UbuntuHandbook

Install Keystroke Visualizer in (K)Ubuntu 14.04/13.10/12.04

Last updated: February 4, 2014

Keystroke is a Qt based keystroke visualization tool for Linux. This is a new KDE project just created a few days ago. It is helpful when creating screencasts where you want to show what you are typing. E.g. when using vim.

See the video:

This keystroke visualization tool only works on K Desktop Environment (KDE). For Ubuntu users, you can easily install it by running the commands below one by one in terminal (Press Ctrl+Alt+T to open the terminal):

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:samrog131/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install keystroke

This will install the tool in (K)ubuntu 14.04, (K)ubuntu 13.10, (K)ubuntu 12.10, and (K)ubuntu 12.04.

Once installed, search for and run keystroke-gui in the start menu and then type anything to see the magic!

keystroke on github

In Howtos Keystroke Visualizer, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 14.04

Install Android x86 Emulator ‘Genymotion’ in Ubuntu 14.04/13.10

Last updated: February 3, 2014

Want to emulate Nexus, Galaxy, or other Android Phone/Tablet on Ubuntu Desktop? Well, you may already know the handy tool Genymotion.

Genymotion is a complete set of tools that provides a virtual environment for Android. It can be very useful for developers, testers, salesman or even gamers. Genymotion is free for personal use. For full features, you need to buy a license.

Features:

OpenGL acceleration to achieve the best 3D performance
Enable full screen option and improve your experience
Be precise in your UI development with the “pixel perfect” functionality
Start multiple virtual device at the same time
Override virtual device identifiers
Directly command virtual devices sensors with Genymotion Shell
Fully compatible with ADB. You can control your virtual device from the host
Manage sensors: Battery level / status, GPS, Rotation, Camera

Since 2.1:

supports copy/paste from the host to the virtual device, or from the virtual device to the host using Android builtin copy/paste feature.
Android 4.4 support

Screenshots:

Install Genymotion:

1. This Android Emulator requires Virtualbox, so first search for and install virtualbox in Ubuntu Software Center.

2. Register https://cloud.genymotion.com/ (free).

3. Download the installer after your login the website. Not sure Linux 32 bits or 64 bits? Go to System Settings -> Details and you’ll see the OS type:

4. If you save the installer in the default Downloads folder, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal. When it opens, run below commands one by one:

cd ~/Downloads/

chmod +x genymotion-2.1.0_x64.bin

./genymotion-2.1.0_x64.bin

It first navigate to Downloads folder, then give executable permission, and finally start the installer. Of course you need to change the file-name to yours.

5. According to the previous picture genymotion has been installed to “/home/handbook/Downloads/genymotion”.

So run below command to start it:

/home/handbook/Downloads/genymotion/genymotion

In Howtos Android Emulator, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Upgrade From Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy To Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

Last updated: January 28, 2014

This simple tutorial shows how to upgrade your system from Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy to Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr for both Desktop and Server editions.

Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty is scheduled to be released on April 17th. At the moment of writing this article, the alpha release is available to upgrade in Saucy’s updater for testing purpose.

Important: Production machines please wait until the Ubuntu 14.04 final is released. By then, we can follow below steps to upgrade our systems.

Before starting any upgrades, you need to:

Backup important files, documents, bookmarks and other data.
If you’ve manually installed proprietary drivers directly from the manufacturer’s website, then before upgrading I recommend removing these drivers first and reverting to the open-source drivers
Open Software & Updates utility from Unity Dash. Disable all third-party repositories under Other Software tab.

Desktop Upgrade:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below to update your system:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Now start the updater via -d option:

sudo update-manager -d

The Software Updater will open and tell you your system is up to date and a new release Ubuntu 14.04 is available.

Click on the Upgrade button and confirm again in next window. Software Updater will fetch and install the files and prompt you to remove unnecessary applications.

Finally you’ll be asked to restart your computer to finish the upgrade. That’s it.

Upgrade Ubuntu Server:

NOTE: Please backup your configuration files if you’re running any services on Ubuntu server.

For Ubuntu Server edition, we need to install the update-manager-core first by executing the command below:

sudo apt-get install update-manager-core

Then edit the config file:

sudo vi /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades

Make sure there’s a line that says “Prompt=normal” or “Prompt=lts”.

Start the upgrade process by:

sudo do-release-upgrade -d

Follow the on-screen prompts and you’re done!.

In Howtos Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 14.04, upgrade from Ubuntu 13.10 to Ubuntu 14.04

How to Install QupZilla Browser 1.6.0 in Ubuntu 13.10/13.04/12.04

Last updated: January 22, 2014

QtWebKit browser QupZilla 1.6.0 has been released a few days ago. Here’s how to install it via PPA in Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint and their derivatives.

