examples:

Space

Color

Climb

Conclusion

The developers of Elementary OS Luna are not finished with upgrading their product. There is already a (still unstable) release of Elementary OS out called Isis, which is even faster than the previous version and can boast some interface improvements. However, the abovementioned tweaks are also applicable for OS Isis as (so far) the developers haven’t introduced any changes in the tackled areas. So give Luna a try! It’s the best way to fall in love with Linux.

20 Free Newsstand Magazines You Can Download From The App Store

Apple’s Newsstand offers many magazines of varying topics. From technology, design, sports and news, there is enough content there to fill every niche. While many of them are paid content, you might be surprised to know that there are free magazines avalable â€" they are just a little difficult to find.

Well, we’ve crawled through the App store and the Web at large to find some of the top-quality newsstand contents you can download for your leisurely reading. Here are some of the contents various publications put up for free. After checking them out, if you crave for more full-featured content, do consider subscribing to these top-notch digital magazines.

Recommended Reading: 20 (More) Websites To Download Free EBooks

The New York Times

The Gray Lady herself was one of the first to take advantage of Apple’s Newsstand system. The publisher offers 10 article views a month on all of its online services. Full access requires a subscription. It may not seem like a lot but should be enough to skim through the latest breaking news the New York Times is known for.

The Economist & Intelligent Life

One of the biggest and most influential magazines in the world, The Economist offers their own Economist magazine, containing the editor’s choice of articles (written and spoken) for free, and Intelligent Life, a culture magazine. For the former, you will need to pay a fee for the full magazine, but Intelligent Lif is entirely free to download and enjoy.

Bloomberg Businessweek+

Bloomberg is one of the most respected names in business reporting and with their iPad app, you can get a selection of their articles for free. And if you are already subscribed to the print edition, you can validate this through the app and get the digital edition free of charge.

Sydney Morning Herald

The Sydney Morning Herald is the oldest published newspaper in Australia and through the years has gained a reputation for its high journalistic standards. The paper covers both Australian and world affairs, and the app offers their front page articles as well as their editor’s choice for free. Also included are articles from their lifestyle sections.

Vice

Vice, known for its gonzo journalism with their reporters covering some of the most dangerous stories on earth, offers up their magazine and its archive for free. The magazine covers news, current events and culture, as well as a few topics that defy classification.

Metro

The free UK tabloid offers its digital version for free as well. The paper contains a mix of topics, from news, sports, lifestyle among others and is mostly filled with short articles that are perfect for a quick read during commute.

Paragraph

Paragraph is a free magazine that aims to find the best stories that are published on the internet and present them in a beautiful layout. It does more than just stories, with various related multimedia links to enhance the reading experience.

Adobe Inspire

Adobe issues a free monthly magazine that focuses on creative topics. It features tips and tricks on using Adobe software as well as design in general. They also include some highlighted works of artists and photographers. A must-have if you are a creative junkie or a heavy user of Adobe products.

Aux

A magazine that covers music, Aux is made specifically for the digital format and sought to differentiate themselves by adding in features that aren’t possible on the dead tree format: picture showcases, links to music and videos and the ability to share. Music fans should take a look into it.

MacDirectory

Describing itself as "the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts", MacDirectory is an Apple magazine that covers all things Apple. With plenty of reviews, news and interviews, Apple fans should download this one to their iPads immediately.

Snap

Brought to you by the same people behind the Hipstamatic app, Snap is a magazine that "showcases the driving forces behind global creative culture". In essence, it’s a photography magazine that showcases the works of photographers and the stories behind them.

TRVL

A travel magazine that showcases cities and countries, giving the reader a preview of them and what to expect. It’s not a tour guide, more of a quick glimpse into the area, showing you prime spots with beautiful, hi-res photos. If you ever consider traveling around, download one of their magazines for a small showing of what the place has to offer.

Square Mile

A UK lifestyle and business magazine primarily aimed at those working in the London’s financial industry, the magazine focuses on topics that will interest those interested in the finer things in life, as well as interesting goings-on in the city of London.

Cineworld Magazine

Cineworld is a UK cinema chain and they offer a monthly magazine that covers the latest movies to hit the big screen. This magazine is packed with everything a movie fan needs including movie showcases, trailers, interviews and for those living in the UK, booking tickets within the magazine. Any movie-buffs out there should grab a copy.

Al Jazeera English Magazine

Al Jazeera English offers a monthly magazine that covers the hottest and most pressing topics that is on the news. The magazine features in-depth articles and analysis from the reporters of Al Jazeera, with each issue dedicating itself to one main topic. Past issues include coverage of Nelson Mandela’s death and the constitutional transitions of Turkey.

