UbuntuHandbook

Wine Dev 3.1 Released with Kerberos Authentication Support

Last updated: January 25, 2019

Wine Stable

Wine 3.1, the first development release towards the next Wine 4.0 stable, was released released a few days ago.

Wine 3.1 features:

Kerberos authentication support.
Window class redirection for Common Controls 6.
Support for X11 ARGB visuals.
DOSBox required for running DOS executables.

Also there are 29 bug-fixes range from fixing Qt5 applications to Grand Theft Auto V issues to Doom 4 / DOOM 2016 problems and other gaming issues.

How to Install Wine 3.1 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Linux Mint 17.x and 18.x, open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T and run following commands one by one:

1. Add the official wine repository via command:

sudo apt-add-repository https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/

For Linux Mint 18.x, use following command instead to add the repository:

sudo apt-add-repository 'deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ xenial main'

For Linux Mint 17.x, replace xenial in the code with trusty.

2. Install the GPG key to be able to receive software updates:

wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key && sudo apt-key add winehq.key

3. Finally update and install the latest Wine development release:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends winehq-devel

Uninstall:

To remove wine dev release, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove winehq-devel

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

In Howtos, News wine, wine 4.0

IntelliJ IDEA 2017.3.4 Released with Various Improvements

Last updated: February 2, 2018

The fourth update for the IntelliJ IDEA 2017.3 was released a few days ago with a whole variety of improvements.

The most notable bug-fixes in IntelliJ IDEA 2017.3.4 include:

Roll back the fix for the UI upper scale limit on Linux (because of regressions)
Allow to choose test runner even when “Delegate IDE build/run action to gradle” enabled.
Now renaming a module is reflected in the dependent module’s file (.iml)
Allow to use TAB key to jump to the Result pane in the Evaluate Expression window.
Fix the issue with Gradle silent import doing nothing when the Gradle JDK is invalid
The Show Local Changes as UML action doesn’t let you scroll infinitely
Unlimited resizing in Diagrams when scrolling with the mouse wheel has been fixed
New shortcuts Shift + Del and Сtrl + X (cmd + X) to the remove results action in the Find Tool Window

How to Install IntelliJ IDEA 2017.3.4 in Ubuntu:

method 1: Download official Linux package (NON-INSTALL), extract and run the executable to launch the IDE:

Download IntelliJ IDEA for Linux

method 2: The Jetbrains team also provides snap, the universal Linux app packaging format, for Ubuntu Linux.

For Ubuntu 16.04 (need to install snapd first), Ubuntu 17.10, and higher, the latest snap app can be easily installed via Ubuntu Software.

Or you can open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching ‘terminal’ from app launcher. And run command:

sudo snap install intellij-idea-community --classic

Replace intellij-idea-community with intellij-idea-ultimate for ultimate edition. And type your password (no visual feedback) when it asks.

Uninstall:

For the snap packages, you can either remove them from Ubuntu Software, or by running command in terminal:

snap remove intellij-idea-community intellij-idea-ultimate

In Howtos, News IntelliJ IDEA

You Can Now Install Skype in Ubuntu via Snap

Last updated: February 1, 2018

Skype for Linux now is available as snap, the universal Linux app packaging format, with easy install and automatic updates.

“London, UK – 1st February 2018 – Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, announces today that Skype is now available as a snap, the universal Linux app packaging format. Available as of today, the release means that Skype can deliver its communication service to a wider range of Linux users, including millions on Ubuntu.“, it’s announced in Ubuntu Insights.

For Ubuntu 16.04 users who’ve never installed a snap package, first install snapd daemon in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt-get install snapd snapd-xdg-open

The snap package can be installed directly from Ubuntu Software. At the moment, it’s skype 8.14.0.10:

You can also open terminal and run command to install the snap:

snap install skype --classic

And the snap automatic updates itself when a new release is out and published.

To launch Skype, search it from application launcher (may need re-login) or run command:

/snap/bin/skype

Uninstall:

To uninstall the snap, either use Ubuntu Software or run command:

snap remove skype

In Howtos, News skype, skype for linux, snap

Vivaldi 1.14 Released with Markdown Support in Notes

Last updated: January 31, 2018

The Vivaldi web browser reached the new stable 1.14 release earlier today.

Vivaldi 1.14 features:

Vertical reader mode for users of Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages.
Add Markdown support to Notes
Add the ability to customize the order of the Web Panels in the sidebar.
Ability to change order of search engines
Also various bug-fixes. See release note for details.

