Archives For November 30, 1999

Linux Mint 20.1, code-name “Ulyssa”, was officially released. It includes Linux Kernel 5.4, based on Ubuntu 20.04, and features Xfce 4.14, Cinnamon 4.8, and MATE 1.24 for each desktop edition.

Linux Mint 20.1 is a long term support release which will be supported until 2025. New features in the release include:

  • Web App manager to turn any web page into desktop application.
  • A new IPTV Player, Hypnotix
  • Favorites support in Nemo file manager, Xed, Xreader, Xviewer, Pix and Warpinator.
  • Removed ippusbxd, printing and scanning work the same way as in Linux Mint 19.x.
  • Updated to HPLIP 3.20.11.
  • Hardware video acceleration enabled by default in Celluloid.
  • The driver manager was migrated to PackageKit.
  • Added Chromium browser package to the repository.
  • Clock format in the login screen is configurable.
  • A unified filesystem layout, superb collection of backgrounds, and more.

Linux Mint 20.1 system requirements:

  • 1GB RAM (2GB recommended for a comfortable usage).
  • 15GB of disk space (20GB recommended).
  • 1024×768 resolution (on lower resolutions, press ALT to drag windows with the mouse if they don’t fit in the screen).

Download / Upgrade to Linux Mint 20.01:

For the official announcements as well as iso images download link, simply go to LinuxMint.com.

To upgrade from Linux Mint 20 to Linux Mint 20.1:

1. Use TimeShift to create a system snapshot, so you can easily restore your system if anything goes wrong.

2. Disable your screensaver, and upgrade installed Cinnamon spices (applets, desklets, extensions, themes) from System Settings.

3. Open Update Manager and click on the Refresh button. If there are updates for mintupdate or mint-upgrade-info, apply them.

Then go to menu “Edit->Upgrade to Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa” to launch system upgrade.

Follow the wizard and reboot once the upgrade is finished.

4. (optinal) To convert the system with usrmerge, simply run command:

sudo apt install usrmerge

Luminance HDR

Luminance HDR 2.6.1, free and open-source HDR imaging software, is available to install in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 20.10, Linux Mint 20.

Before it’s officially announced the new release source tarball now is available to download. And Luminance HDR 2.6.1 is a bug-fix release the features:

  • Better UI for last step of HdrWizard
  • Fix highlights glitch
  • Fix save/load response cure even from the command line
  • Fix scrolling of progress area in BatchHDR
  • Some other bug-fixes and translation updates.

How to Install Luminance HDR via Ubuntu PPA:

The Dariusz Duma’s PPA was maintaining the software package. It however seems not being updated except for auto-build packages.

For those sticking to an Ubuntu PPA, there’s an alternative unofficial PPA available for Ubuntu 20.04 only and you can run following steps one by one to get it in your Ubuntu.

1.) Open terminal from system application menu and run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

2.) Then install the HDR creator via command:

sudo apt install luminance-hdr

Uninstall:

To remove the software package, simply run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove luminance-hdr

And to remove the Ubuntu PPA, open Software & Updates navigate to Other Software tab and remove the relevant line.

KDE announced a new chat application NeoChat, a Matrix client for Desktop and Mobile, in its January 2021 apps update.

Matrix is an instant messaging system similar to Whatsapp or Telegram, but uses an open and decentralized network for secure and privacy-protected communications.

NeoChat is a fork of Spectral, another QML client, and uses the libQuotient library to interact with the Matrix protocol. It features an elegant and responsive user interface allows to adapt to any screen size automatically and gracefully. It works on both Desktop and Mobile, and will be installed by default on PinePhone KDE edition.

Apart from sending and responding to messages, NeoChat also features:

  • upload image, audio, video files.
  • room chat and private chat support.
  • emoji picker integration.
  • Drag and drop copying support.
  • Built-in image editor with crop and rotate images support.

The chat app so far is in version 1.0 and some features are not implemented, including encryption support, video call, editing messages.

How to Install NeoChat in Ubuntu Linux:

Besides building from the source tarball, it’s so far only available as universal Linux flatpak package.

1.) Open terminal and run command to install flatpak daemon if you don’t have it.

sudo apt install flatpak

2.) And add the flathub repository which hosts the flatpak packages:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

3.) Finally install the instant messaging app via command:

flatpak install flathub org.kde.neochat

Uninstall NeoChat:

To remove the chat app, run command:

flatpak uninstall org.kde.neochat

The Python programming language 3.10 is finally released on Oct 6. Here’s how to install it via PPA in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Linux Mint 19.x/20, and derivatives.

