The new release will be made into official Ubuntu repository soon, available for Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 17.04, and derivatives.
Just keep your Ubuntu up-to-date by installing regular updates via Software Updater, and you’ll get Firefox 53 once it’s published in THIS PAGE.
For non-install version, go to the official FTP download page:
Grab the Linux package, extract and run executable file to launch Firefox 53.
Wire, an open source, encrypted instant messaging client created by Wire Swiss, finally gets an official APT repository for Debian-based distributions to make it easy to install and receive automatic updates to the app.
Today we’re happy to take a big step forward — Debian-based distributions (like Ubuntu or Mint) can now get Wire Desktop via APT. You can receive updates of Wire through the update mechanism of your own package management system. Updates are automatic and more secure as we sign the repositories with a PGP key.
Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T, and get started by following steps to add Wire repository and install Wire for Desktop:
1. If you already installed Wire, uninstall it (don’t worry, your history will be kept):
sudo apt-get remove wire
2. Install apt-transport-https to receive the package via HTTPS
sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https
3. Import the PGP signing key to be able to verify the downloaded package:
Your preferred screen resolution is not available in the Display settings? Well, here I’m going to show you how to add a custom screen resolution in Ubuntu 17.04 (Work on all current Ubuntu releases).
On my Ubuntu 17.04 Desktop, the default 1920X1080 (16:9) resolution is kinda high for me. Though there are options to scale for menu, title bars, and text, I prefer 1600X900 (16:9) which is available in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS by default.
To get my screen resolution, I did the following steps:
1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for “Terminal” from dash. When it opens, run command:
xrandr
It outputs current screen resolution as well as all available solutions. ALL I need here is the display device name, in my case, it’s eDP-1.
2. Run command to calculate VESA CVT mode lines by given resolution:
cvt 1600 900
Replace 1600 900 (1600X900 in my case) in the command to your desired screen resolution.
3. Copy the Modeline (words with red underline, see previous picture), and run command to add new mode:
While Ubuntu 17.04 includes the latest GNU Emacs 25.1 in its main repository, here’s how to install the editor in Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 14.04, and Ubuntu 12.04 via PPA.
Emacs 25.1 was released months ago with a wide variety of new features. I’ve written about how to build it from the source. However, a PPA repository will make things easier.
Kevin Kelley has created a PPA with Emacs 25 packages for all current Ubuntu releases. A patch was made into the packages to fix for an `xinput`-related bug that, when triggered, causes `emacs` to enter an infinite loop; the process will then be unresponsive and will consume 100% of a single CPU core until you kill it.
1. Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “Terminal” from start menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kelleyk/emacs
Type in your password (no visual feedback due to security reason) when prompts and hit Enter.
2. Then update and install Emacs 25 via commands:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install emacs25
For text-only interface, replace emacs25 with emacs25-nox in the last command.
Don’t know why, but I need to log out and back in to be able to launch Emacs 25 from the Dash.
How to Remove:
To remove Emacs25, open terminal and run commands:
It’s 2024 now! Ubuntu is still lacking the option to create new documents in the default Nautilus file manager. Though, the GNOME developer team is working on this function.
It’s easy to enable the option in Nautilus context menu. As it prompts in Templates folder, simply create an empty document under Templates folder, the file name will be displayed as sub-menu option of ‘New Document’ menu.
Meaning all you need to do is create an empty file and save it under user’s “Template” folder. The file-name will be displayed as sub-menu option of “New Documents” context menu.
Method 1: Use Text editor
First, press Super (the Windows logo) key on keyboard to open ‘Activities’ overview. Then search for and open text editor.
When the text editor opens, you don’t have to input anything, just leave it blank, then press Ctrl+Shift+S to open the “save as” dialog and do:
Type filename, which will display as sub-menu option for ‘New Documents’ menu.
Choose location – Templates folder.
Finally, click Save.
Method 2: Run a single command
For those familiar with Linux command, this can also be done by running a single command.
Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open a terminal window. When it opens, run command:
touch ~/Templates/Untitled\ Document
This command creates an empty file called ‘Untitled Document‘ in the Templates folder.
Tip: the backslash in the code tells that the space following it is part of the filename since the shell treats whatever comes after a space as a separate argument.
Finally, right-click on blank area in your file manager and see the magic!
The final release of Ubuntu 17.04 Zesty Zapus was available for download earlier today on April 13.
After installing the new fresh Ubuntu Desktop, you may have some top things to do before it’s ready to use. And here are some of what I did.
1. Check for updates
First of first, check for updates via Software Updater and install kernel patches, security updates, and other system updates.
2. Install Media Codecs
Due to legal reasons, Ubuntu does not include some media codecs to play video and audio files via the default Totem media player and Rhythmbox music player.
