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Archives For November 30, 1999

How to Install The Latest Mesa Graphics Driver in Ubuntu 20.04 / 21.04

Last updated: April 26, 2024

For those sticking to the open-source graphics driver, the latest Mesa 3D graphics library is easy to install via an Ubuntu PPA.

Mesa is an open-source software implementation of OpenGL, Vulkan, VDPAU, VA-API, and other graphics API specifications.

Ubuntu uses Mesa as OpenGL implementation if no proprietary driver is in use. It is however always old. For users want to play some games with the open-source RadeonSI, RADV, Intel, or Nouveau drivers, you may try the latest Mesa via PPA.

Install Mesa via Ubuntu PPA:

A trustworthy Ubuntu PPA is available that contains the latest stable Mesa packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04. It also provides packages for Ubuntu 20.10 and Ubuntu 21.04, but not tested.

1. Add the PPA:

Search for and open terminal from system app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa

Type user password, no visual feedback, when it asks. Read the PPA description as you want and hit Enter to continue.

2. Install Mesa packages:

For Ubuntu 18.04, Linux Mint, you need to update package cache though it’d done automatically in Ubuntu 20.04 and higher.

sudo apt update

Finally install available upgrades of all packages including Mesa library via command:

sudo apt full-upgrade

3. Check mesa version:

To find out the package version, use command:

glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"

Restore Original Mesa packages:

To restore your graphics driver to the original status, firstly install ppa-purge via command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge

Next purge the Ubuntu PPA which will downgrade all the installed packages:

sudo ppa-purge ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa

For Linux Mint 20, it’s recommended to add -d focal flag to work safely:

sudo ppa-purge -d focal ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa
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Enable Windows 11 Style Start Menu in Ubuntu 20.04 & Higher via Arc Menu

Last updated: April 26, 2024

By releasing recent update, the popular Arc Menu Gnome Shell extension finally adds Gnome 40 and Windows 11 layout support.

Arc Menu is a free open-source app menu extension for Gnome. It provides various menu layouts to choose from, as well as many options to customize the appearance. For users new to GNOME and looking for a Windows style start menu, this extension will be perfect for you!

With the extension along with dash to panel, you can make Ubuntu just look like Windows 11.

The new menu layout does not display a search bar by default. Just type and it will bring up the search box as well as results.

How to Install Arc Menu:

The extension requires Gnome 3.36 +, which means you can install it in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 20.10, Ubuntu 21.04 and next Ubuntu 21.10.

1.) Firstly, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install the required tools, if you don’t have it:

sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell gnome-shell-extension-prefs

Next go to Arc Menu web page and turn on the slider icon to install it:

Install Arc Menu

If you don’t see the toggle icon, install browser extension via “Click here to install browser extension” link and refresh the web page.

Once installed, you can toggle on / off Arc Menu by opening Extensions from system app menu.

To select Windows 11 style start menu, right-click on start icon and go to settings. Then navigate to “Menu Layout -> Modern Menu Layouts”, choose ‘Eleven’ and click on Apply button.

Arc Menu follows your system theme. For dark mode menu, set Gnome Shell theme to dark.

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Disable Startup Animation & Show Boot Message in Ubuntu 24.04/22.04

Last updated: April 26, 2024

Since Ubuntu 20.04, it shows your computer manufacturer logo on startup. It’s however easy to remove it, as well display the blank and white boot text message.

The Grub boot-loader offers option to toggle the settings in its configuration file. You can either manually edit the file or using a graphical tool called Grub Customizer.

NOTE: This tutorial will replace startup animation with blank while text message! If you still want the animation screen, see this new tutorial instead.

Option 1. Manually configure Grub bootloader:

Firstly, search for and open terminal from system app launcher. When it opens, run command to edit the Grub configuration file:

sudo gnome-text-editor /etc/default/grub

For Ubuntu 22.04 and earlier, replace gnome-text-editor with gedit in command. Or, use nano instead that works in all other Desktop environments.

When the files opens, do:

  • Remove quiet and splash from line ‘GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=”quiet splash”‘. Keep other parameters if any. In my case, it will be GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=””.
  • (Optional) Enable GRUB_TERMINAL=”console” by removing # at the beginning. NOTE this will disable the boot-menu theme if any.

Finally apply changes by running command:

sudo update-grub

Option 2. Configure Grub via Grub Customizer:

The popular graphical configuration tool offers ability to change the boot parameters.

NOTE: Since Ubuntu 22.04, Grub Customizer is removed from system repository. You need to run command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) to add the developer’s PPA first:

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

Then, refresh system package cache via command:

sudo apt update

Finally, install Grub Customizer either in Ubuntu Software (for 20.04 & earlier) or by running command in terminal:

sudo apt install grub-customizer

Next, launch the tool and navigate to ‘General settings‘ tab. There you can easily remove the ‘quiet’ and ‘splash’ boot parameters. And optionally enable ‘GRUB_TERMINAL=”console”‘.

Click on Save button. Changes will take effect at next boot!

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How to Install Dukto File Transfer App in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04

Last updated: July 4, 2024

Missing the classic Dukto file transfer tool? The tool now is ported to Qt6 and easy to install in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 24.04 via PPA.

For those never heard about Dukto, it’s a free open-source file transfer tool for LAN (Local Network) use. With the clean elegant user interface, you can drag and drop to transfer files from one PC to anther, without worrying about users, permissions, operating systems, protocols, clients, servers and so on…

Dukto works on Mac OS, Windows, and Linux. Though it’s not being developed for years, the tool still works well and available to download at:

Download Dukto

However, the deb package does not install in Ubuntu since it requires old Qt4 libraries!

