The first issue I came across is that notifications with high textual content often displayed for too short a period of time for them to be fully read and comprehended. The original notify-osd design specification stated that the notifications system would adapt the on-screen time of each notification because upon the number of lines of textual content present. After reviewing the code for notify-osd, it seem this code is not yet implemented on the version of notify-osd which ships with Ubuntu 9.04. Henceforth this is the first modification I made to the package, increasing the display time from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.

The second change was to alter the code such that notifications would display regardless of whether a video was actively playing. With the default set-up, notifications will not be displayed if a video is playing or the notification system deems you to be busy. The disadvantage this presents in its original state, is that even if the notification area (top right) is not obstructed by video playback, such as the situation where a video is being played windowed, rather than full-screen, the notifications will still not be displayed. This behaviour was modified so notifications display regardless of video playback.

Summary of changes to notify-osd:

• On-screen notification time doubled from 5 seconds to 10 seconds
• ‘Do not disturb’ notifications functionality removed so notifications will display regardless of video playback status.

Download links:

• Ubuntu 9.04 (32-bit) Debian Package
• Source Code

I hope this is of benefit to people who are having difficulties with the defaults of notify-osd. At some point, I believe it would be beneficial to remove the existing hard-coding of the delays and other such options, and I may personally take on this task at some point. Please feel free to offer any feedback or ideas in the comments section.

If you liked this post, you may be interested in these:

1. Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx sees the release of Alpha 2
2. Firefox – How to easily install Mozilla Firefox 3.5 on Ubuntu 9.04
3. Ubuntu 9.10 Release
4. How to Mount a Disc Image in Ubuntu Linux
5. Ubuntu 100 Paper Cuts Usability Initiative – Professional focus on one hundred usability issues within the Ubuntu operating system

However, Firefox 3.5 is available in Ubuntu 9.04′s software repository by the package name of ‘firefox-3.5′. The application is named Shiretoko, which does not sound very ‘Firefox’ but is in fact Mozilla’s internal development name for Firefox 3.5. To install the firefox-3.5 package in Ubuntu 9.04, just click here, run the command below or install the package via Synaptic Package Manager (found in System -> Administration).

sudo apt-get install firefox-3.5

Although most users who have installed software via the command line will already realise this, the use of ‘sudo’ to elevate the command to superuser privileges will prompt you for your user password prior to installation.

After installation, you’ll find Firefox 3.5 available under Applications -> Internet -> Shiretoko, or can be executed via the command ‘firefox-3.5′. If you wish to make Firefox 3.5 your default web browse under Ubuntu 9.04, first open Preferred Applications which can be found under System -> Preferences. Under ‘Web Browser’ (on the ‘Internet’ tab) select ‘Custom’ and then enter the command below in the ‘Command’ box.

firefox-3.5 %s

Now, all new links clicked should open Firefox 3.5 / Shiretoko instead of the previous default.

The inspiration for the article was the many discussions I’ve already had with users regarding how to install the latest version of firefox in Ubuntu 9.04 and also discussions regarding the gerneal update policy of update, i.e. the lack of backporting of popular applications. This is great for stability, can be mean reduced functionality and in the case of the Firefox, performance, in which Firefox 3.5 heavily out performs Firefox 3.0. However, discussion of update policies and release cycles is another topic entirely.

I hope this basic installation guide comes as a help to those users who want Firefox 3.5 in Ubuntu 9.04. Feel free to discuss below, and add comments regarding any alternate installation methods or even your thoughts on whether or not Firefox 3.5 should have been ‘officially’ backported to Ubuntu 9.04.

If you liked this post, you may be interested in these:

1. /home/ – Ubuntu Home Directories are world readable by default
2. Ubuntu 9.10 Release
3. Mono – Ubuntu Technical Board – Position on Mono and the integration of applications
4. Ubuntu 100 Paper Cuts Usability Initiative – Professional focus on one hundred usability issues within the Ubuntu operating system
5. notify-osd – Changes to Ubuntu 9.04 notifications