Archives For November 30, 1999

Linux Kernel

Linux Kernel 5.3 was released yesterday. Linus Torvalds announced that:

So we’ve had a fairly quiet last week, but I think it was good that we ended up having that extra week and the final rc8.

Even if the reason for that extra week was my travel schedule rather than any pending issues, we ended up having a few good fixes come in, including some for some bad btrfs behavior. Yeah, there’s some unnecessary noise in there too (like the speling fixes), but we also had several last-minute reverts for things that caused issues.

One _particularly_ last-minute revert is the top-most commit (ignoring the version change itself) done just before the release, and while it’s very annoying, it’s perhaps also instructive.

Linux 5.3 kernel brings many exciting changes including initial Intel HDR display support, Intel Speed Select support, Radeon RX 5700 Navi series support, better Intel Icelake Gen 11 graphics support, ACRN guest hypervisor support.

How to Install Linux Kernel 5.3 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 5.3 are available for download at the link below:

Download Kernel 5.3

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

  1. linux-headers-5.3.0-xxxxxx_all.deb
  2. linux-headers-5.3.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64(/i386).deb
  3. linux-modules-5.3.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64(/i386).deb
  4. linux-image-xxx-5.3.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64(/i386).deb

Select generic for common system, and lowlatency for a low latency system (e.g. for recording audio), amd64 for 64bit system, i386 for 32bit 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/v5.3/linux-headers-5.3.0-050300_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_all.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-headers-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_amd64.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-image-unsigned-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_amd64.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-modules-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

for 32-bit OS:

cd /tmp/

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-headers-5.3.0-050300_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_all.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-headers-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_i386.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-image-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_i386.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.3/linux-modules-5.3.0-050300-generic_5.3.0-050300.201909152230_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Once installed, restart your computer and enjoy!

Uninstall Linux Kernel 5.3:

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 5.3:

sudo dpkg --purge linux-image-5.3.0-050300-generic linux-image-unsigned-5.3.0-050300-generic

MusicBrainz Picard, a cross-platform music tagger, released version 2.2 a day ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04.

MusicBrainz Picard is a free and open-source software application for identifying, tagging, and organising digital audio recordings. It was developed by the MetaBrainz Foundation, a non-profit company that also operates the MusicBrainz database.

The latest Picard 2.2 was released with following new features:

  • Post save plugins
  • Built-in media player (beta feature)
  • Support for ReplayGain 2.0 tags
  • Replace genre / folksonomy tag blacklist with more comprehensive list
  • Replace hardcoded colors by user-configurable ones
  • Add plugin hook for file-added-to-a-track event, file-removed-from-a-track event, album-removed event, and file loaded event
  • Provide $is_video() / $is_audio scripting functions
  • Tons of bug-fixes, and many improvements.

How to Install Picard in Ubuntu:

Picard is available as Snap (runs in sandbox, version 2.2 is not ready at the moment), which can be directly installed from Ubuntu Software in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

MusicBrainz stable PPA also contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, Ubuntu 19.10, Linux Mint 19.x, and their derivatives.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:musicbrainz-developers/stable

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

2. After that, either upgrade from an existing version via Software Updater:

or simply run commands one by one to install the music tagger:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install picard

gnome shell

This quick tip shows beginners how to hide files or folders, without renaming them, in Ubuntu’s default Nautilus file browser.

In Ubuntu Linux, a file (or folder) with a name starts by a dot (.) is considered a hidden file. Filename ends with a tilde (~) is considered backup file which is also hidden.

You can press Ctrl+H on keyboard to show or hide hidden files / folders in file browser.

To hide files and/or folders, without renaming them by prefixing dots (.) or suffixing tildes (~), you can use an extension called nautilus-hide.

NOTE following steps works for all current Ubuntu releases, though the title says for Ubuntu 18.04.

1.) Open terminal either by searching for “terminal” from application menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard.

When terminal opens, run command to install the extension:

sudo apt install nautilus-hide

2.) Then restart Nautilus either via reboot or by running command:

nautilus -q

Finally in Nautilus file browser, select ‘Hide Files’ in files’ context menu (right-click menu).

To un-hide them, press Ctrl+H to show hidden files, then either select “Unhide Files” in hidden files’ context menu or remove the .hidden file.

NOTE: The extension works by adding file or folder names, that you choose to hide, into .hidden file (auto-create if not exist). Nautilus reads that file to hide the listed files the next time you open or refresh the folder.