Gamereactor

Gamereactor is a European gaming magazine, featuring the typical things you would expect in one, reviews, previews, features and the like. What’s special about this magazine is that it’s available in multiple languages such as Spanish, German and Russian. So if you’re looking for something other than English, this magazine has got you covered.

Walmart Gamecenter

Walmart’s monthly gaming magazine that promises to offer "news, previews, interviews and other exclusive stories about gaming culture and the most important game releases." The magazine is published with collaboration with EGM Media, which also publishes one of the longest running gaming magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly, so you know the content’s good.

WebMD Magazine

Released once every two months, WebMD Magazine is published by WebMD, one of the biggest providers of medical information on the Web. It contains general health tips, so it’s something to look at for those watching their health.

Sporting News

An American sports magazine that recently went digital only, it has a long history, since being founded in 1886. The magazine covers the American sporting leagues so if you’re a fan of any of them, give this one a try. It is especially know for its baseball coverage, having been called "The Bible Of Baseball".

Sport

A weekly free sports magazine based in London, Sport covers a wide variety, catering to a British audience. If you are a fan of football, cricket or rugby, you definitely should check this one out.

Beginner’s Guide To Publishing Your Own Ebook

If you are reading this then you probably already have a manuscript or a book idea ready. What you want to know is what else you have to commit to before you can become an ebook author. Self-publishing is easier now than it has ever been before, making the hardest part about being an established author, figuring out what topic to write about.

You may want to write an ebook about mastering Windows 8, understanding photography, for sketching or design ideas, or cater the content for a particular group of people e.g. books for web designers, developers, or for photographers. The topic aside, writing and publishing an ebook run along a few important matters that you can’t escape from.

We’ll look into those matters briefly in this post, from cover design to which format to publish your book in. If you have published an ebook before and have more tips to add, please accept our thanks in advance and share them in the comments section below.

Recommended Reading: E-Book Readers & Managers â€" Best Of

1. Front Matter

Title Page: In print publishing this title page contains the title of the book, the author’s name, the place and year of publication, the publisher, and sometimes illustrations.

Copyright Page: This page contains information about your copyright notice, edition of the book (if there is more than one version), the ISBN, and illustrator’s name (if necessary). At times the title page and copyright page are combined into a single page.

Introduction: The introduction lets the author give an overview of the topic the book is about. In print publishing, this section can be broken down into several other sections, each with their own purpose:

• A dedication page records the author’s wish to dedicate the book (sometimes in a few lines, sometimes in a poem or prose) that was written to loved ones.
• A preface page â€" written by the author â€" explains how the idea for the book was perceived.
• The foreword, is a written introduction usually done by someone who is not the author but who is related to the author, topic or book version.
• The acknowledgements is where the author expresses his thanks and gratitude to informers, editors, publishers, friends and family for helping them start or finish writing the book â€" in novels this is sometimes placed at the end of the book.

For ebooks, there isn’t a need to provide all of the above, just the pages that you want for your book or which you find suitable.

Table Of Contents: This page is where you list all your chapters and the relevant page number. Consider it the floor map for your book. The good thing with ebooks is that you can hyperlink the chapters so that when users tap or click on the chapter link, they are taken straight to the corresponding page.

(Image Source: Content Strategy)

2. Back matter (End Matter)

Things are not as clearcut when it comes to the back matter. If you are writing a work of fiction then you might put your Epilogue (it’s like an extra chapter which tie up loose ends) here. For any other book, generally, an Afterword (it’s like an extended Conclusion section) will do.

All ebooks should contain a Bibliography or Reference section where all other books or contents that were cited or used for reference in the writing of the book are recorded. The details provided â€" author, title, publisher, year of publication, web url etc â€" should be able to lead readers to the listed reference, one way or another.

3. Body Matters

This is the part where most authors don’t generally have a problem with â€" if they do, then they shouldn’t be publishing a book in the first place. The plan is to start… with a plan. Or a topic, or issue or a general plot.

Breaking down content: Since writing a book is important both to the author and to the reader, it is essential to separate your book into sections â€" we usually know this as Chapters. It is also easier for readers to keep track of how far they have gone in the book.

Images: In many ebooks, images and illustrations are also as important as the written content. Ensure you use high-quality images when creating your ebook. While it doesn’t make much of a difference when viewed on screen, if a reader decides to print your ebook, high-quality images will make sure the book come out in tip-top shape. Be sure to clear copyright issues related to images and permission to use before the book is out.

Read Also: 10 Tips To Turn Your Ebook Into A Print Book

Writing deadline: Some authors can churn out a book per year, others take a decade just to get the characters right. Unless you work with a publisher, there really isn’t a deadline to adhere to.

4. Editing And Proofreading

This exercise needs a separate section because so many authors ignore its importance once too often. While an author can sit and churn out paragraph after paragraph and page after page, in the process they miss out on spelling errors, missing hyphens, inconsistency in writing, inconsistency in formatting, broken hyperlinks, wrongly captioned images, etc.

