Archives For November 30, 1999

Ubuntu 16.10 Yakkety Yak is reaching the end of its life. Its users will no longer receive security notices, critical fixes, or updated packages after today, July 20. Even third-party PPAs will end support for Ubuntu 16.10 too.

Ubuntu 16.10 was released on October 13, 2016. It’s a short term release with a 9-month support cycle. User can choose:

  • either upgrade to Ubuntu 17.04, the latest short term release with support until Jan 2018.

  • or download Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, long-term support release with 5-year support cycle, which will end support in 2021

Oracle Vritualbox got an update for its 5.1 series earlier today with lots of bug-fixes.

For Linux users, Virtualbox 5.1.24 brings fixes to Kernel 4.12 and Kernel 4.13, fixes for loading shared libraries, fixes for kernel modules built with gcc-7, makes 2D video acceleration available for older Linux distributions.

Other changes in Virtualbox 5.1.24 include:

  • VMM: mask the VME CPUID capability on AMD Ryzen processors.
  • VMM: emulate more SSE2 instructions
  • VMM: properly clear the TF and AC flags when dispatching real-mode interrupts
  • GUI: fixes to make the mini-toolbar work with recent versions of KDE / Plasma
  • GUI: fixed a potential crash when a VM with multiple screens is running in full screen / seamless mode and a host screen is removed.
  • GUI: fixed initial size hints for guests which set intermediate sizes before responding
  • GUI: prevent stopped screen updates or black screen on reboot in a multi-screen setup under certain conditions
  • Audio: many improvements for Windows 10 guests
  • Storage: fixed possible crash when using Intels SPDK
  • API: use the correct file name of the VM machine state if the VM settings directory is renamed, for example during grouping / ungrouping a VM
  • API: return the correct error code if powering up a VM fails
  • API: video recording did not automatically start at VM start when enabled in the VM settings
  • API: when relocating a medium, check that the target path is fully qualified
  • EFI: fix for VMs with more than 3504MB RAM
  • Host-only adapter: correctly determine IPv4 netmasks on Windows hosts
  • NAT network: properly do the refcounting for starting / stopping the NAT / DHCP services if the NAT network is changed while the adapter network connection type is anything else but NAT network
  • VBoxManage: fixed controlvm videocapfile
  • Windows hosts: fixed crashes if driver verifier is enabled

Download / Install Virtualbox:

The official Linux binaries (i386 for 32-bit, amd64 for 64-bit) for Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04 are available for download at the link below:

If you have a previous 5.1 series installed, and enabled the Virtualbox Linux repository, you can simply upgrade Virtualbox via Software Updater:

To manually add the VirtualBox Linux repository, do:

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching it from app launcher, when it opens, run command:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

for Linux Mint 18.x, replace $(lsb_release -cs) in the code with xenial

2. Download and install the gpg key:

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

To install virtualbox 5.1 for the first time, run command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install virtualbox-5.1

GnuCash 2.6.17, the seventeenth maintenance release in the 2.6-stable series of the free financial-accounting software, was released 2 weeks ago. Now you can install it via GetDeb repository in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, and Linux Mint 18.x.

GnuCash 2.6.17 fixed following bugs:

  • Relax the account type change restrictions. Prevent changing some Account Options if it has transactions.
  • Improve the styling of the table element used for foreign currencies in the Balance sheet report so they end up aligned with the other currencies.
  • link in github repo README file needs correction/editing
  • Add ‘transaction’ to the schema and document it in gnc-pricedb.h.
  • Fix that Online Banking Wizard Crashes for Windows (gnucash-on-windows)
  • Also separate translatable commodity namespace strings from those used in storage.
  • Transactions produced by Transfer Funds or Process Payment dialogs sort to beginning of day and do not honor NUM field for custom sorting.
  • Fix Stock Split Assistant crashes if you enter a New Price and that already exists in the Price DB
  • Fix gnucash-2.6.16 segfaults on startup
  • Fix typo in ‘import customers or vendors from text file’ dialog

How to Install GnuCash 2.6.17 in Ubuntu:

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

1. Add the GetDeb repository via command:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://archive.getdeb.net/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc)-getdeb apps" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/getdeb.list'

For Linux Mint 18.x, run following command instead to add the repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://archive.getdeb.net/ubuntu xenial-getdeb apps" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/getdeb.list'

2. Upgrade GnuCash via Software Updater utility if you have a previous release installed:

Or install it via commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gnucash

Uninstall:

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

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove gnucash

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

WeChat is one of the most popular Chinese social media (instant messaging and payment services) mobile application developed by Tencent.