How to Install Vivaldi 1.14 in Ubuntu:

The official DEB binaries are available in the link below:

Download Vivaldi (DEB)

Grab the deb matches your OS, then install it via Ubuntu Software or Gdebi package manager. Or run command in terminal:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/vivaldi-stable_1.14*.deb; sudo apt-get -f install

NOTE that for those prefer upgrading Vivaldi from its official apt repository, Vivaldi 1.14 is held back due to a proprietary media support issue, read HERE for details.

In Howtos, News Vivaldi

Adobe Brackets 1.12 Released! How to Install

Last updated: January 30, 2018

brackets code editor

Adobe Brackets code editor 1.12 was released hours ago. Here’s how you can install it in Ubuntu desktop.

With Brackets 1.12, you can easily restructure JavaScript code using Refactor capabilities in Brackets. You can also rename, wrap in Try/Catch or Condition, Extract to Variable or Function, and Create Getters/Setters – all at the click of a button (or two!).

Other changes in Brackets 1.12:

Upgraded codemirror version to 5.30.0
Update CSS at-rule hints
Update CSS pseudo-selector hints
Findbar search string retention
And a list of bug-fixes. See release note for details.

How to Install Brackets 1.12 in Ubuntu:

The official .deb binaries for both 32-bit and 64-bit system are available in the link below:

Download Brackets (.deb)

Just grab the .deb that matches your OS, then click install via Ubuntu Software or Gdebi package manager. Or run command to install the downloaded package:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/Brackets.Release.1.12*.deb; sudo apt-get -f install

In Howtos, News adobe, Brackets

How to Install Linux Kernel 4.15 in Ubuntu / Linux Mint

Last updated: January 29, 2018

After 9 release candidates, Linux Kernel 4.15 stable was finally announced earlier today. Kernel 4.15 is the first to be fully patched against the Meltdown and Spectre security vulnerabilities.

“After a release cycle that was unusual in so many (bad) ways, this last week was really pleasant. Quiet and small, and no last-minutepanics, just small fixes for various issues. I never got a feeling that I’d need to extend things by yet another week, and 4.15 looks fine to me.“, Linus Torvalds announced.

What’s new in Kernel 4.15:

support for the RISC-V architecture
support for AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization
support for the User-Mode Instruction Prevention feature on Intel CPUs
DRM leasing support for benefiting VR use-cases on Linux.
The HTC Vive VR headset treated “Non-Desktop”
Intel Coffee Lake graphics are now considered stable
Nouveau driver adds support for GeForce GTX 1000 “Pascal” temperature monitoring.

How to Install Kernel 4.15 in Ubuntu:

Other than using a graphical tool UKUU to install the latest mainline kernel packages, following steps will tell you how to manually download and install it in all current Ubuntu releases.

The mainline kernels do not include any Ubuntu-provided drivers or patches. They are not supported and are not appropriate for production use.

The mainline kernel PPA has made the new kernel binaries for Ubuntu, available for download at the link below:

Download Kernel 4.15 (.deb)

Depends on your OS type, download and install the packages in turns:

linux-headers-4.15.0-xxxxxx_all.deb
linux-headers-4.15.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64(/i386).deb
linux-image-4.15.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64(/i386).deb

Select generic for common system, and lowlatency for a low latency system (e.g. for recording audio), amd64 for 64bit system, i386 for 32bit system, or armhf, arm64, etc for other OS types.

To get the Kernel 4.15 from the command console, run the commands below one by one:

For 64-bit OS:

cd /tmp/

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.15/linux-headers-4.15.0-041500_4.15.0-041500.201801282230_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.15/linux-headers-4.15.0-041500-generic_4.15.0-041500.201801282230_amd64.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.15/linux-image-4.15.0-041500-generic_4.15.0-041500.201801282230_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

for 32-bit OS:

cd /tmp/

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.15/linux-headers-4.15.0-041500_4.15.0-041500.201801282230_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.15/linux-headers-4.15.0-041500-generic_4.15.0-041500.201801282230_i386.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.15/linux-image-4.15.0-041500-generic_4.15.0-041500.201801282230_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

After installed these .debs, restart and enjoy!

Uninstall Linux Kernel 4.15:

Start/restart your machine and select boot with the previous kernel in Grub2 -> Advanced menu. Then use Ubuntu Tweak, or other system tool to remove the Kernel 4.15, or you may see this how to remove old kernels tutorial.

In Howtos, News kernel, Linux Kernel

How to Install MESA 17.3.3 in Ubuntu 16.04, 17.10

Last updated: January 29, 2018

The latest MESA 3D graphics library 17.3.3 now is available in Ubuntu-X team PPA repository for Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 17.10.

MESA 17.3.3 is a bug-fix release announced a week ago. It fixed:

Dota crashes when switching from game to desktop
Compute Shader: Wrong alignment when assigning struct value to structured SSBO
Check if Mako templates for Python are installed

For more details, see the release note.

How to Install Mesa 17.3.3 in Ubuntu 16.04, 17.10 via PPA:

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcuts or by searching for “terminal” from application launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/updates

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

Mesa ppa

2. Then refresh your system and install upgrades via commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

3. To check result, run command:

glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"

How to Restore:

To revert back to the original Mesa 3D graphics library in Ubuntu, get into command console and run command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/updates

In News Mesa 3D graphics library

Advanced Rhythm Game StepMania 5.1 Beta Released

Last updated: January 27, 2018

StepMania, free dance and rhythm game, reached first beta of new major 5.1 series a day ago.

“Due to the amount of remaining work needed, the scope of changes, and in response to feedback about difficulty with new systems: StepMania 5.1 is now going to be postponed to 5.2, and to bring some of 5.2’s less invasive and more demanded features to people we’re going to be backporting things onto 5.0 for version 5.1.”

Features planned for 5.1 include:

Loading songs from profiles on USB drives
PacDrive support
Updated default theme
Profile improvements (including switching stats XML to an SQLite database)
Mouse support for all platforms (may not be used in the default theme – but available for others)
Stencil-based masking by default instead of zbuffer masking, so masking 3D objects behaves better without resorting to render to texture.

As the first beta release it brings following changes:

A new high-resolution (720P) default theme: Lambda
The DirectInput handler for Windows now supports XInput.
Songs can be loaded from profiles on USB drives.(For Linux, StepMania must run as root to save USB profile scores)
And many other changes, see release page for details.

StepMania 5.0.6 in Ubuntu 14.10

How to Install StepMania 5.1 Beta in Ubuntu:

~~The launchpad build farm is kinda busy, my unofficial StepMania binaries are waiting to build for 24 hours. I’ll updated the tutorial once they are available.~~

UPDATE: To install StepMania 5.1 Beta in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, and Ubuntu 18.04, do following steps one by one:

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/stepmania

Type in your password when it asks and hit Enter.

2. Update package index and install the game:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install stepmania

Note that minimaid disabled in Ubuntu 17.10, 18.04 due to bug. And please ignore wrong version number in game screen because I forgot to remove old patch in v5.0.12.

Uninstall:

To remove the game, simply run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove stepmania

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

In Howtos, News rhythm game, stepmania

SMPlayer 18.2 Released with YouTube Playlists Support

Last updated: January 25, 2018

SMPlayer 18.2, the second release of the free media player in 2018, was available one day ago with two new features.

Changes in SMPlayer 18.2 include:

Now it’s possible to use a priority list of preferred languages for the audio and subtitles.
Now there’s support for YouTube playlists. In the playlist window, click in the Load/save icon, select “Load playlist from URL” and paste the URL of the YouTube playlist.

SMPlayer with Mac skin

How to Install SMPlayer 18.2 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04, and derivatives, the latest SMPlayer packages are available in the PPA repository (check the link before getting start following steps).

1. Search for and launch “terminal” from application launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rvm/smplayer

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

Smplayer PPA

2. Then upgrade SMPlayer using Software Updater (or Update Manager):

upgrade smplayer

or run commands in terminal to install (or upgrade) the media player:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install smplayer smtube smplayer-themes

Uninstall:

To remove SMPlayer, run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove smplayer smtube smplayer-*

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

In Howtos, News mpv, SMPlayer

Mozilla Firefox 58 Released! How to Upgrade

Last updated: January 24, 2018

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox reached new stable 58.0 release hours ago. Ubuntu Mozilla team has built the packages for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, and their derivatives.

Changes in Firefox 58.0 include:

Loading pages faster by changing how Firefox caches and retrieves JavaScript
Rendering graphics for Windows users by using Off-Main-Thread Painting (OMTP)
Firefox Screenshots now works in Private Browsing mode
Copy and paste screenshots directly to your clipboard
Add support for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) in Firefox on Android.
Added Nepali (ne-NP) locale
Read the release note for more details.

Upgrade to Firefox 58 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and Ubuntu 17.10, simply launch Software Updater (Update Manager) and you’ll see Firefox in the update list after checking for updates.

upgrade firefox