Errors like these will disrupt the reading process, and many readers who have read edited work from print publishers will have low tolerance to these mistakes. More importantly, these mistakes will turn up with ebook reviews that these readers provide, and will affect the views of potential readers who may or may not give your book a chance.

There are varying degrees of editing, some light, others substantive, but the trick is to find an editor who respects your work, rather than one who always has to have the final say. If you are lucky, you might find an editor who can give you constructive criticism that will help you further improve your book.

At the very least, have a friend read through your book for you â€" anyone can proofread.

5. Cover Design & Title

The biggest problem a budding author has if he/she takes the self-publishing route is that there isn’t a dedicated marketing team with all the right connections to help publicize the book. Discoverability being a issue that plagues new authors, you need all the help you can get to get your book out there.

Provided you have a budget for it, there are many freelance cover designers who can churn out a really striking and attractive cover design. There are many factors that go into determining the right cover design for your book, for example, a lot of work go into illustrating colorful and amazing-looking book covers for children, even those catered for the iPad.

Read Also: 15 (Really) Beautiful & Creative Book Covers

If you prefer to do the cover design yourself, there are plenty of tips and advice available all over the Internet on how you can go about designing your own ebook cover. Also available are tools, tutorials and Photoshop actions to help you speed up cover design.

(Image Source: Hol Art Books)

Also as important is the title of your book. Unless you are a popular author, most readers looking for a new book to accompany them on their flight won’t give your name a second look. However, with a good cover and a catchy title with the right keywords, you might just get lucky.

Read Also: Beginner’s Guide To Book Cover Design

6. eBook Format

Print publishing turn raw manuscripts â€" handwritten or typed â€" into an actual printed book, and that’s it. When it comes to ebooks, however, the final format your ebook is in will determine how accessible your book is.

The safest route is to export it to a PDF format. Most web browsers can open a PDF file without third-party apps and you can publish your ebook on multiple platforms. However, the PDF format keeps the text static and you need to do a lot of zooming to get the best reading view (based on the screen size you are on).

(Image Source: Covert PDF To Epub)

An alternative is the EPUB format which lets you reflow the text to suit your device’s screen size. You can produce an ebook in EPUB format if you know XHTML but if you don’t, there are plenty of software that can convert content from various formats like PDF, MOBI, LIT, LRF, DOC, HTML into EPUB.

Read Also: Convert More Than 100 File Types On Browser With CloudConvert

This means that you can use Microsoft Word or Open Office to create your work then convert it to EPUB when it is finished. Alternatively you can work on free software like Sigil which lets you write your book in EPUB format, even if you don’t know XHTML. This gives you more control over your content and makes your last-minute changes easier to manage.

Read Also: Publishing A Book â€" 7 Cost-Effective Self-Publishing Services

7. Getting Your Book Out There

The online publishing landscape is changing every day. It is easier now more than ever to make your book more accessible to readers out there. You can try with an online publisher like Amazon.com or with any of these 10 online services to sell digital wares. Note that they take a cut from the sales of your book for featuring your ebook in their online store.

Recommended Reading: 20 Websites To Sell Your EBook

Alternatively, you can create a website that is dedicated to your book, like what these book authors have done for their book. If the costs spent to create your ebook is not too great, you can also consider giving your book away for free, or as a way to generate more traffic to your blog. Once you have established yourself as an established author, you can start pricing your subsequent books.

M-Commerce Tips For Designing A Better Shopping Experience

Editor’s Note: This is a contributed post by Nagaraj Nagabhushanam, Director of Product Management at MobStac, an M-Commerce platform company which offers retailers best-in-class mobile shopping experiences through sites and apps. For more best practices, check out their e-book "The Ultimate Mobile Commerce Handbook" here.

With annual retail sales via mobiles and tablets expected to hit $707 billion by 2018, more and more consumers are now looking for a visually engaging online shopping experience.

Going mobile, however, has its own set of challenges. Whether it’s designing for varying screen sizes or offering a touch-friendly interface to consumers, mobile poses too many challenges to retailers. Designing and developing a flawless m-commerce experience requires you to think in terms of turning these limitations into opportunities.

Recommended Reading: 5 Services To Convert Websites For Mobile Devices

Are you creating a mobile shopping site or app? Here’s a set of best practices that you should adopt when creating an m-commerce website or app that enhances the end customer’s mobile shopping experience:

1. Think Mobile-First

Most consumers merely scan through the design and visual elements on the homepage to get an idea of what the site offers. It is important to keep the mobile user in mind, when designing, instead of trying to fit all the information on your desktop site into your mobile site.

Jimmy Choo, a luxury shoes and bags brand, makes it easy for their consumers to scan through the homepage by employing a simple layout that displays one central image followed by a list of categories below it.

