UbuntuHandbook

Kid3 Tag Editor 3.7.0 Released with Playlist Editor (How to Install)

Last updated: December 22, 2018

Kid3 audio tag editor released version 3.7.0 a few hours ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and Linux Mint 18.x, 19.x.

The most important new feature in Kid3 3.7.0 is a playlist editor. Playlist items can be added, removed and reordered. Improvements include editors for the formats to convert between tags and file names and drop down lists with available tag values when multiple files are selected. The new file list fixes problems with updates when directories are renamed.

Kid3 3.7.0 release highlights:

Add and reorder playlist items using drag’n’drop.
Edit tags from files referenced in playlist.
Play songs from playlist.
Drag image files from file list to embed them in audio files.
Drag files from file list into other applications.
Reload action to refresh file list.
Completions with different values when selecting multiple files.
Option “–dbus” to have a D-Bus interface with kid3-cli.
Code “%{dirname}” to use current directory name when renaming.
Code “%{disk}” as alias for “%{disc number}”.
Edit list of availble formats to set file and directory names
Bug fixes and a few improvements.

How to Install Kid3 3.7.0 in Ubuntu:

The official Kid3 PPA contains the latest software packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and Ubuntu 18.10 so far.

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from software launcher. When it opens, do following steps one by one.

1. Copy and paste following command in terminal and hit run to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ufleisch/kid3

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

2. Then you can upgrade Kid3 from a previous version via Software Updater:

upgrade kid3 via software updater

or run commands one by one in terminal to install or upgrade to the latest tag editor:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install kid3-qt

For KUbuntu, you may replace kid3-qt with kid3 in the last command for KDE integration.

Uninstall

To remove the PPA repository, either open Software & Updates -> Other Software tab, or run command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ufleisch/kid3

To remove the audio tag editor, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove kid3 kid3-*

In Howtos, News audo tag editor, kid3

Qmmp Music Player 1.2.5 Released With Important Fixes

Last updated: December 21, 2018

Qmmp, Winamp look like music player, released version 1.2.5 last night with some bugs fixed. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.10.

Qmmp 1.2.5 release highlights:

added icon for ‘exit’ option in the tray icon menu;
fixed drag-and-drop issue under Qt 5.12 (1.2.5 only);
fixed issue with 8-bit audio in the ffmpeg plugin;
fixed latest mplayer output parsing;
fixed ‘--quit‘ command line option processing;
fixed issue with empty audio parameters.

Qmmp

How to Install Qmmp 1.2.5 in Ubuntu:

The PPA repository has made the new releases packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.10, and Ubuntu 18.04.

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or from app launcher, and then run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:forkotov02/ppa

Input your password (no asterisks feedback while typing) and hit Enter to continue.

2. If a previous version exists, upgrade Qmmp using Software Updater:

Or run commands to install or upgrade Qmmp and its plugins:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install qmmp qmmp-plugin-pack

For qt4 version, use qmmp-qt4 and qmmp-plugin-pack-qt4 instead in the last command.

Uninstall:

You can manage the PPA repository via Software & Updates utility, under Other Software tab.

To remove Qmmp music player, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove qmmp qmmp-*

In Howtos qmmp

How to Install FlightGear 2018.3 via PPA in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: December 19, 2018

FlightGear flight simulator 2018.3 is finally available to install via PPA in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, and Linux Mint 18.x, 19.x.

FlightGear 2018.3 was released 2 weeks ago with new cloud lighting, better C-172p, new scenery Arctic island of Jan Mayen, and many other improvements.

How to Install FlightGear 2018.3 in Ubuntu:

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcuts and by searching for “terminal” from application launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:saiarcot895/flightgear

Type user password (no asterisks feedback) when it asks and hit Enter.

2. Then upgrade FlightGear via Software Updater, if a previous version exists.

or run command in terminal to install or upgrade the flight simulator:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install flightgear

Uninstall:

To remove FlightGear flight simulator, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove flightgear

And launch Software & Updates -> Other Software tab to remove the PPAs.

In Howtos flightgear

RawTherapee 5.5 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: September 11, 2019

RawTherapee

RawTherapee RAW image editor released version 5.5 last night with exciting new features. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 18.04.

RawTherapee 5.5 release highlights:

Filter to remove striping artifacts and banding artifacts for any camera has a PDAF entry in camconst.json.
Ability to specify custom working color spaces through the workingspaces.json file.
Unbounded processing – allows you to decide whether out-of-gamut colors should get clipped.
New Shadows/Highlights tool (replaced previous one).
Contrast threshold mask which divides an image into areas of high and low detail, allowing the effect of certain tools (Sharpening, Post-Resize Sharpening, Microcontrast, Demosaicing) to be focused where it matters most and to mitigate the effect on areas where it would be undesirable.
Dual-demosaic algorithms, making use of the new contrast threshold mask, allowing one to use a combination of demosaicing algorithms where one is best for details and the other best for plain areas.
New color toning methods: Grid and Regions
Support for Blackmagic and Canon Magic Lantern lj92 encoded files.
New Soft Light tool which enhances contrast and saturation by emulating the effect of blending an image with a copy of itself in “soft light” blending mode in GIMP.
New Haze Removal tool to reduce the effects of haze or fog.
The Resize tool allows you to specify whether you want it to upscale or only downscale.
New icon and cursor theme. New cameras support, and new input color profiles.
Other new features, enhancements, and bug fixes.

Download / Install RawTherapee 5.5 in Ubuntu:

The official Linux Appimage, single executable file to launch the software, is available for download at the link below:

Download RawTherapee (Linux Appimage)

Go to file’s properties, allow executable file as program, and finally run it to launch RawTherapee 5.5.

There are also a few PPA repositories that contain RawTherapee packages for Ubuntu. I’ll update the tutorial once the 5.5 release package is available.

UPDATE: For Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, Linux Mint 19.x, you can install RawTherapee 5.5 via the unofficial PPA.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:dhor/myway

Input your password (no asterisks feedback when typing) 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:

The upgrading process may be kept back if you were installing it from Ubuntu Software.

A workaround is simply running following commands instead to install or upgrade RawTherapee:

sudo apt-get 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”.

In Howtos, News RAW processor, RawTherapee

Kdenlive Video Editor 18.12 Released with Important Fixes

Last updated: December 16, 2018

Kdenlive, KDE Non-Linear Video Editor, released version 18.12 a few days ago with some crashes fixed and other improvements.

Kdenlive 18.12 release highlights:

Backport crash on image sequence import.
Backport fix for titler text gradient.
Add donation url to appdata.
Fix minor EBN issues and typos.
Fix play/pause on Windows.
Sync quickstart manual with UserBase.
Install doc files.
Make it compiles when we use QT_NO_NARROWING_CONVERSIONS_IN_CONNECT.
Fix minor EBN issues.

Download / Install Kdenlive 18.12 in Ubuntu:

Before Kdenlive stable PPA and/or the flathub repository building the latest packages for Ubuntu Linux, you can download the Appimage from the link below:

Download Kenlive Appimage

Make it executable in the Appimage file properties, and run to launch the video editor.

In Howtos, News KDE Video Editor, Kdenlive

Vivaldi Browser 2.2 Released with More Configurable Toolbars

Last updated: December 14, 2018

Vivaldi web browser released version 2.2 yesterday with more tabs management functionality, more configurable toolbars, and other new features.

Vivaldi 2.2 release highlights:

Add ‘Save select tabs as Session’ in context menu.
Add numbered accelerators to elements in main Window menu
Middle clicking in Back/Forward history drop-down should open the page in new tab
Add search box in speed dial.
Show a list of closed tabs using Quick Commands by typing “Show Closed Tabs”
Enable pop out video (Picture in Picture)
Better ‘Netflix’ support for Linux
Add a new ‘Customize’ context menu for any button on the toolbar.
Mute all other tabs via the tab context menu
For more, see the relese note.

How to Install Vivaldi 2.2 in Ubuntu:

The official Ubuntu .DEB packages are available for download at the link below:

Download Vivaldi (DEB)

Grab the deb matches your OS, then install it via Ubuntu Software or Gdebi package manager. Or run command in terminal:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/vivaldi-stable_2.2*.deb

In addition, after installed the .deb package, you can enable Vivaldi apt repository (Softare & Updates -> Other Software) to receive future updates through Software Updater:

In Howtos Vivaldi

Install Blender 2.80 Beta in Ubuntu 18.04, 16.04, 18.10

Last updated: December 12, 2018

Blender 2.79

While the next Blender 2.80 stable is scheduled to be released on early 2019, Blender 2.80 Beta package now is available for testing.

What’s new in Blender 2.80:

A revamped user interface
A new physically based realtime renderer: EEVEE
A new, modern 3D viewport.
Blender’s 2D drawing capabilities has been greatly improved
A new collection system, and more

Download / Install Blender 2.80 Beta in Ubuntu:

To help testing Blender 2.80, you can either download the official Linux package from the link below:

Download Blender

After downloaded the Linux package, simply extract and run the executable to launch the program.

Or install the Blender snap package maintained by Gustavo Niemeyer.

Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut and run command to install the Blender snap beta package:

snap install blender --channel=beta --classic

The snap package auto-updates itself once a new release package published by maintainer, though the current package is a few days older than the official Linux package.

To remove the Blender snap package, run command:

snap remove blender

In Howtos blender 2.8

Firefox 64.0 Released with Enhanced Tab Management

Last updated: December 11, 2018

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox announced new stable 64.0 release a few hours ago with new features and performance improvements.

Mozilla Firefox 64.0 features:

Better recommendations: You may see suggestions in regular browsing mode for new and relevant Firefox features, services, and extensions based on how you use the web (for US users only)
Ability to select multiple tabs from the tab bar and close, move, bookmark, or pin them quickly and easily
New Task Manager page (about:performance) lets you see how much energy each open tab consumes and provides access to close tabs to conserve power
Enable link time optimization (Clang LTO) for Mac and Linux.
Add Share web pages option for Windows in the Page Actions menu
Added option to remove add-ons using the context menu on their toolbar buttons
Various security fixes and many other changes.

Install the Latest Firefox in Ubuntu:

The Firefox 64.0 packages for Ubuntu Linux will be available in 2 or 3 days.

At the time, Firefox snap package (available in Ubuntu Software) will automatic update to the 64.0 release.

To upgrade from the default Firefox packge, launch Software Updater and Firefox 64 package will be there once published.

In News Firefox

Star Ruler 2 Now Available to Install via Snap in Ubuntu

Last updated: December 10, 2018

Star Ruler 2, a space 4X / RTS hybrid developed by Blind Mind Studios, now can easily installed in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04 and higher via Snap package.

Explore dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of systems in a galaxy of your choosing, expand across its planets, exploit the resources you find, and ultimately exterminate any who stand in your way. The fate of your empire depends on your ability to master the economy, field a military, influence galactic politics, and learn what you can about the universe.

Star Ruler 2 Snap is a containerised software packages runs in most Linux desktop. It bundles most dependency libraries and auto-updates itself once a new release package published.

To install Star Ruler 2 snap package in Ubuntu 18.04 & higher, simple open Ubuntu Software, search for and install the game package:

For Ubuntu 16.04, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install snapd first:

sudo apt install snapd snapd-xdg-open

then install the snap via command:

sudo snap install starruler2

Uninstall:

To remove the software package, either use Ubuntu Software or run command:

sudo snap remove starruler2

In Howtos Star Ruler 2

[Quick Tip] How to Change Animation Speed in Ubuntu 18.04 & Higher

Last updated: December 9, 2018

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to increase or decrease the default Gnome Shell animation speed in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and higher.

There is a Gnome Shell extension called impatience can do the job. It can be easily installed in Ubuntu via Ubuntu Software.