This release comes with new TabBar implementation that supports scrolling through all tabs when tabs don’t fit at all into TabBar. So it means, no more overflowing of tabs!

LocationBar received new completion feature – inline completion. You can now write only first letter and the most used domain will be completed. Once you see the completion, you can just press Enter and load the site.

For details, see the changelog:

added support for Proxy Auto-Config (PAC)
added option to open another private window from private window
added option to detach tabs from window
added delete action in edit context menu on page
added possibility to remove EasyList from AdBlock
added inline domain completion to urlbar
added KWallet password backend plugin
added Gnome-Keyring password backend plugin
added StatusBar Icons plugin that adds extra icons to statusbar
added support for POST method in search engines manager
added context menu for translating webpage
added possibility to export bookmarks to html file
great performance improvement for matching basic rules in AdBlock
themes can now be loaded from profile directories
pagescreen can now save output into number of formats, including PDF
proxy exceptions now supports wildcards (*, ?)
cancel upload when trying to upload non-readable files
select previous / next engines with ctrl+up/down in websearchbar
ask user first before closing all but the current tab from tabbar
last 2 sessions are now backuped in profile directory
always show tab previews after a small delay
GreaseMonkey: added icon in statusbar
GreaseMonkey: added support for GM_Settings
GreaseMonkey: fixed userscripts when first loading plugin
GreaseMonkey: run userscripts in all frames on page
oxygen: set rounded corners for tooltips
oxygen: workaround for transparent background of tooltips
X11: Set correct WM_CLASS property to windows
fixed: size of preferences dialog on low-res screens
fixed: loading plugins with relative paths in portable build
fixed: displaying a lot of RSS feeds in RSS widget in locationbar
fixed: enabling disabled rules in AdBlock now works everytime
fixed: parsing OpenSearch files with XML declaration
fixed: don’t show urls multiple times in url completer
fixed: drag & drop moving folders under bookmarks toolbar
fixed: files with relative paths can now be opened from command line
fixed: issues with overflowing tabs, it is now possible scroll through all tabs

Install QupZilla Browser:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nowrep/qupzilla

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install qupzilla

For Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty, the latest version is available in Ubuntu Software Center.

In Howtos Qupzilla web browser, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Install Latest gmusicbrowser 1.1.11 in Ubuntu 13.10, 12.04

Last updated: January 19, 2014

Gmusicbrowser is an open-source jukebox for large collections of mp3/ogg/flac/mpc/ape files. This tutorial will show you how to install the latest version, so far it’s gmusicbrowser 1.1.11, in Ubuntu via PPA.

Gmusicbrowser 1.1.11 was released a few days ago, and here’s the changelog:

improve search responsiveness (improve responsiveness of SimpleSearch)
add auto-update mode that keeps browser lists sorted and filtered (on by default, can be disabled in the songlist/songtree option menu)
picture finder plugin: update google image, add bing and yahoo, various small changes
albuminfo plugin: update and fix parsing of Allmusic’s pages
various improvements to song properties and mass-tagging dialogs
gstreamer : add option to monitor pulseaudio’s volume, off by default as it is unstable due to thread problems with the libraries
close-to-tray option no longer depends on the use-tray option
various improvements and small fixes to error dialogs asking to retry
fix default filters “added today” and “played today” doing the opposite of what they say (only fixed for new users, if you were affected you have to edit them to fix it)
add a new-page button on TabbedLists/Context/NB (can be disabled with newbutton=0)
better handling of vertical scripts in vertical tabs
fix combo boxes for setting artist options in the misc tab of preferences
fix dialog for selecting label icons up-scaling small icons
dbus API: make CurrentSong output more fields
songtree: add $discname group variable
translation updates: Chinese(Taiwan), Finnish, German, Korean, Russian, Spanish

Install gmusicbrowser in Ubuntu:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run below commands one by one. It will always install the latest packages from launchpad PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:andreas-boettger/gmusicbrowser-daily

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gmusicbrowser

Currently the PPA supports Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint and their derivatives.

If you don’t like PPAs, download & install the .deb package from launchpad page

In Howtos gmusicbrowser, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 14.04

Manage Your Flickr Photos on Ubuntu Desktop via Frogr

Last updated: January 19, 2014

Frogr is a Gnome app allows to manage your accounts in the Flickr image hosting website. It supports all the basic Flickr features, including uploading pictures, adding descriptions, setting tags and managing sets and groups pools.

You see, the GUI is simple and very easy to use. Right click on an image file allows you to edit the picture details.

