UbuntuHandbook

Writing App FocusWriter Adds Support Open XML Files, Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: June 17, 2014

Full-screen writing program FocusWriter updated to version 1.5.0 with many exciting new features and improvements.

FocusWriter is a simple, distraction-free writing environment. It utilizes a hide-away interface that you access by moving your mouse to the edges of the screen, allowing the program to have a familiar look and feel to it while still getting out of the way so that you can immerse yourself in your work.

FocusWriter features:

TXT, basic RTF, and basic ODT file support
Timers and alarms
Daily goals
Fully customizable themes
Typewriter sound effects (optional)
Auto-save (optional)
Live statistics (optional)
Spell-checking (optional)
Multi-document support
Sessions
Portable mode (optional)
Translated into over 20 languages

The latest release 1.5.0 was released one hour ago on June 17th, 2014 with following new features and improvements.

Added daily progress dialog
Added default themes
Added blurring behind text area
Added drop shadow behind text area
Added duplicating themes
Added keyboard shortcuts to move between paragraphs
Added option to disable byte order mark
Added basic support for Office Open XML files
Added Windows installer
Include dictionaries on Windows
Improved theme dialog
Improved background color when loading theme
Stopped clearing document cache across runs
Synchronized location for open and save dialogs
Switched to hunspell
Switched to QtZip
Refactored daily progress
Refactored document cache
Refactored spell checking code

Install FocusWriter 1.5.0 in Ubuntu:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one will install the writing app from its official PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gottcode/gcppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install focuswriter

Works on Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.04 and their derivatives.

For Othe Linux, Window, and Mac OS, go to FocusWriter website.

In Howtos focuswriter, Ubuntu 14.04

Wallch Wallpaper Changer Fixed Frequent Crashes in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: June 17, 2014

Wallch 4.12 was finally released with various bug fixes, including the crash when clicking the start button under ‘Wallpaper’. Now it is works like a charm in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty!

Wallch is a free and open source wallpaper changer for Linux desktops. Besides changing your desktop background automatically, it features:

a live picture of earth updated every 1/2 hour
Picture of The Day (wikipedia).
Wallpaper Clocks – combine beautiful wallpapers with the time and date.
an Unity indicator to control the app from menu

Wallch automatically change desktop background with selected Picture folder

Control wallch via an Unity indicator

The latest release fixed below bugs:

Fixed bug of application crashing on ‘Wallpapers’ when button start was pressed
Fixed bug of window not being able to resize
Fixed bug on wallpaper clocks were the background was always one minute behind system’s time
Fixed bug were shortcuts like Ctrl+Q or Ctrl+P wouldn’t work
More fixes see the launchpad page.

Install Wallch 4.12 in Ubuntu 14.04:

First you may check out your OS type: 32-bit = i386, 64-bit = amd64 by going to System Settings -> Details -> OS type.

Then download the .deb package and click install via Ubuntu Software Center.

Download Wallch 4.12 for Ubuntu 14.04

Once installed, open it from Unity Dash result and enjoy!

In Howtos Ubuntu 14.04, wallch

Try Otter Browser – Opera 12.x Alternative in Ubuntu

Last updated: June 16, 2014

Otter web browser is a free and open-source project started half a year ago. It aims to recreate classic Opera (12.x) UI using Qt5.

As you may know, the last release of Opera for Linux is one year ago on June 3, 2013, and there probably won’t be a new release because Opera has abandoned the Linux platform (See the Hacker News).

The Otter browser aims to provide users who like the classic Opera interface and functionality. The browser is based on the QtWebKit, but the author plans to add support for other browser engines.

The developer notes that Otter won’t be a full clone of Opera. It will lack some features, Unity or widget supports for instance, and improve others.

NOTE: Otter browser is in very early stage. It may or may not work, use it at your own risk.

Download Otter Browser

Ubuntu users download the .deb package and click install via Software Center. You may check out OS type 32-bit (i386) or 64-bit (amd64) via System Settings -> Details.

Once installed, start browser via otter-browser command, you’ll be able to launch it from Unity Dash search results after reboot.

website: otter-browser.org

In Howtos Opera 12, Ubuntu 14.04

System Load Indicator 0.4 Brings Various Fixes, Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: June 15, 2014

System Load Indicator 0.4 was finally released on June 14, 2014 which brings various important fixes. It has been one year and four months since the 0.3 release.

System Load Indicator is an applet on your system tray area that displays graphs for CPU, RAM and swap space use, Disk read/write, plus network traffic.

The most recent 0.4 release brings following fixes:

Fixed crash: running indicator-multiload immediately segfaults.
Fixed the crash after setting graph smoothing in Advanced settings (bug in 0.4-beta)
Fixed crash at session opening (Gnome Shell).
“Open System Monitor” now opens Xfce4 Task Manager in Xfce Desktop.
Fixed menu monitor items do not display on Ubuntu 13.10 (bug in 0.4-beta)
Add GUI option to turn off autoranging on graphs
Provide monochrome colors option
Read the release page.

Install System Load Indicator 0.4 in Ubuntu:

The new release has been made into PPA, available for Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.04 and their derivatives.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one will add the PPA and install the indicator:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:indicator-multiload/stable-daily

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install indicator-multiload

Once installed, open it from Unity dash results or menu.

In Howtos System Load Indicator

Shutter 0.91 Released with Bug Fixes & Updated Icon

Last updated: June 15, 2014

Shutter, a Linux native screenshot tool with editing feature, was updated to version 0.91 with a few bug fixes and updated application icon.

Shutter is a free, open source, and feature-rich screenshot program for Linux. You can take a screenshot of a specific area, window, your whole screen, or even of a website – apply different effects to it, draw on it to highlight points, and then upload to an image hosting site, all within one window.

The latest Shutter 0.91 was released a few hours ago on June 14, 2014. It brings the updated application icon by Lucas Romero Di Benedetto.

Also this release fixed the bug that session tab does not show thumbnails in Ubuntu 14.04.

Finally, Shutter remove uploading to imm.io because the hosting service has been officially shutdown.

Install / Upgrade Shutter in Ubuntu:

Shutter 0.91 is available in its official PPA for Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 10.04 and their derivatives.

To add the PPA, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, paste the command below and hit enter to run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:shutter/ppa

Then you can upgrade Shutter via Software Updater or Synaptic Package Manger after checking for updates. Or just run the command below to install it:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install shutter

In Howtos shutter, Ubuntu 14.04

Use Wallch Wallpaper Changer in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: June 17, 2014

Wallch is an automatic wallpaper changer for Ubuntu Linux. It features random image, Unity indicator, Live Earth wallpaper, wallpaper clocks, and Picture of The Day (wikipedia).

Wallch is a free and open source app that works on Gnome, Unity, LXDE, Xfce and Mate. This quick tutorial will show you how to install and get Wallch working in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

See the pictures:

Wallch automatically change desktop background with selected Picture folder

Wallch display a Live picture of earth updated every 1/2 hour

Wallch displays a Live picture of earth updated every 1/2 hour

Wallch displays a wallpaper with real time clock

Control wallch via an Unity indicator

Install Wallch in Ubuntu 14.04:

~~Wallch is available in Ubuntu repositories, you can click the link below to bring up Ubuntu Software Center and click install it:~~

Download and click install the wallch_4.12-1trusty_*.deb from the link below. You may check your OS type 32-bit = i386 or 64-bit =amd64 by going to System Settings -> Details.

Download Wallch 4.12 .deb

Once installed, open it from Unity Dash search results.

UPDATE: Below bugs are fixed by Wallch 4.12!

NOTE 1. Due to bug, Wallch does not work after you installed it. Go to menu or indicator Edit -> Preferences -> Integration. Change the theme from Autodetect to Ambiance, and choose your desktop environment will fix the issue.

NOTE 2: Wallch in Ubuntu 14.04 is a little buggy. When you click on Start changing wallpapers, it crashes sometimes. Just restart the app and do it again, it will be working good once it starts changing your desktop background.

In Howtos Ubuntu 14.04, wallch, wallpaper changer

Install / Upgrade to KDE 4.13.2 in (K)Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: June 13, 2014

The second updates of KDE 4.13 series was release on June 10, 2014 with more than 40 recorded bugfixes include improvements to Kontact, Umbrello UML Modeller, the Desktop search functionality, Konqueror and Dolphin.

According to the changelog, this release of KDE Applications includes a number of important fixes for Kopete: a decrease in the exit time of Kopete with enabled statistics plugin, a fix for the compilation of jabber libjingle for non x86 architectures and another fix for voice call support in the jabber libjingle library.

Without this last fix, voice calls worked only with the old Google Talk windows jingle client. Now after applying the patches it was tested with GMail web plugin, old Google Talk windows client, telepathy-gabble and other Kopete versions.

Install / Upgrade KDE 4.13.2:

KUbuntu Updates PPA has made this release into PPA, available for Ubuntu 14.04 and its derivatives.

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:kubuntu-ppa/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

If you don’t have KDE desktop, install it via:

sudo apt-get install kde-standard kubuntu-desktop

KDE 4.13.2 release note.

