UbuntuHandbook

How to Install Stellarium 0.20.0 in Ubuntu 20.04, 18.04

Last updated: March 31, 2020

Free-software planetarium Stellarium 0.20.0 was released a few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and Ubuntu 20.04.

Stellarium 0.20.0 brings GUI refactoring and updating, code refactoring (related to Solar system), and many improvements in the code of plugins.

Changes in the release include:

Added Almagest skyculture
Added support INDIGO for Telescope Control plugin
Added displaying last updated TLE for users
Added a SIMBAD lookup name query to the Search Dialog
Added Cross-origin (CORS) support to Remote Control plugin
Slightly improves rendering of Saturn viewed from Pan
Allows arbitrary viewpoints by keyboard action
Added new nomenclature items
Added new type of planetary feature
Added German set of navigational stars
Added comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) as potential superbright comet (a Great Comet)

There are also tons of other new features and bug-fixes. See release note for details.

How to Install Stellarium 0.20.0 in Ubuntu:

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stellarium/stellarium-releases

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

2. Then either upgrade Stellarium from an old version with Software Updater utility:

Or run following commands to install or upgrade the software from terminal:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install stellarium

Uninstall:

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

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove stellarium

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

In Howtos, News free planetarium software

How to Install Kernel 5.6 in Ubuntu / Linux Mint

Last updated: March 30, 2020

Linux Kernel 5.6 was officially released. Linus Torvalds announced:

So I’ll admit to vacillating between doing this 5.6 release and doing another -rc.

This has a bit more changes than I’d like, but they are mostly from davem’s networking fixes pulls, and David feels comfy with them. And I looked over the diff, and none of it looks scary. It’s just slightly more than I’d have preferred at this stage – not doesn’t really seem worth delaying a release over.

So about half the diff from the final week is network driver fixlets, and some minor core networking fixes. Another 20% is tooling – mostly bpf and netfilter selftests (but also some perf work).

…

Linux Kernel 5.5 features WireGuard VPN support, and a lot of other notable improvements, including initial USB 4 support, Amazon’s Echo smart speaker, new Intel, AMD, and Arm hardware enablement.

How to Install Linux Kernel 5.6 in Ubuntu:

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 packages for Linux 5.6 are now available for download at the link below:

Download Kernel 5.6

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

linux-headers-5.6.0-xxxxxx_all.deb
linux-headers-5.6.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64.deb
linux-modules-5.6.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64.deb
linux-image-xxx-5.6.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64.deb

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

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

For 64-bit OS:

cd /tmp/

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.6/linux-headers-5.6.0-050600_5.6.0-050600.202003292333_all.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.6/linux-headers-5.6.0-050600-generic_5.6.0-050600.202003292333_amd64.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.6/linux-image-unsigned-5.6.0-050600-generic_5.6.0-050600.202003292333_amd64.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.6/linux-modules-5.6.0-050600-generic_5.6.0-050600.202003292333_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Once installed, restart your computer and enjoy!

Uninstall Linux Kernel 5.6:

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 5.5:

sudo dpkg --purge linux-image-unsigned-5.6.0-050600-generic

In Howtos, News Linux Kernel

How to Install Oracle Java 14 in Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04

Last updated: March 29, 2020

Oracle Java 14 was released more than a week ago. For those want to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, Ubuntu 20.04, Linux Mint 18.x, 19.x, and their derivatives, an installer script is available in PPA.

For new features and other changes in Java 14, see the announcement.

An Webupd8 team based installer script has been made into the “Linux Uprising” team ppa, which automatically downloads and installs Oracle JDK 14, and sets Java 14 as the default Java version (setting JAVA_HOME, etc.) on 64-bit Ubuntu based machine.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linuxuprising/java

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

2.) Then check updates and install the script via 2 commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install oracle-java14-installer oracle-java14-set-default

Skip / remove oracle-java14-set-default in the command if you don’t want to set Oracle Java 14 as default.

3.) Check the result via command: java --version

(Optional) You can remove the PPA repository via Software & Updates utility under Other Software tab.

And remove Java 14 if you want via command:

sudo apt-get remove oracle-java14-installer

In Howtos, News java 14

qBittorrent 4.2.2 Released! How to Install it via PPA

Last updated: March 26, 2020

qBittorrent

qBittorrent torrent client 4.2.2 was released a few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and Ubuntu 19.10.

qBittorrent 4.2.2 comes with new features, web UI improvements, and various bug-fixes. And python2 support is removed in the search function.

Changes in the new release include:

Allow transfer list text color changes through QSS.
Option to show console when external program is run.
Change the defaults of some settings.
Refactored Transfer List code to allow theming.
Reorganize UI theme selection.
Show any multiple connections from the same IP in peer list.
Add stalled filters to GUI and Web API/UI.
Use IP geolocation database by DB-IP instead of MaxMind.
Allow to save downloaded metadata as torrent file.
Allow single app instance per configuration.
Option to start qBittorrent on Windows start up.

How to Install qBittorrent 4.2.2 in Ubuntu:

The official qBittorrent PPA has built the new release packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and Ubuntu 19.10.

1. To add the PPA, open terminal by either pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or searching for “Terminal” from application menu. When it opens, run command:

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

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

2. If an old version was installed on your system, upgrade it via Software Updater,

upgrade qBittorrent

or run following commands to install /upgrade qBittorrent in terminal:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install qbittorrent

Uninstall:

To remove qBittorrent PPA, either go to Software & Updates -> Other Software, or run command in terminal:

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

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

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove qbittorrent

In Howtos, News qbittorrent

How to Install Code::Blocks 20.03 in Ubuntu 18.04, 19.10

Last updated: March 25, 2020

Code::Blocks, open-source C, C++, and Fortran IDE, released version 20.03 a few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and derivatives.