For desktop computers, there’s an open-source project, electronic-wechat, allows you to run WeChat on Linux, Mac OS.

The application features:

  • Modern UI and all features from Web WeChat.
  • Block message recall.
  • Stickers showing support.
  • Share subscribed passages on Weibo, Qzone, Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, and email.
  • Mention users in a group chat.
  • Drag and drop to send photos.
  • Behaves like a native app, based on dozens of optimization.
  • Removes URL link redirects and takes you directly to blocked websites.
  • Press Esc to hide application windows.

The app is available via Snappy store for all Linux distributions. For Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and higher, do following steps to install it:

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching it from app launcher. When it opens, run command to install snapd daemon and snapd-xdg-open if you don’t already have them installed:

sudo apt install snapd snapd-xdg-open

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

2. Then install the wechat app via command:

sudo snap install electronic-wechat

Once installed, launch the desktop app from your app launcher and enjoy!

Uninstall:

To remove the app, run following command in a terminal window:

sudo snap remove electronic-wechat

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to install the IntelliJ IDEA IDE, both community and ultimate editions, via PPA in all current Ubuntu releases.

IntelliJ IDEA is a Java IDE developed by JetBrains. So far the latest is version 2017.1.5 that was released more than a week ago with some bug-fixes and performance updates.

While the official Linux binaries lack application launcher integration, Marcel Kapfer made an installer script that automatically downloads the source tarball from JetBrains server, installs it to /opt/, and finally creates an app launcher.

Install the script:

For all current Ubuntu releases, including Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 17.04, and derivatives, I’ve made the new script into PPA since the original maintainer does not update the latest release at the moment.

Download the latest script from the link below:

intellij-idea-community_xxxx.xx-1_all.deb (community version)

intellij-idea-ultimate_xxxx.xx_all.deb (ultimate edition)

Then open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for it from app launcher, and run command to install the script:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/intellij-idea-community_*_all.deb

replace community in the command with ultimate for ultimate version.

Once installed, launch the IDE from your app launcher and enjoy!

For those who want to upgrade the IDE through Software Updater (Update Manager), add the PPA repository via command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

LibreOffice 5.3.4, the fourth release for LibreOffice 5.3 family, was announced more than 2 weeks ago. It’s finally made into PPA for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 17.04, and Ubuntu 17.10.

LibreOffice 5.3.4 integrates over 100 patches, with a significant number of fixes for interoperability with Microsoft Office RTF and OOXML documents. See HERE for details.

Install LibreOffice 5.3.4 via PPA in Ubuntu:

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:libreoffice/ppa

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

2. Then launch Software Updater and upgrade LibreOffice after checking for updates:

How to restore:

To revert back to the stock version of LibreOffice in your Ubuntu, purge the PPA via command:

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

Microsoft Visual Studio Code has reached the 1.14 release earlier today with many great new features.

VS Code 1.14 release highlights:

  • Integrated terminal improvements – Find support, select/copy multiple pages
  • Command Palette MRU list – Quickly find and run your recently used commands
  • New Tasks menu in top-level menu bar.
  • Automatic indentation – Auto indent while typing, moving, and pasting source code.
  • Emmet abbreviation enhancements – Add Emmet to any language. Multi-cursor support.
  • New Diff review pane – Navigate Diff editor changes quickly with F7, displayed in patch format.
  • Angular debugging recipe – Debug your Angular client in VS Code.
  • Better screen reader support – Aria properties to better present list and drop-down items
  • Preview: 64 bit Windows build – Try out the Windows 64 bit version (Insiders build).
  • Preview: Multi-root workspaces – Open multiple projects in the same editor (Insiders build).

Download / Install VS Code in Ubuntu:

Visual Studio Code is available as Snap app for Ubuntu Linux, though it’s version 1.13.1 at the moment of writing.

