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Archives For November 30, 1999

Firefox 70 Released with New App Icon, Faster JavaScript Interpreter

Last updated: October 23, 2019

Mozilla Firefox 70 stable was released with new logo icon, improved page load performance, and other enhancements.

Firefox 70.0 release highlights:

  • New application icon.
  • A faster Javascript Baseline Interpreter
  • WebRender enabled by default on Windows with integrated Intel graphics cards
  • Complex password generation
  • Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) enabled by default on all platforms
  • A stand-alone Firefox account menu
  • New ‘What’s New’ menu option.
  • Import passwords from Chrome on macOS
  • More privacy and security protections.

Download / Install Firefox 70:

Firefox 70 packages will be made into Ubuntu security & updates repositories for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and Ubuntu 19.10.

It will be usually available in a few days. Check this link.

At that time, you can simply upgrade to Firefox 70 via Software Updater.

Can’t wait? You can now click here to download Firefox for Linux (64-bit), then extract and run the executable to launch Firefox 70.

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Fix Wi-Fi Hotspot Not Working (Can not connect) in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: October 22, 2019

Turning on Wi-Fi Hotspot in Wi-Fi settings is not working very well in Ubuntu 18.04 default Gnome desktop. It says ‘can not connect’ or ‘password error’ when I’m tring to connect via iOS or Android device.

Since Ubuntu switched to Gnome 3, Wi-Fi Hotspot can be easily created by the System Settings utility. It’s however not working very well in my Ubuntu 18.04 laptop. And here’s a workaround to make it work

1.) Press Alt+F2 on keyboard to bring up ‘Enter a Command’ box, then input nm-connection-editor and hit Enter.

2.) When the ‘Network Connections‘ window pops up, click on the bottom-left plus button to create a new connection.

3.) In next window, seleft Wi-Fi from the drop-down box.

4.) After clicked the ‘Create…’ button, do following settings in next window.

  • Type connection name: whatever as you want (Ji-laptop in the case)
  • Type SSID: whatever as you want (ubuntu1804 in the case)
  • Select Mode: Hotspot
  • (Optional) Set password in Wi-Fi security tab. (WPA & WPA2 Personal in my case)

Tip: you may disable ‘Automatically connect to this network when it is available’ in General tab, or Wi-Fi hotspot auto-enabled in every login.

5.) Finally in Wi-Fi Settings window, do:

  • click the top-right menu and select Connect to Hidden Network…
  • then choose connect to the previous created network.

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos
 

[Quick Tip] Remove Snap App Index from Ubuntu Software

Last updated: October 20, 2019

This quick tutorial shows how to remove Snap applications from indexing in Ubuntu Software utility in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

Snap is a containerized software package developed by Canonical (company behind Ubuntu). It bundles most runtime libraries and can be running on most Linux desktops.

Snap is great. It makes some popular applications possible to install in Ubuntu, and backports latest version of applications without worrying about dependency issues.

There’s also downside to the Snap package. It’s large in file size, requires a daemon and not everyone loves that.

If you dislike or just don’t want to install any Snap applications, you can remove them from Ubuntu Software utility, so it will be faster and not display duplicate applications in search result.

1.) Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu.

2.) When terminal opens, run command to remove the plugin package that handles Snap package indexing:

sudo apt remove gnome-software-plugin-snap

Type user password (no asterisk feedback due to security reason) for sudo prompt and hit Enter.

That’s it.

For any reason if you want to restore the change, simply install the plugin back via command:

sudo apt install gnome-software-plugin-snap
In Howtos
 

Install Shutter Screenshot Tool via PPA in Ubuntu 19.10

Last updated: October 19, 2019

Shutter is one of must install applications in my Ubuntu desktop. And now it’s made into PPA for Ubuntu 19.10 Eoan Ermine.

Shutter is a feature-rich screenshot application with editing feature. It was available in Ubuntu universe repository. Since Ubuntu 18.10, it’s removed, along with some old Gnome libraries required by the screenshot tool.

Thanks to “Linux Uprising” team, the PPA maintains Shutter packages as well as dependencies for new Ubuntu releases.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut, or from application launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linuxuprising/shutter

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

2. Then install Shutter either via Synaptic package manager or by running command in terminal:

sudo apt install shutter

Once installed, launch it from gnome software menu and enjoy!

Uninstall Shutter:

To remove shutter, simply open terminal and run command:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove shutter

And remove the PPA via Software & Updates -> Other Software.

In Howtos
 

Xournal++ 1.0.5 Released! How to Install it in ubuntu

Last updated: October 18, 2019

Xournal++, open-source handwriting notetaking software with PDF annotation support, released 1.0.5 a few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and higher.

Xournal++ is written in C++ with GTK3. It supports pen input from devices such as Wacom Tablets, and features:

  • Support for annotating PDFs
  • PDF Export (with and without paper style)
  • PNG Export (with and without transparent background)
  • LaTeX support (requires a working LaTeX install)
  • Audio recording and playback alongside with handwritten notes
  • Plugins using LUA Scripting
  • And much more other features.

Xournal++ 1.0.4 was released a week ago, quickly followed by a minor 1.0.15 release. It includes many bugfixes as well as some quality-of-life enhancements and new experimental floating toolbox.

How to Install Xournal++ 1.0.5 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 18.04 64-bit, the official xournalpp-1.0.15-Ubuntu-xenial-x86_64.deb package is available to download at the link below:

Install “Gdebi package installer” from Ubuntu Software, and click install the Xournal++ .deb package via Gdebi.