Code::Blocks 20.03 was available for a few days, though it’s not officially announced in its website. The Code::Blocks Developers Team PPA has made the packages for all current Ubuntu releases.

To install the new IDE version, open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, do following steps one by one.

1.) Run command to add the PPA repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:codeblocks-devs/release

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

2.) If an old version was installed on your system, upgrade it via Software Updater:

or run commands one by one in terminal to install the IDE:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install codeblocks codeblocks-contrib

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

Uninstall Code::Blocks

To remove the PPA repository, either go to Software & Updates -> Other Software, or run command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:codeblocks-devs/release

And remove Code::Blocks if you want via command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove codeblocks codeblocks-contrib

In Howtos, News C++ IDE, Code::Blocks IDE

MythTV 31 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu via PPA

Last updated: March 24, 2020

MythTV, open source software digital video recorder (DVR), released new stable version 31 a day ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10.

MythTV 31 comes with significant changes to video decoding and playback, python3 support, greatly improved channel scanning, and support for the DataDirect guide service from Schedules Direct has been removed. For details, see the release note.

How to Install MythTV 31 in Ubuntu:

Mythbuntu Team PPA has made the new release 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:mythbuntu/31

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

2.) Then either upgrade the software from an installed version via Software Updater:

or install it by running commands in terminal:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install mythtv

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA repository, open terminal and run command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:mythbuntu/31

And remove the digital video recorder via command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove mythtv

In Howtos, News MythTV

Wavemon – Display Live WiFi Signal Strength in Terminal

Last updated: March 23, 2020

wifi hotspot

Looking for a wireless network manager? Wavemon is a command line ncurses-based wireless network monitoring application for Linux.

Wavemon displays live signal and noise levels, packet statistics, device configuration and network parameters of your wireless network hardware. It should work with all devices supported by the Linux kernel.

Wavemon is available in Ubuntu universe repositories. Simply open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install it:

sudo apt install wavemon

Then run wavecom to start the monitor. For more information run man wavemon.

While the software packages in Ubuntu repositories are always old. You can get the latest release from the link below:

Wavemon in Github

In App Review wifi signal strength

Audacious 4.0 Released with Qt5 UI [How to Install]

Last updated: March 22, 2020

Audacious music player

Audacious audio player 4.0 was finally announced as the new stable release. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and Ubuntu 20.04.

Audacious 4.0 switches to Qt 5 UI by default, though GTK2 is still available as a build option. New features in the release include:

New option to hide playlist tabs.
New OpenMPT-based tracker module plugin
New VU Meter visualization plugin
Added option to use a SOCKS network proxy
New “Next Album” and “Previous Album” commands
The tag editor in Qt UI can now edit multiple files at once
Implemented equalizer presets window for Qt UI
Lyrics plugin gained the ability to save and load lyrics locally
Blur Scope and Spectrum Analyzer visualizations ported to Qt
MIDI plugin soundfont selection ported to Qt
JACK output plugin gained some new options
Added option to endlessly loop PSF files
Some other improvements and bug-fixes.

How to Install Audacious 4.0 in Ubuntu:

Note the following packages are built with default QT5 UI. The Qt port of the Winamp-like UI is still missing some key features such the Jump to Song window.

Users of the Winamp-like UI may build with GTK2 yourself, or keep the old version.

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

Upgrade via Software Updater may not work this time as new libaudqt5 library breaks old libaudgui5 library.

Uninstall:

You can easily remove the PPA either by going to Software & Updates utility -> Other Software tab, or by running command:

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

DeadBeeF Music Player 1.8.3 Released [Howto Install]

Last updated: March 20, 2020

DeaDBeeF music player 1.8.3 was released a day ago as the third bugfix update for 1.8 series.

The new release fixed CD Text reading issue, added more title formatting functions & value, added option to start deadbeef hidden / minimized to tray, and added detecting and ignoring freeformat MP3 files.

There also a lots of bug-fixes in the release including fixes to AAC plugin, HTTP stream interruption, ALSA, handle ffmpeg file, and a bunch of crashes and memory leaks. See here for more details.

How to Install DeaDBeeF 1.8.3 in Ubuntu:

There’s an Ubuntu PPA repository that contains deadbeef .deb packages, though it’s not been updated for the new release at the moment.

You may also download the 64-bit .deb package from the link below:

DeaDBeeF for Linux

NOTE: If you’ve installed an old Deadbeef version from an Ubuntu PPA, you have to remove it first (run following command in terminal), as the .deb from the previous link will install the music player into /opt/ directory.

sudo apt remove deadbeef

Then install the .deb via Gdebi package installer (available in Ubuntu Software) and enjoy!

In Howtos, News deadbeef music player

SameBoy – Powerful Game Boy Emulator Available as Snap

Last updated: March 19, 2020

The latest version of SameBoy, powerful Game Boy Emulator, available to install via Snap package in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

SameBoy is an open-source user friendly Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Super Game Boy emulator for macOS, Windows and Unix-like platforms.

SameBoy is extremely accurate and includes a wide range of powerful debugging features, making it ideal for both casual players and developers.

In addition to accuracy and developer capabilities, SameBoy has all the features one would expect from an emulator – from save states to scaling filters.