Besides installing VLC, mplayer, MPV, or other media player that come with built-in codecs, you can manually install the multimedia codecs via command (open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T):
sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras
3. Enable DVD Playback
The previous codecs will enable playing normal DVDs. To play encrypted DVDs via VLC, run command to automatically download and install libdvdcss2 library:
Unity Tweak Tool is the best and easy to use Unity Desktop configuration tool. It’s one of the must install applications available in Ubuntu Software App.
5. Some Unity Desktop Tweaks
Disable recording file and application usage.
Go to System Settings -> Security & Privacy. At Files & Applications tab, switch off the option to record file and application usage, which will be available in the search dash.
Minimize Application when click on its icon in the Left launcher.
Go to Unity Tweak Tool -> Launcher, check the box says “Minimize single window applications on click”
Move the Left Launcher to Bottom.
Since Ubuntu 16.10, the Unity launcher can be moved from Left to Bottom. Also do this in Unity Tweak Tool -> Launcher:
6. Disable Guest Session from Login Screen
For my personal computer, I don’t need the Guest account. Simply remove it via command (open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T):
Paste following lines when the command opens an empty file and save it. Restart to apply changes.
[SeatDefaults]
allow-guest=false
7. Auto power off when laptop lid is closed
There’s only “Suspend” and “Do nothing” options for laptop close actions. I’m always want to shutdown Ubuntu when I close the lid, so I edited the logind.conf file via command:
This is a quick tip for Ubuntu 16.10 desktop users how to upgrade to Ubuntu 17.04 Zesty Zapus.
Before getting started, you need to do some preparations:
1. Always make a backup of important data, bookmarks, and other user documents.
2. Remove or disable third-party repositories.
Launch Software & Updates utility, navigate to Other Software tab, and remove /disable all third-party repositories.
3. Restore to open-source drivers.
Also in Software & Updates utility, Additional Drivers tab, switch to the open-source drivers if proprietary drivers are in use. (Need restore after applied changes)
4. And it’s better to choose download from ‘Main Server’ in Software & Updates utility.
5. Make your system up-to-date by running command in terminal:
May need to restart if you have not update your system for a long time.
6. (Optional) Useless packages and software libraries may take a few more minutes upgrading your system. For me, Ubuntu Kylin and Plasma Desktop libraries take quite a few minutes in the upgrading process.
After all, launch Update Manager via the command below and it will prompt that Ubuntu 17.04 is available after checking for updates:
sudo update-manager -d
Click the Upgrade and confirm in the next dialog, follow the wizard util done.
For those prefer KeePass2 password manager to KeePassX, here’s how to install the latest KeePass 2.35 release in Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 12.04.
While official Ubuntu repositories only provide an old version, the latest KeePass2 has reached the 2.35 release with a large list of new features and improvements. Here are some of them:
New KDBX 4 file format
Added Argon2 key derivation function
Added ChaCha20 (RFC 7539) encryption algorithm
open entry URLs with Firefox or Opera in private mode
support for importing mSecure 3.5.5 CSV, Password Saver 4.1.2 XML, and Enpass 5.3.0.1 TXT files.
For all current Ubuntu releases and derivatives, e.g., Linux Mint 17, 18, and Elementary OS Loki, KeePass2 can be easily installed from the Julian Taylor’s PPA.
1. Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “Terminal” from start menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:
MuPDF, a lightweight PDF, XPS, and E-book viewer, has reached the 1.11 rc1 release with mainly bug-fixes and some new features.
The MuPDF viewer is small, fast, yet complete. It supports many document formats, such as PDF, XPS, OpenXPS, CBZ, EPUB, and FictionBook 2. It offers command line tools that allow you to annotate, edit, and convert documents to other formats such as HTML, SVG, PDF, and CBZ.
New features in MuPDF 1.11:
PDF portfolio support with command line tool “mutool portfolio”.
Add callbacks to load fallback fonts from the system.
Use system fonts in Android to reduce install size.
Flag to disable publisher styles in EPUB layout.
Improved SVG output.
How to Install MuPDF 1.11 in Ubuntu / Linux Mint:
Besides building the tool from source, there’s an unofficial PPA with the packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 17.04, and their derivatives.
1. Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “Terminal” from start menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps
Type in password (no visual feedback due to security reason) when it asks and hit Enter.
2. Then install mupdf and mupdf-tools packages either via Synaptic Package Manager or by running following commands in terminal:
For those who want to install the popular GTK theme ‘Arc’ in KUbuntu. There’s an open-source port for Plasma 5 desktop with a few additions and extras called Arc KDE.
The KDE port includes:
Aurorae Themes
Konsole Color Schemes
Konversation Themes
Kvantum Themes
Plasma Color Schemes
Plasma Desktop Themes
Plasma Look-and-Feel Settings
Wallpapers
Yakuake Skins
Extra tools
To install the theme in KUbuntu 16.04, KUbuntu 16.10, KUbuntu 17.04, open terminal emulator and run following commands one by one:
1. Run command to add the official Arc-KDE PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:papirus/arc-kde
2. Then update and install the theme as well as Kvantum engine.