Python 3.10 has 18 months support with bug-fix updates until the next 3.11 release. After that, it will be supported with 5 years of security updates until October 2026.

New major features and changes compare to Python 3.9:

  • Deprecate and prepare for the removal of the wstr member in PyUnicodeObject.
  • Allow writing union types as X | Y
  • Parameter Specification Variables
  • Precise line numbers for debugging and other tools.
  • Add Optional Length-Checking To zip.
  • Parenthesized context managers are now officially allowed.
  • Deprecate distutils module.
  • Explicit Type Aliases
  • Structural Pattern Matching
  • Require OpenSSL 1.1.1 or newer
  • Remove Py_UNICODE encoder APIs
  • Add optional EncodingWarning

Install Python 3.10 via Ubuntu PPA:

The ‘Deadsnakes’ Team PPA has build the packages for current 2 Ubuntu LTS. NOTE for Ubuntu 16.04, the package stuck at Python 3.10 alpha 6 due to old SSL library.

1.) Open terminal from system application menu, and run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2.) Then refresh system package via command:

sudo apt update

3.) Finally install Python 3.10 via command:

sudo apt install python3.10

Once installed, check via python3.10 --version command or just run python3.10 to access the IDE in terminal.

Uninstall Python 3.10:

To remove the programming language, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove python3.10

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

Looking for detailed information about a software package, e.g., maintainer, dependencies, sources, installed size, etc?

There are a few tools to tell the information of software packages in classic .deb format in Ubuntu Linux. And here I’m going to show you one by one.

1. apt show command:

For all packages in system apt repositories (including enabled PPAs) and manually installed .deb packages, apt show command will output the information about:

  • Package version
  • Maintainer
  • Installed-sized
  • Package dependencies
  • Apt-sources: where the package was installed from, or which source offers the package.
  • And a brief description about the software package.

For example, apt show gnome-feeds command will output something as the picture shows.

If you downloaded the deb binary and installed it manually, there will a line says ‘APT-Manual-Installed: yes‘.

2. Check package details via Synaptic Package Manager

The Synaptic Package Manager offers “Properties” button. After searching for and selecting a software package, you’re able to check details via that button.

Different to apt show command, Synaptic shows both the libraries that the software package depends on and the system packages that depends this package.

As well, it lists all the files the package will install (or installed).

To install Synaptic Package Manager, run command in terminal:

sudo apt install synaptic

3. Gdebi Package Installer

If you just grab a deb package from the web, and want to check all included files and if all dependencies are satisfied, then Gdebi Package Installer is recommended for you.

And the tool can be installed via command:

sudo apt install gdebi

4. Uncompress Deb and check details.

Also for the manually downloaded deb package, you can either open it via “Archive Manager” or extract it.

Usually you’ll see data.tar.xz which includes all files to be installed, and control.tar.xz includes a few scripts to run before/after installing or removing the deb. And there’s a document file called “control” that includes some information about the deb.

QuickWall is a free and open-source tool to grab the latest wallpapers from Unsplash and set as your desktop background.

It works with nitrogen, feh background setter as well as Xfce, KDE, Gnome, Unity. Besides setting wallpapers from Unsplash, it can also change your theme (seems only for terminal theme) based on the wallpapers.

How to Install QuickWall in Ubuntu:

1.) Open terminal from system application menu, and run command to install the Python package installer:

sudo apt install python3-pip

2.) Then install the software via command:

pip3 install QuickWall

For Ubuntu 24.04, use pip3 install QuickWall --break-system-packages instead.

How to Use QuickWall:

It’s easy to user the tool though it’s running in command line. For Ubuntu with default Gnome desktop, you can get it work with one of following commands:

QuickWall --setter gnome
QuickWall --random --setter gnome
QuickWall --search "SEARCH_TERM" --setter gnome

The wallpaper are default saved to user’s .cache/QuickWall folder. You can change the location by adding --dir flag in command:

QuickWall --dir ~/Downloads --setter gnome

For more command usage:

usage: QuickWall [-h] [--version] [--clear-cache] [--setter SETTER] [-d]
                 [--remove-id ID] [--dir DIR] [--id ID] [--random]
                 [--search TERM] [--migrate] [--set-lockscreen]

QuickWall - Quickly set latest wallpapers from Unsplash directly from
the commandline.

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --version             show the program version number and exit
  --clear-cache         Clear the cache from the cache folder
                        (~/.cache/QuickWall)
  --setter SETTER       Wallpaper setter to be used. Currently supported
                        ones: nitrogen, feh, xfce, kde, gnome, unity
                        (default: nitrogen)
  -d, --disable-blacklist
                        Disable adding the image to blacklisted ones.
  --remove-id ID        Remove the passed ID from the blacklist.
  --dir DIR             Directory to download the wallpapers
  --id ID               Get a photo by its ID.
  --random              Get random wallpapers.
  --search TERM         Show wallpapers based on the passed term
  --migrate             ONLY FOR EARLY USERS. Move the files from
                        ~/.QuickWall to ~/.cache/QuickWall.
  --set-lockscreen      Set lockscreen wallpaper (currently for KDE)

Uninstall QuickWall:

To remove the software, simply run command:

pip3 uninstall QuickWall

Gnome Feeds, a free and open-source news reader with a neat user interface, now is available to install via Ubuntu PPA for those prefer the classic apt method.

Gnome Feeds is a GTK+3 application written in Python 3. It features a simple responsive user interface based on Purism’s libhandy library. Feeds can be added via URL address and support importing and exporting large feed collection from and to OPML.

The software has been made into main repositories since Ubuntu 20.10 Groovy. For request, I’ve uploaded the latest packages into the unofficial PPA for Ubuntu 20.04, Linux Mint 20, and Ubuntu 20.10, with Ubuntu 18.04 excluded as libhandy requires at least GTK 3.24.

NOTE: It’s recommended to install the official Flatpak package, while the PPA offers unofficial .deb binary package for choice.

1.) Open terminal from your system application launcher, then run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gfeeds

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2.) While adding PPA will automatically refresh the system package cache, you can then install the feed reader via command:

sudo apt install gnome-feeds

Once installed, launch it from system application launcher and enjoy!

Uninstall Gnome Feeds:

To remove the feed reader, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove gnome-feeds

And remove the PPA either using Software & Updates utility under Other Software tab, or run command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gfeeds

This simple tutorial shows how to install VeraCrypt and create encrypted hard drive, USB stick in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Linux Mint 20, Ubuntu 20.10.

VeraCrypt is a free and open-source disk encryption software based on TrueCrypt 7.1a. It works on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS.

With VeraCrypt, you can:

  • Creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk.
  • Encrypts an entire partition or storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive.
  • Encrypts a partition or drive where Windows is installed.

How to Install VeraCrypt in Ubuntu via PPA:

The software offers official 64-bit .deb binaries for all current Ubuntu releases.

For arm64, armhf, ppc64el packages, there’s an unofficial PPA maintained by the administrator of “XUbuntu Developers” team.

1.) To add the PPA, open terminal from system application launcher and run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:unit193/encryption

2.) Then refresh system package cache and install the encryption software via commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install veracrypt

How to Create an Encrypted Disk via VeraCrypt:

Once installed the software, open it from system application launcher. Then click on the “Create Volume” button to start creating an encrypted disk.

Then either select “Create an encrypted file container” for a virtual encrypted disk within a file, or “Create a volume within a partition/drive” to encrypt non-system partition, external hard drive, or entire USB stick.

Then follow the setup wizard to choose volume type, encryption algorithm, volume password, file system type, and finally click “Format”.

When everything’s done, mount the volume and you’ll be able to access it via Nautilus file browser.

For more, read the official Documentation.

Uninstall:

To remove VeraCrypt, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove veracrypt

To remove the Ubuntu PPA, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:unit193/encryption

This is a beginner’s guide shows how to install and setup Tor service and Tor Browser in Ubuntu 20.10, Ubuntu 20.04, Linux Mint 20. It should also work in Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 16.04.

UPDATE May 2022: This tutorial is tested and works in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

Tor, The Onion Router, is a free and open-source service enables people to browser the internet anonymously. While Tor in Ubuntu main repositories is always old, here’s how to install the LATEST version and receive updates via its apt repository.

How to Install Tor via the Official Apt Repository:

Tor has an official apt repository that supports for all current Ubuntu and Debian releases.

1.) Open terminal from system application launcher. Then run command to enable the usage of https in sources.list:

sudo apt install apt-transport-https

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompt and hit Enter.

2.) Run command to add the Tor repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/deb.torproject.org-keyring.gpg] https://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org $(lsb_release -sc) main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tor-project.list'

NOTE 1: For arm64 (e.g., Rasperry Pi), 32-bit Ubuntu 18.04/16.04, you have to remove [arch=amd64] from the command.
NOTE 2: For Linux Mint and other Ubuntu based systems, replace $(lsb_release -sc) in the command with the Ubuntu code-name (e.g, focal, bionic, jammy) that your system based on.

3.) The keyring updates regularly and there’s no valid command to install it so far. As an alternative, download the latest keyring .deb package from the link below:

Then install it via double-click, gdebi, or by running command in terminal:

sudo apt install ./Downloads/deb.torproject.org-keyring*.deb

4.) Finally, refresh package cache and install Tor via 2 commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install tor

Or update it, if an old version was installed, via Software Updater

5.) Once installed, you can check Tor version and if it’s running via commands:

tor --version

systemctl status tor

How to Install Tor Browser in Ubuntu:

If everything goes OK, let’s now install the Tor web browser.

1.) Simply open terminal and run command:

sudo apt install torbrowser-launcher

UPDATE: Due to package bug in Ubuntu 22.04, it may refuse to launch. To workaround it, open ‘terminal’ and run command to edit the ‘__init__.py‘ (2 underscores before & after ‘init’) file:

sudo gedit /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/torbrowser_launcher/__init__.py

When the file opens, change the line 98, 99, 100 and save it:

gui.move(
(desktop.width() – window_size.width()) // 2,
(desktop.height() – window_size.height()) // 2
)

2.) Then search for and open Tor Browser from system application launcher. It will automatically download & install the browser in your system.

You can also open Tor Browser Launcher and select a mirror

3.) Once the download process finished, select ‘Configure’ if you’re in a Country censors Tor or behind proxy in next window, or select ‘Connect’:

When everything’s done, the Tor browser starts. That’s all. Enjoy!

Uninstall Tor and Tor Browser:

To remove Tor Browser, open terminal and run command:

sudo apt remove torbrowser-launcher

To remove Tor network service, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove tor

The ‘Software & Updates -> Other Software‘ seems no longer display software repositories added via “signed-by” argument. To remove the repository, use command to remove the source file:

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tor-project.list

Also, remove the keyring files via command:

sudo rm /usr/share/keyrings/deb.torproject.org-keyring.gpg

And, finally refresh system package cache via sudo apt update command.

Cawbird, free and open-source GTK+ Twitter Client for Linux, released version 1.3 with many new features, improvements, bug-fixes.

Cawbird 1.3 comes with improved DM (Direct Messages). It adds ability to send media in DMs, delete DMs, load older DMs, and fixes DM load order issue.

The new release includes new Vala implementation API allows to upload videos and larger animated GIFs.

Other changes in Cawbird 1.3 include:

  • Apply filtering across all feeds (including search)
  • Apply changes to filtering, muting, blocking and hiding RTs across all feeds instantly
  • Allow the filtering of mentioned @-handles
  • Load media in DMs and linkify users and hashtags
  • Use HTTPS avatars throughout
  • Allow Compose view to shrink to narrower screens (e.g. for PinePhone)
  • Design changes, stability improvements, and bug-fixes.

How to Install Cawbird in Ubuntu:

The software developer maintains OBS repository with the packages for CentOS, Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, openSUSE. You can download the deb package directly from the link below:

Download Cawbird

To receive future updates via Software Updater, you can open terminal and run following commands one by one to add the OBS repository:

  • Run command to add the cawbird repository (you may replace xUbuntu_20.04 with xUbuntu_18.04 or xUbuntu_20.10 depends on your system edition):
    echo 'deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/IBBoard:/cawbird/xUbuntu_20.04/ /' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/home:IBBoard:cawbird.list
  • Then install the keyring via command (also replace xUbuntu_20.04 to your system edition):
    curl -fsSL https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:IBBoard:cawbird/xUbuntu_20.04/Release.key | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/home_IBBoard_cawbird.gpg > /dev/null
  • You can finally refresh package cache and install the twitter app via commands:
    sudo apt update; sudo apt install cawbird

Uninstall Cawbird:

To remove the Twitter client, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove cawbird

To remove the software repository, go to Software & Updates -> Other Software, and remove the relevant line.