Ubuntu Tweak 0.5.0 released!

After ten days’ of UTCOM’s online, I’m proud to announce the release of Ubuntu Tweak 0.5.0!

It’s a very important version of Ubuntu Tweak, it has new fresh interface, the ability to sync data from the website and lots of new options added.

Let’s go and see what’s new with Ubuntu Tweak 0.5.

First, let’s see an overview changes:

As you see, Ubuntu Tweak 0.5 only supports the current Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic (later will support Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid).  Because maintain the old version spent a lot of time in testing and verifying, make the development of Ubuntu Tweak slow down.

So I decide dropping the support of old distributions. Of course, It supports the distribution who based on Karmic, such as Linux Mint 8. But I haven’t tested, so the report from you is welcomed.

Now see some screenshots.

Ubuntu Tweak 0.5 comes with native icon and interface, so all the icon will load from the system theme. So it will be more beautiful.

This is Ubuntu Tweak with the default system theme.

And this is Ubuntu Tweak with elementary themne. Which one do you like?

Here’s is the important feature of Ubuntu Tweak 0.5: Application Center. It is improved from the old Add/Remove, but the data is synced from the UTCOM.

So the applications data will keep up-to-date. You can always get the popular applications in Ubuntu Tweak without updating the UT itself.

If you’re the first time run Ubuntu Tweak 0.5, after open Application Center, it will display the message (According to your network connection, maybe take some seconds): New application data avaiable, would you like to update.

Of course,  you should choose “Yes”

Then it will start download data from UTCOM. After downloading, all data is latest now.

Another change is: Source Center, it is improved from the Third-Party Sources. It is almost the same to Application Center, with sync data ability.

You like to try the latest and new applications from other sources, the Source Center will allow you to do that.

It contains a lot of third-party sources, some will provide application which does not include in the official source.

And it will be updated frequently, you can also help to submit the source online.

The new “Update Manager” may related to the Application Center and Source Center.

It has a easy to use interface with the readable application information.

By the screenshot, you can easily know which important application in the updates: it’s GNOME Shell.

The Session Control is improved too.

If you’re an advanced user, You may want to change the default desktop components: File Manager, Panel or Window Manager.

It’s very easy to do that. E.g. You like PCmanFM more than Nautilus, just install pcmanfm, than change the File Manager from “nautilus” to “pcmanfm”, after restarting your session, the change will be applied.

You can also disable the User List in GDM here.

The desktop icon settings is the basic feature from the Ubuntu Tweak 0.1, for some reason I removed “Show Desktop Icons” in the Ubuntu Tweak 0.4, now it’s back again.

GNOME Settings comes with two new options: Enable the icons in Menu and Button!

The default GNOME desktop of Ubuntu 9.10 has no icons in menu and button, some people may prefer enable icons, so here you can easily get it back.

Advanced Powermanager Settings give you two options to set the brightness of LCD when different battery mode, the laptop users will like it.

The last, as a request, I add the “Change Hostname” option in Computer Details.

If you don’t know how to change  hostname in command line, here it’s easy to do that.

That’s the main changes that Ubuntu Tweak 0.5.

It has a significant improvement with Source Code, now it is more friendly to the developers.

Do you remember the post of “Mockup of Ubuntu Tweak 0.6“?

As I said before, Ubuntu Tweak 0.6 supports plugin-system. Although the UI desgin of 0.6 is much more different from 0.5, but it will be based on Ubuntu Tweak 0.5′s source code. Hope it will come before Ubuntu 10.04′s release.

After Ubuntu Tweak 0.5′s release, there will be some bug-fixed release: 0.5.1, 0.5.2. And the data in UTCOM will continue to add and improve.

Everyone can take part in adding Application or Source to UTCOM. You can see this article: How to help UTCOM grow up

And I will continue to develop UTCOM too, soon a road-map of UT and UTCOM will be published.

Now download Ubuntu Tweak 0.5

Visit the laucnhpad link to download: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu-tweak/0.5.x/0.5.0

Don’t forget to report any problems! And give your support by donation or join to UTCOM. Thanks!

Enjoy!