Installation
To install in Ubuntu, add the following repository: Update and install it: Once it is installed, you can activate it via “Applications -> Internet -> Cloud Services Notification“.
Usage
When you first start CloudSN, you should see a plain window (as the image below) with no item in the list.
To add item to the notification list, click on the “New” button. From here, you can choose between Gmail, Google Reader, POP 3, IMAP, Twitter, Identi.ca and RSS feed.
If you are adding Gmail, you can even configure it to check only a particular label. This is a very useful feature. We’ll go into more detail on this later. If you leave the label field blank, it will notify you of all incoming mails.
Once you have added your services, you should start seeing the notification.
To add custom RSS feed to the notification list, you might see an error message like this:
The reason is because the module “python-feedparser” is not installed in your system. To fix it, just install the module via Ubuntu Software Center, or the command: Restart CloudSN. You should be able to add custom RSS feed now.
Configuration
The configuration option is available at “Edit-> Preferences“. From here, you can configure the interval to check for update and the maximum notifications it should show. You can also select between the Indicator Applet or Status icon. For your info, the Indicator Applet will combine with the messaging applet. This is useful if you wish to save space on your taskbar.
Another useful configuration option is the ability to use Gnome keyring to store your account password. Of course you can also choose to store your password in plain test, but that will make it less secure. If anyone has access to your computer, he/she will be able to view your email password.
How to receive Facebook update via CloudSN
Facebook is not in the list of services supported by CloudSN, but you can easily create a workaround with Gmail label. Here’s what you need to do;
- Log into your Facebook account and go to your Account settings. Configure it to send a notification email to your Gmail whenever there is an update (comments, tags, status update, whatever)
- In your Gmail, go to “Settings -> Filter“. Create a new filter to apply all emails from Facebook.com to the label “facebook” (or whatever label you like).
- In CloudSN, create a new notification item with Gmail, and set the label to “facebook”. Now, whenever you receive a Facebook email, you will be notified via CloudSN. This may not be the best method, but at least it works. You can also use this workaround to set notification for various services not supported by CloudSN.