Also the official .deb installer is available for download at the link below:

Download the .deb package and click install via Ubuntu Software or Gdebi package manager.

Add Visual Studio repository:

For those who want to add VS code Linux repository so to receive updates via Software Updater along with other system updates:

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for “terminal” from app launcher. When it opens, 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. Then download and install the key (need curl installed) via 2 commands:

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

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

The Hugin panorama photo stitcher has reached the 2017.0.0 release. The official Ubuntu binary packages are now available via its PPA repository for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 17.04, Ubuntu 17.10, and derivatives.

Hugin is an easy to use cross-platform panoramic imaging toolchain based on Panorama Tools. With it, you can assemble a mosaic of photographs into a complete immersive panorama, stitch any series of overlapping pictures and much more.

The latest version 2017.0.0 is mainly a bug fix release. Changes include:

  • Several fixes for working with HDR images
  • Fixes handling of masks in cpfind when images needs remapping for cp finding.
  • Sometimes unsaved changes were disregarded without asking the user. Unsaved changes should now always require user confirmation.
  • Added special assistant variant for single image projects.
  • Display of final panorama dimensions on stitcher tab.
  • Extended the user defined output sequences
  • Use wxWidgets help windows instead of default browser
  • Other small improvements and translation updates.

How to install Hugin 2017 via PPA in Ubuntu:

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hugin/hugin-builds

Type in your password when prompts and hit Enter

2. Then launch Software Updater and upgrade the software after checking for updates.

How to Restore:

To revert back to the stock version of Hugin packages in your Ubuntu, purge the PPA via command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:hugin/hugin-builds

MusicBrainz Picard is an open-source cross-platform music tagger written in Python. While Ubuntu repositories provide an old version of the software, here’s how to install the latest release (Picard 1.4.2 so far) in Ubuntu 16.04, and higher.

MusicBrainz Picard has an official Ubuntu PPA repository, however, it’s not been updated for more than a year. It now publishes the official Linux binaries only through Flathub repository.

1. Install Flatpak (Ubuntu 16.04 only).

While Ubuntu 16.04 does not ship Flatpak in the default repositories, open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T and run commands to install it from the PPA.

  1. Add the flatpak PPA via command (type your password when prompts and hit enter):
    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexlarsson/flatpak

  2. Then install flatpak via commands:
    sudo apt-get update
    
    sudo apt-get install flatpak

2. Add the Flathub repository via command:

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

3. Finally grab and install the music tagger via command:

flatpak install flathub org.musicbrainz.Picard

Log out and back in after installation and then launch it from Unity Dash, Gnome launcher and enjoy!

Uninstall:

To uninstall the music tagger, run command:

flatpak uninstall --app org.musicbrainz.Picard

And remove the repository:

flatpak remote-delete flathub

Parole, a modern simple media player for XFCE, has reached the 0.9.2 release. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 17.04 via PPA.

Parole 0.9.2 requires GTK >= 3.20. Ubuntu 16.04 won’t be able to update to this release with the default GTK+3 libraries.

Parole 0.9.2 features:

  • Update homepage to docs.xfce.org
  • Switch Xfce URLs to HTTPS
  • Keyboard shortcuts helper available in the Help menu
  • New B/N keybindings for previous and next track
  • Fixed null pointer dereference
  • Fixed adding directories to queue via commandline
  • Fixed shuffle functionality also repeating
  • Fixed display order of audio and subtitle tracks
  • Fixed “Clear Recent” clearing global history
  • Fixed Ctrl-Q keybinding when in fullscreen
  • Fixed string escaping in audiobox widget
  • Complete the Parole Plugins documentation and improved documentation quality
  • translation updates and code quality improvements.

How to Install Parole 0.9.2 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 16.10 and Ubuntu 17.04, do following steps to add PPA and install or upgrade Parole to version 0.9.2:

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

2. Then upgrade the media player via Software Updater utility:

or run following commands to install / upgrade it:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install parole

For Ubuntu 16.04 users who’ve updated GTK version (no recommended for beginners), grab the .deb package for Ubuntu 16.10 from HERE.

Uninstall:

Run following command to purge the PPA repository which also downgrade installed packages to the stock version in your Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps