1. Home/
    2. Archives /

Archives For November 30, 2017

One Command to Install Wallpapers from Old Ubuntu Releases

Last updated: May 16, 2018

Ubuntu 18.04

Each Ubuntu release ships a list of wallpaper images in /usr/share/backgrounds directory. These default wallpapers from old Ubuntu releases can be installed easily in your current Ubuntu desktop via a single command.

Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for “terminal” from application menu.

When the terminal opens, run single command to install default wallpapers from Ubuntu 6.10, Ubuntu 7.04, Ubuntu 7.10, Ubuntu 9.10 to current.

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-wallpapers-* edgy-wallpapers feisty-wallpapers gutsy-wallpapers

Don’t know why, but there’s no default wallpapers packages for Ubuntu 8.04, Ubuntu 8.10, and Ubuntu 9.04.

Once installed, launch System Settings and navigate to background settings page. There you’ll find a large list of old wallpapers available for choice:

In Howtos
 permalink

How to Install Mixxx 2.1 in Ubuntu 18.04/16.04

Last updated: May 15, 2018

Free DJ software Mixxx reached the new major 2.1 release recently. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 14.04 via PPA.

Mixxx 2.1 release highlights:

  • Graphical interface scales for high resolution screens
  • Overhauled Deere and LateNight skins
  • New Tango skin
  • Resizable waveforms
  • Effects are synchronized to the tempo
  • Effects are processed post-fader and post-crossfader and can be previewed in headphones
  • One metaknob per effect with customizable parameter control for intuitive use of effect chains
  • Nine new effects: Autopan, Biquad Equalizer, Biquad Full Kill Equalizer, Loudness Contour, Metronome, Parametric Equalizer, Phaser, Stereo Balance, Tremolo
  • Loaded effects and their parameters are saved and restored when Mixxx restarts
  • More transparent sounding equalizers (Biquad Equalizer and Biquad Full Kill Equalizer)
  • Improved scratching sounds with jog wheels, vinyl control, and dragging waveforms with the mouse
  • Simplified looping and beatjump controls
  • Configurable rows of 8 samplers with up to 8 rows available for a total of 64 samplers
  • Files loaded to samplers are reloaded when Mixxx restarts
  • Improved volume normalization algorithm (EBU-R 128)
  • Filter library table by crates
  • Sort musical keys in library table by circle of fifths
  • Write metadata tags back to audio files
  • New JavaScript library for controller mapping
  • Configure multiple Internet broadcasting stations and use multiple stations at the same time
  • Broadcast and record microphones with direct monitoring and latency compensation
  • Broadcast and record from an external mixer
  • Booth output with independent gain knob for using sound cards with 6 output channels without an external mixer
  • Prevent screensaver from starting while Mixxx is running
  • CUP (Cue And Play) cue button mode
  • Time remaining and time elapsed now take into account the tempo fader
  • Clicking cover art now shows it full size in a separate window
  • and of course, lots and lots of bug fixes.

Install Mixxx 2.1 in Ubuntu:

The official Mixxx PPA contains the new release packages for all current Ubuntu releases.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for ‘terminal’ from app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mixxx/mixxx

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing due to security reason) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. If an old version of Mixxx was installed on your system, upgrade the DJ software using Software Updater:

Or run commands one by one in terminal to install or upgrade the software:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mixxx

Uninstall:

You can easily remove the software by running command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove mixxx

And remove the PPA repository via Software & Updates utility under Other Software tab.

In Howtos, News ,
 permalink

Replace Left Panel with Mac OS Style Dock Launcher in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: January 26, 2019

gnome shell

For those who want to change the look and feel of the left panel “Ubuntu Dock” in Ubuntu 18.04, Dash to Dock is a Gnome extension that replaces left panel with Mac OS style Dock application launcher.

Dash to Dock is a popular Gnome extension that Ubuntu Dock (the default left panel) is forked from. With it, you can get Ubuntu 18.04 desktop looks like:

You can now install the extension from Ubuntu Software:

1. First time to install a Gnome extension? Then you need to install an add-on for your web browser:

click install add-on for Google Chrome, Chromium, Vivaldi

click install add-on for Firefox

click install add-on for Opera

Then open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install native connector get the add-ons to work.

sudo apt-get install chrome-gnome-shell

2. Then go to Dash to Dock extension page in your browser, and turn on the toggle to install it.

The left panel changes to dock launcher once you installed the extension.

