UbuntuHandbook

Install SMPlayer 14.3 in Ubuntu 14.04 to Play Blu-ray Discs

Last updated: April 17, 2014

SMPlayer, the graphical front-end of MPlayer, now is able to play non-protected blu-ray discs since release 14.3.0. While Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty still has the version 0.8.x, here’s how to install the latest build of this media player in Ubuntu via the PPA.

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:

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:rvm/smplayer 

sudo apt-get update 

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

It will install the media player, skins, themes, and the YouTube Browser in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.10, or Ubuntu 12.04.

In Howtos Play Blu-ray, SMPlayer, Ubuntu 14.04

LiVES Video Editor 2.2.3 Released, Ubuntu PPA’s Ready

Last updated: April 15, 2014

LiVES, an open source video editor and DJ tool, has released version 2.2.3 with bug fixes and translation updates.

LiVES is designed to be simple to use, yet powerful. It is small in size, yet it has many advanced features.

The application allows the user to manipulate video in realtime and in non-realtime. The application also has features which go beyond traditional video editing applications – for example, it can be controlled and monitored remotely over a network, and it has facilities for streaming to and from another copy of LiVES. It is resolution and frame rate independent.

LiVES uses a system of plugins for effects, decoders, encoders and video playback. The APIs for these are now well defined, and the application can be easily extended.

LiVES 2.2.3 changelog:

Run data processing plugins in both video and audio threads.
Fix crash when loading device map (regression).
Fix bug which prevented audio changes from being recorded when audio analysers are running.
Updates for gtk+ >= 3.8.
Define HAVE_AVFORMAT_FIND_STREAM_INFO in decplugin/Makefile.am
Workaround for missing av_set_pts_info() in libav.
Fix to handle changed option order in ffmpeg.
Updated translations to Russian, Piemontese, Uk English, Spanish and Ukranian.

Install LiVES in Ubuntu:

Besides building from the source tarball. Ubuntu users can install this video editing system from PPA. To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. Then run the commands below one by one:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/lives

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt-get install lives

Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10 and Ubuntu 12.04 are supported.

LiVES Video Editor Homepage.

In Howtos LiVES, LiVES Video Editor PPA, Ubuntu 14.04

Enable SSH in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

Last updated: April 15, 2014

This simple tutorial is going to show you how to enable Secure Shell (SSH) service in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr.

Secure Shell (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol for secure data communication, remote command-line login, remote command execution, and other secure network services between two networked computers.

SSH is not enabled by default in Ubuntu, but you can easily enable this service via OpenSSH, a free version of the SSH connectivity tools developed by the OpenBSD Project.

To do so, run the command below in terminal:

sudo apt-get install openssh-server

Or install the openssh-server package via Ubuntu Software Center if you’re on Desktop edition:

Once installed, you can change the port, disable root login and do other changes by editing the config file:

sudo gedit /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Finally restart the ssh server to take place:

sudo /etc/init.d/ssh restart

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos ssh, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Enable DVD Playback in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: May 19, 2014

Want to play DVDs on your Ubuntu Desktop? Well, Ubuntu can’t play DVDs out of the box for a whole tangle of legal reasons. But you can follow this tutorial to enable DVD playback in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr.

1. Buy Fluendo DVD Player:

Fluendo DVD Player is a software application specially designed to reproduce DVD on Linux/Unix platforms, which provides end users with high quality standards.

The following features are provided:

Full DVD Playback
DVD Menu support
Fullscreen support
Dolby Digital pass-through
Dolby Digital 5.1 output and stereo downmixing support
Resume from last position support
Subtitle support
Audio selection support
Multiple Angles support
Support for encrypted discs
Multiregion, works in all regions
Multiple video deinterlacing algorithms

The Ubuntu Software Center sells Fluendo DVD Player for $24.95:

2. Enable DVD Playback in Ubuntu:

Don’t want to pay? Thanks to the open-source software libdvdread, it provides the library to read DVDs in Ubuntu Linux.

To install it, open Ubuntu Software Center and search for and install the package libdvdread4 and libdvdnav4.

After that, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run:

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

This script will allow you to play encrypted DVDs in Ubuntu.

UPDATE: Since Medibuntu is no longer available, you have to install libdvdcss2 repository manually. Download it from the link below:

32 bit libdvdcss2

64 bit libdvdcss2

Once installed, you’ll be able to playback and navigate DVD menus in most video applications, including the default Totem and VLC.

In Howtos enable DVD playback, play encrypted DVD, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Install Nvidia Driver 331.67 in Ubuntu 14.04/12.04

Last updated: April 13, 2014

Nvidia driver 331.67 for Linux has been released which brings new GPUs support and a few bug fixes. This tutorial will show you how to install this proprietary driver in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty and Ubuntu 12.04 Precise.

Nvidia 331.67 release highlights:

Added support for the following GPUs:
- GeForce GT 705
- GeForce GT 720
- GeForce GTX 860M
- GeForce GTX 870M
- GeForce GTX 880M
- GeForce GTX TITAN Black
Fixed a bug that could lead to crashes when running Left 4 Dead 2 with threaded optimizations enabled.
Updated the makefile for the NVIDIA kernel module to work around a bug in older versions of GNU Make that prevented the NVIDIA kernel module from building correctly. This bug was fixed in version 3.81 of GNU Make.
Fixed a bug that causes some X clients to be disconnected from the X server when the screen is resized while RandR 1.4 display offloading is in use.
Fixed a bug that could cause display corruption when resuming from suspend on systems using RandR 1.4 display offloading with recent Linux kernels.
Added support for Tridelity SL stereo mode.
Fixed a bug that could cause nvidia-settings to crash or display incorrect information after switching virtual terminals while a color correction confirmation countdown was active.

Install Nvidia 331.67:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below to remove the previous driver:

sudo apt-get purge nvidia*; sudo apt-get install nvidia-331-updates-dev

2. Restart your computer. Go to Software & Updates -> Additional drivers and switch to recommended open-source driver.

3. Download Nvidia 331.67 for:

32 bit Linux

64 bit Linux

32 bit ARM

4. Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 (or F2 ~ F6) key combination on your keyboard to switch to command console and login. Stop the graphic session by running the appropriate command below:

sudo service lightdm stop ## For the default LightDM

sudo service gdm stop ## For the Gnome GDM

sudo service mdm stop ## For the Linux Mint default MDM

5. Now give executable permission and start the installer, and finally follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

chmod +x ~/Downloads/NVIDIA-Linux-*-331.67.run && sudo sh ~/Downloads/NVIDIA-Linux-*-331.67.run

Tips: You may keep the installer file so that you can remove this driver via below command if for some reason this driver does not work properly:

sudo sh ~/Downloads/NVIDIA-Linux-*-331.67.run --uninstall

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos Nvidia Driver, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04

Reset Unity and Compiz Settings in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: June 26, 2014

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to reset unity and compiz if you messed up your Unity desktop in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr. All you need to do is run two commands in a terminal window.

Don’t be scared if you’re not comfortable with Linux commands. Just copy the code via Ctrl+C, then paste it into the terminal via Ctrl+Shift+V and finally hit Enter to run.

To get started, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open a terminal window. When it opens, run the below command to reset Unity and Compiz settings:

dconf reset -f /org/compiz/

After that, run the below command to restart Unity:

setsid unity

Now your unity desktop and compiz effects should reset to the original status.

To get back the default set of Unity Launcher icons, run below command and then log out and back in.

unity --reset-icons

If you want to restore default icon theme, use Unity Tweak Tool which is available in Ubuntu Software Center.

In Howtos reset compiz, reset unity, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Install Adobe Flash in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

Last updated: February 6, 2015

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to install Adobe Flash player in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr for Firefox and other web browser. If you’re using Google Chrome, flash player is already installed by default.

For 32 bit system:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the command below to update your package lists:

sudo apt-get update

Then open Ubuntu Software Center, search for and install the package flashplugin-installer.

It extracts the 32-bit Flash player library from the adobe-flashplugin package (which is retrieved from http://archive.canonical.com/) and configures itself as default for Internet browsers.

For 64 bit system:

Because “flashplugin-installer” installs the 32-bit version of Flash and a related compatibility library which may be slower and less stable, so it’s recommended to install the adobe-flashplugin package from canonial partners repository.

First open “Software & Updates” from unity dash, then enable the partners repository under Other “Software” tab.

After that, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below to install the flash:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get purge adobe-flash{plugin,-properties-gtk}

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos adobe flash, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Install Minecraft in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: May 14, 2015

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to install minecraft, the popular sandbox indie game, in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr.

An unofficial PPA provides an installer script to automatically download the files from Mojang’s servers and install the game on your system. So all you to do is get the script from the PPA.

minecraft login

Before getting started, you may read the PPA description:

# Not Redistribution

Since the script actually goes out to Mojang’s servers to get the files, I’m not redistributing any of their files. This project is simply an installer for their stuff.

# Not a Black Screen Fix

If your computer has issues running Minecraft with OpenJDK 7, then it will have issues running this. Because that’s what this is. I’ve tested this on multiple machines and it’s worked fine, but your mileage may vary. That said, one of the main black screen issues I’ve seen is people not running it with OpenJDK 7. ;)

To get started, 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:minecraft-installer-peeps/minecraft-installer

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install minecraft-installer

Once installed, open it from Unity Dash and enjoy! If you don’t want to add the PPA, download and install the .deb directly from launchpad page.

In Howtos Minecraft, Minecraft installer, Ubuntu 14.04

Install Evernote Client (Everpad) in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: April 22, 2024

NOTE: The app has discontinued for 10 years! So, this tutorial does not longer works! See it in github page.

Everpad is an open-source client for the fantastic note taking tool evernote that integrates extremely well with Unity, the default Ubuntu Desktop Environment.

The app support Unity Lens which allows you to search through your Evernotes, then click to open them for additional editing. From the app indicator you can create and manage all of your Evernotes from one place.

Install Everpad:

NOTE: The development of Everpad has suspended for months, and there are a large mount of open issues still have no response. Everpad now has bugs, use it at your own risk!

Once Ubuntu 14.04 is finally released, you’ll be able to install the evernote app via below commands.

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:nvbn-rm/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install everpad

Once installed search for and run the ‘Everpad’ from the Unity Dash. You will then see the app indicator appear on your panel. Once it does, click on it and select “Settings & Management” then “Authorise” to configure Everpad with your Evernote account.

That’s it! Your notes will now start to sync with Ubuntu. Enjoy!

In Howtos evernote client, everpad, Ubuntu 14.04

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: