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How to Install QMplay2 Qt Media Player via PPA in Ubuntu Linux

Last updated: January 1, 2014

QMplay2, a qt-based media player and downloader just got a new update. As you may know, QMplay2 plays all formats and stream supported by ffmpeg and libmodplug (including J2B). Also it has an integrated Youtube browser.

According to the changlog, the new release fixed ALSA issue, improved the code and playback settings, added the possibility to record covers as well as German translations.

Install QMplay2 in Ubuntu:

QMplay2 is updating frequently, one or two weeks per release, the best way to get the player is using the PPA repository.

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

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:samrog131/ppa

After that, you can always run below commands (or use Synaptic Package Manager) to install or upgrade QMplay2:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install qmplay2

Once installed, open the player from Menu / Unity Dash, or media files’ context menu.

In Howtos media player, qmplay2 ppa

Qtractor 0.5.12 released, How to install it in Ubuntu Linux

Last updated: January 1, 2014

Qtractor, free multi-track recording and sequencing software just released version 0.5.12 with many great new features.

As you may know, Qtractor is an audio/MIDI multi-track sequencer application written in C++ with the Qt4 framework. Target platform is Linux, where the Jack Audio Connection Kit (JACK) for audio and the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) for MIDI are the main infrastructures to evolve as a fairly-featured Linux desktop audio workstation GUI, specially dedicated to the personal home-studio.

The latest Qtractor 0.5.12 contains below changes:

Fixed another off-by-one MIDI plugin chain timing bug, delaying the actual playback of the first MIDI event, whenever it started at the same and as long as the initial play-head position (after another ticket by Holger Marzen, thanks again).

A new LV2 host convention is in effect on plugins that expose multiple AtomPort’s in either direction: only the first input or output declared AtomPort is eligible to convey regular MIDI data events (introduced while trying Frank Kober’s forthcoming QmidiArp LV2 suite of plugins,thanks).

Zooming with shift/ctrl+mouse-wheel and pointing over the main tracks view or MIDI clip editor time ruler header’s now fixed.

A rare freezing loop condition has been fixed on the oldest of MIDI file save/write routines (after a ticket and solution by Tuomas Airaksinen, thanks again).

Copy/paste now preserving clip names (ticket by Holger Marzen, thanks).

Scaling of whole tempo map with a given factor has been added, through a spin-box and button in Tempo Map / Markers dialog, after a long overdue patch by Tuomas Airaksinen, thanks again.

When issued from main tracks view (ie. Clip/Tools menu) MIDI clip tools are now a bit more crash-resilient re. undo/redo-ability.

Session auto-save / crash-recovery support is now on trial as in View/Options…/General/Session/Auto-save current working session every 10 minutes (default on).

Plugin-list chain context-menu now includes MIDI instrument audio output options to existing non-dedicated output buses, any other than the previous hard-wired default (eg. Master).

Tracks export now allows for the mix-down/merge of multiple audio/MIDI output buses (Track/Export Tracks).

When adding new tracks, try preserving the last selected bus names, while not the default Master ones (after a suggestion from danboid aka. Daniel MacDonald, thanks).

More preparations for Qt5 configure build.

Brand new thumb-(over)view toolbar widget added to MIDI clip editor window (aka. piano-roll overview).

General MIDI RPN/NRPN 14-bit controller support is now being introduced on real-time MIDI input parsing, on standard MIDI file I/O, on MIDI Controller options and, of course, on MIDI clip and event list editor.

Pretty innocent nitpick on most thread cleanup routines.

Download & Install Qtracktor:

The DEB packages for Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Debian, RPM packages for Fedora, OpenSUSE are available in qt-apps.org

In Howtos free multitrack recording software, qtractor

Install RSSOwl 2.2.1 RSS / Atom NewsFeeds in Ubuntu 13.10, 12.04

Last updated: April 4, 2019

RSSOwl, the powerful RSS / RDF / Atom News Feed Reader now is at version 2.2.1. The developer announced in the website:

After some time without news from RSSOwl, I am happy to release version 2.2.1. You will now find quick access to common actions like archiving or labeling right below the article content. Especially for articles with lots of content this means you no longer have to scroll all the way up to the title to run actions on the news. In addition, some broken keyword feeds have been fixed and new ones added.

RSSOwl common actions below the content

Install RSSOwl:

The GetDeb repository has built this release for Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy, Ubuntu 12.04 Precise and Linux Mint 13/16. To get started installing it, follow the steps below:

1. Add GetDeb repository:

For Ubuntu user, download and double-click to install ~~this deb~~.

For Linux Mint user, there’s an option under Software Sources -> Additional Repositories -> archive.getdeb.net.

2. Use Synaptic Package Manager to reload package lists and install the app. Or just run below commands in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install rssowl

In Howtos Feed Reader, Rssowl

How to Install qBittorrent 3.1.4 via PPA in Ubuntu Linux Mint

Last updated: December 31, 2013

qBittorrent, free and reliable P2P Bittorrent client now is at v3.1.4. Let’s see what’s new in this release and how to install it in Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint and their derivatives.

Changes in qBittorrent:

FEATURE: Statistics dialog
FEATURE: Tooltips explaining each peer’s connection flags
FEATURE: Win/Mac Check for program updates every 15min and allow the user to manually check for updates through the help menu.
BUGFIX: Better dialog message for torrent delete confirmation
BUGFIX: Fix resizing grip location.
BUGFIX: Lock toolbar in place.
BUGFIX: Second attempt at fixing saving settings on shutdown.
BUGFIX: Sort labels in ‘Add new torrent’ dialog.
LINUX: Fix build under Ubuntu 13.10
LINUX: Make sleep and shutdown functions work on systemd’s logind

Install qBittorrent via PPA:

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hydr0g3n/qbittorrent-stable

After that, you can upgrade / install the app in Synaptic Package Manager after checking for updates (click Reload button). Or run commands below to update and install:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install qbittorrent

For Windows, Mac OS, and other Linux, refer to official download page

In Howtos bittorrent client, qbittorrent

How to Install LibreCAD 2.0 Stable in Ubuntu Linux via PPA

Last updated: December 31, 2013

LibreCAD, free and open-source 2D-CAD application finally released version 2.0.0. At the moment, there’s no official announcement in its website. But the download links for Windows and Mac OS X and Ubuntu PPA are ready.

According to the official blog, LibreCAD 2.0.0 will has below features:

better spline and Bezier curve support;
complete conic section support after adding of hyperbola and parabola entities;
draw a circle/ellipse tangential to two selected circles/ellipses.

Install LibreCAD 2.0.0:

This release has been made into Ubuntu 14.04’s universe repository, so Trusty user can easily install it from Ubuntu Software Center.

For Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy, Ubuntu 13.04 Raring, Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal, (Ubuntu 12.04 build are failed) run commands below one by one in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) to install from PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:librecad-dev/librecad-daily

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install librecad

For Windows, Mac OS packages go to LibreCAD Homepage

In Howtos Librecad

Xfce4 Whisker Menu Added Dragging Launchers to Panel or Desktop

Last updated: December 30, 2013

Whisker Menu, the default application launcher of Linux Mint Xfce Desktop now is at version 1.3.0. According to the changelog, now you can drag app launchers from Whisker Menu to Panel or Desktop.

Whisker Menu 1.3 ChangeLog:

Fix menu artifacts when switching categories
Fix undefined behavior in slots
Add command to launch menu editor
Add command to switch users
Add hiding commands
Add browsing for commands
Add hiding category and launcher icons
Add loading default settings from a file
Add search actions
Add running arbitrary programs in PATH
Add dragging launchers to panel or desktop
Add support for custom menu files
Defer loading applications until window is shown
Merge configuration dialog tabs
Rearrange source files to match standard layout of Xfce plugins
Reduce unnecessary reloading of applications
Rewrite search model code
Use a single row in Xfce 4.10 panel
Use empty file for saving settings
Translation updates: Asturian, Brazilian Portuguese, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Taiwan), Dutch, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Malay, Nepali, Norwegian Bokmål, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Serbian (Latin), Slovak, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Uzbek

Click “Mark Executable” button if you get below window. The desktop icon will work properly next time you open it.

Install Whisker Menu:

If you’re on Xfce Desktop with Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint 13/14/15/16 and their derivatives. Whisker Menu can be easily installed from PPA.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gottcode/gcppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin

For Debian, Fedora, OpenSUSE and other Linux, go to whisker menu homepage

In Howtos drag launcher to desktop, Whisker Menu, xfce4

Free Accounting Software GnuCash 2.6.0 Stable Released

Last updated: July 25, 2014

The latest stable release of GnuCash, a personal and small-business financial-accounting software now is at version 2.6.x, announced on 29th Dec 2013.

What’s New in GnuCash 2.6:

New Features:

Preferences have been migrated from GConf to GSettings. This is a simpler and more robust backend which writes to the OS’s native prefs — defaults on OS X and the Registry on MSWindows — and allows us to remove several troublesome dependencies including GConf, ORBit, and DBus. The change includes a migration script that will run at Gnucash startup.

New date handling which allows GnuCash to use dates after March 2038.

Guile-2 compatibility: GnuCash now requires either Guile-1.8 or Guile-2.0 Documents outside of GnuCash, images of receipts for example, can now be linked to transactions, with the facility of opening them in the default application for the document type.

Cutsom Reports can now be saved without renaming the report, and modifications can overwrite an existing report.

The import assistant now finishes much more quickly after assigning contra-accounts.

GnuCash now requires Gtk+-2.24.0 and GLib-2.26.0. Most of the dependencies on obsolete libraries have been removed; only libgnomecanvas remains. Unfortunately the effort to rewrite the register code to use GtkTreeModel wasn’t completed in time, so GnuCash is not on the cusp of converting to Gtk3.

The Business Module has been substantially revamped, including support for Credit Notes and import of customers and vendors from a CSV file.

The Num field in the register display is now optionally per-split, so for example a check number can be entered for the checking account split and an invoice number for the expense account split.

GnuCash can now open locked books read-only so that more than one user can view a file. GnuCash still does not support multiple simultaneous writers.

By agreement of all authors, GnuCash is now licensed under the GNU General Public License Version 2 or later rather than simply Version 2. This allows derivative works to be licensed under the GPL Version 3 if the author of such a work so desires.

Bug fixes since 2.5.10:

Asset account’s “total” value should use most recent transaction prices
libofx can supply broken UTF-8 for account id
GnuCash should sanitise UTF-8 before serialising files to avoid writing broken unparseable XML.
General Ledger – Can’t Enter Transaction Amounts
The Tip of the Day preference isn’t getting saved
New Book Tabs on Windows

Other Changes:

Don’t create a second account hierarchy page when cancelling the Hierarchy Assistant or when using Actions->New Account Hierarchy on an already open book.
Reset Warnings dialog: show translated warnings
The locale-names for Help and the Tutorial and Concepts Guide have been renamed to language-only so that, for example, someone using the Swiss-German locale will be shown help in German instead of English.

Download & Install GnuCash 2.6:

Source Code and Windows EXE file are available in sf download page.

For Ubuntu users, build GnuCash 2.6 from source or wait for Canonical updating the universe repository.

GnuCash Website

In News Free Accounting Software, GnuCash

Install Foobnix, Foobar2000-Like Music Player in Ubuntu Linux

Last updated: February 25, 2015

Foobnix is a light and functional music player with Foobar2000-Like user interface available for Linux and Windows. It supports all popular formats, flac, lossless, CUE, 5000+ radios from box, online music for free, Last.fm and Vkontakte and more.

Foobnix has below features:

Support for CUE (also wv, iso.wv) is the best under Linux (zavlab)
Formats MP3, MP4, AAC, CD Audio, WMA, Vorbis, FLAC, WavPack, WAV, AIFF, Musepack, Speex, AU, SND …
Converter any format to any (mp3, ogg, mp2, ac3, m4a, wav)
Scrobbler tags with music and radio
Find and play music and videos
Equalizer
Online music download manager
Shortcuts
Displays the album cover, lyrics, photo artist
Integration with VKontakte (displaying all the friends and their music, downloading music from the group vkontakte)
Integration with Last.FM (Show plays the best songs, favorite songs, artists)

Screenshots:

Foobnix custom themes

Foonix compact foobar2000 like

Foonix Local Music view

foobnix watch video

Install Foobnix in Ubuntu:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it open, run below commands one by one:

UPDATE: So far supports Ubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.10. Old release also available in the PPA.

For stable release (~~Support Ubuntu 13.04, 12.10, 12.04, 10.04~~):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:foobnix-team/foobnix-player
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install foobnix

For development release (Support Ubuntu 14.04, 13.10, 13.04, 12.04):

sudo apt-get remove foobnix
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:popsul1993/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install foobnix

To install from source:

sudo python setup.py install
# or
sudo make install
# or
./install

More information at GitHub page

In Howtos Foobar2000

Virus Scanner ClamTk 5.02 released, Install in Ubuntu

Last updated: December 30, 2013

ClamTk, a GUI front-end for ClamAV Virus Scanner recently released version 5.02. This release brings a little UI improvements, bug fixes as well as translation updates. See the changelog:

Add gnome-icon-theme to requirements (mostly affects KDE-based systems like Kubuntu; it’s pretty standard with most distros)
Update statusbar after saving update preferences
Add missing icon in Nautilus context menu
Remove unused (notify-send and more) code from App.pm
Ensure FileChooserButton cannot be clicked with nothing (due to inability to reset)
Remove deprecated encoding pragma.
Updated language files: Bulgarian (bg), Czech (cs), Slovak (sk), Chinese (zh_CN), Irish (ga)

Download & Install ClamTk:

For Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint user:

ClamTk main package

thunar-sendto-clamtk (Xfce Thunar plugin)

clamtk-kde (KDE Dolphin plugin)

nemo-sendto-clamtk (Linux Mint Nemo plugin)

NOTE: previous packages only work for Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 14.04 and higher. For Ubuntu 12.04, install ClamTk 5.00

For Fedora, CentOS, Source Tarball, go to ClamTk googlecode page

In News ClamAV, ClamTk, Virus scanner

How to Install Simple Screen Recorder in Ubuntu via PPA

Last updated: December 29, 2013

SimpleScreenRecorder is a Linux program to record programs and games. It aims to be powerful and really simple to use. It’s ‘simple’ in the sense that it’s easier to use than ffmpeg/avconv or VLC, because it has a straightforward user interface.

This recorder has below features:

Graphical user interface (Qt-based).
Faster than VLC and ffmpeg/avconv.
Records the entire screen or part of it, or records OpenGL applications directly (similar to Fraps on Windows).
Synchronizes audio and video properly (a common issue with VLC and ffmpeg/avconv).
Reduces the video frame rate if your computer is too slow (rather than using up all your RAM like VLC does).
Fully multithreaded: small delays in any of the components will never block the other components, resulting is smoother video and better performance on computers with multiple processors.
Pause and resume recording at any time (either by clicking a button or by pressing a hotkey).
Shows statistics during recording (file size, bit rate, total recording time, actual frame rate, …).
Can show a preview during recording, so you don’t waste time recording something only to figure out afterwards that some setting was wrong.
Uses libav/ffmpeg libraries for encoding, so it supports many different codecs and file formats (adding more is trivial).
Can also do live streaming (experimental).
Sensible default settings: no need to change anything if you don’t want to.
Tooltips for almost everything: no need to read the documentation to find out what something does.

Install SimpleScreenRecorder Ubuntu:

The developer has created a PPA for Ubuntu and Linux Mint users. Currently supports Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Mint 13/14/15/16.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:maarten-baert/simplescreenrecorder
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install simplescreenrecorder

# if you want to record 32-bit OpenGL applications on a 64-bit system:

sudo apt-get install simplescreenrecorder-lib:i386

For Arch Linux, Gentoo, OpenSUSE and other Linux packages, refer to the app homepage

In Howtos record games in Ubuntu, Simple Screen Recorder