UbuntuHandbook

Ubuntu 15.04: Install Media Codecs & Enable DVD Playback

Last updated: April 25, 2016

After installing the new Ubuntu 15.04 Vivid Vervet, one of the top things to do is to install audio/video codecs and enable DVD playback.

Due to legal constraints in many countries, Ubuntu does not include these codecs to play mp3, movies, and DVDs out-of-the-box. But we can easily get them from the default repositories through Ubuntu Software Center.

1. Install the codecs to play common audio and video file formats:

Open Ubuntu Software Center, search for and install ubuntu-restricted-extras package. After that, you should be able to play your musics and movies through the default multi-players.

2 The previous step also installs libdvdread4, library to read DVDs. If not, install it from Ubuntu Software Center.

3. To play encrypted DVDs, you also need the libdvdcss2 library by installing it via below command in terminal:

sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh

You may need to set the region code for DVD drive if it is still not working, by running below command in terminal:

sudo apt-get install regionset && sudo regionset

In Howtos play encrypted DVD

Ubuntu 15.04 Vivid Vervet (Final) Available for Download

Last updated: September 29, 2017

The final release of Ubuntu 15.04 Vivid Vervet and its flavors, e.g., Xubuntu 15.04, Lubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu Gnome 15.04, UbuntuKylin 15.04, Ubuntu MATE 15.04, Ubuntu Studio 15.04, and Kubuntu 15.04 are available for download now!

Ubuntu 15.04 will be supported for 9 months for Desktop, Server, and all its official flavors. It features:

Linux Kernel 3.19
Updated packages
systemd has replaced Upstart as the standard boot and service manager on all Ubuntu flavors except Touch.
Unity 7.3
Kubuntu 15.04 comes with Plasma 5 and KDE Applications 14.12 as the default
Gnome 3.14 for Ubuntu Gnome 15.04
Xfce 4.12 for Xubuntu 15.04

Download Ubuntu 15.04 and its flavors

Ubuntu 15.04 Desktop (Unity) and Sever:

http://releases.ubuntu.com/vivid/

Xubuntu 15.04, a lightweight Xfce Desktop based flavor:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/15.04/

Lubuntu 15.04, based on the lightweight LXDE desktop environment:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/15.04/

Ubuntu Gnome 15.04, based on Gnome-shell desktop environment:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-gnome/releases/15.04/

UbuntuKylin 15.04, an official flavor for Chinese users:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntukylin/releases/15.04/release/

Ubuntu MATE 15.04, a new official flavor based on MATE desktop, the continuation of classic GNOME 2:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-mate/releases/15.04/

Ubuntu Studio 15.04, for multimedia production:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/15.04/

Kubuntu 15.04, based on KDE:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/15.04/

For the official release note and how to upgrade instruction, refer to the Ubuntu wiki page.

In News ubuntu 15.04

Double-Click to open a File/Folder in Elementary OS Freya

Last updated: April 23, 2015

The default file browser in Elementary OS Freya uses single-click to open files and folders, though there’s no option to change this preference.

For those who would like to use double-click to open an item in the file browser, there’s a graphical configuration tool called Elementary Tweaks that may help.

1. Install Elementary Tweaks in Freya

The developer is maintaining a PPA with the latest packages for this tool.

Though the 14.04 build is failed at the moment of writing this tutorial, we can download an earlier version at PPA’s ftp download page:

Download Elementary Tweaks (.DEB)

Depends on your OS type, select download:

For 64-bit eOS Freya, download:
- elementary-tweaks-dbg_x.x.x~ubuntu14.04.1_amd64.deb
- elementary-tweaks_x.x.x~ubuntu14.04.1_amd64.deb
For 32-bit eOS Freya, download:
- elementary-tweaks-dbg_x.x.x~ubuntu14.04.1_i386.deb
- elementary-tweaks_x.x.x~ubuntu14.04.1_i386.deb

Then install them one by one, in below order, by opening the .deb package with Software Center:

elementary-tweaks_x.x.x~ubuntu14.04.1_i386/amd64.deb
elementary-tweaks-dbg_x.x.x~ubuntu14.04.1_i386/amd64.deb

2. Disable single-click and enable double-click

After installing Elementary Tweaks, open System Settings from the dock at the bottom of your screen and then click the Tweaks icon.

In the next page, select Files from left pane, and finally disable Single Click by clicking the toggle.

In Howtos double click to open file folder, Elementary OS

Install Kart Racing Game SuperTuxKart 0.9 in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: July 2, 2016

SuperTuxKart, an open-source kart racing game, finally gets a new stable release after nearly one and a half year since the last release.

