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Archives For November 30, 1999

Ksnip Screenshot Tool 1.8.0 Released as Good Alternative to Shutter

Last updated: December 17, 2020

Ksnip screenshot tool released version 1.8.0 a few days ago with many great new features and improvements, making it more powerful.

Ksnip is a free open-source Qt based screenshot tool with editing features. It runs in Window, Mac OS, and Linux (both X and Wayland). As Shutter is not in active development, it’s getting more and more issues due to old Gnome dependency libraries. And Ksnip is a great alternative.

Ksnip 1.8.0 added ability to pin screenshots in frameless windows that stay in foreground. The feature was ported from Flameshot. Without saving a screenshot, the app “Options” menu offers “Pin” option to set it in foreground, and it will disappear with a double click on it.

The new release also added new and improved editing tools, including:

Add pixelate image area tool
Zoom in and out
Add window effects: Drop shawdow, Grayscale, Border
Add numeric pointer with arrow annotation item.
Add interface for adding custom tab context menu actions.
Add text pointer annotation item.
Add text pointer with arrow annotation item.
Add option to automatically switching to select tool after drawing item.
Edit Text box with double click.
Resize elements while keeping aspect ratio.

There are also improved screenshot tabs including:

Add save and save as options to context menu of a screenshot tab.
Add open directory, copy path to clipboard in saved tabs’ context menu.
Add option to delete saved images both from Edit menu or tab context menu.
Allow rename saved screenshot images both from Edit menu or tab context menu.

Other features include:

Add unity / integration tests.
Add brew cask package for Mac uses love homebrew.
Add image quality option in settings page.
Add support for cross-platform wayland screenshots using xdg-desktop-portal.
Add support for loading image from stdin.
Add screenshot options as application actions to desktop file. So that you can add Ksnip to desktop keyboard shortcuts to launch a screen, window, or area shot.
Make hiding main window during screenshot optional.
Open several files at once in tabs.
Allow modifying selected rectangle before making screenshot.
Option to keep main window hidden after a taking screenshot.
Add new options in system tray indicator menu.
Upload multiple stickers at once.
Allow removing imgur account.
Bug-fixes and other improvements.

Download / Install Ksnip:

The software offers official binary packages in the github releases page:

Download Ksnip

For Ubuntu Linux, you can grab the .appimage package, make it executable in file “Properties” window, and finally right-click and select run it to launch the tool.

You can also download the .deb package. And install it either via Gdebi package installer, or by running command in terminal:

sudo apt install ./Downloads/ksnip-1.8.0.deb

In News screenshot tool

How to Install Panorama Stitcher Hugin 2020 in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: December 16, 2020

Hugin, free open source panorama photo stitching and HDR merging program, finally released version 2020.0.0.

Hugin 2020.0.0 release highlights include:

Fixes fast preview on HiDPI screens under GTK+3 and MacOS.
Make fast preview screen zoom-able with mouse wheel.
Make hugin_hdrmerge aware of cropped intermediate images.
Several improvements for command line tools (pto_var, pto_move, pto_gen, autooptimiser).
More checks in GUI for strange user input.
Fixes for several bugs, and translation updates.

How to Install Hugin 2020.0.0 in Ubuntu:

Hugin 2020.0.0 is available as universal Linux Flatpak package, which runs in sandbox, and you can get it from flathub repository.

For those prefer an Ubuntu PPA, the new release package is available in the unofficial PPA for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, and Ubuntu 20.10. The package was backported from official Ubuntu 21.04 build and there’s known issues, e.g., loading copyright file in about page and “An assertion failed!” dialog when launching calibrate_lens_gui.

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:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Then run commands to check updates and install Hugin:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install hugin

or upgrade it via Software Updater if a previous release was installed.

Uninstall:

To remove Hugin panorama stitcher, run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove hugin hugin-tools

To remove PPA, launch Software & Updates and navigate to ‘Other Software’ tab.

In Howtos panorama stitcher

Mozilla Firefox 84.0 Released with Native Apple Silicon Support

Last updated: December 16, 2020

Mozilla Firefox web browser 84.0 now is available to download.

