Customize Compiz Fusion effects In Ubuntu
Ubuntu 8.04(Hardy Heron) comes with a full featured version of Compiz Fusion, but the main problem is that there is no way to configure these effects. To configure the different options we will use a tool called Compiz Config. To install it open up synaptic manager and search for Compiz Config
Once Compiz Config is installed, open it and you will get an interface similar to this:
The interface is pretty simple a checked option means the effect is enabled and an unchecked option means the effect is disabled, to configure individual effects like key bindings click on the image of the effect. Now I am going to show you some of my favourite effects and their output:
1) Fire on the screen: You can use it to paint text with fire on your screen, to use it press the key combo Shift+ windows key and left click and fire will be painted on the screen.
While the fire text is on your screen your normal desktop works and you can do all tasks such as browsing the web. To clear the text press the key combo Shift+Windows Key+C and the fire text will be cleared
2) Expo: Gives you a preview of your desktops that are enabled, to use it press the key combo Windows key+e
3)Wobbly Windows: a favourite for many people who use Compiz Fusion. It basically makes your windows wobble like water
4) Water Effect: Makes it rain on your desktop extremely good for killing productivity. To activate it press Ctrl+Windows key
5) Shift Switcher: Goes through your windows in a way similar to cover flow in iTunes. To use it press Windows key+Tab
6) Ring Switcher: Makes your windows form in a ring to use it simply use the Alt+tab because this plugin disables the default view of alt+tab
So start customizing Compiz fusion to your liking! 
Gmail Now allows you to read your mails securely over SSL
Do you use a shared Internet connection to access your mail? if yes you must be worried about your privacy because anyone can read your mail, but now Gmail team has added a new feature to Gmail that is now you can enable SSL encryption, yeah it was available earlier but it only used to be encrypted until you log in so that your password is safe but after being successfully logged-in it would become un-encrypted until and unless you put HTTPS manually to the URL (https://mail.google.com), now you can set Gmail to always use SSL encryption and don’t have to type HTTPS every time you open Gmail, but there is a disadvantage of SSL encryption that your Gmail inbox will load slower than usual because of the encryption as your browser has to decrypt the data hence slowing down the process but many people can live with it if their accounts are secure
To enable encryption just goto Gmail settings by clicking the link at top right corner of the screen, this feature is in the process of being rolled out so you wont see it just yet but don’t worry you will soon be able to use this feature
More here
See your Gmail Unread Mail Count on the favicon
Yesterday I found a cool new extension named “Badges On Favicon”, basically what is does is that it shows a image on on the favicon with the use of java scripts called “badgets” which can show any kind of number like the Gmail unread mail count on the favicon, it isn’t limited to Gmail only there are few more badgets available that can show Yahoo Finance Quotes, unread messages from Apple’s Mobile Me Mail, number of unread items from Netvibes, number of new results since the start of the Twitter search,new items iGoogle Reader Gadget and unread mails from Zenbe, you can also create your own badgets if you cant find anything interesting in the current badgets.
when you install this extension 4 badgets are installed by default that are Gmail Unread count, Google Reader iGoogle Gadget, Yahoo finance and Zenbe mail count, you can install other badgets from the developer’s site, once you install the extension it will start showing the badge on the favicon, this thing works great with Faviconized tabs extension which minimizes the tab to the extent that it only shows the favicon so that it doesn’t uses much space on the tab bar
Badge on Gmail Favicon
Gmail with badge Faviconized!
Add New Features like Mouse Gestures To your Gmail Account using Google Labs
Yesterday when I was going through my Gmail account settings and I saw a new tab there named “labs” which represents Google Labs, a cool new feature which allows people to try experimental features added to gmail, I remember reading about it on other blogs few days ago but I didn’t really tried it, anyway I opened that tab and saw 13 new feature that I could enable including “custom keyboard shortcuts- which allows you to change the current keyboard shortcuts in Gmail, “Mouse Gesture”- this allows you to do tasks by just moving your mouse (works great!) , “random signature” allow you to add multiple signatures and then shows them randomly with your outgoing mail and a stupid snake game! If these Features get good feedback they are permanently added to Gmail and if not they are buried, you can suggest feature using this link. Google Labs feature has been enabled on all Gmail accounts but Google apps user will have to wait before they can start using Google Lab
To enable Google Labs you need to follow these steps:
1.Open your Gmail inbox and click settings on the top left corner
2. in the settings page click on the Labs tab
3. now you will be shown all the experimental features you can add to your Gmail account, enable the features you like by click the enable radio button
See your previous Gmail Sessions and sign out of them remotely
Few days ago the Gmail team added a new feature to Gmail I.e now you can see your last activity on your Gmail account, this come as a very useful features for people who use public computers to check their email as if they forget to sign out then anyone can access their mail account which may have personal information or important files
To see how this feature works scroll down your Gmail inbox, at the bottom you will find your last account activity along with the IP address, when you click the details link you will get a pop up window with last five session details which contains the IP address from where Gmail was accessed and the time of access, you can sign out of all other sessions from your computer by clicking the “sign out all other sessions” button, using this feature you can also track if someone has got your account password and reading your emails without your knowledge, you can check that by seeing the IP address from the account is accessed and if you find any suspicious activity you can change your password
For more details Check out the official Gmail blog post