To change its appearance, right-click on Show Applications icon or use Gnome Tweak Tool to go to the settings.

In Howtos, News , ,
 permalink

[Quick Tip] Hide the FireFox Title bar in Ubuntu 18.04/16.04

Last updated: May 11, 2018

Firefox 55

To make Firefox web browser looks better in Ubuntu Gnome desktop, you can now hide the title bar at the top of the browser to get Gnome-style application header bar.

1. The new feature was introduced in Firefox 60 that was released 2 days ago. So first upgrade your Firefox web browser using Software Updater utility.

2. Then launch Firefox and go to Menu -> Customize…

3. Next you’ll see the “Title Bar” checkbox in the left bottom of customize tab.

Un-check it to hide the title bar and done.

In Howtos
 permalink

Opera 53 Released with Tab, Address Bar Improvements

Last updated: May 10, 2018

opera web browser

Opera web browser 53 stable was released earlier today with improvements to tab’s display and the address bar.

Opera 53 optimized and made the tabs’ favicons more visible when a plenty of tabs are open. And click on a tab will make it more visible and easier to manage.

Also there’s some fresh, sharpened coloring done to the address bar.

How to Install Opera 53 in Ubuntu:

The opera website offers official .deb binaries for Ubuntu Linux, available for download at the link below:

Download Opera for Linux

If you have a previous release installed, and enabled the official Opera Linux repository, upgrade it via Software Updater:

To manually add the Opera for Linux repository, open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or from app launcher, when it opens, run commands:

1. Add the opera repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opera.list'

2. Get the key:

wget -O - http://deb.opera.com/archive.key | sudo apt-key add -

Finally either install Opera via your system package manager or upgrade the browser via Software Updater.

In News
 permalink

FireFox 60 Released with YubiKey Support

Last updated: May 9, 2018

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox 60 was released a few hours ago with new enterprise features, Web Authentication / YubiKey support, and new tab enhancements.

“Firefox 60 offers something for everyone and a little something extra for everyone who deploys Firefox in an enterprise environment. This release includes changes that give you more content and more ways to customize your New Tab/Firefox Home. It also introduces support for the Web Authentication API, which means you can log in to websites in Firefox with USB tokens like YubiKey.”

Firefox 60 release highlights:

  • Added a policy engine that allows customized Firefox deployments in enterprise environments.
  • Enhancements to New Tab / Firefox Home.
  • Redesigned Cookies and Site Storage section in Preferences
  • Added support for Web Authentication API.
  • Applied Quantum CSS to render browser UI
  • Added an option for Linux users to show or hide page titles in a bar at the top of the browser.
  • Improved WebRTC audio performance and playback for Linux users
  • Enhanced camera privacy indicators.
  • And various security fixes.

Install / Upgrade in Ubuntu:

Ubuntu offers the latest Firefox packages though the updates and security repositories.

Once Firefox 60 packages (check the build page) are published in the repositories, you can install or upgrade it via Software Updater:

upgrade firefox

In Howtos, News
 permalink

How to Install qBittorrent 4.1 in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: May 28, 2018

qBittorrent

qBittorrent reached the new major 4.1.0 release a few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 16.04.

qBittorrent 4.1.0 release highlights:

  • Add “Coalesce reads & writes” checkbox in advanced options
  • Smart Filter for RSS
  • Possibility to configure at which speed a torrent is considered slow.
  • When creating a torrent you can choose to preserve the file order
  • A new, redesigned and refactored WebAPI
  • Switch built-in Web UI html to HTML5
  • Allow to disable Stacktrace support
  • Various other Web UI improvements.
  • Various code optimizations and bug-fixes. Read NEWS page for details.

How to Install qBittorrent 4.1 in Ubuntu:

The official qBittorrent PPA contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04, and derivatives.

1. To add the PPA, open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or searching “Terminal” from app launcher. When it opens, run:

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

Type in your password (no visual feedback while typing due to security reason) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. To upgrade from a previous release, launch Software Updater and you’ll see qBittorrent available for upgrade after checking for updates.

upgrade qBittorrent

Or run commands below to install /upgrade it from terminal:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install qbittorrent

3. (Optional) To uninstall the 4.1 release and revert to the stock version of qBittorrent in Ubuntu repository, do:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable
In Howtos, News , ,
 permalink

How to Install Transmission 2.94 in Ubuntu 18.04/17.10

Last updated: May 6, 2018

Transmission BitTorrent

Transmission, the default BitTorrent client, reached the 2.94 release a few days ago. Now you can install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04 easily via PPA.

Transmission 2.94 is a bug-fix release with following changes:

  • Fix building against LibreSSL
  • Fix building against mbedTLS
  • Fix torrents ETA calculation
  • Fix cross-compilation issues caused by miniupnpc configuration test
  • Fix bad downloaded percentage in DetailsDialog for Qt client
  • Fix tracker error XSS in inspector for web client
  • Fix torrent name HTML-escaping in trackers inspector tab for web client.

How to Upgrade Transmission in Ubuntu:

Transmission has a stable PPA that so far maintains the latest packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, and Ubuntu 18.04.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for ‘terminal’ from app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:transmissionbt/ppa

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Then launch Software Updater (update manager) and install updates for Transmission to upgrade the software:

How to Restore:

To restore to the default transmission installed by default, run command to purge the PPA as well as downgrade the software:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:transmissionbt/ppa
In Howtos, News ,
 permalink

VS Code 1.23 Released, How to Install it in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: May 5, 2018

Visual Studio Code IDE

Visual Studio Code IDE 1.23 was released a day ago. This new release focuses on API work to support extension authors as well as plenty of updates.

VS Code 1.23 release highlights:

  • VS Code can now highlight the active indent guide
  • Run Code Actions on save
  • NPM script explorer – Quickly find, run, and debug NPM scripts in your project.
  • Problems view filtering – Choose which files will display errors and warnings.
  • Middle mouse button column selection – Middle mouse button with drag for fast column selection.
  • CSS region folding – Create regions in your CSS/SCSS/Less code for helpful code folding.
  • Improved CSS new property support – Smart suggestions for CSS experimental properties.
  • Markdown header search – Search for Markdown headers across your entire workspace.
  • Custom Activity Bar views – Extension authors can create their own Activity Bar items.
  • New deploy website tutorial – Learn how to deploy a static website to Azure Storage.

How to Install VS Code 1.23 in Ubuntu:

The official .deb package for Debian/Ubuntu is available for download at the link below:

Download VS Code (.deb)

Grab the deb and install it via either Gdebi package manager or command (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/code_*.deb; sudo apt -f install

For those who want to receive updates for VS Code via Software Updater utility, add the Microsoft repository via following steps (64bit only):

1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to add the repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/vscode stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list'

2. Download and install the repository key via commands:

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > microsoft.gpg

sudo mv microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/microsoft.gpg

Uninstall Visual Studio Code:

To remove the code editor, either use Synaptic Package Manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove code

And remove the Microsoft repository by launching Software & Updates utility and navigating to Other Software tab.

In News
 permalink

Liferea 1.12.3 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: May 2, 2018

Liferea Feed Reader

The Liferea feed reader reached the 1.12.3 release earlier today with various bug fixes. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 16.04.

“Today sees a new 1.12 release which addresses some long-standing user concerns. One being accidentally marking all your headlines as read, we have no a confirmation dialog. Another issue addressed is that of custom download tools. The list provided is not always sufficient so we now provide a CLI command you can enter to use you favorite downloader. A lot of refactoring also allowed us to provide a GTK headerbar plugin for all fans of GNOME style window decorations.”

Liferea 1.12.3 release highlights:

  • Added setting for custom download commands
  • GTK Headerbar support via plugin
  • Refactoring UI code to switch to GAction and GtkBuilder
  • Item list view column order rework as a preparation for possible real column drag&drop. Introduces a new DConf setting for the column order.
  • Mark read toolbar button always disabled for search folders
  • Please add a safety question when “marking all read”
  • Avoid exception in trayicon.py
  • GnomeKeyring plugin fails to activate when keyring doesn’t exist
  • Fix feed list selection after DnD
  • Big Memory leak in date code

How to Install Liferea 1.12.3 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04, and derivatives, the new release is available in a third-party PPA repository.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for ‘terminal’ from app launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

Type your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it asks and hit Enter.

2. Then upgrade Liferea via Software Updater utility:

upgrade Liferea via Software Updater

or run commands one by one to install the Linux feed reader:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install liferea

Finally launch the news reader from your application launcher and enjoy! (Log out and log back if you don’t see the icon).

Uninstall Liferea:

To remove the software, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove liferea

To remove the PPA repository, open “Software & Updates” utility and navigate to Other Software tab.

In Howtos, News ,
 permalink