Gscan2pdf, GTK tool to produce PDF / DjVu from scanned document, released version 2.5.6 with stability improvements. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu.

Gscan2pdf 2.5.6 release highlights according to the changelog:

  • Prevent Negate from changing the alpha channel.
  • Avoid image corruption with colour images when applying WhiteThreshold after BlackThreshold.
  • Extended edit profile functionality in scan dialog to current scan options, when no profile selected.
  • Don’t try to compress log file if it wasn’t created.
  • Don’t blacklist empty device name
  • Improve layout of multiple message dialog.
  • Don’t use tiff2pdf to create temporary PDF to check for pdftk.
  • Fix --import option.
  • Fix updating extended page numbering on scan dialog after changing document
  • Fix printing.
  • Set “wait” cursor while scan options are being loaded and “progress” cursor while scanning.
  • Use gtk-3 cursors for ImageView widget
  • Ghost scan button while scan options are being loaded and scanning.
  • Fix bug storing responses from multiple message window when no responses had been stored before.

How to Install gscan2pdf 2.5.6 in Ubuntu:

The official Ubuntu PPA has made the new release packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04 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:

upgrade gscan2pdf

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.

RawTherapee

Free raw image processing software RawTherapee 5.7 was released a day ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and derivatives.

RawTherapee 5.7 release highlights:

  • Film Negative tool
  • Support for reading “rating” tags from Exif and XMP
  • Updated CMake, GTK+, and other library requirements
  • Hundreds of bug fixes, speed optimizations and raw format support improvements.

Download / Install RawTherapee 5.7 in Ubuntu:

The official Linux Appimage, single executable to launch the software (non-install), is available for download in the previous link

For Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, Linux Mint 19.x, you can also install RawTherapee 5.7 via this unofficial PPA.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for “Terminal” from application menu. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:dhor/myway

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

2. After that, upgrade the software via Software Updater if a previous version was installed:

or run commands one by one in terminal to install RawTherapee:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install rawtherapee

How to Remove:

To uninstall the free raw developer, run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove rawtherapee

And remove the PPA via Software & Updates utility under Other Software tab, by removing the line says “http://ppa.launchpad.net/dhor/myway/ubuntu”.

KeePass2

KeePass password manager 2.43 was released today with user interface and integration enhancements. All users of version 2.x are recommended to upgrade to the new 2.43 release.

Changes in KeePass 2.43 include:

  • Added option ‘Remember password hiding setting in the main window’
  • Added yellow intermediate step in password quality progress bars.
  • Added trigger events ‘Synchronizing database file’ and ‘Synchronized database file’.
  • Enhanced the Password Agent import module to support XML files created by version 3.
  • KeePass now excludes itself from Windows Error Reporting.
  • Added workaround for .NET initial focus bug.
  • Auto-Type improvements.
  • Improved main window state handling.
  • Improved construction and updates of the main menu and the group/entry context menus.
  • Main menu items can now be deselected by pressing the Esc key.
  • Improved performance of automatic scrolling in the main entry list.
  • Various other improvements.

How to Install KeePass 2.43 in Ubuntu:

KeePass2 website only offers source tarball for downloading at the link below:

Download KeePass2 Source

Julian Taylor’s PPA now contains the 2.43 packages for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and Ubuntu 19.10,

1. Open terminal 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/keepass2

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

2. Then upgrade KeePass password safe via Software Updater if you have a previous version installed:

upgrade KeePass2

Or run commands to install / upgrade the software:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install keepass2

Uninstall:

The PPA repository can be removed via Software & Updates utility under Other Software tab. To remove KeePass password safe, simply run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove keepass2

Mumble, open source low latency and high quality voice chat utility, released new major 1.3.0 released a day ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and even Ubuntu 14.04.

Mumble 1.3.0 is the new major release that features over 3000 changes. Release highlights include:

  • New Lite and Dark themes
  • Individual user volume adjustment (local)
  • Dynamic channel filtering
  • Attenuate other users while talking as Priority Speaker.
  • An optional clock (current time) in the overlay
  • Overlay: support for DirectX 11
  • Improved user management, banlist, avatar handling for administrators.

And there are many many other changes, see the announcement for details.

How to Install Mumble 1.3.0 in Ubuntu 18.04, 16.04:

Mumble Team PPA has built the new release package for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and even Ubuntu 14.04.

