Archives For November 30, 1999

Enlightenment E22

The second bug-fix and stability release of Enlightenment E22 was announced last night. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 16.04, and Ubuntu 14.04.

Bug fixes in Enlightenment 0.22.2 include:

  • systray related crashes
  • luncher: popup focus issue.
  • Login with wrong password possible! “Authentication via PAM had errors setting up the authentication session. The error code was 11”
  • BSD CPUClock bryce gadget – arrow moves in the opposite direction
  • luncher preview issues
  • e moves and resizes maximized windows on restart
  • Copy Paste freezes E.
  • Better check for evas gl support
  • Black flicker between E’s splash screen and desktop
  • moving gadgets around multiple times crashes E
  • make it simpler to report bugs
  • wayland / xwayland issues
  • Make Bryce Less like a pogostick
  • lockscreen gadgets are not shown on “startup lockscreen” and “suspend lockscreen”
  • window borders doesn’t accept edje icons
  • For more, go to the news page

How to Install Enlightment E22.2 via PPA in Ubuntu:

For all current Ubuntu releases and derivatives, Enlightenment 0.22.2 is available for install via the PPA repository.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:niko2040/e19

Type in your password and hit Enter to add the E21 PPA, though it contains e19 in its name.

2. Then check updates and install the window manager via commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install enlightenment

If everything goes well, log out and select log back with Enlightenment session.

Uninstall:

The PPA can be removed via the Software & Updates utility under Other Software tab. To remove Enlightenment, simply run command:

sudo apt-get remove enlightenment && sudo apt-get autoremove

uGet download manager

uGet download manager reached the 2.2.1 release a few days ago with less memory usage and some bug-fixes.

uGet 2.2.1 was released silently in its project page with following changes:

  • reduce memory usage.
  • mega plug-in: completed size should not be ‘-1’ if file size > 2G on a 32-bit system.
  • adjust speed limit independently without enabling global speed limit.
  • fix that can’t get 1080p video from YouTube.
  • update translation files.

How to Install uGet 2.2.1 in Ubuntu:

There’s no announcement and official PPA updates at the moment of writing.

However, the .deb packages for Ubuntu 14.04 trusty, Ubuntu 16.04 xenial, Ubuntu 17.10 artful, and Ubuntu 18.04 bionic are available at:

uGet 2.2.1 (i386.deb for 32bit, amd64.deb for 64bit)

Download the .deb that matches your Ubuntu edition, and click install it via Ubuntu Software, Gdebi, or by running command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/uget_*.deb; sudo apt-get -f install

Once installed, open the download manager from your application launcher and enjoy!

Firefox 59 Released with Faster Page Load Time

Last updated: March 14, 2018

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox reached the new stable 59.0 release last night. The new release focus on improvements to page loading time, firefox screenshots, and more.

Changes in Firefox 59.0 include:

  • Faster load times for content on the Firefox Home page
  • Faster page load times by loading either from the networked cache or the cache on the user’s hard drive (Race Cache With Network)
  • Improved graphics rendering using Off-Main-Thread Painting (OMTP) for Mac users (OMTP for Windows was released in Firefox 58)
  • Drag-and-drop to rearrange Top Sites on the Firefox Home page, and customize new windows and tabs in other ways
  • Added tools to annotate and crop your Firefox Screenshots
  • Enhanced WebExtensions API including better support for decentralized protocols and the ability to dynamically register content scripts
  • Improved Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities.
  • Implemented RTP Transceiver to give pages more fine grained control over calls
  • Implemented features to support large scale conferences
  • Added support for W3C specs for pointer events and improved platform integration with added device support for mouse, pen, and touch screen pointer input
  • Added the Ecosia search engine as an option for German Firefox
  • Added the Qwant search engine as an option for French Firefox
  • Added settings in about:preferences to stop websites from asking to send notifications or access your device’s camera, microphone, and location, while still allowing trusted websites to use these features
  • And various security fixes.

Upgrade to Firefox 59 in Ubuntu:

The distribution builds will be available in a few days, check the link before doing following steps.

For Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and Ubuntu 17.10, simply launch Software Updater (Update Manager) and you’ll see Firefox in the update list after checking for updates.

upgrade firefox

If you don’t see the Firefox update, make sure “security” and “updates” repositories are enabled by Software & Updates utility:

That’s it. Enjoy!

Gscan2pdf, a simple GUI tool to produce PDFs or DjVus from scanned documents, reached the 2.0 release a few days ago. The new release has switched from GTK+ 2 to GTK+ 3.

