Archives For jimingkui

Linux Kernel

Linux Kernel 4.17 was finally announced yesterday. Linus Torvalds wrote in lkml.org:

So this last week was pretty calm, even if the pattern of most of the stuff coming in on a Friday made it feel less so as the weekend approached.

And while I would have liked even less changes, I really didn’t get the feeling that another week would help the release in any way, so here we are, with 4.17 released.

No, I didn’t call it 5.0, even though all the git object count numerology was in place for that. It will happen in the not _too_ distant future, and I’m told all the release scripts on kernel.org are ready for it, but I didn’t feel there was any real reason for it. I suspect that around 4.20 – which is I run out of fingers and toes to keep track of minor releases, and thus start getting mightily confused – I’ll switch over. That was what happened for 4.0, after all.

As for the actual changes since rc7 – the shortlog is appended – it’s mostly drivers, networking, perf tooling, and a set of nds32 fixes. With some random other stuff thrown in. Again, the shortlog is obviously only the last calm week, the overall changes since 4.16 are much too big to list in that format.

The big 4.17 stuff was mentioned in the rc1 email when the merge window closed, but I guess it’s worth repeating how 4.17 is actually a slightly smaller kernel than 4.16, thanks to the removal of a number of effectively dead architectures (blackfin, cris, frv, m32r, metag, mn10300, score, and tile). Obviously all the other changes are much more important, but it’s always nice to see spring cleaning like that.

…..

Linux Kernel 4.17 release highlights:

  • AMDGPU DC enabled by default for the new display code stack.
  • Intel Cannonlake graphics support enabled by default.
  • Improved AMDKFD support for pre-Vega discrete GPUs.
  • Clean up lots of code for obsolete CPU architectures
  • A significant power-savings improvement on some hardware
  • And many more other changes.

How to Install Linux Kernel 4.17 in Ubuntu:

A graphical tool UKUU makes it easy to install the latest Kernels in Ubuntu.

For those who don’t want to use any third-party tool, here’s how to manually download and install Kernel 4.17 in Ubuntu (tested in Ubuntu 18.04, though it should work on all current Ubuntu releases).

The mainline kernel PPA has made the new kernel binaries for Ubuntu, available for download at the link below:

Depends on your OS type, download and install the packages in turns:

  1. linux-headers-4.17.0-xxxxxx_all.deb
  2. linux-modules-4.17.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64(/i386).deb
  3. linux-image-xxx-4.17.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64(/i386).deb

Select generic for common system, and lowlatency for a low latency system (e.g. for recording audio), amd64 for 64bit system, i386 for 32bit system, or armhf, arm64, etc for other OS types.

To get the Kernel 4.17 from the command console, run the commands below one by one:

For 64-bit OS:

cd /tmp/

wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.17/linux-headers-4.17.0-041700_4.17.0-041700.201806041953_all.deb

wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.17/linux-modules-4.17.0-041700-generic_4.17.0-041700.201806041953_amd64.deb

wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.17/linux-headers-4.17.0-041700-generic_4.17.0-041700.201806041953_amd64.deb

wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.17/linux-image-unsigned-4.17.0-041700-generic_4.17.0-041700.201806041953_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

for 32-bit OS:

cd /tmp/

wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.17/linux-headers-4.17.0-041700_4.17.0-041700.201806041953_all.deb

wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.17/linux-modules-4.17.0-041700-generic_4.17.0-041700.201806041953_i386.deb

wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.17/linux-headers-4.17.0-041700-generic_4.17.0-041700.201806041953_i386.deb

wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.17/linux-image-4.17.0-041700-generic_4.17.0-041700.201806041953_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

After installed these .debs, restart and enjoy!

Uninstall Linux Kernel 4.17:

Start/restart your machine and select boot with the previous kernel in ‘Grub2 -> Advanced Option for Ubuntu’. Then use Ubuntu Tweak, or run command to remove Linux Kernel 4.17.0:

sudo dpkg --purge linux-image-unsigned-4.17.0-041700-generic linux-image-4.17.0-041700-generic

VLC media player got a new maintenance release for VLC 3.0 series a few days with numerous bug-fixes. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04.

According to the changelog, VLC 3.0.3 contains following changes:

  • Update subtitles display while paused
  • Enable srt support on binary builds
  • Allow videotoolbox hardware decoding to be disabled
  • Disable VideoToolbox for 10bits H.264
  • Fix VideoToolbox with some invalid HEVC streams
  • Fix subsdec wide character support
  • Fix 1st order Ambisonics in AAC
  • Miscellaneous ogg improvements & bugfixes, including oggds
  • Fix forced tracks selection
  • Fix tracks detection issues with DolbyVision and Bluray streams
  • Fix crashes on Direct3D11
  • Fix tooltip display on some desktop environments
  • Fix spurious movement of the main Window
  • Fix playlist being displayed in fullscreen
  • Fix numerous issues on fonts fallback and font shaping
  • Fix subtitles toggle through hotkeys
  • Fix buffer over-read in avcodec audio encoding with non-default layouts
  • Numerous 3rd party libraries updated, fixing security issues

How to Install VLC 3.0.3 in Ubuntu:

The official snap package of VLC 3.0.3 is available in Ubuntu Software:

or you can run command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) to install the snap:

snap install vlc --classic

It automatically upgrade to VLC 3.0.3 if an old version of the snap package was installed.

NOTE for Ubuntu 16.04 uses who never installed a snap package, first run command in terminal to install snapd daemon via command:

sudo apt-get install snapd snapd-xdg-open

Qmmp 1.2.2 Released with Memory Leaks Fixed

Last updated: June 2, 2018

Qmmp, a Qt audio player with winamp or xmms like interface, has reached the 1.2.2 release a few days ago.

Qmmp 1.2.2 is the Qt5 release that:

  • fixed build with Qt 5.11;
  • fixed memory leaks.

A little different to previous releases, there’s no update for Qt4 release (Qmmp 0.11 series) along with Qmmp 1.2.2.

How to Install Qmmp 1.2.2 in Ubuntu 18.04/16.04:

The software has an PPA repository that offers the Qmmp 1.2.2 packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, 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 visual 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

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

FlightGear flight simulator 2018.2.1 was released more than a week ago. Now it’s finally made into PPA for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 16.04, and/or Ubuntu 14.04.

FlightGear 2018.2.1 contains many exciting new features, enhancements and bugfixes, including improved support for addons, improvements to the YASim FDM, and user experience improvements to the launcher.

  • Cessna 550 Citation II – detailed modelling of avionics, improved MP model display, improved flaps modeling
  • Cessna Citation X – avionics improvements, improved MP model display
  • North American P-51 Mustang
  • Piper J3 Cub – improvements to water behaviour
  • Saab 37 Viggen – Autopilot, HUD and TI improvements
  • Cessna 172P – FDM, 3D Model, Sound improvements
  • FG1000 glass panel display, based on the Garmin G1000

How to Install FlightGear 2018.2 in Ubuntu:

The software has a PPA repository contains FlightGear packages for all current Ubuntu releases.

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

Input your password (no visual feedback) when it prompts 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.

The latest release of Eclipse IDE now is quite easy to install in Ubuntu 16.04, and Ubuntu 18.04 since it’s made into snap package.

Snap is an universal Linux package format. It ships with most run-time libraries so it’s normally large in file size. The snap applications run in sandbox and they can be installed directly from Ubuntu Software.

1. So you can just open Ubuntu Software, search for and install Eclipse 4.7.3a snap package:

For those prefer Linux command, run command in terminal to install the Eclipse snap:

snap install --classic eclipse

2. Eclipse needs java. If you don’t have it, run command in terminal to install OpenJDK java environment:

sudo apt-get install default-jre

You can also install Oracle Java 8 and/or 10 via this tutorial.

This quick tutorial shows you how to easily install Oracle Java JDK 8 and/or 10 in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS via PPA.

There’s no PPA package for Oracle Java 6 and 7 since they are now only available for those with an Oracle Support account (which is not free). And Java 9 has reached end of life.

Install Oracle Java JDK 10 in Ubuntu 18.04:

The “Linux Uprising” team maintains a PPA repository that contains Oracle Java 10 installer for all current Ubuntu releases.

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:linuxuprising/java

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

2. Then run command to install the package, and accept the license before it automatically downloading and installing JDK 10:

sudo apt-get install oracle-java10-installer

Once installed, Oracle Java 10 should be automatically set as default. If not, run command:

sudo apt-get install oracle-java10-set-default

3. Finally check your java version via java -version and javac -version:

Install Oracle Java JDK 8 in Ubuntu 18.04:

Webupd8 Team maintains a PPA repository that contains Oracle Java 8 installer scripts for all current Ubuntu releases.

1. Open terminal and run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java

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

2. Then run command to install Java 8 installer and accept license when it prompts:

sudo apt-get install oracle-java8-installer

Once installed, Oracle Java 8 should be automatically set as default. If not, run command:

sudo apt-get install oracle-java8-set-default

Uninstall:

It’s always easy to remove the PPA packages, simply open terminal and run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove oracle-java8-installer oracle-java10-installer

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

qBittorrent BitTorrent client 4.1.1 was released a day ago with important fixes in the version of libtorrent used. It fixes SOCKS5 issues and tracker announces about downloaded/uploaded data.

Changes in qBittorrent 4.1.1 include:

  • Add ‘Moving’ state for torrents being relocated/moved
  • Show rechecking progress
  • Add option to remember last used save path
  • Torrent name is also renamed if the content was renamed in the “Add New Torrent” dialog
  • Relax behavior of “Download first and last piece first”. It applies to all files and not only to the previewable
  • Fix issues with translatable strings
  • Fix displayed tracker messages
  • Make settings file recovery more robust
  • Retry saving settings when operation failed
  • Fix deletion of old logs
  • Fix adding multiple torrents at once from WebUI
  • Improve “Run External Program” behavior.
  • Suppress multiple I/O errors for the same torrent
  • Replace raster qbt logo with vector version
  • Fix open destination folder with Nautilus > 3.28
  • Web UI, RSS and other changes.

How to Install qBittorrent 4.1.1 in Ubuntu:

The official qBittorrent PPA contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04, and derivatives.

1. To add the PPA, open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or searching “Terminal” from app launcher. When it opens, run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable

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

2. To upgrade from a previous release, launch Software Updater and you’ll see qBittorrent available for upgrade after checking for updates.

Or run commands below to install /upgrade it from terminal:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install qbittorrent

3. (Optional) To uninstall the 4.1.1 release and revert to the stock version of qBittorrent in Ubuntu repository, do:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable

For those who want to install the latest Mesa 3D graphics driver 18.0.4, Canonical’s Timo Aaltonen has made it into Ubuntu-X Team PPA for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

Mesa 18.0.4 is so far the latest stable release that was announced a few weeks ago:

“r600 driver gets a fix for constant buffer boounds, which fixes rendering bugs in Trine and Witcher 1.

Several fixes for RADV driver: fixes around alpha channel in Pre-Vega, fix in multisample image copies, and fixes around multilayer images in compute path.

For the case of ANV/i965 drivers, also a couple of fixes, all of them around ISP. On top, there are a couple of fixes relative to code emission around 16-bit integers, and a a fix for a leak in blorp for Gen4 and Gen5.

Speaking of leaks, there are also fixes for winsys/radeon/amdgpu and pipe-loader.gets a couple of patches to fix a couple of leaks.

SPIR-V part gets a patch to apply OriginUpperLeft to FragCoord.

Mesa core gets a couple of patches to fix error handling in get_framebuffer_parameteriv, and to add missing support for glFogiv(GL_FOG_DISTANCE_MODE_NV).”

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 while typing due to security reason) 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

Free and open-source multimedia converter Curlew 0.2.5 was released today with great new features and enhancements.

Curlew is a GTK3 software written in Python and uses ffmpeg/avconv for media encoding. The latest Curlew 0.2.5 features:

  • Add option to include all audio tracks of file.
  • Add support for merging files.
  • Add Fade In/Out filter feature.
  • Add paste “from the Clipboard” feature.
  • Use Home directory as default converting destination.
  • Hide unused page/widget.
  • Add xplayer to players list.
  • Colored buttons (Convert/Close).
  • Removed CSD option.
  • Deleted stdeb config files and use native debian packaging system.
  • Fix disabled convert button issue.
  • Bug fixes, code enhancements, and translation updates.

How to install Curlew 0.2.5 in Ubuntu:

The software offers pre-compiled .deb package available for download at the link below:

To install the .deb package in Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 18.04, either use Gdebi package manager or run command in terminal:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/curlew_0.2.5-1_all.deb; sudo apt-get -f install

Uninstall:

To remove the software, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove curlew

This quick tip shows you how to change the position of on screen notifications in Ubuntu 18.04 Gnome desktop.

I’ve written about how to customize on screen notifications in Ubuntu Unity by installing a patched version of Notify OSD daemon.

Ubuntu 18.04 ships with Gnome 3 desktop by default. Desktop appearances can be tweaked by installing Gnome Shell extensions.

1. For those never installed a Gnome Shell extension, click the link below to install some required packages:

2. Panel OSD is a Gnome extensions that allows to move screen notification position, and change time-out delay.

Go to the link below in your web browser and turn on the switch to install the extension:

3. Once installed the extension, install Gnome Tweaks in Ubuntu Software, and configure it in Gnome Tweaks -> Extensions tab.