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How to Change the Default Display Manager in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: July 24, 2020

gnome shell

This quick tutorial shows how to change the default login screen display manager (e.g., gdm3, lightdm, kdm) in Ubuntu 20.04.

Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome desktop uses GDM3 as the default display manager. If you installed other desktop environments in your system, then you may have different display managers.

To change the default display manager, open terminal from system application launcher, and do following steps one by one.

1.) Check the current running display manager by running command:

systemctl status display-manager.service

You may also run cat /etc/X11/default-display-manager to get the result.

2. Run command to reconfigure the default manager:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm3

NOTE: replace gdm3 in the command with the one you got in step 1).

3.) It will bring up the package configuration screen, if you have more than one display managers installed:

4.) Hit enter in the previous screen, then press Up / Down arrow keys to switch the display manager and hit Enter.

The change will be applied in next boot. Enjoy!

In Howtos
 

How to Install Pidgin Instant Messenger 2.14.1 in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: July 23, 2020

This simple tutorial shows how to install the latest Pidgin instant messaging client, so far it’s v2.14.1, in Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 18.04.

Pidgin is a chat program which lets you log in to accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on AIM, talking to a friend on Google Talk, and sitting in an IRC chat room all at the same time.

While the software package in Ubuntu universe repository is always old. The latest release now is Pidgin 2.14.1, which can be installed via Flatpak package from flathub repository.

How to Install Pidgin 2.14.1 in Ubuntu:

1. Setup Flatpak framework in Ubuntu:

First open terminal from system application launcher. When it opens, run command to install flatpak:

sudo apt install flatpak

Then add the flathub repository by running command:

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

2. Install the Pidgin flatpak package:

To install the package, run command in terminal:

flatpak install flathub im.pidgin.Pidgin

To update the Pidgin flatpak package, run command:

flatpak update im.pidgin.Pidgin

Once installed, you can launch the IM from ‘Show Applications’ menu and enjoy!

Uninstall:

To uninstall Pidgin flatpak package, run command in terminal:

flatpak uninstall im.pidgin.Pidgin
In Howtos
 

How to Simulate “The Matrix” Screen Display in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: July 22, 2020

Want to display a scrolling “The Matrix” like screen in Ubuntu desktop? You can do the job easily via a command line tool called cmatrix.

CMatrix is based on the screensaver from The Matrix website. It shows text flying in and out in a terminal like as seen in “The Matrix” movie. It can scroll lines all at the same rate or asynchronously and at a user-defined speed.

1. To install cmatrix, simply open terminal from application launcher and run command:

sudo apt install cmatrix

2. Once installed, run cmatrix command to start the display:

cmatrix

You can press F11 to toggle on (off) terminal FULL-SCREEN mode. And press Ctrl+C (or q) to stop the process.

3. (Optional) There are some command line options. You can get them by running command:

cmatrix -h

Note to use the Linux mode -l option, you need to switch to TTY console (Ctrl+Alt+F3).

In App Review
 

[New Ubuntu PPA] How to Install GIMP 2.10.20 in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: December 16, 2020

This simple tutorial shows how to install the latest GIMP image editor 2.10.20 in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Linux Mint 19.x, and 20 via new PPA repository.

Although GIMP is available as both the containerized Snap and Flatpak packages, I prefer installing GIMP deb package via apt repository and receiving updates via Software Updater.

Otto kesselgulasch has dropped the PPA due to personal reasons. Now I’ve uploaded the most recent 2.10.20 packages into this unofficial PPA. So far, Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 20.04 are supported.

How to Install GIMP 2.10.20 via PPA in Ubuntu:

NOTE: Different to the previous PPA packages, there’s no Python scripting support.

1.) Open terminal from system application launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp

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

2.) If an old version of GIMP .deb package was installed, upgrade it via Software Updater (Update Manager) utility.

or run apt commands in terminal to install GIMP:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install gimp gimp-gmic

How to Restore:

To restore GIMP to the stock version in main Ubuntu repository, run command to purge the PPA:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp
In Howtos
 

Kart Racing Game SuperTuxKart 1.2 RC1 Released (Ubuntu PPA)

Last updated: July 21, 2020

SuperTuxKart 1.2 Release Candidate, free and open-source kart racing game, was released today with many great new features and performance improvements.

SuperTuxKart 1.2 release highlights according to the change-log:

  • Add support for IPv6 LAN server.
  • Add team chat for team games.
  • Haiku support.
  • Resizable window in game.
  • New version of Pidgin by Crystal
  • Sever creation improvements.
  • Better gamepad support.
  • Modern skin and SVG icons support.
  • Add camera settings in option screen.
  • And many other improvements.

How to Install SuperTuxKart 1.2 RC in Ubuntu:

Non-install Linux portable package are available for download at Sourceforge project page.

The kart racing game is available as SNAP package which can be installed from Ubuntu Software. Flatpak package is also available in flathub.org repository.

SuperTuxKart team PPA will build the DEB package for apt install. Check the PPA Link before getting started.

At that time, open terminal from application launcher and run following commands one by one:

1.) Run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stk/dev

Type user password, no visual feedback, when it asks and hit Enter to continue.

2.) After adding the PPA, either upgrade from an old version via Software Updater, or run commands in terminal to install the game:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install supertuxkart

Uninstall SuperTuxKart:

To remove the PPA, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:stk/dev

To remove the racing game, run:

sudo apt remove --autoremove supertuxkart supertuxkart-data
In Howtos, News
 

Ubuntu 19.10 Eoan Ermine Reached End of Life

Last updated: July 19, 2020

Ubuntu 19.10 Eoan Ermine reached end of life on July 17 2020. Users are recommended to upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

Ubuntu 19.10 was released 9 months ago, on October 17, 2019. As a non-LTS release, it has 9 months support. Now it is no longer supported by Canonical. No more security and package updates will be accepted to 19.10.