In Howtos KDE, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Install Guvcview 1.7.3 in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: June 12, 2014

Guvcview is a video capture tool for cameras supported by the linux UVC driver, although it should also work with any v4l2 compatible device.

It provides:

Image: jpg, png, bmp
Video: mjpeg, flv1, wmv1, mpg2, mpg4, vp8, ogg theora
Sound: mp3, acc, avi and matroska

You can also use guvcview as a control window only, (from console: guvcview –control_only), this allows image control on other apps, like ekiga, cheese, mplayer, skype, etc.

While Ubuntu 14.04 has Guvcview 1.7.1 in its repositories, the latest has reached Guvcview 1.7.3 with following changes:

add silence frames to compensate audio drift (delay).
fix possible memory leak
add video and image capture through system signals: SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2
add true no_display mode (no X required)
small bug fixes
add H264 decoding support.

Install Guvcview 1.7.3 in Ubuntu 14.04:

The official v1.7.3 packages from sf.net were built on Ubuntu 13.10 and they don’t work on Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty due to dependencies problem.

I’ve rebuilt it into PPA based on Ubuntu 14.04, just download and double click to install it via Ubuntu Software Center.

guvcview 1.7.3 32-bit guvcview 1.7.3 64-bit

Enjoy!

In Howtos camera, Ubuntu 14.04

Install HipHop to Listen to Free Music in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: January 23, 2015

You know HipHop? It is an application lets you listen instantly to more than 45 million songs. No ads and totally free!

HipHop works on Windows, Mac and Linux (64-bit only). This simple tutorial will show you how to install it in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 64-bit. Should also works on other Ubuntu releases.

There will be a few Linux commands in the below steps. Don’t be scared, just copy and paste them one by one in a terminal window (open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T) and hit Enter to run.

1. Install required library via command:

sudo apt-get install libudev1 nodejs

Type in your user password when it asks. Just type in mind and hit enter because terminal displays nothing when you typing a password.

2. Create a symbolic link so that the app will find the library:

sudo ln -s /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libudev.so.1 /usr/lib/libudev.so.0

3. Download HipHop from:

HipHop on Github

So far the package is HipHop-0.4.6.tgz

4. In terminal, run command to decompress the package to /opt/ directory for global use.

cd /opt/ && sudo tar -xvzf ~/Downloads/HipHop-*.tgz

After this command, run ls and you should see HipHop folder in the list.

5. Make the app executable:

cd /opt/HipHop/ && sudo chmod +x HipHop

6. You can now launch the app via:

/opt/HipHop/HipHop

If everything is OK, let’s go create a launcher for HipHop so that you can start it from Unity Dash or Launcher.

1. First download an icon for the app. Below command will download the logo at the top of this post.

cd ~/Downloads/ && wget https://ubuntuhandbook.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hiphop-icon.png

2. Move the icon into the system’s icons folder (/usr/share/icons):

sudo mv ~/Downloads/hiphop-icon.png /usr/share/icons/hiphop.png

3. Ubuntu handles app launchers via .desktop files under /usr/share/applications/. We have to create one manually via:

sudo gedit /usr/share/applications/hiphop.desktop

When the file opens, copy and paste below into it.

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=hiphop
Exec=/opt/HipHop/HipHop
Hidden=false
NoDisplay=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=false
Comment=
Icon=hiphop
StartupNotify=true
Terminal=false
Categories=GNOME;GTK;RasterGraphics;Viewer;Utility;Network;

Save the file and now you can search and open HipHop from Unity Dash.

Enjoy!

In Howtos Listen to Free Music, Ubuntu 14.04

Firefox 30 Stable Released, How to Upgrade in Ubuntu

Last updated: June 10, 2014

Mozilla Firefox 30.0 was finally released just a few minutes ago on June 10, 2014. The new release features GStreamer 1.0 support, Mac OS X command-E sets find term to selected text, and Sidebars button in browser chrome enables faster access to social, bookmark, & history sidebars.

More changes in Firefox 30:

Disallow calling WebIDL constructors as functions on the web
With the exception of those bundled inside an extension or ones that are whitelisted, plugins will no longer be activated by default.
Fixes to box-shadow and other visual overflow
Mute and volume available per window when using WebAudio
background-blend-mode enabled by default
Use of line-height allowed for <input type=”reset|button|submit”>
ES6 array and generator comprehensions implemented
Error stack now contains column number
Support for alpha option in canvas context options
Ignore autocomplete=”off” when offering to save passwords via the password manager
TypedArrays don’t support new named properties

For more details, see the official release note.

Upgrade to Firefox 30 in Ubuntu:

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, will make the Firefox 30 into updates/security repositories very soon, available for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10 and Ubuntu 12.04.

Just run software updater from Unity Dash: