Posts Tagged ‘Gadgets’

Google Gadgets in Ubuntu Linux 9.10 Screencast Tutorial


In this new and improved Video Screencast Tutorial from the www.OSGUI.com Tech Show I will show you how to step by step install and use the Google Gadgets for Linux on Ubuntu Linux 9.10 Karmic Koala, it provides a platform for running desktop gadgets under Linux, catering to the unique needs of Linux users. It’s compatible with the gadgets written for Google Desktop for Windows aso well as the Universal Gadgets on iGoogle.

Gadgets Mantra- All new gadgets, cool internet stuff and computer solutions -Computer

Gadgets Mantra- All new gadgets, cool internet stuff and computer solutions -Computer

A Linux distribution is also known as the GNU/Linux distribution by some. It is basically a family member of the Unix-like software distributions and these distributions are called “distros”. Linux kernel lies as the basis of these distributions. They contain a number of software applications comprising database applications, media players, spreadsheets and word processors. The Linux operating system consists of the Linux kernel along with a set of utilities and libraries from the GNU and the X Window System for graphic support.

Some Linux distributions may be optimized for size and may not come with X. These use compact alternatives to the GNU utilities, which may include dietlibc, uclibc or busybox. At present, there are more than 300 Linux distributions and many of them are in the active mode. This means that these distributions are being constantly studied, and revised to be improved. The Linux distributions are available in different forms because most of the kernels and supporting packages used are combination of open source and free software. They may take the form of a fully featured desktop or server operating system or can also be used in minimal environments. This is the reason why they are widely used in embedded systems and for things like booting from a floppy disk.

Actually, leaving aside the custom software aspect, the word distribution here simply means a specific assortment of some applications that are installed on top of a set of libraries, along with a version of the kernel. This is created in such a manner that the “out-of-the-box” capabilities are met with most of the requirements of its specific end-user base.

The Best Open Source Gadgets

Open source gadgets mean any software whose source code is made available for use or modification for users or developers.

The advantages of the open source gadgets are evident: since everyone can modify the source they are improved continually by software communities and the vast majority of open source programs are free.


Being free is a huge advantage sometimes you, the computer owner want to do simple, one job, like editing a document or a picture, and you don’t want to spend a small fortune doing it, so the free open source programs are your best friends.

The most of the open source gadgets were initially created for Linux owners, but in the last period of time more and more open source gadgets were developed for Windows. And in this article I’m going to tell you about the best gadgets for Windows users.


The free and open-source software that you should use are: web browsing – Mozilla Firefox, video player and video podcasting: Miro, instant messaging: Pidgin, e-mail – Mozilla Thunderbird, RSS: RSSOwl, peer-to-peer filesharing: Cabos, video player – Media Player Classic, DVD ripping and video conversion – Media Coder, word processing suites – OpenOffice.org, podcasting: Juice, sound recording: Audacity, photo editing Paint.NET, FTP – Filezilla.


I’m currently using: OpenOffice.org to write and manage documents, Filezilla for FTP connections, Paint.NET to work with graphics and Thunderbird to read and write emails.

Don’t aspect the open source gadgets to have as many features as the paid ones, after all you get them for free.


Well known are the open source Google Desktop Gadgets like: Google-battery (Never lose track of your power. Always tell you how much battery power is left) Google-calculator (Calculator gadget for Google Desktop), Google-cricket-news (Displays cricket news headlines and images), Google-cricket-videos (the same like the previous only it displays videos on your desktop), Google-desktop-sdk (Complete examples of using the Google Desktop Gadget APIs) Google-digital-clock (is one of my favorite desktop gadgets, it is obviously what it does: it shows time, but in a beautiful manner ),Google-flower-pot (It is a Virtual Flower Pot which will grow to full bloom right before your eyes if you give the flowers some water using your mouse like the old Tamagoci games), Google-moon-phase (Displays the moon’s current phase) and Google-timezone (Find what the time is in different locations).


For now the most used software’s are the paid ones, but the free open source ones come fast from behind. Each day communities of developers work on them for us to have a better experience and free programs.

Visit men gadgets blog to find the biggest collection of gadgets for men and see the gadgets of the future.