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Color UI – An Elegant Simple Theme for XFCE Desktop

Last updated: March 17, 2015

xfce theme

Color UI is a new simple and good looking theme project includes support for Xfwm4, Unity, Cinnamon, GTK3, GTK2, Metaciy, Mutter, Openbox.

Color UI was made with maximum usability in mind, from the window borders to the color scheme, Color UI was made for the user who wants an elegant simple theme that does not look broken. If any part of Color UI has any problems in any of the things I listed as this theme supporting, please notify me in the comments and I will try to fix it ASAP! Feedback is always appreciated, if it was not for feedback how else would Color UI improve.

Below is the screenshot of Color UI theme in Xfce Desktop, along with Numix-icon-light and Pen Tool Wallpaper.

Wanna try this theme? Do the steps below:

1. Download the theme from right pane of the project page.

2. Unpack the theme package, copy & paste Color UI folder to /usr/share/themes. You may do the copy and paste thing by running below command in terminal:

cd ~/Downloads/Color-UI-* && sudo cp -r Color-UI /usr/share/themes

3. Change the theme folder permission:

sudo chmod -R 755 /usr/share/themes/Color-UI

4. For XFCE, apply the theme at Settings Manager -> Appearance -> Style, and Icons tab. Also change the window border by going to Settings Manager -> Window Manager -> Style.

In Xfce ,
 

Install The Latest EasyTag Audio Tag Editor in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: March 13, 2015

Install the most recent release of EasyTag Audio tag editor in Ubuntu from PPA, while Ubuntu repositories provide an old version.

EasyTag is a simple audio tag editor written in C and GTK+. It supports MP3, MP2, MP4/AAC, FLAC, Ogg Opus, Ogg Speex, Ogg Vorbis, MusePack, Monkey’s Audio, and WavPack files. And works under Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X.

While Ubuntu repositories provide the old 2.1.10 release for 14.04 LTS, the latest stable 2.2.6 was released recently with

  • Fix crash when saving FLAC tags
  • Fix more CDDB search dialog memory leaks
  • Fix memory leaks when loading and saving Speex and Ogg files
  • Fix a crash when renaming files
  • Fix Ctrl-clicking to toggle file selection
  • Fix stripping the disc number from ID3v2.4 tags
  • Support album artist fields in WavPack tags
  • Improve validation of Vorbis artwork and MIME types
  • Several improvements to WavPack tag support
  • Relicense all code under the GNU GPL version 2 or later
  • Fix menu items used for tag field case conversion
  • Marek Černocký’s Czech translation
  • Christian Kirbach’s German help translation

Install/Upgrade EasyTag in Ubuntu 14.04/Linux Mint 17:

To install the latest EasyTag and receive future updates as part of system update, run below command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) to add its official ppa:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:amigadave/ppa

Then update system cache and install the editor:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install easytag

Or upgrade the software through Software Updater or Updater Manager if you have an previous release installed.

In Howtos ,
 

Opera Browser 28 Available for Download / Upgrade

Last updated: March 12, 2015

The latest stable Opera browser for Linux has reached the 28 release. The new release features bookmark synchronization on all devices.

Opera team recently announced the bookmark syncing feature by releasing the Opera Stable 28, which is available on Opera for computers, Opera Mini for iOS and Opera for Android. To use this feature, you need an Opera Account and login from either Setting page or the little figure icon.

In addition, Opera 28 also brings:

  • a better integration with Mac OS, as “vibrancy” of the address field and improved Mac fullscreen mode have been added
  • a bundled themes selection has been updated
  • For more, see the changelog.

Install / Upgrade Opera in Ubuntu:

If you have an previous Opera release installed, the Opera Stable Repository should be added on your system. (Go to Software & Updates -> Other Software tab, and check it out)

Then you can upgrade Opera through Software Updater after checking for updates.

Or you can download Opera browser directly from its Linux download page.

In News
 

Network File Transfer Software ‘NitroShare’ Is Alive

Last updated: March 11, 2015

NitroShare, a cross-platform network file transfer app, now is under active development since the previous 0.2 release was announced 2 years and a half ago.

Nitroshare is a cross-platform network file transfer application designed to make transferring any file to any device as painless as possible. It features:

  • Runs on Windows / Mac OS X / Linux
  • Automatic discovery of devices on the local network
  • Simple and intuitive user interface
  • Transfer entire directories
  • Completely free and open-source

NitroShare 0.2 in Ubuntu 14.04

Nitroshare project has been moved to Github.com. The developers are now working on the 0.3 release which features:

  • updating to Qt 5 from Qt 4
  • simplification of discovery
  • removal of limitation on file size during transfers

Install NitroShare:

The 0.3 release is still under development, it may contain bugs and uncompleted features. Besides building from the source via the description in project page, Ubuntu users can get it from the daily build PPA.

To install NitroShare 0.2 (stable release), download and install the binaries for Windows, Mac OS, Ubuntu, and/or OpenSUSE/Fedora from the left pane in the link below:

For Ubuntu:

1. you may first checkout the OS type, 32-bit (i386) or 64-bit (amd64), by going to top-right corner shutdown menu and clicking “About This Computer” option.