Firefox 84 is a big release. It comes with WebRender enabled by default in Linux Gnome on X for faster page rendering. For Wayland session, you can manually enable the feature in about:config page, search and enable gfx.webrender.all.

The new browser release also includes native support for Apple Silicon hardware, the M1 processor in new versions of the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini.

Other features in Firefox 84.0 include:

The final release to support Adobe Flash.
Search shortcuts in the address bar.
Security fixes and more.

How to Get Firefox 84.0 in Ubuntu:

Ubuntu keeps publishing the latest Firefox packages through the main Ubuntu security & updates repositories. Just wait and Firefox 84.0 will be available to update for all current Ubuntu releases in next a few days.

If you can’t wait, Mozilla offers official Linux portable packages, in which you can run the executable file to launch Firefox. And you can download it from the link below:

Firefox FTP Download Page

In News Firefox

How to Install Linux Kernel 5.10 LTS in Ubuntu / Linux Mint

Last updated: April 24, 2024

Linux Kernel 5.10 was released a day ago as the latest LTS (Long Term Support) release. Here’s how to install in Ubuntu & Linux Mint.

Linus Torvalds announced the release of Kernel 5.10: “Ok, here it is – 5.10 is tagged and pushed out. I pretty much always wish that the last week was even calmer than it was, and that’s true here too. There’s a fair amount of fixes in here, including a few last-minute reverts for things that didn’t get fixed, but nothing makes me go “we need another week”. Things look fairly normal.”

Kernel 5.10 features include:

New hardware support including Intel Rocket Lake and Alder Lake
AMD Zen 3 temperature monitoring support.
Raspberry Pi VC4 support
The Creative Labs SoundBlaster AE-7 sound card support.
Nintendo Switch controller support
Initial support for NVIDIA Orin.
AMDGPU DC display support for GCN 1.0 (Southern Islands) GPUs.
And much more other changes.

How to Install Linux Kernel 5.10 in Ubuntu:

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

For a graphical tool to install mainline kernel packages, try Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer.

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The mainline kernel packages for Linux 5.10 (64-bit) are now available for download at the link below:

Download Kernel 5.10

Select generic for common system, and lowlatency for a low latency system (e.g. for recording audio):

linux-headers-5.10.0-xxxxxx_all.deb
linux-headers-5.10.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64.deb
linux-modules-5.10.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64.deb
linux-image-xxx-5.10.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64.deb

Alternatively you can download and install the kernel binaries via terminal commands ( open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T):

cd /tmp/

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.10/amd64/linux-headers-5.10.0-051000_5.10.0-051000.202012132330_all.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.10/amd64/linux-headers-5.10.0-051000-generic_5.10.0-051000.202012132330_amd64.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.10/amd64/linux-image-unsigned-5.10.0-051000-generic_5.10.0-051000.202012132330_amd64.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.10/amd64/linux-modules-5.10.0-051000-generic_5.10.0-051000.202012132330_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Once installed, restart your computer and enjoy!

Uninstall Linux Kernel 5.10:

Restart your machine and select boot with the previous kernel in boot menu ‘Grub2 -> Advanced Option for Ubuntu’. Then run command to remove Linux Kernel 5.10:

sudo dpkg --purge linux-image-unsigned-5.10.0-051000-generic

In Howtos kernel

[Quick Tip] Remove ‘Window is Ready’ Notification & Focus Window Immediately

Last updated: April 24, 2024

In the default Gnome desktop when you trying to open an application, the app window sometimes does not get into focus immediately, instead it pops up ‘xxx’ is ready notification and opens the window behind the current focused window.

This usually happens when another window is getting focused during the process of launching a desired application.

To get rid of the ‘Window is ready’ notification and focus window immediately, I think a quick enough system response should fix the problem. Besides, you can install “Focus my window” Gnome extension.

1.) Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install chrome-gnome-shell package if you don’t have it.

sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell

2.) Then go to the extension web page in your browser. Turn on the toggle icon and install it.

NOTE: The old extension is no longer exist. The new one supports only GNOME 45 and 46 so far, meaning for Ubuntu 23.10 and Ubuntu 24.04!.

Don’t see the toggle icon? Click the link “Click here to install browser extension” and finally refresh the page.

That’s it. Enjoy!

(Optional) If you want to remove the gnome shell extensions, either turn off the toggle icon in the web page, or use either Extensions or GNOME Extensions Manager (both available in the new App Center app) utility.

In Howtos Gnome

How to Install Kdenlive Video Editor 20.12 in Ubuntu 20.04, 20.10

Last updated: April 24, 2024

KDE announced its December 2020 apps update including Kdenlive 20.12 two days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu via PPA.

Kdenlive 20.12 is a big release with many new features, stability improvements, various mix and transition fixes. While it’s not officially announced at the moment in the Kdenlive.org, here are some changes according to KDE’s announcement:

Allow moving subtitle through subtitle widget.
Add shortcut in/out/delete buttons to subtitle widget.
Add option to export subtitle file.
Add menu for subtitle clips.
Add subtitle import function
Add function to delete all subtitles from subtitle model.
Add timeline ruler menu item to create subtitle clip.
Add button in timeline toolbar to enable subtitle editing.
Add timeline tractor to Subtitle Model to attach subtitle filter.
Port to QtWebEngineWidgets.
Added multiple track deletion feature.
Qtcrop effect: make radius animated.
Add method to easily reload a custom effect.
Add comments feature in custom effects.
Make start and end position of subtitle editable.
Add GPU profiles provided by Constantin Aanicai.
Add MLT’s Pillar Echo effect.
Add signals and slot to subtitle model.
Add class to handle subtitles definition and comparison.
Add SSA Parser.
Add srt parser to model.
Rewrite audio thumbnails to only use FFmpeg’s data and optimize memory usage on creation.
Add avfilter eq filter, allows to adjust image brightness, contrast, saturation, gamma all in one effect.
Update Audio, Editing and Color layouts.
Add Effects layout.
Improve audiomixer layout.

How to Install Kdenlive 20.12 in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 20.10:

The kdenlive team ppa has built the latest packages for Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 20.10, Linux Mint 20.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kdenlive/kdenlive-stable

Type your password when it asks (no asterisk feedback) and hit Enter to continue.

2. ) If an old version of kdenlive was installed, upgrade it via Update Manager:

Or simply run command in terminal to install the video editor:

sudo apt install kdenlive

NOTE for non-KDE users, Kdenlive will be installed along with a large list of KDE libraries.

Uninstall:

To purge the PPA as well as downgrade Kdenlive package, run command in terminal:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:kdenlive/kdenlive-stable

To remove the PPA only, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:kdenlive/kdenlive-stable

And to remove Kdenlive, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove kdenlive kdenlive-data

In News Kdenlive

XFE – A Lightweight Windows File Explorer Like File Manager for X

Last updated: April 24, 2024

XFE (X File Explorer) is a lightweight Windows File Explorer or Commander like file manager for Unix / Linux X.

It’s small memory footprint, very fast, and only requires the FOX library to be fully functional, and aims to light desktop users.

XFE features include:

UTF-8 support
Commander/Explorer interface with four UI modes
Horizontal or vertical file panels stacking
Integrated text editor (xfwrite), image viewer (xfimage)
Integrated RPM or DEB packages installer / uninstaller (xfpack).<.li>
Custom shell scripts (like Nautilus scripts)
Search files and directories
Disk usage command
Mount/Unmount devices (for Linux only)
Color, control, and icon themes (GNOME, KDE, Windows, …)
Create and extract archives (tar, compress, zip, gzip, bzip2, xz, lzh, rar, ace, arj and 7zip formats are supported)
File comparison (through external tool)
Thumbnails image previews
Configurable key bindings

To install XFE in Ubuntu, simply open terminal and run command:

sudo apt install xfe

Refresh package cache by running sudo apt update if the package somehow is not found.

Once installed open the file manager from your system application launcher and enjoy!