Changes in Gscan2PDF 2.0 (and 2.0.1) include:

  • Fixed editing OCR output
  • Fixed displaying image after undoing
  • Fixed displaying image after deleting page
  • Fixed text in progress bars
  • Fixed warning message clearing all pages if no scanner detected
  • Switch from gtk+-2 to gtk+-3, requiring the reimplementation of GtkImageview in pure Perl, as C library not compatible with gtk+-3.
  • Fixed ghosting if flatbed only source option but not set.
  • Fixed setting preferences if frontend not set to libsane-image-perl and no scanner available.

How to Install Gscan2pdf 2.0.1 in Ubuntu:

The developer’s PPA contains the new release packages for Ubuntu 18.04 so far. Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 17.10 packages are in process.

Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for “terminal” from app launcher. When it opens, do following steps:

1. Add the PPA via command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jeffreyratcliffe/ppa

Type in your password (no visual feedback while typing due to security reason) when it prompts and hit Enter.

gscan2pdf ppa

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.

HP Linux Imaging and Printing

HPLIP, an HP developed Linux drivers for HP inkjet and laser based printers, reached the 3.18.3 release with new devices and Linux distributions support.

HPLIP 3.18.3 added following new devices support:

  • HP DesignJet Z2600 PostScript
  • HP DesignJet Z5600 PostScript
  • HP PageWide XL 8000ps Printer
  • HP PageWide XL 8000 Blueprinter
  • HP PageWide XL 5000 Printer
  • HP PageWide XL 5000 MFP
  • HP PageWide XL 5000 Blueprinter
  • HP PageWide XL 4500 Printer
  • HP PageWide XL 4500 MFP
  • HP PageWide XL 4000 Printer
  • HP PageWide XL 4000 MFP
  • HP PageWide XL 5100ps
  • HP PageWide XL 5100ps MFP
  • HP PageWide XL 5100ps MFP Blueprinter
  • HP PageWide XL 6000ps
  • HP PageWide XL 6000ps MFP

The new release also added support for Manjaro 17.1.4 (64 bit), Fedora 27 (64 bit), and Linux Mint 18.3 (32 bit and 64 bit)

Download / Install HPLIP 3.18.3:

To install the software, download the package “hplip-3.18.3.run” from the link below:

HPLIP Download Page

Then open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or search for “terminal” from app launcher. When it opens, run command:

cd ~/Downloads/ && chmod +x hplip-3.18.3.run && ./hplip-3.18.3.run

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it prompts and hit Enter.

Then follow the terminal outputs, answer some questions to build and install HPLIP on your system. When everything is done, plug/re-plug your printers and enjoy!

LiVES, free and open-source video editor and VJ tool, reached the 2.8.8 release today. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04.

Changes in LiVES 2.8.8 include:

  • Fix “undo render to same clip” after rendering to selection.
  • Add new libav_stream playback plugi
  • Set openGL playback plugin (if present) as the default for new installs.
  • (Multi monitor support) always show dialog windows on the gui monitor.
  • Re-enable audio recording from external sources (was inadvertantly disabled).
  • Fix possible problems with layout reloading (regression).
  • Reset to correct playback position when stop is pressed during / after pause (multitrack),
  • Increase size of playback area in multitrack mode.
  • Increase preview window size for video part open.
  • Add quick transcode menu option (beta).
  • Keep showing framebar when not playing (can be overriden in prefs).
  • Show audio source in framebar (overridden by pref).
  • Optimise redrawing of audio waveforms in clip editor.
  • Implement external audio trigger for recording.
  • Theme fixes for buttons.
  • Various optimisations.
  • Scale many widget sizes based on screen resolution.
  • Fix crash in multitrack parameter adjustment for effects with repeated channels.
  • Ctrl + mouse scroll can be used to zoom in / out in multitrack.
  • Disable ctrl-q (quit) accelerator during playback to prevent accidental triggering.
  • Updates for libav 3.5.

How to Install LiVES 2.8.8 in Ubuntu:

Other than building the software from source, you can install it from unofficial PPA in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Linux Mint 18.x and their derivatives by following steps:

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T and run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/lives

Type in your password (no visual feedback while typing due to security reason) when it asks and hit Enter.

LiVES PPA

2. Then upgrade the software from an existing release via Software Updater:

or simply run commands in terminal to install or upgrade LiVES:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install lives lives-plugins

Uninstall:

To remove the software, simply run commands:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove lives lives-plugins

The PPA can be removed via Software & Updates utility under Other Software tab.

Ubuntu 18.04

The first beta of Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver LTS (Long Term Support) was released last night.

Ubuntu 18.04 Beta 1 features images for Kubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu MATE, and Xubuntu.

NOTE the pre-releases of Ubuntu 18.04 are not recommended for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs.

Changes in Xubuntu 18.04 Beta 1 include:

  • Removed the GTK Theme Configuration tool
  • Replaced the Sound Indicator with the Xfce PulseAudio Plugin.
  • Replaced Application indicator with Status Notifier Plugin
  • Replace some desktop applications: Evince -> Atril, File Roller -> Engrampa, GNOME Calculator -> MATE Calculator.

Changes in Kubuntu 18.04 beta 1 include:

  • Replace Dragonplayer with VLC as default media player.
  • Muon package manager is shipped by default once again.
  • Replace Amarok with Cantata Qt5 as default music player.
  • Drop Telepathy instant messaging client from the defaults.

Changes in Ubuntu MATE 18.04 Beta 1 include:

  • MATE desktop 1.20
  • Uses Indicators by default in all layouts.
  • Brisk Menu switches to a dash-style launcher for Mutiny or Cupertino layout.
  • Minimal installation support and more and more other changes.

Changes in Ubuntu Budgie 18.04 Beta1 include:

  • Better font handling for Chinese and Korean users
  • Play mp3 out of the box.
  • New applets available via Budgie settings, Budgie welcome.
  • New exciting GTK+ theme by default called Pocillo
  • Minimal installation.

Future releases of Ubuntu 18.04:

April 5th Final Beta
April 19th Final Freeze / Release Candidate
April 26th Final release of Ubuntu 18.04

Visual Studio Code IDE

A new update of the Visual Studio Code IDE was released. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu.

The 1.21 release of Visual Studio Code features:

  • New Notifications UI to easily manage and review VS Code notifications.
  • Integrated Terminal splitting allows to work with multiple open terminals at once.
  • Markdown preview now supports bidirectional scrolling.
  • Text buffer optimizations for large files.
  • Centered editor layout that maximize your code viewing screen real estate.
  • Drag & drop, copy & paste across open VS Code windows.
  • HTML path completion – IntelliSense for file paths in common HTML elements.
  • Language Packs in the Marketplace – Install new display languages from the Marketplace.
  • Deploy Azure Functions tutorial – Learn how to create and deploy serverless Azure Functions.
  • PREVIEW: Horizontal search results – You can now view search results in a horizontal panel.

How to Install VS Code 1.21 in Ubuntu:

The official .deb package for Debian/Ubuntu is available for download at the link below:

Download VS Code (.deb)

Grab the deb and install it via either Gdebi package manager or command (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/code_*.deb; sudo apt -f install
Visual Studio also available as snap package, you can easily install it via this tutorial.

For those who want to receive updates for VS Code via Software Updater utility, add the Microsoft repository via following steps (64bit only):

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

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/vscode stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list'

2. Download and install the repository key via commands:

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > microsoft.gpg

sudo mv microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/microsoft.gpg

Uninstall Visual Studio Code:

To remove the code editor, either use Synaptic Package Manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove code

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

Liferea Feed Reader

A new bug-fix release for Liferea 1.12 was released earlier today. A plugin installer plugin was introduced that allows easy discovery and installation of 3rd party plugins.

Full changes in Liferea 1.12.2 include:

  • Adding a plugin installer plugin that allows discovering and automatically installing 3rd party plugins
  • Drop language from user agent to increase privacy
  • Add transmission-gtk and aria2 as download tool options
  • New command line option --disable-plugins (-p) to start with all plugins disabled.
  • Fix that Liferea not showing up in GNOME Software
  • Correctly print error message when failing to unlock GNOME keyring
  • Fix that CSS style for GTK link colors not used
  • Redirect location updates and adds HTTP 308 (RFC 7538) support
  • Fix unable to set unread items in bold
  • Fix broken OPML feed list entries
  • Add Norwegian feed list
  • Translation updates.

How to Install Liferea 1.12.2 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04, and derivatives, the new release is available in a third-party PPA repository.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for ‘terminal’ from app launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

Type your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it asks and hit Enter.

2. Then upgrade Liferea via Software Updater utility:

upgrade Liferea via Software Updater

or run commands one by one to install the Linux feed reader:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install liferea

Finally launch the news reader from your application launcher and enjoy! (Log out and log back if you don’t see the icon).

Uninstall Liferea:

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

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove liferea

To remove the PPA repository, open “Software & Updates” utility and navigate to Other Software tab.

The snap package of VidCutter, a free and open-source video cutting and joining software, now is available.

Which means you can search for and install the software directly from Ubuntu Software app:

Snap package, the universal Linux app packaging format, runs in sandbox and comes with most required libraries bundled. It runs in all current Ubuntu releases.

For Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 14.04, you need to first install the snapd daemon by opening terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T and running command:

sudo apt install snapd snapd-xdg-open

Then you can install the snap in ALL current Ubuntu releases either via Ubuntu Software or by running command in terminal:

snap install vidcutter

Once installed, launch it from your application launcher and enjoy!