UbuntuHandbook

Audacious Audio Player 4.0.2 Released with Qt UI Fixes [Ubuntu PPA]

Last updated: April 16, 2020

Audacious music player

The second bug-fix release for Audacious 4.0 was released a day ago. Here’s how to install it in all current Ubuntu releases.

While the first bug-fix release brings KDE Plasma 5.18 compatibility, Audacious audio player 4.0.2 includes mainly bug fixes and tweaks for the Qt interface:

Fixed a regression where the Enter key did not work in the playlist.
Fixed the seek bar changing width as the time counter increments.
Fixed the title bar getting stuck showing “Buffering”.
Added a workaround to ensure that the toolbar is not hidden on startup.
Fixed the Composer field not being saved when updating ID3v2 tags.

How to Install Audacious 4.0.2 in Ubuntu:

The unofficial PPA contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and Ubuntu 20.04.

1. Open terminal by either pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

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

2. Then run commands one by one in terminal to install or upgrade the audio player:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install audacious audacious-plugins

Uninstall:

The PPA repository also contains some other applications. You may remove the PPA either by going to Software & Updates utility -> Other Software tab, or by running command in terminal:

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

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

sudo apt remove --autoremove audacious audacious-plugins

In Howtos, News audacious

[Quick Tip] Add ‘Open as Administrator’ in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Last updated: April 13, 2020

This simple tutorial shows how to add ‘Open as Administrator‘ option to file browser right-click menu in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

Need to open or edit files with Administrator (root) user privilege directly from file browser in Ubuntu desktop? There’s an extension nautilus-admin can do the job in the default Gnome desktop.

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

2. When terminal opens, run command to install the extension:

sudo apt install nautilus-admin

You may replace nautilus-admin with caja-admin or peony-admin if you’re running with MATE or UKUI desktop.

Once installed, run command nautilus -q or log out and back in to apply changes.

Note the extension only adds Administrator privilege to open folders or edit files. There’s no ‘Run as Administrator’ option to run program as super user privilege.

In Howtos open as administrator

How to Change Default OS Entry in Ubuntu 20.04 Dual-Boot

Last updated: April 12, 2020

Ubuntu 18.04

Dual-boot or multi-boot Ubuntu 20.04 with other operating systems? This tutorial will show beginners how to change the default OS entry in Ubuntu 20.04 desktop.

This is a graphical tool to configure the default Grub boot-loader in Ubuntu. It’s Grub Customizer, and available in Ubuntu universe repositories for Ubuntu 19.04 and higher.

1. Either install Grub Customizer via Ubuntu Software, or open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and install the tool by running command:

sudo apt install grub-customizer

2. Then search for and launch the tool from application menu.

3. When Grub Customizer opens, do:

navigate to General settings tab.
Select an OS entry as default from the drop-down box after ‘predefined’
You may also change other settings: menu timeout, kernel parameters, font, background image, etc.
Finally click the Save button to apply changes.

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos boot order

Celluloid (Formerly Gnome MPV) 0.19 Released [Ubuntu PPA]

Last updated: April 11, 2020

Celluloid, a GTK+ frontend for mpv formerly called Gnome MPV, released version 0.19 a few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and Ubuntu 20.04.

Celluloid 0.19 release highlights include:

Retain window maximization state across sessions.
Retain loop state across sessions.
Implement playlist search.
Update the list of shortcuts in Keyboard Shortcuts dialog.
Deprecate --mpv-options.
Add support for configuring dead zone
Make window sizing work correctly with HiDPI displays.
Translation updates and other changes.

How to Install Celluloid in Ubuntu via PPA:

Celluloid media player is available to install via Flatpak package in Flathub repository.

For those prefer native Ubuntu .deb package, the formerly Gnome MPV PPA now maintains the Celluloid packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and Ubuntu 20.04.

1.) Open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xuzhen666/gnome-mpv

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

2.) Then install the MPV frontend via command:

sudo apt install celluloid

For Ubuntu derivatives, you may need to run sudo apt update to refresh package cache first.

Uninstall Celluloid:

To remove the media player, open terminal and run command:

sudo apt remove celluloid

And remove the PPA repository via command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:xuzhen666/gnome-mpv

In Howtos, News gnome mpv

PyCharm IDE 2020.1 Released with Interactive Rebasing

Last updated: April 9, 2020

PyCharm IDE

PyCharm IDE 2020.1 was released a day ago as the first major release in 2020. The new version features interactive rebasing, smarter debugging, and JetBrains Mono font.

PyCharm 2020.1 release highlights:

Interactive Rebasing: Commits can get messy, which is why you need to be able to rebase your branch. Now, PyCharm allows you to do so visually and with unprecedented ease.
Smarter Debugging: PyCharm’s debugger now makes it easy to see what’s happening in the middle of a complex statement. When stepping in, the debugger will ask you exactly what part of the statement you want to investigate further.
JetBrains Mono: PyCharm helps you read your code by navigating your project effectively, and now also by presenting your code in a font designed specifically for it.
Django Template Imports: PyCharm Professional Edition makes life easy for web developers by offering code completion (and debugging) in Django templates. We’ve made a couple improvements on this front: auto import for custom tags and better completion.

How to Install PyCharm 2020.1 in Ubuntu:

Jetbrains offers official Snap package for Linux desktop, which runs in sandbox and always updated.

For Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, simply open Ubuntu Software, search for and install pycharm packages:

For those prefer native .deb package, keep an eye on the unofficial PPA though it’s not updated at the moment of writing.

