UbuntuNight

Would you be more likely to use Google Drive if there was an official native client available for Linux?

Without needing to employ USA-style surveillance I can wager that ‘yes’ would be the response from many of you.

Hoping to harness this want, a new petition has been launched with the aim of persuading Google to create one.

Back in April of last year, when Drive was launched, Google assuaged anger from Linux users feeling left out by assuring that a Linux client was on the roadmap.

A year on and that client has yet to materialize  in any shape or form.

Which is slightly puzzling when you realise that many Google employees use an internal OS based on Ubuntu. Surely they’d want Drive functionality, too?

Drive is supported natively on Chrome OS via the File Manager application. Standalone desktop apps for Mac and Windows, as well as mobile apps for Android and iOS, are also available.

Whilst there are handful of third-party solutions around, the most notable being InSync, many of these are in the process of transitioning to a paid model – not ideal.

If you fancy adding your voice to the call for a client, hit the link below. We’ll be sure to update you if we hear anything in the meantime.

Google Drive for Linux Petition on Change.org

Unity’s much-delayed Smart Scopes Service is preparing to land in the daily builds of Ubuntu 13.10.

The feature aims to add a more comprehensive and relevant search experience to the Ubuntu desktop. Over 50 new ‘Scopes’ – a data-specific search backend – will come installed by default. Some of these deliver results from popular websites like Wikipedia, Yahoo!, and Google; others deliver data from locally installed applications, like music players and installed apps.

It’s Like Source City in the Unity Dash

Each of these scopes can be disabled individually by right-clicking on it:

Disable a Smart Scope in Unity

The Smart Scopes feature was originally intended to debut in Ubuntu 13.04, but was eventually considered ‘not mature enough’. Whilst this was a shame, it was necessary. The version about to arrive in 13.10, and now available in Saucy-Proposed-Updates, is faster, more intelligent, and more featured than that targeted for 13.04.

Admittedly many remain suspicious about how useful it will be. Over the coming months eager testers will get to find out. But, if you found yourself aggrieved by the “irrelevancy” of Amazon shopping results when looking for a local file or application, prepare for much of the same – just on a larger scale:

Searching for a locally installed app returns all this…

As bad as the image above might look to some the Dash is doing what it’s meant to. Empathy, the app I was searching for, is in top spot. I don’t have to scroll or wade through to find it.

For source specific searches you can use modifiers. Want to quickly search Wikipedia? Prefix ‘wiki:query’.

It’s Possible to Search A Specific Service

Modifiers are great, but they are a power-users tool. Do you use them on Google? I don’t. And that means that for me the “default” set of results returned will be more important.

That’s where the “smart” in ‘Smart Scopes Service’ will come in. The relevancy of results will be determined by people like us. As we search and click on results the ‘smart scopes server’ that delivers the results will learn which types of results are more relevant for which terms.

Given that the feature is only just gearing up to arrive in 13.10 the results are not as finely tuned as they will be by October. If you’re using Saucy already, just keep that in mind when using it.

Other than that, the feature adds an insane amount of potential to the Unity desktop. A world of results, and the ability to interact with them, will be only the tap of a Super key away…

Canonical’s Ubuntu Community Manager Jono Bacon has shown off the latest progress to Ubuntu Touch as of this month.

If you haven’t seen much of Ubuntu Touch since the earlier releases back in January and February, then you’ll be surprised at how fast progress is happening.

The network and Messaging menus now work; much of the dummy data included on earlier builds has been removed; and there are a handful of functioning apps available for Ubuntu Touch, albeit still rough around the edges.

All “core features” of the phone are working – calling, SMS, and data over 3G.

While not a single handset manufacturer or mobile carrier has yet publically committed to shipping Ubuntu Phone, Canonical remain confident that the first Ubuntu Touch devices will ship in ‘early 2014′, with Ubuntu Touch tablets following in the months thereafter.