How to Install Frogr:

Frogr is available in Ubuntu Software Center by default, but the default versions are old. To install the latest version, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal. When it opens, run below commands one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mariospr/frogr 

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install frogr

This will install the app from its official PPA. So far, it supports Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint, Elementary OS Luna.

In Howtos Flickr, manage flickr, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 13.10, upload photos to Flickr in Ubuntu

How to Install qBittorrent 3.1.5 in Ubuntu 13.10/13.04/12.10/12.04

Last updated: January 23, 2015

The free and open source bittorrent client qBittorrent 3.1.5 has been release a few hours ago. Let’s see what’s new and how to install or upgrade to new version in Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint and their derivatives.

qBittorrent 3.1.5 Mainly Fixed below bugs:

Fix compilation with Qt 4.7. Closes #1215.
Third attempt at fixing saving settings on OS shutdown.
Preview now correctly uses the selected file.
Allow to resize the columns in Add New Torrent dialog.
Ensure that at least one column in the tranferlist is always visible.
Ensure that the options window will always be placed onscreen.
Delete temporary files after they aren’t needed.
Correctly detect libtorrent version.
Various code cppcheck fixes
Remove isohunt search engine and update thepiratebay url
Fix rss settings corruption when checking regexp and going to other rule.
Don’t count paused torrents for the autoshutdown.
LINUX: Fix notifications with xfce4-notifyd.
OSX: Added basic retina support. Closes #1251. (Sébastien Lavoie)
OTHER: Sync translations from Transifex.

Install qBittorrent 3.1.5 in Ubuntu:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it open, run below commands one by one will install qBittorrent from its official PPA repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install qbittorrent

If you don’t like the PPAs, download & install the .deb packages from launchpad page

In Howtos bittorrent client, qbittorrent, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 13.10

How to Remove the keyboard indicator in Ubuntu 14.04, 13.10

Last updated: November 30, 2013

Since Ubuntu 13.10, there’s an indicator applet on top panel which allows to quickly switch between keyboard layouts for various languages.

If you find that the keyboard indicator is useless, you can easily remove the applet from top panel by following the steps below:

1. Open System Settings from Unity Launcher or from top-right corner shutdown menu. Then click on Text Entry

2. In the bottom of the window you’ll see “Show current input source in the menu bar” which is enabled by default. Uncheck the box and the indicator applet will disappear instantly.

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos remove keyboard indicator, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Install Brightness Indicator in Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy

Last updated: January 22, 2014

Want to control screen brightness through an indicator applet on panel? Well, you may want this app if your Fn key does not work properly.

Brightness indicator allows to change screen brightness by using the indicator menu or the scroll wheel of your mouse over the indicator icon. It’s inspired by the original Gnome brightness applet.

UPDATE: PPA has updated for Ubuntu 13.10, and Ubuntu 14.04. Run below commands one by one in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:indicator-brightness/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install indicator-brightness

~~The PPA does not update the packages for Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy, but we can use the one for old releases. To get started installing this applet, follow the steps below:~~

~~1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command below to download DEB for raring:~~

wget https://launchpad.net/~indicator-brightness/+archive/ppa/+files/indicator-brightness_0.4~bzr11~raring1_all.deb

~~2. Then install the deb as well as the dependencies:~~

sudo dpkg -i ndicator-brightness_0.4~bzr11~raring1_all.deb; sudo apt-get -f install

Alternatively, download the package from launchpad page. Install the required package python-appindicator from Ubuntu Software Center and then double-click to install the brightness indicator package.

In Howtos brightness indicator, Ubuntu 13.10

Install MATE 1.6 to Get Classic Gnome 2 Desktop in Ubuntu 13.10

Last updated: November 27, 2013

Gnome 2 Desktop was the default in Ubuntu (10.04 Lucid and earlier). If you would like to install this classic DE in Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy, try MATE, which is a fork of GNOME 2, aims to preserve the classic desktop metaphor.

NOTE: If you just want a classic Gnome style panel and app menu, search for and install gnome-session-fallback in Ubuntu Software Center and log out and back in with Gnome Flashback session.

First take a look at MATE 1.6:

MATE calssic gnome 2 menu

MATE gnome 2 panel items

To install MATE desktop environments in Ubuntu 13.10, follow the steps below:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands to add MATE repository:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://packages.mate-desktop.org/repo/ubuntu saucy main"

2. Update package lists and get the keyring:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install mate-archive-keyring

3. Update and install the DE:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install mate-core mate-desktop-environment

Once installed, log out current session and choose to login with MATE from LightDM:

In Howtos Gnome Classic, MATE Desktop Environment, Ubuntu 13.10

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