Although they have included a slider for the images, this layout helps the consumer to gauge the kind of products that they can expect to find on the website.

Automatic carousels are outdated

A crowded mobile homepage with too many visual elements, such as automatic carousels, will only confuse your consumers further. One of the key rules of interface design is that the consumer needs to be in control. Carousels go against this rule by moving too quickly with small navigation icons, if any.

A study by Notre Dame University found that when it comes to carousels, the first slide bags 84% of all clicks.

This is the case with GAP mobile website, where more than half of the first visible part of the homepage displays a slider that rotates between five different offers. Most consumers find this very frustrating as there are high chances that they might click on a promotional image only to be taken to a different one.

Therefore, it is always advisable to use one static image. This helps the consumer to stay focused on the action plan. If you must opt for an image slider, go for one that does not move automatically.

Anthropologie, a multi-channel lifestyle brand, for example, employs a simple layout with one prominent image at the centre. They have taken special care to note that the image included ideally lets consumers know what to expect on the website. In this case, it revolves around luxury clothing, shoes and accessories.

Read Also: JQuery Image Galleries & Sliders â€" Best Of

Custom UI Drop-Down Menus For Navigation

Most consumers prefer to scroll up and down the category list to get a good idea of what their options are, even if they found what they were looking for right away. And it is due to this strong tendency that native pull-down menus are a poor choice for navigation.

Best Buy, for instance earlier employed a similar native UI drop-down menu. With only half of the screen used to display the available options, most consumers found it difficult to scroll through, scan and compare the available options.

A custom UI drop-down on the other hand, gives the consumer a better overview of their options. The current Best Buy mobile website employs a similar custom UI drop-down to provide their consumers with a better overview of their options. For example, when a consumer clicks on a particular category say ‘Weekly Deals’, it loads a new page, instead of displaying it in a small dialog box.

Then again, if yours is an e-Commerce site with fewer parent and sibling categories like Dune London, then you could opt for progressive disclosure (right) to show the sibling categories directly on the homepage, as and when the user requests it.

Read Also: Breadcrumb Navigation Examined: Best Practices & Examples

2. Use Intuitive mobile UI to enhance Purchases

Consumers often want to view a previously visited product. The reasons could vary from wanting to compare two products, to checking whether certain features of a previously viewed product are compatible with the new one. Many a time consumers end up having to search for it by going through the categories all over again.

ASOS, a U.K based fashion and beauty online store, makes it easy for consumers to return to a previously visited item (without repeatedly clicking on the ‘Back’ button) by displaying a list of ‘Recently Viewed’ products on their product page. It also encourages consumers to explore other items by assuring them that finding products again won’t be a hassle.

Read Also: How To Create A Responsive Navigation

Be Touch friendly

With the small screen areas on most mobile devices, clicking on an exact element on the screen can often be difficult. To make it easier for consumers to tap, there should be sufficient space between the different touch elements within your content. It is advisable to keep touch elements at 7×7 mm size visually, while maintaining the separators between touch elements at 2×2 mm size.

You could also refer to the guidelines provided by different mobile platforms to decide on the size of the touch targets to be used. It is equally important to keep complete units clickable, while ensuring that they do not span the entire viewport.

Read Also: A Look Into: Designing For Mobile Devices

3. Choose Information Architecture wisely

When consumers are unable to find a sibling-category where they expect, they often conclude that the website doesn’t sell that particular product. To avoid this you should add the subcategory under multiple parent categories. Here’s an example.

Amazon’s mobile website for instance, lists headphones as a sibling-category under both ‘Mobiles & Tablets’ and ‘Audio & Video’. This further increases the chances of consumers discovering the product they were in search of.

Read Also: Designing A Winning Navigation Menu: Ideas And Inspirations

Including ‘New’ as a separate parent category is particularly useful in industries where the recentness of a product could have a major impact on the consumers’ purchase decision. For example, the Dune London mobile website helps frequent visitors by including parent categories such as NEW IN to let them quickly scan through the new products that have arrived since their last visit.

Then again, as seen on the mobile website of Fallen Hero, a British based online fashion store, it is always best to employ ‘New’ as a filter, rather than a separate category as it helps consumers to view new items within a particular category.

Other categorization techniques that work well are ‘Customer Favourites’, ‘Best Sellers’, ‘Sale’ and so on. These customer recommendations will not only make shoppers more confident about their purchase decisions but also define your brand in their minds.

It goes without saying that m-commerce brings along numerous opportunities. Not only does it enable online stores to distinguish themselves from competitors but also helps them position themselves well enough to grab a share of this billion-dollar market.

Further Reading

Here are some more reading materials related to developing for a mobile user experience:

And if you need inspiration or resources, these links may be able to help: