UbuntuHandbook

Ubuntu 14.04 Quick Tip: Enable Notification for VLC

Last updated: June 29, 2014

Here is a quick tutorial about how to make VLC media player use Ubuntu desktop notifications in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty LTS.

VLC is one of the most widely used media player in Linux desktops. It is well integrated with Ubuntu Unity except that it does not use the native libnotify daemon so that you won’t see any notification bubble that indicates what’s playing. To enable this feature, follow below steps.

1. Open VLC media player, go to menu Tools -> Preferences.

2. On the left bottom, choose All to display all VLC settings.

3. Go to Interface -> Control Interface, check the box where it says “LibNotify Notificatior” to make VLC use Ubuntu’s notification daemon.

4. Click to expand Control Interface in left sidebar and you can change the notification bubbles timeout under Notify settings.

Restart VLC media player and enjoy!

In Howtos Notify-OSD, Ubuntu 14.04, vlc media player

Ubuntu 14.04 Quick Tip: Hide Grub Boot Menu While Booting

Last updated: June 28, 2014

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to get rid of (hide) the annoying Grub boot menu while booting up Ubuntu and make it directly go to the login screen.

If you just have a single Ubuntu installed on your computer, Grub bootloader is hidden by default and you can press and hold Shift key to show the menu while booting.

If you have more that one kernel on your system, Grub menu keeps showing up on booting and you can follow below steps to hide it again.

Method 1: Edit the config file.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, paste below command and run to edit the grub config file:

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

You’ll be asked to type in user password. Type in mind and finally hit enter (terminal won’t display your password).

When the file opens, remove “#” before “GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0” and set “GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true”. So it looks like:

…
GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT=10
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=”`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`”
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=”quiet splash”
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=””
…

Save the file and apply the changes by running below command:

sudo update-grub

Method 2: Use graphical tool grub-customizer:

Grub Customizer is a graphical interface to configure the GRUB2/BURG settings and menu entries. Press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal. When it opens, run below commands one by one to install it from developer’s PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer 

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install grub-customizer

Open the app and do below changes:

Switch to General settings.
un-check the boxes which say “show menu” and “look for other operating systems.”
Click refresh button.
Click Save button.

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos hide grub menu, Ubuntu 14.04

Install The Compositing Software ‘Natron’ in Ubuntu 14.04/12.04

Last updated: June 28, 2014

Natron is a free and open source video compositing software, similar in functionality to Adobe After Effects or Nuke by The Foundry.

It features:

32 bits floating point linear colour processing pipeline.
Colorspace management handled by the famous open-source OpenColorIO library.
Dozens of file formats supported: EXR, DPX,TIFF, JPG, PNG…thanks to OpenImageIO.
Support for many free and open-source OpenFX plugins: TuttleOFX, OpenFX-IO, OpenFX-Misc, OpenFX-Yadif deinterlacer, OpenFX-Vegas SDK samples, OpenFX samples
Support for commercial OpenFX plugins: Furnace by The Foundry, KeyLight by The Foundry, GenArts Sapphire, Other GenArts products
Currently almost all features of OpenFX v1.3 are supported
Intuitive user interface
real-time feedback
Multi-task: Natron can render multiple graphs at the same time
Recover easily from bugs: Natron sometimes crashes.
Project format written in XML and easily editable by human.
Fast & interactive Viewer
Real-time playback: Natron offers a real-time playback with best performances
Low hardware requirements: All you need is an x86 64 bits or 32 bits processor, at least 3 GB of RAM and a graphic card that supports OpenGL 2.0 or OpenGL 1.5 with some extensions.
Animate your visual effects
Command line tool for execution of project files.
Rotoscoping support
Multi-view workflow: Natron saves time by keeping all the views in the same stream.

Install Natron on Ubuntu 14.04 / 12.04:

So far, the Linux binaries are only available for 64-bit OS.

1. Download the package “Natron_Linux_x86_64bits_x.x.tar.gz” from the link below:

Download Natron binaries

2. Extract the downloaded package in your file browser.

3. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, install required package and run the installer script from the result folder:

sudo apt-get install libegl1-mesa

cd ~/Downloads/Natron-* && sudo ./Install.sh

The Install.sh script will automatically install Natron into /opt/, create a launcher icon and symbolic link to the executable. So that you can launch the software from Unity Dash or by running Natron in terminal.

4. (Optional) To remove the software, run the Uninstall script from that folder:

cd ~/Downloads/Natron-* && sudo ./Uninstall.sh

Natron website: natron.inria.fr

In Howtos Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Video compositing software

Install Awesome Window Manager 3.5.5 in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: June 27, 2014

Awesome is a dynamic window manager for the X developed in the C and Lua. It aims to be extremely small and fast, yet extensively customizable and make it possible for the user to productively manage windows with the use of keyboard.

Awesome has emerged as a dwm fork featuring customization through external configuration files. Although highly extensible, the default setup of the window manager is deliberately simplified. In doing so, the author has created what he calls a framework window manager for users to expand and adapt to their own needs.

Install The Latest Awesome 3.5.5 in Ubuntu 14.04:

While Ubuntu repositories contain Awesome 3.4.x, you can get the last features and fixes by installing v3.5.5 from an unofficial 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:klaus-vormweg/awesome

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install awesome

Once installed, log out current session and choose log-in with awesome.

In Howtos awesome window manager, Ubuntu 14.04

Install the Latest Bluefish Editor 2.2.6 in Ubuntu 14.04 / 12.04

Last updated: June 27, 2014

This quick tutorial shows you how to install the latest Bluefish editor (2.2.6 so far) in Ubuntu 14.04 / Ubuntu 12.04 and keep it up-to-date via its official PPA.

Bluefish is a free and open source advanced text editor with a variety of tools for programming in general and the development of dynamic websites. It supports development in (among others) HTML, XHTML, CSS, XML, PHP, C, C++, JavaScript, Java, Google Go, Vala, Ada, D, SQL, Perl, ColdFusion, JSP, Python, Ruby and shell.

Bluefish is available in Ubuntu universe repositories, but it’s always a little old. Below is how to add Bluefish’s official PPA repository and receive future updates by running regular Ubuntu updates via Software Updater.

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, paste below command and hit enter. It will add the PPA into your system after typing your password (If you’re asked).

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:klaus-vormweg/bluefish

If you’re running on non-GTK3 environment like simple window managers, use the GTK2 PPA instead:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:klaus-vormweg/bluefish-gtk2

2. Update the package lists so that you can install the editor from that repository:

sudo apt-get update

3. Finally you can install the latest Bluefish through your package manager, or run:

sudo apt-get install bluefish

If you have a previous version installed, upgrade it through Software Updater after checking for updates:

In Howtos Bluefish Editor, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04

Enable Onscreen Keyboard in LightDM-Gtk-Greeter in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: June 26, 2014

If you’re using Lightdm-Gtk-Greeter instead of the default Unity Greeter in Ubuntu 14.04, this quick tutorial will show you how to enable onscreen virtual keyboard in your login screen.

Lightdm-gtk-greeter provides a light-weight, GTK+2 or GTK+3 login screen for Linux desktops. It is available in the Software Center of Ubuntu 14.04.

Onscreen keyboard is not enabled by default in this greeter. If you want this feature, just do a little tweak on the config file and then you are able to launch the virtual keyboard via indicator menu or shortcut key F3.

First edit the config file, /etc/lightdm/lightdm-gtk-greeter.conf, with your favorite text editor. Here I use gedit.

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

sudo gedit /etc/lightdm/lightdm-gtk-greeter.conf

When the file opens, do:

add new line keyboard=onboard
add ~a11y; as a value of indicators

So the file will look like this:

Finally save the file and reboot. Enjoy!

In Howtos LightDM GTK+ Greeter, Ubuntu 14.04

Sync With OneDrive in Ubuntu Via OneDrive-D (Unofficial Client)

Last updated: February 23, 2015

Thanks to open source, Ubuntu users now are able to sync content with Microsoft OneDrive while there is no official client for Linux.

OneDrive-d is an open source project on github that intends to develop an OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) daemon on (X)Ubuntu Linux. The program is mainly written in Python and supplemented by Bash shell scripts. The API is based on Mike Kazantsev’s project python-onedrive.

With onedrive-d, you can simply create a folder and synchronize all content in your OneDrive account with that folder.

Install OneDrive-D in Ubuntu:

As an one-person project, onedrive-d is still under development. Please back up your data if you really want to use it in real scenario.

1. Download the package:

Download OneDrive-d

2. Extract the package and run the installer from the result folder: onedrive-d-master

To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T and run the command below after your extracted the package:

cd ~/Downloads/onedrive-d-master/ && ./inst install

Use ./inst reinstall if you have a previous version installed.

3. Once installed, you’ll see the previous Settings window that asks you to connect to OneDrive and select an folder to sync. If not, run:

onedrive-prefs

When everything is done, run below command to start the daemon and enjoy!

onedrive-d

Make Onedrive-d start at login:

Search for and open “Startup Applications” (without quotes) from the Unity Dash. Click Add and type in a name and onedrive-d in command box.

If you like this project, you can contribute to the code or report bugs to make it better: https://github.com/xybu92/onedrive-d

In Howtos OneDrive, Ubuntu 14.04

Google Calendar Indicator Fixed Icon Broken & Crash Issue on Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: June 25, 2014

Atareao team has updated its indicator app for Google Calendar with fixes of broken icon on Xfce, Gnome, and crash issue on launch.

Calendar indicator is an indicator applet that brings Google Calendar on your Ubuntu desktop. Besides displaying your events on Ubuntu panel, it has all basic Google Calendar features.

The latest update fixed two bugs on Ubuntu 14.04:

Fixed the broken indicator icon on Xfce or Gnome-flashback. bug #1312091
Fixed indicator crash issue on start bug #1234436

Install Calendar indicator in Ubuntu 14.04:

The new update was made into the developer’s PPA, available for Ubuntu 14.04 and its derivatives. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run below commands one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install calendar-indicator

If you’re using touchpad-indicator and have the broken icon issue, run:

sudo apt-get install touchpad-indicator

In Howtos Google Calender, Ubuntu 14.04

Opera 24 For Linux Released, Install it in Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit

Last updated: June 23, 2014

Opera 24 for Linux, the first Chromium-based build, was finally released today on June 23, 2014, as part of the ‘developer stream’. It has been almost one year since Opera released version 12.16 for Linux in July 2013.

Now, Linux users can get the newest Opera features, including:

Aura-powered UI
Discover
Stash
A wide selection of extensions and themes
Vastly improved Speed Dial and Opera Turbo.
and more.

A 64-bit .deb package is available from the link below:

Download Opera 24 for Linux

Click to install the package via Ubuntu Software Center. During the installing process, it will add the Opera repository into your system so that you can receive future updates by running regular Ubuntu updates via Software Updater. Also, it will install the Pepper Flash Plugin to get flash working.

Tip:

I’ve installed Opera 24 on my 64-bit Ubuntu 14.04 laptop, but it does not launch due to permissions issue (might be).

I can open it by running below command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) to open it via root:

sudo opera-developer

Or edit the .desktop file (sudo gedit /usr/share/applications/opera-developer.desktop) and change the exe command to make it look like:

Exec=gksudo opera-developer %U

via: blogs.opera.com

In Howtos Opera, Ubuntu 14.04

Install Note-Taking App Springseed 2.0 in Ubuntu

Last updated: June 23, 2014

Springseed is a native Linux note-taking application that features markdown support, syntax highlighting, and sync with Dropbox. It’s a free and open source software.

Springseed 2.0 was released a few hours ago with following changes:

UI: a dark sidebar with large typography
A word count in the edit mode
various improvements to code syntax support
bug fixes

And now Springseed team has a Google+ and Twitter page.

Version 2.0 works on Ubuntu 13.10 and Ubuntu 14.04. Download the packages from its website and click open with Ubuntu Software Center and finally install it on your system:

Download Springseed

In Howtos note-taking app, Ubuntu 14.04