2. Then grab the “nitroshare_0.2_amd64.deb” or “nitroshare_0.2_i386.deb” depends on your OS type.

3. Finally click open the package with Ubuntu Software Center and install it.

In Howtos ,
 

How to Enable Hot Corners in XFCE Desktop [Quick Tip]

Last updated: July 2, 2015

This is a quick tip that shows you how to enable and tweak hot corners actions in (X)Ubuntu Xfce Desktop.

Brightside is a gnome support hot corners app which also works in Xfce Desktop. It allows you to assign configurable actions to occur while you rest the mouse in a corner of the screen.

Currently available actions comprise:

  • Fade out volume
  • Prevent screensaver starting
  • Start screensaver
  • Enter DPMS standby mode
  • Enter DPMS suspend mode
  • Enter DPMS off mode
  • Toggle showing desktop.
  • Custom action

Brightside can be installed via Ubuntu Software Center or by running below command in terminal:

sudo apt-get install brightside

Once installed, run brightside-properties (see previous pic.) command to start its configuration window and setup your hot corners actions.

To make brightside daemon start at login, go to Session and Startup window and add it under Application Autostart tab. See the picture below:

via:lffl.org

UPDATE 2015-7: There’s now a native Xfce plugin to set hot corners actions, see this post.

In Howtos ,
 

Handbrake Video Transcoder Sees A New Release

Last updated: March 10, 2015

The open source video transcoder Handbrake 0.10.1 was released recently with various fixes. The developers are working on the next major release Handbrake 1.0.

In an attempt to move away from our yearly release cycle, we have decided to start publishing interim fix releases. 0.10.1 marks the first of these releases. It’s focus is to fix some common bugs rather than introduce the new features we are working on in the background for 1.0.

Release highlights in Handbrake 0.10.1:

  • Various bug fixes for all platforms and the core engine.
  • Updated x265 to 1.5 which brings numerous bug fixes and some performance improvements.

Install or Upgrade to Handbrake 0.10.1 in Ubuntu:

The developer has made the binaries into PPA, available for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.10, and/or Linux Mint 17/17.1.

To add the PPA, open terminal from the Dash or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases

After that, upgrade Handbrake through Software Updater. Or install it by running below commands in terminal:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install handbrake-gtk
In News ,
 

Webby: A GTK3 Browser Specially For Creating Web Apps in Ubuntu

Last updated: March 9, 2015

Webby is an open-source project similar to Fogger, it allows to use Facebook, Youtube, or any web app as a normal desktop app in Ubuntu.

Chrome, Firefox, Opera, IE… all these are web browsers with a big toolbar and tabs. In the new era of web apps, it doesn’t makes any sense. Webby allow to use Facebook, Youtube or any web app as a regular desktop apps, integrated with the OS, without tabs and using the default system launcher.

With Webby browser, you can turn any web page into a regular desktop app via 4 steps:

  • paste or type in the url
  • give a name
  • set a launcher icon.
  • finally click the Create app button.

Once Webby successfully created the app, you are able to launch it from the Unity Dash or App Menu immediately.

Below are the GMail and Facebook web apps created by Webby:

How to Install Webby in Ubuntu:

The developer has created an official PPA for this web app browser, currently available for Ubuntu 14.10 and Ubuntu 14.04.

Open terminal from the Dash or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:erasmo-marin/webby-browser

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install webby-browser

NOTE for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS user: Since the app depends on GTK >=3.12, 14.04 Trusty needs Gnome 3 PPA and Gnome 3 Staging PPA (might broken your desktop) for the dependencies.

If you still want to try this browser in Ubuntu 14.04, run below commands to add the PPAs before running previous 3 commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3-staging

Once Webby is properly installed, remove Gnome 3 staging PPA to avoid issues:

sudo add-apt-repository -r ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3-staging
In Howtos
 

How to Upgrade to Kernel 3.19.1 in Ubuntu / Linux Mint

Last updated: March 8, 2015

Greg Kroah-Hartman announced the release of Linux Kernel 3.19.1 yesterday and urged all users of Kernel 3.19 series to upgrade as soon as possible.

According to the release note, Linux Kernel 3.19.1 brings improvements to ARM, x86, PowerPC, MIPS, ARM64, and s390 architectures, updated drivers for wireless, USB, ACPI, Bluetooth (ath3k), CPUFreq, HID, MD/RAID, MMC, DVB, PCI, SCSI, TTY, and XEN. Additionally, the XFS, UDF, NFS, JFFS2, OCFS2, EXT4, and Btrfs filesystems received various enhancements. Several core components have also been updated, and some Ceph, IPv4, and SunRPC issues have been fixed.

Install / Upgrade to Kernel 3.19 in Ubuntu:

The Ubuntu Kernel Team has made the binary packages for this kernel release, available for download at link below:

Download Linux Kernel 3.19.1 (.deb)

First check out your OS type, 32-bit (i386) or 64-bit (amd64), then download and install the packages below in turn:

  1. linux-headers-3.19.1-031901_xxx_all.deb
  2. linux-headers-3.19.1-031901-generic_3.19.1-031901.xxx_i386/amd64.deb
  3. linux-image-3.19.1-031901-generic_3.19.1-031901.xxx_i386/amd64.deb

If you need a low latency system (e.g. for recording audio) then replace the second and third packages with:

  1. linux-headers-3.19.1-031901_xxx_all.deb
  2. linux-headers-3.19.1-031901-lowlatency_3.19.1-031901.xxx_i386/amd64.deb
  3. linux-image-3.19.1-031901-lowlatency_3.19.1-031901.xxx_i386/amd64.deb

For Ubuntu Server without an UI, you may run below commands one by one to download & install the kernel debs.

For 64-bit system, run:

cd /tmp/

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.19.1-vivid/linux-headers-3.19.1-031901-generic_3.19.1-031901.201503080052_amd64.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.19.1-vivid/linux-headers-3.19.1-031901_3.19.1-031901.201503080052_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.19.1-vivid/linux-image-3.19.1-031901-generic_3.19.1-031901.201503080052_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-3.19.1-*.deb linux-image-3.19.1-*.deb

For 32-bit system, run:

cd /tmp/

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.19.1-vivid/linux-headers-3.19.1-031901-generic_3.19.1-031901.201503080052_i386.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.19.1-vivid/linux-headers-3.19.1-031901_3.19.1-031901.201503080052_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.19.1-vivid/linux-image-3.19.1-031901-generic_3.19.1-031901.201503080052_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-3.19.1-*.deb linux-image-3.19.1-*.deb

When done, restart your computer.

Tip: For Desktop machine running with a proprietary video driver, you may have to re-build/re-install the driver for the new kernel.

If for some reason, the new kernel does not work properly for you, reboot with the previous Kernel (Grub boot loader -> Advanced -> select previous kernel) and run below command to remove the Linux Kernel 3.19.1:

sudo apt-get remove linux-headers-3.19.1-* linux-image-3.19.1-* && sudo update-grub
In Howtos ,
 

Upgrade to Pinta 1.6 in Ubuntu 14.04, Linux Mint 17.1

Last updated: March 7, 2015

Pinta, free and open-source drawing and editing software, has recently reached the 1.6 release with redesigned shape tools and various fixes.

Since Ubuntu repositories still provides Pinta 1.3, the 1.6 release now features:

  • Redesigned shape tools (demo video):
    • The Line tool now supports drawing curves and arrows
    • Shapes remain editable after being drawn
    • All shape tools now support drawing dashed lines
  • All selection tools now support the Union, Exclude, Xor, and Intersection modes
  • New community add-in repository – add-ins can be installed through the Add-in Manager dialog (via the Add-ins menu)
  • Redesigned New Image dialog, which includes presets, orientation and background options, and a thumbnail preview of the image.
  • The toolbox and color palette now have a flexible layout and can expand horizontally, making them significantly more usable on small screens.
  • When launching Pinta from the command line, the standard --version and --help options are now supported.

There are also numerous bugs has been fixed in this release, see the full list of bug-fixes.

How to Install/Upgrade to Pinta 1.6:

Ubuntu 14.04, Linux Mint 17/17.1 users can easily install or upgrade to Pinta 1.6 from its official PPA repository.

First open up terminal, and then run command to add the Pinta PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pinta-maintainers/pinta-stable

After that, upgrade Pinta through Software Updater (or Update Manager) after checking for updates (or clicking the refresh button).

Or install Pinta directly through Software Center or Synaptic Package Manager.

In Howtos ,
 

VirtualBox 4.3.24 Fixed Kernel 4.0 issue for Linux Guest Additions

Last updated: March 3, 2015

Oracle announced the 4.3.24 release of VirtualBox this Monday which improves stability and fixes regressions.

For Linux users, VirtualBox 4.3.24 fixes the Kernel 4.0 building issue for guest additions and virtual screens deactivation problem. Below is the full change log:

  • VMM: emulation fix for the ENTER instruction under certain conditions; fixes Solaris 10 guests (VT-x without unrestricted guest execution)
  • VMM: fix for handling NMIs on Linux hosts with X2APIC enabled
  • NAT/NAT Network: fix connection drops when the host’s DHCP lease was renewed (4.3.22 regression; Windows hosts only)
  • NAT: don’t crash on an empty domain list when switching the DNS host configuration (4.3.22 regression; Mac OS X hosts only)
  • PXE: re-enable it on Windows hosts (4.3.22 regression; Windows hosts only)
  • Shared Folders: fixed a problem with Windows guests (4.3.22 regression)
  • Audio: improved record quality when using the DirectSound audio backend
  • VBoxManage: when executing the controlvm command take care that the corresponding VM runtime changes are saved permanently
  • Windows Installer: properly install the 32-bit version of VBoxRes.dll on 32-bit hosts
  • Linux hosts / guests: Linux 4.0 fixes
  • OS/2 Additions: fixed mouse integration (4.3.22 regression)
  • X11 Additions: fixed a sporadic failure to deactivate virtual screens

Install / Upgrade VirtualBox in Ubuntu:

Either install the VirtualBox package available at:

VBox Linux Download Page

Or add VBox repository via below command and then upgrade it through Software Updater:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'
In Howtos