Damien

Damien Oh is the owner and chief editor of Make Tech Easier

Recent Posts

Nautilus Actions Extra Adds Plenty Of Useful Options to Your Context Menu [Ubuntu Nautilus]

nautilus-action-extraBeing the default file manager in Gnome and Ubuntu, Nautilus has done its job well. You can add bookmarks to your frequently used folders, view folders in tabs, connect to a remote server, right-click to extract zipped files, synchronize with Ubuntu One and many other useful stuff. However, sometimes you may find that it is a a bit lacking in some areas, like the ability to open folder in terminal, run file as administrators, mount ISO file etc. This is where Nautilus Action Extra comes into action.

Nautilus Action Extra is an action script for Nautilus that adds plenty of useful options to the context menu (the window that pop up when you right-click your mouse). Once installed, you will get feature like “Open file in terminal”, “open file as administrator”, “repair filename”, “check sum” and many other advanced options easily accessible from the context menu.
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How to Manage Your Recent Files (Files Logging) In Ubuntu

activity-log-manager-recently-usedThe Zeitgeist Engine is a service that logs the users’s activities and events (files opened, websites visites, conversations hold with other people, etc.) and makes relevant information available to other applications. In the recent releases of Ubuntu, the Zeitgeist engine was installed by default, and that is why you are starting to see “Recent Files” showing up in your Nautilus file manager and other applications.

Let’s say that you are using a household computer and you love to watch late night movie (aka. porn) on it, the last thing you want your family members to see is the name of the movie showing up on the “Recent Files” list every time they open the Nautilus file manager.
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7 Design Considerations You Should Follow When Designing A Firefox Theme

btengage-mainThe web browser is often the most used application on any given computer. We spend so much time using this application that it’s more utilitarian functions have taken precedence over design. However, all three major web browsers (Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Firefox) offer the ability to customize your browser with unique themes. In fact, for the company, brand, or website that can design a theme well, they will find that there are many benefits to be had from offering fans and followers another avenue of engagement. The main benefit being (on average) a large spike in monthly site visits from those who install their theme. So if you’re interested in giving your brand a boost online, here are some things you might want to consider while designing a custom Firefox theme for your fans and followers.
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How to Tweak Facebook to Your Liking

fb-logoDo you like the layout of your Facebook homepage? What about its color scheme? Or that the news ticker sidebar is pissing you off? Do you hide the chat box for good?

While Facebook is addictive, it can be annoying as well. Some of its feature like the news ticker, chat box etc. can be a great distraction and many important news are buried deep in the feed while junk message and spam keep finding their ways to your stream. Luckily, we don’t have to suffer in silence. Here are several browser extensions that you can use to tweak the behavior and theme of Facebook.
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TagMyDoc: Easily Embed QR Code to Your Documents

tagmydoc-logoWhen you want to share a document, the usual way is to either send the other party an email with the document attached, or upload the document to a storage server, pass them the URL and they can visit the link to download the document. How about embedding a QR code on your document so that people can scan the QR code and have the document downloaded to their devices instantly?

TagMyDoc is one web service that does exactly this. It embeds QR code onto your documents. During a keynote presentation, meeting, discussion or video conference, your friends/colleagues/co-workers can scan the QR code in the document and have the document downloaded to their devices instantly.
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Free Giveaway: Flac to MP3 Converter

flac-mp3-logoIf you have a bunch of FLAC audio files and you want to convert them to MP3 format so you can play them in your MP3 players, or iPhone/iPod Touch, here’s a software for you: FLAC to MP3 Converter.

FLAC to MP3 allows you to convert FLAC files to MP3 format in just 3 simple clicks. You just select the files to be converted, set the output path and click the “Convert” button. That’s it.

Other than FLAC and MP3, the software also supports over 20 other input formats (MP4, FLV, AVI, 3gp and many more) and output formats. It also supports batch converting, so you can select a bunch of files and have them converted quickly and easily.

FLAC to MP3 Converter is usually available for $29.95, but it is now available for free, until Christmas.

Head over to the download site to get your free copy now.

How to Check If CarrierIQ Tracking Software Is Installed In Your Android Phone

carrieriq-logoThe hottest news lately has to be the discovery of the CarrierIQ software residing in most Android phones. If you are still not aware, CarrierIQ is a tracking software that can track almost every single bit of information in your phone, including the characters you typed in your keyboard, the website you visited, the information stored in your phone and many more, without your knowledge and permission. Unlike most third party app where you have to install manually, this software comes in-built in the phone and since it lies at the kernel of the OS, it can’t be removed easily.
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How to Easily Encrypt/Decrypt Files In Ubuntu One

encrypt-safe-mainPreviously, we have shown you how to encrypt your files before upload to the Dropbox server. The method described in that article is using the Encfs method, which requires you to dabble with the command line. While you can use the same method to encrypt/decrypt your Ubuntu One folder, there is a simpler way to do.

The Ubuntu One Encrypt/Decrypt script is a simple Nautilus script that allows you to encrypt/decrypt your files and folder from the context menu. It is easy to use and doesn’t require any configuration.
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How to Watch YouTube Playlist in Android [Quick Tip]

android-youtubePlaying your YouTube playlist on a browser is easy. With a few simple clicks and you can sit back and enjoy your videos. In Android, the YouTube app comes with playlist creation and playback feature, but it is not immediately visible to the user. You will have to dig deeper into the options to access this feature. Here is where and how you can watch YouTube playlist in your Android devices.
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How to Create Custom Wallpaper Slideshow in Ubuntu

crebs-mainIf you are using the Gnome desktop and have played with the wallpaper (Appearance) settings, you will discover that there is an inbuilt slideshow feature that you can use to change the wallpaper at regular interval. While this is a useful feature, it is rather limited since it can only rotate among the default wallpapers and not your custom collection of wallpapers. For those who wish to create your own slideshow and don’t want to have a third-party wallpaper changing app running in the background, here’s how you can do it in Ubuntu.
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