Users are argued to upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04, a LTS release with 5-year support. To get started, do following steps one by one:

  1. Disable third-party repositories by Software & Updates -> Other Software.
  2. Launch Software Updater and install all the updates after checking for updates.
  3. You may restart your computer to complete updates.
  4. Launch Software Updater again, and you’ll see option to upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04

Full instructions and caveats for the upgrade may be found at:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FocalUpgrades

In News
 

How to Install Remmina RDC 1.4.7 via PPA in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: July 19, 2020

Prefer installing app via apt rather than the containerized Snap or Flatpak package? Here’s how to install the latest Remmina Remote Desktop Client 1.4.7 via PPA in Ubuntu 20.04.

Remmina is a GTK+ remote desktop client that supports RDP, VNC, SPICE, NX, XDMCP, SSH and WWW. It’s pre-installed in Ubuntu 20.04 but old.

Besides installing the Snap (or Flatpak) package from Ubuntu Software. You can get the latest .deb packages from the “Remmina PPA Team” PPA. So far Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, Ubuntu 20.04 are supported.

1.) Open terminal from your system application launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:remmina-ppa-team/remmina-next

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

NOTE the official website refers to the PPA though it’s marked for next branch.

2.) Then upgrade Remmina package via Software Updater (Update Manager):

You may also run command to install EXEC, KWallet, NX, WWW plugins:

sudo apt install remmina-plugin-exec remmina-plugin-www remmina-plugin-nx remmina-plugin-kwallet

How to Restore:

To remove the PPA as well as downgrade Remmina to the stock version, run command in terminal:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:remmina-ppa-team/remmina-next
In Howtos
 

How to Remove the Header Bar in Firefox on Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: July 18, 2020

This quick tutorial shows Ubuntu beginners how to remove / hide the header bar (title bar) in the default Firefox web browser.

Firefox title bar, the bar above the tabs, does not look good in Gnome desktop. You can easily remove it as well as the top white corners so it will look like:

1. Remove Firefox header bar in Ubuntu:

The following steps works in all Ubuntu releases, though the title says for Ubuntu 20.04 only.

  1. Click on the 3 lines icon to open Firefox menu.
  2. Click “Customize …” menu option to open new Customize Firefox tab.
  3. Finally un-check the “Title Bar” check-box in the bottom-left.

2. Remove top-left & top-right white corners in Firefox:

After removed the header bar, you’ll see the white top corners. And it can be fixed by doing following steps.

  1. Type about:config in address bar and hit Enter.
  2. Click the “Accept the Risk and Continue” button.
  3. Type mozilla.widget.use-argb-visuals in the search field
  4. Check that ‘Boolean‘ is selected
  5. Finally click on ‘+‘ button to add the setting.

The white corners will gone once you restart Firefox web browser.

All done. Enjoy!

In Howtos ,
 

How to Install Microsoft ProcDump in Ubuntu 20.04, 18.04

Last updated: July 23, 2020

This quick tutorial shows how to install the latest ProcDump for Linux via the official Microsoft apt repository in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 19.10, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and Linux Mint.

“ProcDump is a Linux reimagining of the classic ProcDump tool from the Sysinternals suite of tools for Windows. ProcDump provides a convenient way for Linux developers to create core dumps of their application based on performance triggers.”

1. Setup Microsoft apt repository in Ubuntu:

Open terminal from your system application launcher. When it opens, run command to download the official .deb package:

wget -q https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/$(lsb_release -rs)/packages-microsoft-prod.deb -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb

For Linux Mint, replace $(lsb_release -rs) in the code with 20.04 for Linux Mint 20 (or 18.04 for Mint 19.x).

Then install the package, which will install Microsoft repository and key, by running command:

sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompts and hit Enter.

2. Install ProcDump via apt:

After adding the apt repository, refresh system package cache by running command:

sudo apt update

Finally install ProcDump via command:

sudo apt install procdump

3. Check ProcDump installation by running command:

procdump -h

Uninstall:

To uninstall procdump, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove procdump

And remove the apt repository by launching Software & Updates and navigating to Other Software tab.

In Howtos ,
 

How to Install the Latest Lollypop Music Player in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: July 17, 2020

This simply tutorial shows how to install the latest Lollypop, a lightweight modern Gnome music playing application, in Ubuntu 20.04 and Linux Mint 20 via PPA.

“Lollypop features a party mode which will automatically select party-related playlists to play; a full-screen view which lets you visually access the player from your couch thanks to its HiDPI support; and native support for replay gain.”

Lollypop also features:

  • Play mp3/4, ogg and flac files
  • Fetch lyrics, artist bio, and automatically download cover arts
  • Sync Lollypop with your Android device via MTP
  • You can scrob songs to Last.fm, Libre.fm and ListenBrainz

How to Install Lollypop in Ubuntu:

The gnome music player is available in Ubuntu main repositories since Ubuntu 19.10. However, it is always old.

To install the latest version, you can either use the containerized Flatpak package, or add the official Ubuntu PPA.

1.) Open terminal from your system application launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnumdk/lollypop

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue. The PPA so far provides the latest packages for Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and an old version for Ubuntu 18.04.

2.) After adding the PPA, either upgrade the player from an existing release via Software Updater:

or run command in terminal to install the software package:

sudo apt install lollypop

Uninstall:

To uninstall the PPA repository, run command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:gnumdk/lollypop

And remove the music player by running command:

sudo apt remove lollypop
In Howtos