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How to Install fre:ac audio converter in Ubuntu 16.04 / Higher

Last updated: August 14, 2017

fre:ac audio converter

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to install the free ‘fre:ac’ audio converter in Ubuntu and manually create app shortcut to be able to launch it from Unity Dash, Gnome app launcher, or other app launcher.

fre:ac is a free audio converter and CD ripper works on Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and FreeBSD. It offers Linux packages but lacks application shortcut.

Download fre:ac:

First download the latest version of the audio converter from the link below:

Download fre:ac for Linux

Select download:

freac-yymmdd-linux.tar.gz package for 32-bit system.
freac-yymmdd-linux-x64.tar.gz package for 64-bit system.

Then extract it. In the case below, I downloaded the 64-bit tarball:

You can now launch the audio converter by run the executable file from its context menu:

Create app shortcut for fre:ac audio converter:

To be able to launch the software from Unity Dash, Gnome app launcher, or other app launcher, you have to manually create an app shortcut for fre:ac.

To do so, open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or from app launcher, and do following steps:

1. Move the source folder to /opt/ directory for global use by running command:

sudo mv ~/Downloads/freac-*-linux /opt/freac-linux

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

Then change the ownship via command:

sudo chown -R root:root /opt/freac-linux

2. Create a symbolic link to the executable file, so you can easily run command freac to launch the software:

sudo ln -s /opt/freac-linux/freac /usr/bin/freac

3. Finally run command to create and edit a .desktop file for the audio converter:

gksudo gedit /usr/share/applications/freac.desktop

And paste below lines into the file and save it.

[Desktop Entry]
Name=freac
GenericName=freac audio converter
Comment=fre:ac free audio converter
Exec=env LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/opt/freac-linux/ freac %f
Icon=/opt/freac-linux/icons/freac.png
Terminal=flase
Type=Application
Categories=Audio;
MimeType=application/ogg;application/x-extension-mp4;application/x-flac;application/x-matroska;application/x-ogg;audio/ac3;audio/mp4;audio/mpeg;audio/ogg;audio/x-flac;audio/x-matroska;audio/x-mp3;audio/x-mpeg;audio/x-vorbis;

It’s important to add variable env LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/opt/freac-linux/ to the value of Exec, or it won’t launch the software and output error:

freac: error while loading shared libraries: libsmooth-0.8.73.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

4. Finally launch fre:ac audio converter from app launcher (might need log out and back in) and enjoy!

How to Remove:

To remove fre:ac audio converter, simply remove the source folder, symbolic link, and app shortcut by running following command:

sudo rm -rf /opt/freac-linux /usr/bin/freac /usr/share/applications/freac.desktop

In Howtos audio converter, fre:ac

GIMP 2.8.22 Available as Snap App for Ubuntu 16.04, Higher

Last updated: August 12, 2017

GIMP, the popular free and open-source cross-platform image editor, now is available as Snap app for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and higher.

GIMP has been made into the beta channel of Ubuntu Snappy Store for testing for days. Now the latest GIMP 2.8.22 is available in stable channel:

1. For Ubuntu 14.04 and Ubuntu 16.04 users that have not installed any Snap app, install snapd daemon first via command (open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt-get install snapd

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing due to security reason) and hit Enter.

2. Then install GIMP snap app either via command:

sudo snap install gimp

Or by using Ubuntu Software Center (need login):

The snap app can co-exist with the traditional GIMP package. So if you have both versions installed, you have to launch GIMP Snap app via following command since the app launcher opens the traditional one:

/snap/bin/gimp

How to Remove GIMP Snap app:

To remove the app, simply run command in terminal:

sudo snap remove gimp

In Howtos gimp, gimp snap

Visual Studio Code 1.15 Released with Large File Improvements

Last updated: August 11, 2017

Visual Studio Code IDE

Microsoft VS Code IDE has reached the 1.15 release recently. 64-bit installation now has no size limit for large files.

Visual Studio Code 1.15 release highlights:

Large file improvements. No size limit on 64-bit, and 300MB limit on 32-bit.
Full search for Release Notes, Markdown preview, and Extensions.
Source code auto-indenting and new Emmet support.
User definable syntax highlighting colors
A color picker to easily create colors in your CSS, SASS, and Less files.
Added Loaded Scripts explorer
Support for Markdown preview plugins
See the release note for details.

How to Install VS Code 1.15 in Ubuntu:

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

Download VS Code (.deb)

Then install it via either Gdebi package manager or command (Ctrl+Alt+T):

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

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

Install VS Code Snap app in Ubuntu:

Microsoft Visual Studio Code is available via Snap app in Ubuntu, though it’s not updated to version 1.15 at the moment of writing, see how to install VS Code vis Snap in Ubuntu.

In Howtos, News Visual Studio Code

Vivaldi Browser 1.11 Released with New App Icon

Last updated: August 10, 2017

The Vivaldi web browser reached the 1.11 stable release today with new application icon and accessibility improvements.

Vivaldi 1.11 release highlights:

Advanced reader mode with font, text size, column width and line height, and background setting at the top.
Apply custom theme to the reader mode.
Turn off animated GIFs easily from the Status Bar.
Adjustable mouse gesture sensitivity
Optional Speed Dial buttons
And the new application icon.
See the release note for details.

Download / Install Vivaldi Browser:

For Ubuntu, it offers the DEB package available for download at the link below:

Download Vivaldi Browser

For those who have installed a previous release, and enabled the Vivaldi Linux repository, upgrade the browser via Software Updater:

To manually add the repository, run command to edit the source file:

gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vivaldi.list

When the file opens, un-comment or add (if empty) the following line and save it:

deb http://repo.vivaldi.com/stable/deb/ stable main

In News Vivaldi

Opera 47 Stable Released with Great Improvements

Last updated: August 9, 2017

opera web browser

Opera web browser has reached the new stable 47 release earlier today. It mainly features a handful of useful improvements.

What’s new in Opera 47:

Ability to export everything from your Speed Dial, bookmarks bar and other folders
Smoother background loading of news
Opera now retains up to 32 recently closed tabs
Video playback fixes in Windows 7 and Mac OS.
User interface gained refined visuals for better readability.
.scf files added to “risky file protection” for Windows.
updated to Chromium 60.

Download / Install Opera 47:

The opera website offers official .deb binaries for Ubuntu Linux, available for download at the link below:

Download Opera for Linux

If you have a previous release installed, and enabled the official Opera Linux repository, upgrade it via Software Updater:

To manually add the Opera for Linux repository, open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or from app launcher, when it opens, run commands:

1. Add the opera repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opera.list'

2. Get the key:

wget -O - http://deb.opera.com/archive.key | sudo apt-key add -

Finally either install Opera via Synaptic Package Manager or upgrade the browser via Software Updater.

In Howtos Opera, Opera official repository

Mozilla Firefox 55 Released with WebVR Support

Last updated: August 8, 2017

Firefox 55

Mozilla Firefox 55.0 was released earlier today. The new release features WebVR support, faster start time, updated address bar and more.

Firefox 55.0 release highlights:

Windows support for WebVR.
Option to enable Hardware VP9 acceleration on Windows 10 Anniversary Edition.
Significantly faster startup times when restoring lots of tabs.
Search with any installed one-click search engine directly from address bar.
Added support for stereo microphones with WebRTC
Made the Adobe Flash plugin click-to-activate by default
And see the release note for more.

How to Install Firefox 55 in Ubuntu:

Although Mozilla website offers non-install version Linux binaries, the best way to get the latest Firefox in Ubuntu is using Software Updater to upgrade it through Ubuntu main (security & updates) repository.

NOTE that there will some delay for the new release being published in main repositories, check the build page.

upgrade firefox 46

The security and updates repositories are enabled by default. If you don’t see the Firefox updates even after Ubuntu published it in these repositories, check out the Updates tab in Software & Updates utility.

In Howtos, News Firefox

Install Green Recorder 3.0 in Ubuntu 14.04, 16.10 & Higher

Last updated: August 7, 2017

Green Recorder, a simple GTK+3 screen recorder for Linux Wayland and X, has reached the 3.0 release with tremendous updates and new features!

What’s new in Green Recorder 3.0:

GIF format support! Optimized and at least 10x better than normal ffmpeg recording with GIF.
Ability to choose the audio input source.
Add Preferences to set default values.
Reorganized the graphical user interface.
Reorganized the code and made it much clearer and simpler.
Add play button to play recorded video.
Introduced a better detection method for running display server.
Various fixes and edits everywhere.

How to Install Green Recorder 3.0 in Ubuntu:

The new release is available in its official PPA for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, Ubuntu 17.10, and their derivatives.

1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and add the PPA via command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:fossproject/ppa

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

2. Then install the recorder app either via Synaptic Package Manager or by running commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install green-recorder

The binary packages are very small in size. For those who don’t want to add the PPA, grab the .deb package from PPA page. Ubuntu 14.04 and Ubuntu 16.04 need to install python-pydbus package first from the link page.

Uninstall:

To remove the screen recording application, either use Synaptic package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove green-recorder

And remove the PPA via Software & Updates utility under ‘Other Software’ tab.

In Howtos Simple Screen Recorder

Qmmp Audio Player 1.1.10 Released with New Feature & Fixes

Last updated: August 5, 2017

Qmmp, an Qt based and winamp or xmms like audio player, has reached the 1.1.10 (and 0.10.10 for Qt4) release last night.

Changes in Qmmp 1.1.10 & 0.10.10 include:

added feature to download playlist from https
increased DirectSound buffer size
decreased waiting time in the WASAPI plugin
improved plugin list in the settings dialog
fixed regression in the ‘jump to track’ dialog
fixed possible segmentation fault
fixed seeking in the ffmpeg plugin
fixed null pointer dereference in the mpeg plugin
fixed gcc warnings
fixed dithering settings
fixed 24 bits support in the WASAPI plugin
fixed segmentation fault on Ogg FLAC streams
fixed XPM skins support
fixed Qt 5.9 support in the global hotkey plugin (1.1.10 only)
updated translations.

Qmmp 1.10.0

How to Install Qmmp 1.1.10 (or 0.10.10) in Ubuntu:

Qmmp has an PPA repository that offers the latest packages for Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, and their derivatives.

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

2. Then update and install Qmmp and its plugins:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install qmmp qmmp-plugin-pack

The commands install Qmmp 1.1.10 (Qt5 version) in Ubuntu 16.04 & higher, and Qmmp 0.10.10 (Qt4 version) in Ubuntu 14.04 & Ubuntu 12.04.

For Ubuntu 16.04 and higher users who want to install Qmmp 0.10.10 (Qt4 version), run following commands instead:

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt-get install qmmp-qt4 qmmp-plugin-pack-qt4

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-plugin-pack

In Howtos, News music player, qmmp

How to Install Linux Kernel 4.10 & New X Stacks in Ubuntu 16.04

Last updated: August 4, 2017

The third point release of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Xenial Xerus, Ubuntu 16.04.3, was released 1 day ago with Linux Kernel 4.10 and new graphic stack from Ubuntu 17.04.

The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS (Long-Term Support) for its Desktop, Server, and Cloud products, as well as other flavours of Ubuntu with long-term support.

Like previous LTS series’, 16.04.3 includes hardware enablement stacks for use on newer hardware. This support is offered on all architectures except for 32-bit powerpc, and is installed by default when using one of the desktop images. Ubuntu Server defaults to installing the GA kernel, however you may select the HWE kernel from the installer bootloader.

As usual, this point release includes many updates, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates and corrections for other high-impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

Install all system updates via either Software Updater or apt command will bring you to the latest Ubuntu 16.04.3 from an old point release, though it does not install the new Kernel and graphics stacks.

To install new hardware enablement stacks from Ubuntu 17.04

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

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04

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

install hwe stack

After installation, restart your computer and check out the new Kernel and graphics stacks.

How to Remove the new graphics stack:

1. For any reason you remove the new hardware stacks by running command:

sudo apt remove xserver-xorg-core-hwe-16.04 xserver-xorg-input-all-hwe-16.04 linux-generic-hwe-16.04 xserver-xorg-video-all-hwe-16.04 xserver-xorg-legacy-hwe-16.04

The command also removes the ubuntu-desktop package. Don’t worry, the following commands will install it back.

2. Install the original X server back via command:

sudo apt install xserver-xorg-core

sudo apt install xorg ubuntu-desktop

To remove the Linux 4.10 Kernel, reboot with old kernel entry from Grub Advanced menu, and see this how to tutorial.

In Howtos hardware enablement stacks, Ubuntu 16.04.3

Pragha Music Player 1.4 Beta Released, How to Install it via PPA

Last updated: August 3, 2017

Pragha, a lightweight music player for Linux, has reached the 1.3.90 release earlier today. It’s marked as the first beta release for the next major 1.4 release.

What’s New in Pragha 1.4 beta:

New Ampache plugin.
Uses a new concept of ‘provider’ that allows show music from multiple
collections independently.
New standard widget to display progress of long tasks.
Allow apply a custom css.
Register session in GtkApplication now compatible with xfce 4.14
Misc fixes to Gtk 3.20 and GCC 6.0.
Various other changes, bug-fixes, and translation updates.
See the release note for more details.

How to Install Pragha 1.4 Beta in Ubuntu:

While the project page provides only source tarball, you can easily install Pragha via an unofficial PPA for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, and Ubuntu 17.10.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/pragha