SuperTuxKart 0.9 comes with a new rendering engine that’s fully shader-based, two completely new tracks, online log-in support, different Kart physics, an achievement system, and numerous other improvements. With now needing OpenGL3.1+, SuperTuxKart developers recommend at least having one of below graphics for playing the game:

AMD Radeon HD 3650
Intel HD Graphics 3000
NVIDIA GeForce 8600

Highlights of SuperTuxKart 0.9:

Fully shader-based rendering engine
- New tracks Cocoa Temple and Gran Paradiso
- Graphical improvements to many other tracks
- New karts Amanda, Gavroche, Sara (as wizard and racer)
- Improved tux, adiumy, Suzanne and Xue.
Online login which allows to:
- connect with friends and see when they are playing
- vote for addons
- collect online achievements
Different kart physics
In-game Grand Prix editor
Random Grand Prix generation
Achievement system

How to Install SuperTuxKart 0.9 in Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Elementary OS Freya:

1. For all Linux users, select download “supertuxkart-0.9-linux.tar.gz or “supertuxkart-0.9-linux.tar.xz” from the link below:

Download SuperTuxKart 0.9

2. Install the required library libopenal1 via Ubuntu Software Center, or by running below command in terminal:

sudo apt-get install libopenal1

3. Unpack the downloaded archive and run the run_game.sh script from in the result folder to start the game:

For those who don’t see the Run option, go to Nautilus file browser’s menu Edit -> Preferences -> Behavior -> select “Run executable text files when they are opened”, and re-open the file browser.

To Create a launcher for the game, so you can launch it from Application Menu or the Unity Dash.

In below steps, I assume that you’ve extracted the game to your user Downloads folder.

1. Open terminal from menu or the Dash. When it opens, run command to edit the .desktop file:

gedit ~/Downloads/supertuxkart-*-linux/data/supertuxkart.desktop

When the file opens, replace values of Icon and Exec with file path to the icon and run_game.sh script.

In below picture, you may replace “handbook” (without quotes) with your username.

2. Finally copy or move this file to user’s Home .local/share/applications/ folder (press Ctrl+H to view hidden folder), so that your system can read it.

Do it in your file browser, or just run below command in terminal:

mv ~/Downloads/supertuxkart-*-linux/data/supertuxkart.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/

In Howtos racing game, SuperTuxKart

Install Podcast App ‘Vocal’ 1.0 via PPA in Ubuntu 14.04/15.04

Last updated: July 31, 2015

The first stable release of Vocal, a simple and beautiful podcast app for Linux desktop, was released a few days ago. Official installers for Ubuntu, Elementary OS, Fedora, openSUSE are available.

Vocal is a beautiful and easy to use podcast app designed for elementary OS and other GTK-based Linux desktops. Since the 1.0 release, it features:

Audio and video podcast support
Built-in video playback
Automatic checking for new episodes
Episode position saving
Streaming and downloading support (works offline)
Smart library management
Automatic downloads
Full system integration
Library importing and exporting
and much more!

Screenshots in eOS freya:

How to Install Vocal:

For Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 15.04, Elementary OS Freya, and Linux Mint 17, you can install this podcast app either from its official PPA or by using the .deb binaries.

To install Vocal from PPA and receive future updates, open terminal from the Dash or App Menu, and run below commands one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nathandyer/vocal-stable

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install vocal

To grab the .deb (or .rpm) package, go to the sourceforge page.

UPDATE: For transparent background issue (but with Unity’s overlay scrollbar), run below command to edit its desktop file:

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

and change the line Exec=vocal to Exec=env LIBOVERLAY_SCROLLBAR=0 vocal and finally save the file. This will disable overlay scrollbar for Vocal.

In Howtos podcast app, vocal

Install/Upgrade PDF Viewer ‘MuPDF’ 1.7 in Ubuntu 14.04/12.04

Last updated: April 18, 2015

MuPDF, a lightweight PDF and XPS viewer, has reached the 1.7 release. Here’s how to install or upgrade it in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.

MuPDF is a free and open-source viewer written in C. It focuses on speed, small code size, and high-quality anti-aliased rendering. Since the 1.2 release, MuPDF has optional support for interactive features such as form filling, JavaScript and transitions.

While Ubuntu repositories provide a very old version, the latest release, MuPDF 1.7, was released a few days ago with some new features and great improvements:

New HTML layout engine, and (DRM-free) EPUB viewer.
Reduced memory usage – reducing total memory use on some files by over 60%.
Better mouse wheel handling
Shift-space support
Add mutool pages option.
Mouse button control of presentation mode
many bug fixes.

For more, see the official release notes.

Install or Upgrade MuPDF:

For Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 15.04, and Linux Mint 13/17, the latest packages have been made into the PPA repository.

1. Open terminal from the Dash, Menu, or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

2. After adding the PPA, refresh your system package cache:

sudo apt-get update

3. Finally install the viewer via command:

sudo apt-get install mupdf mupdf-tools

You may replace step 2 & 3 by upgrading the software through Software Updater.

Once installed, open your PDF or XPS file via MuPDF through files’ right-click menu “Open With” option.

For its keyboard shortcuts, run command man mupdf in terminal and see the result.

In Howtos MuPDF, pdf viewer

HPLIP 3.15.4 Adds New Printers, Ubuntu 15.04, Linux Mint 17.1 Support

Last updated: April 17, 2015

HPLIP, an HP developed Linux solution for printing, scanning, and faxing with HP inkjet and laser printers, reached 3.15.4 release with new printers and most recent Linux Distros support.

According to the release note, Ubuntu 15.04 Beta, Debian 8.0 RC, Linux Mint 17.1 are supported in this release. Also below new printers are supported now:

HP Color LaserJet Pro M252dw
HP Color LaserJet Pro M252n
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M277n
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M277dw
HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M553n
HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M553dn
HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M553x
HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M553dh
HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M552dn
HP LaserJet Enterprise M604n
HP LaserJet Enterprise M604dn
HP LaserJet Enterprise M605dn
HP LaserJet Enterprise M605n
HP LaserJet Enterprise M605x
HP LaserJet Enterprise M606x
HP LaserJet Enterprise M606dn

There’s also a significant changes: HPLIP Plugin support for ARMv6,ARMv7 and aarch64 architectures. For more, see the release page.

Install HPLIP in Ubuntu/Linux Mint:

1. download HPLIP .run installer from:

Download HPLIP

2. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to give executable permission to the installer:

cd ~/Downloads/ && chmod +x hplip-*.run

3. Finally start the installer and follow the terminal prompts:

cd ~/Downloads/ && ./hplip-*.run

HPLIP on launchpad: https://launchpad.net/hplip

In News HP Print Driver for Linux

Install Twitter Client ‘Corebird’ 1.0 in Elementary OS Freya

Last updated: April 21, 2015

Since Elementary OS Freya comes with GTK+ 3.14, it’s able to install the latest Corebird 1.0, a modern, easy and fun Twitter client.

For those who never heard of Corebird, it is a native Gtk+ Twitter client for Linux, which supports keyboard shortcuts, image and video preview. It is one of the few remaining desktop Linux Twitter apps still in active development.

Install Corebird 1.0 in eOS Freya:

1. Depends on your OS type, 32-bit (i386) or 64-bit (amd64), select download the “corebird_1.1~really1.0+xxx_i386/amd64.deb” package from launchpad page:

Download Corebird DEB

2. Open terminal from the Application launcher. Run below command to refresh system package cache:

sudo apt-get update

3. Finally open the downloaded package and click install. Or install it via dpkg command in terminal:

cd ~/Downloads; sudo dpkg -i corebird_*.deb; sudo apt-get -f install

In Howtos corebird, Elementary OS, twitter client

Install Plank Dock 0.9 in Ubuntu from PPA

Last updated: April 15, 2015

Plank, a lightweight dock launcher, has reached the 0.9.0 release recently with some new features, such as Window Dodge auto-hide and hide/un-hide time delay.

Rico Tzschichholz announced the release on launchpad.net:

“Kanker” is our new feature and bug-fix release on the way to 1.0.

Most notable is that there are now some nice and smooth animations while items are added or removed. Besides that it is possible to set a HideDelay and the good old WindowDodge hide-mode got added. Plank now provides a simple dbus-interface with some methods for remote-controlling. As usual there are changes all over the place which can be studied in the full changelog.

Enjoy,
Plank: Stupidly simple.
Note: There is no stability of ABI/API until further notice!

For Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 15.04 and derivatives, plank dock can be easily installed from the developer’s PPA.

Just open terminal and run below commands one by one to add the PPA, refresh system cache, and install plank:

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:ricotz/docky

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install plank

In Howtos Lightweight Dock Launcher, Plank

How to Encrypted Your USB Stick For Ubuntu Linux

Last updated: April 14, 2015

If you have an USB flash drive or USB partition only for use in Linux computers, it’s easy to add a password protect to the drive or partition via LUKS+EXT4 in Ubuntu Linux using the default Disks utility. And below is the how-to.

Before getting started, you have to backup date from the USB flash driver or the partition.

1. Search for and install cryptsetup package in Ubuntu Software Center to add disk encryption support to the default Gnome Disks utility.

2. Launch the Disks utility from the Unity Dash or Application Menu. Plug in your USB flash drive and you will see it in the left pane.

To encrypt the drive, first highlight the partition and click the icon on the left of minus sign to unmount it. (In the case below, I’m going to unmount the 1.7GB partition)

3. Click the gear icon and select Format …

4. On next window, select encryption type “Encrypted, compatible with Linux systems (LUKS + EXT4)” from the drop-down list, type in a drive/partition name, and set your password.