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Archives For November 30, 1999

Install Cool Reader 3 in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

Last updated: October 3, 2015

This simple tutorial is going to show you how to install Cool Reader 3, the best reader for e-books, in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr.

CoolReader is a fast and small cross-platform XML/CSS based E-Book reader for desktops and handheld devices. It reads books in formats FB2, TXT, RTF, DOC, TCR, HTML, EPUB, CHM, PDB, MOBI. It works on Win32, Linux, Android. Ported on some eInk based devices.

The developer provides the most recent build of this app for Ubuntu users in his PPA. So far, the PPA supports Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04 and Ubuntu 10.04. Also, there’s a great review about Cool Reader on the maintainer’s blog.

Install CoolReader 3:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the command below to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:vovansrnd/coolreader

After that, do update and install the app:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install cr3

That’s it. If you don’t want to add the PPA, download & install the .deb package from launchpad page.

UPDATE: The PPA repository is not updated for Ubuntu 15.04 and higher. But the 14.04 binary will work on higher Ubuntu editions without problems. Select download below package:

“cr3_3.1.2.3-39_amd64.deb” for 64-bit OS
“cr3_3.1.2.3-39_i386.deb” for 32-bit OS

From this page and then click to install via Software Center.

In Howtos cool reader 3, Ubuntu 14.04

Install Spotify Client in Ubuntu 14.04 From Its Repository

Last updated: August 19, 2015

Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr, the next Long-term support Ubuntu release is coming soon. This simple tutorial shows you how to install the Spotify Client the official way from its repository.

Spotify is a great way to listen to music by streaming it on your phone, in your browser, or on your Linux desktop. You can stream everything, upgrade and sync tracks and playlists offline, or purchase individual tracks to keep forever.

Spotify has a Linux repository to make it easy to install its client app on Debian/Ubuntu Desktop. Below steps will show you how to add the repository and install the app:

1. Search for and open the “Software & Updates” utility from Unity Dash.

2. Under “Other Software” tab, click the Add button and paste the below line into the pop-up box:

deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free

Click on Add Source button and then you’ll have Spotify repository in your system.

3. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, paste the command below and hit run to get the keyring:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 94558F59

Type in your password when prompt.

4. Now you’re able to install the client app using Synaptic Package Manager, or by running the commands below one by one:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install spotify-client-qt spotify-client-gnome-support

You may download & install the .deb package from the web page if you don’t like to add the PPA.

In Howtos spotify, spotify client, spotify repository, Ubuntu 14.04

Install Midori Web Browser 0.5.8 in Ubuntu

Last updated: April 4, 2014

Midori, a lightweight and fast web browser, just released version 0.5.8 with great improvements on Adblock and WebKit2.

According to the release note, Midori 0.5.8 added or fixed:

A statusbar icon for easy flipping filtering on and off and seeing whether anything was blocked on the site.
If you had problems with peculiar display problems whilst using Adblock, chances are good they’ll be gone with the upgrade
WebKit2 is making another big jump. Text selection behavior, favicons, support for multiple rendering processes, opening new windows and setting cache and cookie paths correctly.
Spelling corrections: Right-click an underlined word and pick a suggestion from the menu.
Two new extensions implement Ctrl+Enter to complete www. and .com and a handy little notes panel which automatically saves one or more snippets as you make changes.
Brand new file type editor (MIME type on Linux). Finally the user is in control of how files open, either via the Preferences or the right-click “Open With…” menu item.

For details, read the official announcement.

Install Midori in Ubuntu:

It’s easy to install or upgrade to Midori 0.5.8 in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04 and their derivatives such as Linux Mint, Elementary OS, and etc.

To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the 3 commands below one by one:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:midori/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install midori

It will add the Midori PPA, do an update and finally install or upgrade the web browser. Once installed, open it from Unity Dash or Menu.

Enjoy!

In Howtos midori lightweight browser, midori ppa, Ubuntu 14.04

Switch Back to Previous LockScreen in Ubuntu 14.04 Unity

Last updated: May 20, 2014

Ubuntu 14.04 Unity now has its own screen locker which looks identical to the LightDM greeter – the default Unity login screen. For those who prefer the previous lockscreen used in Ubuntu 13.10 and earlier, here’s how to switch it back.

The new lockscreen, light-locker, is forked from gnome-screensaver that aims to have simple, sane, secure defaults and be well integrated with the desktop while not carrying any desktop-specific dependencies.

If you would like to try this lockscreen in Ubuntu 13.10 or Ubuntu 13.04, see this post.

To restore previous Lockscreen in Ubuntu 14.04:

UPDATE: The option has been removed in Ubuntu 14.04 final release. So this tutorial won’t work anymore.

Search for and install Compizconfig-Settings-Manager in Ubuntu Software Center. Or press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal, and run the command below instead:

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

After that, start CCSM from Unity Dash and navigate to Ubuntu Unity Plugin -> General -> Lockscreen. Click on the drop-down box and select which screen locker to use.

