Ubuntu Web Apps available via PPA (list of supported websites included)

The developers have just announced a new major project for Ubuntu, based on the near-future landing of, by default, a solid amount of web apps, featuring an enhanced desktop integration (Messaging Menu, Unity launcher, badge and HUD support, etc), basically, allowing users to easily launch a desired web app via the Dash, furthermore gaining, via the mentioned integration, enhanced Unity quicklists, number of messages, replies, etc, in the Messaging Menu and more (at the moment, Ubuntu Web Apps are work-in-progress).

The developers have made available a development PPA, containing Web Apps-specific bits, useful for testing and previews.

The mentioned PPA contains not only merely a singular web apps package, but a solid mount of changed applications, including Chromium, Firefox, lenses, System Settings, meaning, the new Web Apps are to probably push specific bits into major Ubuntu areas, probably needed for their usage.

The System Settings (after the packages are installed) gains a new addition, Online Accounts (visible by default), opening it, summons a list of ready-to-be-used services, such as Facebook, Flickr, Google (including Gmail, Google+, YouTube, Picasa), Twitter, Foursquare and Identi.ca, configuring accounts in the Online Accounts’ view, makes them automatically available on the presented online services.

How do we use Ubuntu Web Apps?
First, install the Web Apps, by adding the following development (probably unstable) PPA (Precise, Quantal)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webapps/preview

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install unity-webapps-preview

then, restart the computer.

Running the above commands, modify Chromium and Firefox, consequently, navigating to supported webpages, automatically presents the user a top-left message Do you want to integrate ... with your Ubuntu desktop?, clicking Yes, creates an icon in relation to the visited page, icon that represents the web app with its desktop integration (later, the newly created web app is to launched via the Dash, just like a regular Ubuntu application).

The at-the-moment list of supported online places: 163, Angry Birds, Baidu, Baidu Mail, Baidu News, BBC, Blogger, CNN, Cut the rope, Drupal, Facebook, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google News, Google +, Google Reader, Grooveshark, Hotmail, Hulu, Last,fm, Launchpad, Linkedin, Lord of Ultima, Mail 163, Mail qq, Mail ru, MSN, News Mail ru, News Sohu, Reddit, Sina, Tiberium Alliances, Twitter, Vkontakte, WordPress, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yandex Mail, Yandex Music, Yandex News, Youtube.

Furthermore, the new Web Apps introduce a new lens, Unity Google Docs lens, gathering, displaying and managing one’s Google Docs documents, furthermore, the user is to easily navigate through the available documents by taking advantage of filters (Text Documents, PDF Files, Folders, etc).

The PPA (and its contained packages) are to be reverted to a default Ubuntu state, by typing in a terminal

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge

sudo ppa-purge ppa:webapps/preview

Ubuntu Web Apps website published with in-depth step-by-step tutorials and technical references

Ubuntu Web Apps is the latest exciting technology published by the developers, technology that, although hasn’t been yet landed in Quantal Quetzal (the at-the-moment Ubuntu development version), already triggered a solid amount of feedback across the internets.

Along with Ubuntu Web Apps’ preview publishing, the developers have put together step-by-step tutorials and howtos via an official dedicated website, carefully explaining how interested users are to utilize the versatility, power and wide-range-of-usage as related to web apps integrated into the Ubuntu desktop.

The presented information exposes the web apps project in its plenitude, starting with a user-friendly tutorial, where integration points (launcher icons, switcher icon, Messaging Menu, HUD actions, launcher icon count emblem, launcher icon progress bar, etc), approaches to be followed (such as utilizing Messaging Menu for new questions and fanmail, etc), development steps (like choosing a proper icon size, adding a count badge on the Unity launcher, tweaking quicklist, testing scripts, etc), are explained, basically, a quick yet effective explanatory development process.

The mentioned development why-where-how are properly explained in relation to an example (Tumblr), plunging the user directly into the “real” actual coding experience.

Digesting the mentioned tutorial, could trigger a demand for more advanced web apps-related informations, desire easily satisfiable via the Unity Web API quickstart and Unity Web API reference page, where more technical bits are to be located.