1. Open terminal either from application menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, paste below command and hit Enter:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mumble/release

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

2. If an old release was installed, simply upgrade Mumble via Software Updater:

Or run commands one by one in terminal to check updates and install the chat utility for gamer:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mumble mumble-server

Uninstall Mumble:

You can purge the PPA which also downgrade the VoIP chat app to the stock version via command:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:mumble/release

To simply remove mumble, either use system package manager or run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove mumble mumble-server

This quick tutorial shows how to install RuneLite, Old School RuneScape client, in Ubuntu 18.04, and higher.

RuneLite is a free and open-source Old School RuneScape client written in Java. While the software offers single executable appimage (non-install) and jar files for Linux, here’s how to install it using the flatpak package.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, paste below command and hit run to install flatpak framework:

sudo apt-get install flatpak

2. Add flathub repository, which hosts a large list of flatpak applications:

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

3. Finally install RuneLite via command:

flatpak install flathub net.runelite.RuneLite

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

Uninstall:

To remove Gnome Feeds flatpak package, run command in terminal:

flatpak uninstall net.runelite.RuneLite

LibreOffice

Ubuntu’s default office suite LibreOffice released version 6.3.1 a few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and their derivatives.

LibreOffice 6.3 “Fresh” is a major new release that features:

  • Writer and Calc performance improvements.
  • The Tabbed Compact NotebookBar UI now available for Writer, Calc, Impress and Draw
  • Export as PDF improved with the support for the standard PDF/A-2 document format,
  • Export support for DOTX and XLTX, import of charts from DOCX, import/export of SmartArt from PPTX files

And LibreOffice 6.3.1 is the first minor release of the LibreOffice 6.3 family, that brings a large list of bug-fixes and a key security improvement.

How to Install LibreOffice 6.3.1 in Ubuntu:

LibreOffice 6.3 “fresh” is targeted at technology enthusiasts and power users. For production environments and users who prefer robustness, use LibreOffice 6.2.x PPA instead.

1. Open terminal either from application menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keboard. When it opens, run command to add the LibreOffice Fresh PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa

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

2. Then launch Software Updater (Update Manager) and install updates for new LibreOffice packages:

or simply run commands in terminal after adding the PPA:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install libreoffice

Uninstall:

To remove the LibreOffice PPA only, run command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:libreoffice/ppa

To remove the PPA as well as downgrade LibreOffice to the pre-installed version:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:libreoffice/ppa

Virtualbox

Oracle Virtualbox 6.0.12 was released a few days ago as new maintenance release for the 6.0 series. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and higher.

Virtualbox 6.0.12 release highlights:

  • OCI export: handle empty disk image correctly
  • API: fix potential crash when using the medium I/O functionality
  • VBoxManage: fixed documentation of VBoxManage modifyvm uarttype documentation
  • Network: scrub inbound TCP URG pointer, working around incorrect OOB handling
  • USB: Improved identification of power-saved devices on Windows hosts
  • Audio: in the AC97 work around buggy guest drivers which reprogram the sampling rate, breaking audio in and/or audio out
  • Windows host: fixed crashes on startup with software trying to inject code into a VM process
  • Linux host and guest: fix kernel module build for SLES 12 SP4 kernel
  • 3D: fixed state saving and loading when the VBoxVGA graphics adapter is used with 3D enabled
  • Windows guests: fixed mouse cursor visibility updating
  • Windows guests: fixed graphics corruption in Windows 10 search menu with VBoxSVGA adapter
  • Windows guests: fixed dwm.exe crashes related to the WDDM driver for VBoxSVGA adapter when the VM has lots of RAM
  • MacOS Guest Additions fail to start in 6.0.10
  • Windows guests: fixed crashes when using shared folders
  • Linux guests: unprivileged users unable to create files inside shared folders
  • Linux guests: improve compatibility of vboxvideo.ko kernel module build logic

How to Install Virtualbox 6.0.12 in Ubuntu:

For all current Ubuntu releases, you can either download the official .deb binary from the link below:

Download Virtualbox for Linux

or install VBox from its official apt repository by running following steps:

1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T), paste below command and run to add the repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -sc) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

For Linux Mint, you HAVE to replace $(lsb_release -sc) in the command with bionic for Mint 19.x, or xenial for Mint 18.x.

2. Then download and install the repository key via command:

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

3. Refresh system package cache via command:

sudo apt update

4. Finally install Virtualbox 6.0.12:

sudo apt install virtualbox-6.0

Uninstall:

To remove it, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove virtualbox-6.0

And go to Software & Updates -> Other Software to remove apt repositories.