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos lightdm, lightdm session locker, Ubuntu 14.04

Install the Latest SMPlayer 14.3 in Ubuntu 14.04/13.10/12.04

Last updated: April 2, 2014

SMPlayer, a graphical user interface (GUI) for the award-winning MPlayer, has reached release 14.3.0. This tutorial will show you how to install or upgrade to the latest SMPlayer in Ubuntu while the default Ubuntu repositories still have version 0.8.x.

Changes in SMPlayer 14.3:

The control for fullscreen mode has been rewritten and improved. Now it is displayed over the video.
(Windows) New option in Preferences -> Subtitles to enable or disable the use of the Windows font directory. Disabling this option prevents the annoying font scanning.
Some presets have been added to the audio equalizer.
(Experimental) Possibility to play (non-protected) blu-ray discs.
Better support for multimedia keys. This can help control SMPlayer with a remote control.
New option in the playlist preferences for adding automatically other files in the folder to the playlist.
The option “Move the window when the video area is dragged” has been fixed.
(Windows) Now it’s possible to open Windows shortcuts (symlinks).
Better support for Youtube.
(Windows) Better screensaver disabling.
Many bugfixes.
Possibility to compile with Qt 5.

Install SMPlayer:

Ubuntu users are recommended to get the latest SMPlayer from PPA. To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rvm/smplayer 

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt-get install smplayer smtube smplayer-themes smplayer-skins

So far, the PPA supports Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04 and their derivatives, such as Linux Mint, Elementary OS Luna, and etc.

In Howtos SMPlayer, SMPlayer PPA, Ubuntu 14.04

Install/Upgrade to Linux Kernel 3.14 in Ubuntu or Linux Mint

Last updated: April 1, 2014

Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, finally announced the Linux Kernel 3.14 on the night of March 30, 2014. He wrote on the lkml.org:

So we had a few fairly late changes that I could have done without, but the changelog from -rc8 is still pretty small, and I’m feeling pretty good about it all. If we did end up with any last-minute problems due to the final spurt of patches, they’ll be pretty specific, and it really didn’t make sense to me to delay the release without anything known pending. Much of the final spurt were either marked for stable or known regressions.

So 3.14 is out there, and the merge window for 3.15 is thus open. Please do spend the time to test out 3.14, though, even if you might otherwise be in a hurry to send me your pending queue for the next release.

Linus

What’s New in Linux Kernel 3.14:

This release includes the deadline task scheduling policy for real-time tasks, a memory compression mechanism is now considered stable, a port of the locking validator to userspace, ability to store properties such as compression for each inode in Btrfs, trigger support for tracing events, improvements to userspace probing, kernel address space randomization, TCP automatic coalescing of certain kinds of connections, a new network packet scheduler to fight bufferbloat, new drivers and many other small improvements.

For detailed changes, go to kernelnewbies.org/Linux_3.14

Install or upgrade to Kernel 3.14:

NOTE: not sure if proprietary video drivers will work with the new kernel. Do it at your own risk!

Ubuntu users can download and install the DEB packages from the Ubuntu Kernel PPA web page. and install them in the below orders:

1. linux-headers-3.14.0-031400_3.14.0-xxxx_all.deb

2. linux-headers-3.14.0-031400-generic_3.14.0-xxxx_i386(or amd64).deb

3. linux-image-3.14.0-031400-generic_3.14.0-xxxx_i386(or amd64).deb

Or install them via command Linux:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one to download the Kernel DEBs:

For 32 bit system:

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.14-trusty/linux-headers-3.14.0-031400-generic_3.14.0-031400.201403310035_i386.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.14-trusty/linux-headers-3.14.0-031400_3.14.0-031400.201403310035_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.14-trusty/linux-image-3.14.0-031400-generic_3.14.0-031400.201403310035_i386.deb

For 64 bit system:

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.14-trusty/linux-headers-3.14.0-031400-generic_3.14.0-031400.201403310035_amd64.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.14-trusty/linux-headers-3.14.0-031400_3.14.0-031400.201403310035_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.14-trusty/linux-image-3.14.0-031400-generic_3.14.0-031400.201403310035_amd64.deb

2. After the downloading process, install them via:

sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-3.14.0-*.deb linux-image-3.14.0-*.deb

After that, restart your computer and done!

Uninstall:

If for some reason this kernel release doesn’t work properly for you, reboot into previous kernel (Grub -> Advanced -> select previous kernel) and run this command to remove Linux Kernel 3.14:

sudo apt-get remove linux-headers-3.14.0-* linux-image-3.14.0-*

Finally reboot your computer.

In Howtos Kernel 3.14 series, Linux Kernel, Ubuntu 14.04

Install LMMS 1.0.0 in Ubuntu 14.04/13.10/12.04/12.10

Last updated: March 30, 2014

Linux MultiMedia Studio or LMMS, a free software digital audio workstation, has reached version 1.0.0.

LMMS is a free cross-platform software which allows you to produce music with your computer. This covers creating melodies and beats, synthesizing and mixing sounds and arranging samples. You can have fun with your MIDI keyboard and much more.

The developer has announced the v1.0.0 on github.com:

“After almost exactly 10 years of development, we proudly bump the version number to 1.0.0.”

