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Change Top Panel Transparency Level in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: July 13, 2018

gnome shell

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to change the transparency level of the Gnome 3 desktop top panel in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, though

It’s easy to configure top panel transparency via a Gnome Shell extension called Dynamic Top Bar. With the extension, you can easily configure top panel transparency if app is not full screen:

  • top panel transparency style: transparency or gradient.
  • transparency level.
  • Show or hide button shadow, Activities button text.

1. Open Ubuntu Software, search for and install Dynamic Top Bar

2. Once installed, go to extension settings via the install page (Ubuntu Software) or Gnome tweak tool (install it via Ubuntu Software).

That’s it. Enjoy!

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How to Install Pidgin 2.13.0 in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: July 12, 2018

Pidgin internet messenger

This quick tutorial shows how to install the latest Pidgin internet messenger 2.13.0 in Ubuntu 18.04.

Pidgin 2.13.0 was released a few months ago with better support for dark themes and various bug-fixes. While Ubuntu 18.04 ships with an old version in its main repository, you can install or upgrade to Pidgin 2.13.0 via this unofficial PPA.

The PPA packages also contain an IRC connection flood patch for this bug.

Install Pidgin 2.13.0 via PPA in Ubuntu 18.04:

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for ‘terminal’ from software launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kip/pidgin

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

Then you can upgrade the internet messenger via Software Updater:

or run command in terminal to install Pidgin 2.13.0:

sudo apt-get install pidgin

Uninstall:

For any reason you can easily purge the PPA which also downgrade Pidgin to the stock version in Ubuntu 18.04 repository:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:kip/pidgin
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How to Install RedNotebook 2.5 in Ubuntu 18.04, 16.04

Last updated: July 11, 2018

RedNotebook is a free cross-platform desktop diary and journal software written with Python and GTK+3. It lets you format, tag and search your entries. You can also add pictures, links and customizable templates, spell check your notes, and export to plain text, HTML, Latex or PDF.

The software has an official stable PPA that contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 16.04 so far. And below will show you how to add the PPA and install RedNotebook.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcuts or by searching for ‘terminal’ from software launcher.

2. Copy and paste following command into terminal and hit run to add the RedNotebook PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rednotebook/stable

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

3. Finally check updates and install the desktop journal software by running following 2 commands one by one:

sudo apt update 

sudo apt install rednotebook

Ubuntu 18.04 users can skip sudo apt update command since it’s already done while adding PPA.

Uninstall:

To remove RedNotebook desktop journal, open terminal and run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove rednotebook

And remove the PPA via Software & Updates utility -> Other Software tab.

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Cronopete: Mac OS Time Machine-like Backup Tool for Linux

Last updated: March 14, 2025

For those looking for Time Machine like backup software, Cronopete is a Linux backup utility modeled after Apple’s time machine.

“The name comes from anacronopete (“who flies through time”), which is a time machine featured in the novel from Enrique Gaspar y Rimbaud, and published in 1887 (eight years before than H.G. Wells’Time Machine).”

Install Cronopete backup tool in Ubuntu:

The software project page so far offers packages for Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 24.10, Linux Mint, Fedora, Debian, and Arch Linux, available to download via the link below:

Download Cronopete

Select download the package depends on your OS edition. If you don’t even know which OS is currently running, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run cat /etc/os-release command to tell.

Then either double the downloaded package to open with system package manager (App Center) then install, or open terminal and use the command below to install the .deb package for Ubuntu:

sudo apt install drag-and-drop-deb-file-here

Enable store backups in a folder:

When you click ‘Change destination’ button to choose a folder to save backups, you’ll be prompted to enable folder backend. And this can be done by:

  1. Install Dconf Editor via App Center.
  2. Launch Dconf Editor and navigate to /org/rastersoft/cronopete
  3. Scroll down and enable enable-folder-backend

Uninstall:

To remove Cronopete backup tool, open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T and run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove cronopete
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How to Install the latest Remmina RDC in Ubuntu 18.04/16.04

Last updated: July 7, 2018

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to install the latest version of Remmina remote desktop client in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04.