In News PyCharm

GTK+ eBook Reader Foliate 2.0.0 Released!

Last updated: April 8, 2020

Modern new GTK eBook reader Foliate 2.0.0 was released a few days ago with great new features and improvements.

Foliate 2.0.0 features new selection popover, redesigned interface which works better with smaller screen. The headerbar and progress bar now auto-hide.

Other changes include:

E-reader style navigation.
A new location popover (Ctrl + L).
A new traditional menubar, which may be displayed depending on the desktop environment
Ability to zoom in and zoom out.
Continuous scrolling layout.
New built-in themes.
Ability to select text across pages.
Option to use a traditional titlebar and menubar
And much more other changes. See the release note.

How to Install Foliate 2.0.0 in Ubuntu:

The software offers native Ubuntu .deb package available to download at the link below:

Foliate releases (.deb)

Grab the package, then either double-click to install it, or open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/com.github.johnfactotum.foliate_*.deb

Once installed, launch the software from your system application menu and enjoy!

(Optional) To remove the software, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove foliate

Foliate is also available via Flatpak and Snap (both runs in sandbox) which can be directly installed from Ubuntu Software.

In News ebook reader

Mozilla Firefox 75.0 Released with Flatpak Support

Last updated: April 7, 2020

Mozilla Firefox 75.0 was released today. Ubuntu security & updates repositories has published the packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and Ubuntu 19.10.

Mozilla Firefox 75.0 comes with revamped address bar, which brings clean search experience. On Linux, the behavior when clicking on the Address Bar and the Search Bar changes: a single click selects all without primary selection, a double click selects a word, and a triple click selects all with primary selection.

The new release also brings official Flatpak support, improves HTTPS compatibility, and various security fixes. See release note for details.

Install Firefox 75 in Ubuntu:

For all current Ubuntu releases and derivatives, Firefox 75.0 has been made into the security & updates repositories.

Simply launch Software Updater (Update manager) and install available package updates.

For Ubuntu 20.04, Firefox 75.0 package now is available as pre-release updates for testing. It will go stable soon.

In Howtos, News Firefox

How to Enable Dark Gnome Shell Menus, Calendar in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: April 6, 2020

Ubuntu 20.04 introduces new dark mode in the Settings utility. It is however not full dark when you turn it on in Gnome Shell.

System tray menu, top-bar calendar, notification popups, and desktop context menu are not dark but always light when you switching between light, dark, and standard modes.

Enable Full Dark Theme in Ubuntu 20.04:

1.) First install user themes Gnome Shell extension.

It was able to install the extension simply via Ubuntu Software when I was in Ubuntu 18.04. Ubuntu 20.04 however shows me “No Application Found” when I searching for user themes in the new Ubuntu Software (Snap Store).

As a workaround, open Firefox web browser and go to https://extensions.gnome.org:
Click the link text “click here to install browser extension” and follow the pop-ups to install the browser extension:
Then open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T and run command:
```
sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell
```
Finally go to https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/19/user-themes/.
Turn the switch on and then select install the Gnome Shell extension:

2.) Install Gnome Tweaks if you have it.

sudo apt install gnome-tweaks

3.) Finally launch Gnome Tweaks and navigate to Appearance in the left pane, choose Yaru-dark as the Shell theme and done!

And of course select Dark in System Settings -> Appearance to get dark applications if you don’t have it.

In Gnome Shell, Howtos dark Gnome menu, full dark Ubuntu 20.04

Fix unknown filesystem type ‘exfat’ in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: April 5, 2020

ubuntu bootable usb

Today when I plugged my new USB flash drive into Ubuntu 18.04 laptop, I got an error pop up that said ‘Unable to access “125GB Volume”. Error mounting /dev/sdb1 at /media/xxx/xxx: unknown filesystem type ‘exfat’‘

After a little search on the packages.ubuntu.com, I found Ubuntu main repositories offer exfat-fuse to read and write exFAT driver for FUSE, and exfat-utils to create, check, label and dump exFAT filesystem.

Open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu.

When terminal opens, run command to install the two packages:

sudo apt install exfat-fuse exfat-utils

Once installed successfully, Ubuntu 18.04 should mount exfat USB drive automatically next time you plugged it in.

In Howtos enable exfat Ubuntu 18.04

How to Upgrade Ubuntu 18.04 to Ubuntu 20.04 Beta

Last updated: April 4, 2020

Ubuntu 18.04

The Beta release of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS is now available to download, and/or upgrade from an old Ubuntu edition.

Ubuntu 20.04 is a Long Term Support release with 5-year support. It’s scheduled to be officially released on April 23rd.

The new LTS features:

Linux 5.4 Kernel.
Gnome 3.36.
New dark mode setting.
Show computer’s vendor logo on startup.
WireGuard Support out of the box.
And WiFi (RTL8723DE) works out of the box in my HP laptop

Download / Upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04:

The 64-bit desktop and sever images are available to download at the link below:

Download Ubuntu 20.04

Though I would recommend to do a fresh install of the new LTS, you can now upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04 beta (then upgrade to final from beta) directly from Ubuntu 18.04 and or Ubuntu 19.10.

The Beta release may contain bugs. Don’t Do This on product machine before Ubuntu 20.04 goes stable!

1.) First make backup of all your important data.

2.) Disable all third-party PPAs (Software & Updates -> Other Software)

3.) open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install system updates.