(Optional) To remove XFE, run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove xfe

In Howtos File Explorer

Python 3.9.1 Released with macOS 11 Big Sur Support

Last updated: December 10, 2020

The Python programming language 3.9.1 was released a few days ago as the first maintenance release of Python 3.9.

Python 3.9.1 comes with 282 changes since 3.9.0. It is the first version to support macOS 11 Big Sur. With Xcode 11 and later it is now possible to build “Universal 2” binaries which work on Apple Silicon. See the changelog for more.

How to Install Python 3.9.1 in Ubuntu:

1.) Open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, or by searching for ‘terminal’ from system application launcher.

When terminal opens, run command to add the “deadsnakes” team PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2.) Then run commands to refresh system package cache, and install Python 3.9:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install python3.9

3.) Once successfully installed, check your system Python versions (python –version):

Uninstall:

To uninstall the Python3.9 packages, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove python3.9 python3.9-minimal

To remove the Deadsnakes PPA, launch Software & Updates and go to Other Software tab, then remove the repository line and close the window.

In News python 3.9

Vivaldi Browser 3.5 Released with Sharing via QR Code

Last updated: December 9, 2020

Vivaldi web browser 3.5 was released a day ago with improved tabs and media playback, and support for sharing URL via QR code.

Vivaldi 3.5 release highlights:

More tabs management, e.g., open a new tab in the background by default, clone tab in the background.
Add Widevine certificate keys to get better experience on Amazon Prime HD, Spotify, Disney+, Peacock TV, etc.
Share URL with QR code via a small button in the Address Field, when enabled.
Enable shortcuts in context menus
Single key shortcut improvements.
Make Google components optional: Hangouts, Cast, Cloud Print
Accept-language setting
Upgrade to Chromium 87.0.4280.88, and more.

How to Install Vivaldi 3.5 in Ubuntu:

The official Ubuntu .DEB package is available to download at the link below:

Download Vivaldi (DEB)

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

sudo apt install ./Downloads/vivaldi-stable*.deb

Vivaldi also has an official apt repository, with it you can install the browser and get future updates through Software Updater utility.

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for terminal from application menu. When it opens, run following commands one by one:

1. Download and install the repository key:

wget -qO- https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -

Typer user password when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Add Vivaldi repository via command:

sudo add-apt-repository 'deb https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/deb/ stable main'

3. Finally check updates and install the web browser via command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install vivaldi-stable

Or upgrade from an old version via Software Updater utility.

(Optional): To remove Vivaldi apt repository from you system, launch Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software tab.

In News Vivaldi

OpenRGB – An Open Source RGB Lighting Control App for Linux

Last updated: April 24, 2024

OpenRGB, formerly OpenAuraSDK, is a free open-source RGB lighting control that doesn’t depend on manufacturer software.

OpenRGB supports ASUS, ASRock, Corsair, G.Skill, Gigabyte, HyperX, MSI, Razer, ThermalTake, and more (See supported devices).

While every manufacturer has their own app, proprietary and Windows-only, some even require online accounts, OpenRGB aims to control all of your RGB devices from a single app, on both Windows and Linux.

OpenRGB features include:

Set colors and select effect modes for a wide variety of RGB hardware
Save and load profiles
Control lighting from third party software using the OpenRGB SDK
Command line interface
Connect multiple instances of OpenRGB to synchronize lighting across multiple PCs
Can operate standalone or in a client/headless server configuration
View device information
No official/manufacturer software required
Graphical view of device LEDs makes creating custom patterns easy

OpenRGB interacts directly with hardware using reverse engineered protocols. It’s said that there have been two instances of hardware damage in the software development. Use it at your own risk!

How to Get OpenRGB:

The source code, Windows binary, universal Linux Appimage package, and Deb package for Ubuntu / Debian are available to download at the gitlab releases page:

Download OpenRGB

For Ubuntu users, either grab the Appimage package and run to open the software (after adding executable permission), or, download the Deb package (Debian Buster amd64 for 20.04 and earlier, Debian Bullseye amd64 for later) and click install via Gdebi (Gdebi is available in Ubuntu Software/App Center) package installer.