Remmina is the default GTK+ remote desktop client shipped with Ubuntu desktop. It currently supports RDP, VNC, SPICE, NX, XDMCP, SSH and EXEC.

While distro’s builds of Remmina are always old, the upstream developers offers two ways to install the latest Remmina in Ubuntu.

Install Remmina via Snap in Ubuntu:

The software is now available as snap, an universal Linux package that will be updated automatically and will include both latest FreeRDP git and latest libssh 0.7 release.

Simply open Ubuntu Software search for and install “Remmina”. And yes, there are two Remmina packages, one is pre-installed, the other is the snap package.

You can alternatively run command in terminal to install the snap version of Remmina:

snap install remmina

For advanced features, (e.g., manage mount positions, servers discovery, manage printing, use gnome-keyring), run following commands one by one:

sudo snap connect remmina:avahi-observe :avahi-observe

sudo snap connect remmina:cups-control :cups-control

sudo snap connect remmina:mount-observe :mount-observe

sudo snap connect remmina:password-manager-service :password-manager-service

Install Remmina via PPA in Ubuntu:

If you don’t prefer Snap package, you can upgrade the pre-installed Remmina via the PPA repository.

1. Open terminal either 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:remmina-ppa-team/remmina-next

Type your password (no asterisks feedback while typing) when it prompts and hit Enter.

2. Then upgrade Remmina either via Software Updater, or run commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install remmina remmina-plugin-* libfreerdp-plugins-standard

Uninstall:

To downgrade the software to its pre-installed status, run commands to purge the PPA:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:remmina-ppa-team/remmina-next
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TeXstudio 2.12.10 Released, How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: July 6, 2018

Full featured LaTeX editor TeXstudio 2.12.10 was released silently today. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 16.04, and/or Ubuntu 14.04.

No release note, no changelog. I can only find following words about TeXstudio 2.12.10:

  • bug fixes
  • fix structure view with Qt >5.10

How to Install TeXstudio 2.12.10 in Ubuntu:

There’s a PPA repository contains the latest TeXstudio packages for all current Ubuntu releases. You can do following steps to add the repository and install the latest TeXstudio.

1. Open terminal either 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:sunderme/texstudio

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

2. If you’ve installed the distro’s build of TeXstudio from Ubuntu Software, you may first remove the doc, debug packages via command:

sudo apt-get remove texstudio-d*

3. Finally run commands one by one in terminal to install (or upgrade) the software:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install texstudio

Uninstall:

To remove the editor, run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove texstudio

And launch Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software tab to remove PPAs.

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GIMP Image Editor 2.10.4 Released (Ubuntu PPA)

Last updated: July 27, 2018

GIMP extra color palettes

The second point release for GIMP 2.10 was released a day ago with new features and various bug-fixes.

GIMP 2.10.4 release highlights:

  • Add simple horizon straightening option in the Measure tool
  • Asynchronous fonts loading to improve startup time.
  • Add fonts tagging support.
  • Add new features to the Dashboard dockable dialog that help debugging or finetune the use of cache and swap.
  • Load PSD file saved with “Maximize Compatibility” option enabled in Photoshop.
  • Improved Recursive Transform operation, allow multiple transformations to be applied simultaneously

GIMP 2.10 Splash

How to Install GIMP 2.10.4 in Ubuntu:

The best way to install the latest GIMP in Ubuntu is using the otto-kesselgulasch’s PPA, as the PPA maintainer promised the PPA will never die and the most recent packages will for ever be.

The PPA contains the most recent packages for Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 17.10, though GIMP 2.10.4 is not available at the moment (there are always one or two days delay).

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcuts, or by searching for ‘Terminal’ from app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp

Type your password (no visual feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. After added the PPA, you can upgrade to GIMP 2.10.4 once it’s published via Software Updater (Update Manager):

Or run following commands one by one in terminal to install or upgrade GIMP image editor:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gimp

How to Restore:

For any reason, you can downgrade to the stock version of GIMP by running following command in terminal to purge the PPA:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp

In addition to Ubuntu 16.04 users who want to install the latest GIMP 2.10.4, run following commands one by one to install the flatpak app:

1. Run commands to install Flatpak framework in Ubuntu 16.04:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexlarsson/flatpak

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install flatpak

2. Install GIMP flatpak application via command:

flatpak install https://flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.gimp.GIMP.flatpakref

Once installed, it will be made available exactly the same way as other applications.

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Eclipse 4.8 Available to Install via Snap in Ubuntu

Last updated: July 4, 2018

Eclipse 4.8 Photon was released a week ago. You can now install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 16.04 easily via snap package.

Eclipse Photon release highlights:

  • Full Eclipse IDE user experience for building, debugging, running and packaging Rust applications.
  • Expanded C# editing and debug capabilities, including syntax coloring, autocomplete suggestions, code diagnostics, and code navigation tools.
  • Java 9, Java 10 and JUnit 5 support.
  • Dark theme improvements in text colors, background color, popup dialogs, mark occurrences, and more.

How to Install Eclipse 4.8 Photon in Ubuntu:

The community has built the snap package of Eclipse Photon. It’s an universal Linux package format that bundles all its dependencies, and auto-updates itself once a new release is published.

The Eclipse 4.8.0 snap can by easily installed in Ubuntu Software:

Note that there are two versions of Eclipse in Ubuntu Software. Take a look at the version number before installing the package.

You can also install the snap by running command in terminal:

snap install --classic eclipse

In addition:

1. For Ubuntu 16.04 users never installed a snap package, make sure snapd daemon is installed via command:

sudo apt-get install snapd snapd-xdg-open

2. For Java environment, either install the OpenJDK via command:

sudo apt-get install default-jre

For Oracle Java 8 or Java 10, see this how to tutorial.

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Stellarium 0.18.1 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: July 3, 2018

Free and open-source planetarium software, Stellarium 0.18.1, was released 2 days ago with new features, many improvements and lots of bug-fixes.

The major changes in Stellarium 0.18.1 include:

  • Improvements and fixes for Hierarchical Progressive Surveys [HiPS] support
  • Updated the main UI, code of plugins, code and data.
  • Updated GPS handling
  • Added rise, transit and set times for celestial objects
  • Added dithering support
  • Many other improvements and various bug-fixes.
  • See the release note for details.

How to Install Stellarium 0.18.0 in Ubuntu:

The software has an official PPA repository that contains the latest Stellarium packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stellarium/stellarium-releases

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

2. Then upgrade Stellarium from an existing release with Software Updater utility:

Or run following commands to install the software for the first time:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install stellarium

Uninstall:

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

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove stellarium

And remove the PPA via “Software & Updates” utility under Other Software tab.

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Mesa 18.1.3 Available to Install in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: July 2, 2018

For Ubuntu 18.04 users sticking to open-source graphics drivers, the latest Mesa 18.1.3 graphics library now is available to install via X-Updates PPA.

Mesa 18.1.3 was released a few days ago with several fixes to the RADV Vulkan driver, Meson and Autotools build systems updates, fixes within the common NIR and GLSL compiler code paths, a few Intel driver fixes, and more.

To enjoy some Linux games while using the open source RadeonSI / RADV / Intel / Nouveau drivers, you may follow below steps to install Mesa 18.1.3 in Ubuntu 18.04:

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/updates

Type your password (no asterisks feedback while typing) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. After adding the PPA, do system update via command:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

apt-get update is not required any more in Ubuntu 18.04 since adding PPA automatically refreshes system repositories.

3. Finally check your driver version via command:

glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"

Uninstall:

To restore changes and downgrade to the default drives shipped in Ubuntu 18.04, run command:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/updates
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