Other ways:

Git builds of Xournal++ snap package (runs in sandbox) is also available in Ubuntu Software for Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

Flathub repository offers version 1.0.5 of Xournal++ flatpak package (runs in sandbox) for Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

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KDE Plasma 5.17 Released! How to Install it in (K)Ubuntu 19.10

Last updated: October 16, 2019

KDE Plasma desktop 5.17 was released yesterday. Now you can install it in (K)Ubuntu 19.10 via KUbuntu Backports PPA.

Plasma 5.17 release highlights:

  • Night Color for X11.
  • Fractional scaling support on Wayland.
  • Faster startup performance.
  • New panel in System Settings for configuring Thunderbolt devices
  • Improved widget resizing, settings panels, and many other small feature additions.
  • For more details, see the release note.

How to Install Plasma 5.17 in (K)Ubuntu 19.10:

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, do:

1. Add Kubuntu Backports PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports

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

2. Install Plasma 5.17 in Kubuntu 19.10:

Either install all system update via Update Manager, or run command in terminal:

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3. For non-Kubuntu user:

Run command to install Plasma desktop:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install plasma-desktop

or install full KDE desktop environment via command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install kubuntu-desktop

Uninstall:

You can purge the Kubuntu Backports PPA, which also downgrade Plasma desktop to the stock version (5.16.5) in Ubuntu 19.10 repository.

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
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How to Enable Fractional Scaling in Ubuntu 19.10 Eoan

Last updated: October 15, 2019

This quick tutorial shows how to enable the fractional scaling in Ubuntu 19.10 for both default X and wayland sessions.

The Display settings only offer two scaling values (100% and 200%) by default. For HiDPI displays, you may want fractional scaling values, like 125% or 150%, and here’s how to do the job.

1.) Open Ubuntu Software, search for and install dconf editor.

2.) Launch dconf editor and navigate to org -> gnome -> mutter.

There find out and click to go to settings for ‘experimental-features‘. Then do:

  • Turn off ‘Use default value‘.
  • Set Custom value to [‘x11-randr-fractional-scaling’] for default X session.
  • For wayland session, set the value to [‘scale-monitor-framebuffer’]

NOTE: Fractional scaling is an experimental feature, it may have bugs. And It might reduce performance on X11.

For those familiar with Linux commands, do the job via single command:

For default X11 session, open terminal and run command:

gsettings set org.gnome.mutter experimental-features "['x11-randr-fractional-scaling']"

For wayland session, run command:

gsettings set org.gnome.mutter experimental-features "['scale-monitor-framebuffer']"

To undo the change, run command:

gsettings reset org.gnome.mutter experimental-features
In Howtos
 

How to Install Gnome Shell Themes in Ubuntu 19.10, 18.04

Last updated: October 14, 2019

This quick tutorial shows how to install Gnome Shell themes in Ubuntu 19.10 / Ubuntu 18.04, which change the appearance of Gnome panel, system tray menu, notification pops, etc.

In the default Gnome desktop, you can easily change the themes of application window, mouse cursor, and icons using Gnome Tweaks tool.

Gnome Tweaks (install it via Ubuntu Software) also offers option for Shell theme, which is not enabled by default. And here’s how to enable the functionality.

Enable Shell Theme Option in Gnome Tweaks:

Shell Themes select-box is greyed out by default in Gnome Tweaks.

To enable it, simply open Ubuntu Software, search for and install user themes extension.

Install Gnome Shell Themes:

1.) Download the theme tarball from the web. There are many Gnome Shell themes available on gnome-look.org and deviantart.com.

2.) Open Files (Nautilus file browser) and press Ctrl+H to view all hidden file folders.

Check if .themes folder exist in user home directory, if not create one.

3.) Extract the previous downloaded themes, and put the theme folders into .themes directory.

4.) Finally open or re-open Gnome Tweaks and apply an user theme from Appearance tab.

In Howtos ,
 

GScan2PDF 2.5.7 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: October 13, 2019

Gscan2pdf 2.5.7, GTK tool to produce PDF / DjVu from scanned document, was released today. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04.

Changes in Gscan2pdf 2.5.7 include:

  • Recognise “Document Table” as flatbed for imagescan backend.
  • Use option name as label for those options with no title.
  • Extended edit profile functionality in scan dialog to frontend options.
  • Close device when switching frontends so as not to block SANE for the new frontend.
  • Allow tool processes to immediately continue working on subsequent pages despite errors on previous ones.
  • Fix infinite loop scanning reverse pages
  • Updated translations.

How to Install gscan2pdf 2.5.7 in Ubuntu:

The official Ubuntu PPA has made the new release packages for all current Ubuntu releases, and their derivatives.

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:jeffreyratcliffe/ppa

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

2. For those who have a previous release installed, upgrade it through Software Updater:

For the first time, you can either install it via Synaptic Package Manager or by running following commands in terminal:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gscan2pdf

How to Remove:

To remove gscan2pdf, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove gscan2pdf

And the PPA can be removed via Software & Updates utility, under Other Software tab.

In Howtos, News
 

Move ‘Show Applications’ Button to the Top in Ubuntu 19.10

Last updated: October 12, 2019

This quick tutorial shows how to move Application Menu button from bottom to the top on the left panel (dock launcher) in Ubuntu 19.10 Gnome Desktop.

Ubuntu Dock (the left panel) now is more customizable in Ubuntu 19.10. It finally offers option to move the position of the ‘Show Applications’ button.

1.) Open Ubuntu Software, search for and install dconf editor:

2.) Launch dconf editor from application menu, when it opens, navigate to org -> gnome -> shell -> extensions -> dash-to-dock.

There scroll down, find out and turn on the toggle of ‘show-apps-at-top‘.

For those familiar with Linux commands, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run single command to move it to the top:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock show-apps-at-top true

If you want to move the ‘Application Menu’ button back to bottom, run command:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock show-apps-at-top false
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