Install LMMS:

To install LMMS 1.0.0 in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 12.10 and their derivatives, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the command below to add the PPA:

Add KXStudio Debian Applications PPA:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:kxstudio-debian/apps

Or, use the Rodney Dawes’ PPA:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:dobey/audiotools

After added one of PPAs above, run below commands to update and install the software:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install lmms

(Optional) Uninstall:

Install ppa-purge by running the below command:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge

Purge the PPA as well as downgrade the installed app from that PPA to the default version available in Ubuntu repositories (change the ppa name in the code):

sudo ppa-purge ppa:kxstudio-debian/apps

In Howtos Linux MultiMedia Studio, LMMS, Ubuntu 14.04

Cross Stitch App ‘KXStitch’ 1.1.0 Released with Enhancements & Fixes

Last updated: March 29, 2014

KXStitch, the cross stitch app for Linux, just got an update a few hours ago with enhancements, bug fixes, and translation updates.

KXStitch is a KDE/Qt based software that lets you create cross stitch patterns and charts. Patterns can be created from scratch on a user defined size of grid, which can be enlarged or reduced in size as your pattern progresses. Alternatively you can import images from many graphics formats which will allow you to reduce the number of colours and to restrict the conversion to full stitches or optionally use fractional stitches. You may also use an image as a background. These imported images can then be modified using the supplied tools to produce your final design.

Changes in KXStitch 1.1.0:

Added French translation and updated Italian, Czech and British translations
Fix to show translator name in About dialog
Improvements to print setup using template
Added page numbers to printer setup pattern elements
Added config option for pattern element selected color
Updated symbol library (140 symbols)
Scaled symbols to smaller size to fit better into grid
Limit import colors to number of symbols available
Stop adding flosses in palette manager when there are no more symbols
Display warning when insufficient symbols available loading files
Added size tooltip for selection areas
Updated handbook
Fixed merge function for pasting
Make grid line thicknesses an application setting
Set Mirror/Rotate makes copies as configurable option
Made default zoom factor configurable
Removed palette show symbols flag from document settings
Fix for bug #22 – Library pattern properties change

Install KXStitch:

Besides building this app from the source tarball, you can install the KDE build from the PPA repository.

To install from PPA, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install kxstitch

So far, the PPA supports Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04 and their derivatives.

In Howtos Cross Stitch app for Ubuntu, KXStitch PPA, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Install or Upgrade to Linux Kernel 3.13.7 in Ubuntu/Linux Mint

Last updated: March 24, 2014

The latest Linux Kernel 3.13.7 has been released a few hours ago, March 23, by the famous kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman.

This release brings various important improvements, such as architecture updates (ARM, PowerPC, x86 and s390), and driver updates for gpu, wireless, usb and radeon, as well as other fixes. For details, see the release note.

Install/Upgrade to Kernel 3.13.7:

Ubuntu Kernel Team has built the new kernel and you can download and install them at kernel.ubuntu.com.

If you’re familiar with Linux command line, you can also follow the steps below to download & install this kernel:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one to download the DEB packages.

For 32-bit system:

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-headers-3.13.7-031307-generic_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_i386.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-headers-3.13.7-031307_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-image-3.13.7-031307-generic_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_i386.deb

For 64-bit system:

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-headers-3.13.7-031307-generic_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_amd64.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-headers-3.13.7-031307_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-image-3.13.7-031307-generic_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_amd64.deb

2. Install them via:

sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-3.13.7-*.deb linux-image-3.13.7-*.deb

Once installed, restart your computer and done.

NOTE: Proprietary video driver may need a re-build or upgrade to get it work with the new kernel.

If for some reason this kernel release doesn’t work properly for you, reboot into previous kernel (Grub -> Advanced -> select previous kernel) and run this command to remove Linux Kernel 3.13.7:

sudo apt-get remove linux-headers-3.13.7-* linux-image-3.13.7-*

In Howtos Linux Kernel, Linux Kernel 3.13 series, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Change An Application Icon in Ubuntu Unity [Tips]

Last updated: March 23, 2014

This quick tutorial is going to show beginners how to changes an application icon in Ubuntu Unity. It’ll work on Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.04 and future Ubuntu releases if Unity still to be the default desktop environment.

In Unity Desktop, application launchers are actually files stored in your computer, with a ‘.desktop’ extension. So besides changing the icon theme, you can edit the ‘.desktop’ to change the launcher icon for an specific application.

Below are the steps to change the application icon, Firefox Web browser as example, in Ubuntu 13.10 Unity:

1. Edit the ‘firefox.desktop’

The ‘.desktop’ files are usually stored in “/usr/share/applications/”. For some applications that are installed in user’s directory, you may find the .desktop files in “~/.local/share/applications/” directory.

To edit the firefox.desktop, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run:

cd /usr/share/applications

sudo gedit firefox.desktop

It will navigate to /usr/share/applications/ directory and open the firefox.desktop file via gedit editor. You can run ls |more to list all available files in that directory.

2. Change the value of Icon

In gedit window, scroll down to find out the line that starts with “Icon=” and change its value to the exact path to your NEW icon file. The image is usually .png file in 64×64 or 128×128.