10 Must Have Indicator Applets for Ubuntu 12.04

Indicator Applets are very useful in terms of providing quick information and play a very important role in overall Ubuntu experience. These app indicators lie on the top panel and the users can use these applets to control and/or access the application without even opening it. Here are my top 10 “must have” indicator applets for Ubuntu 12.04.

1. Weather Indicator

Weather Indicator is one of the few indicator applets which can be found in Ubuntu Software Centre. This small applet provides the temperature and weather information about your (chosen) location. It notifies when there is a weather change.

It can be installed from the Ubuntu Software Centre or by using the following commands in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt-get install indicator-weather

2. Jupiter (Performance Indicator)

Jupiter is an fabulous applet that helps your notebook from overheating. It shows the CPU temperature and also gives you option of choosing the performance mode to control the temperature and save battery.

To install Jupiter:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/jupiter
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install jupiter

3. System Load Indicator:

This applet shows the status of your CPU, Network, Memory and Disk in graphical manner. It also has various options to configure it. This applet can be found in Ubuntu Software Centre.

To install in Terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:indicator-multiload/stable-daily
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-multiload

4. Ubuntu One Indicator:

Ubuntu One is the default cloud service provider in Ubuntu that gives you 5 GB of free space. The one thing that is missing is that it doesn’t come with a default appindicator as Dropbox (Why?). An applet is available in private PPA that works as it is expected of it.

To install:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rye/ubuntuone-extras 
sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install indicator-ubuntuone

Your computer needs a restart to reflect the changes.

5. Key Lock Indicator :

Not all laptops come with a Caps lock or Num lock indicator or even button and this is why this indicator becomes necessary to know whether or not caps lock is on or not. It notifies every time there is a change in the state of the key. By default, it pops in panel when the locks are turned on but it can be configured to always stay in panel even when locks are off. This applet needs a restart to reflect the changes for the first time.

To install Key Lock:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tsbarnes/indicator-keylock
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-keylock

6. Touchpad Indicator:

A tiny applet that lets you enable/disable the touchpad of course for your notebook. It also gives option for configuring a shortcut for the same.

To install:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao 
sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install touchpad-indicator

7. ClassicMenu Indicator:

Aw! You miss the good old classic Gnome2 menu which stayed with Ubuntu till version 10.10 but bid farewell since Ubuntu switched to Unity/Gnome 3. Here is a good news fellas! We have this tiny little applet that gives you (to an extent) same classic menu feel.

The .deb file is available to be downloaded from here.

8. Window-List Indicator:

This small indicator applet shows the list of open windows in panel. In case you don’t feel at ease with Alt+Tab (to see the open windows and to navigate between them), then it is perfectly suited for you.

To install:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jwigley/window-list 
sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install window-list

9. Feed Indicator:

This applet lets you add feeds from your favourite websites in to the Unity panel. Configuration options include refresh rate, notification preferences etc.

It can be downloaded from its official website.

10. Radio Tray Indicator:

This applet is actually a tiny radio player that lets you play different internet radio station directly from the panel. It is highly integrated with Ubuntu and also gives notifications about song change etc (depending upon radio channel). Configuration option allows you to add your favourite radio stations along with the ones which come by default with it.

To install:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:eugenesan/ppa 
sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install radiotray

If the applet doesn’t appear automatically in the panel then search for it in Unity dash and launch it. Some applet might require a restart.

Do you have any favourite applet that we missed out here? Do let us know. The Comments section is all yours.