Thanks to community, the Qt5/Qt6 port is available and can be installed from the developer’s PPA. So far, it supports Ubuntu 18.04 (stuck at v6.0), Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 24.04.

Install Dukto 6 via Ubuntu PPA:

Firstly, search for and open terminal from system app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xuzhen666/dukto

Type user password, no asterisk feedback, when it asks and hit Enter to continue.

Next, update package cache though it’s done automatically in Ubuntu 20.04 & higher:

sudo apt update

Finally, install the Qt5 version of Dukto via command:

sudo apt install dukto

Once installed, open the tool from system app launcher. It will automatic find other machines that have the tool opens.

Uninstall Dukto:

To remove Dukto, simply open terminal and run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove dukto

And remove the Ubuntu PPA via command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:xuzhen666/dukto
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Mozilla Firefox 90.0 Released with SmartBlock 2.0

Last updated: July 13, 2021

Mozilla Firefox released version 90.0 today with some new features and various security fixes.

Firefox 90 introduced the 2.0 version of SmartBlock. The built-in tracker blocking mechanism now provides robust privacy protection, while ensuring you can still use third-party Facebook logins. Facebook scripts are all blocked, just as before, except the short period for the sign-in to proceed smoothly.

For HTTPS-Only Mode, there’s now an option to add exceptions. So that you can visit specified HTTP websites directly without HTTPS-only alerts.

Other changes in Firefox 90 include:

  • Apply updates in the background while Firefox in not running for Windows.
  • New about:third-party page to help identify compatibility issues
  • Print to PDF now produces working hyperlinks
  • The “Open Image in New Tab” context menu now opens images and media in a background tab
  • Improved software WebRender performance
  • Removed FTP support.

How to Get Firefox 90:

Normally, Ubuntu will publish the new Firefox packages through the security & updates repositories in next few days.

You can just wait until it being available to update in Software Updater:

Alternatively, see the release note and download the portable package from Firefox website:

Firefox 90 Release Note & Download
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How to Remap Keyboard / Gamepad in Ubuntu Easily with This Tool

Last updated: March 29, 2023

Want to remap your keyboard or gamepad keys in Ubuntu Linux? It’s easy to do this via Input Remapper.

Input Remapper is a free and open-source tool written in Python 3. With it, you can change the mapping for input devices, including mouse, keyboard, and gamepad.

It works on both X11 and Wayland, and supports for mapping to combined buttons (e.g., Control+A) and programmable macros.

The software has an easy to use interface. Simply start the app, choose the device (e.g., keyboard) to you want to remap, then click add new preset and do:

    1. Click ‘Add’ button in left to add an item.
    2. Click the pencil icon and type a name.
    3. Use “Record” button to record the original keyboard key or key combination.
    4. Choose device to map the input key to.
    5. Finally, type the output key, e.g., letter (a, b, …, z), number (1, 2, …, 9), and/or function keys (Alt_L Control_L Control_R Shift_L Shift_R)

Presets are saved in user’s .config/input-remapper-2/presets folder. You can use them in another machine that can read these “.json” files.

How to Install Input Remapper in Ubuntu:

The software offers official .deb package for Ubuntu / Debian based systems.

Download Input Remapper (.deb)

Grab the deb package, then open terminal and run command to install it:

sudo apt install ~/Downloads/input-remapper*.deb

It should work on all current Ubuntu releases since it requires only a few python modules.

Once installed, open it from system app launcher and enjoy!

(Optional) For choice, there’s command to remove the tool from Ubuntu:

sudo apt remove --autoremove input-remapper
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Active Line in Text Editor Unreadable in Ubuntu 20.04 Dark Mode [Workaround]

Last updated: July 10, 2021

For dark mode fans, you may found the color scheme in Gedit Text Editor is not so good! Focused line is not even readable due to the light text on light line background.

There’s already an upstream fix, though it’s not made into current Ubuntu releases. There are however workarounds and I’m going to show you how!

Option 1.) Use another color scheme:

There are a few other built-in color schemes available in the default Gedit text editor.

Firstly, open the editor and go to ‘Preferences’ in the hamburger menu. While Ubuntu defaults to the ‘Classic’ colors, you can then choose another from Font & Colors tab.

And new colors take places immediately!

Option 2.) Hack the current line background color:

Sticking to the default color scheme? It’s easy to hack the xml config file to change the current line background.

1.) Firstly, open terminal either from system app launcher or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard.

2.) When terminal opens, run command to edit the xml:

sudo gedit /usr/share/gtksourceview-4/styles/classic.xml

Type user password (no visual feedback) when it asks and hit Enter. When file opens, scroll down to find out and change the background value of ‘current-line’ and ‘current-line-number’.

NOTE: If you stick to dark mode, color #181818 is great! However, it’s not good in light mode. So if you switch between light and dark mode regularly, use another color value, such as #99999c.

After saving the changes, the color will take place in new app window.

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Linux Mint 20.2 Released with Improved Update Manager, Bulky File Renamer, Cinnamon 5.0

Last updated: July 8, 2021

Linux Mint team announced the second point release for Mint 20 today. Features Kernel 5.4, Ubuntu 20.04 package base, and Cinnamon 5.0, Xfce 4.16, MATE 1.24 for each desktop edition.

Linux Mint 20.2 will be supported until 2025. It comes with improved Update Manager that supports installing updates for applets, desklets, themes, and extensions.

As well, it now displays software update notifications if it has been available for more than 7 logged-in days or older than 15 calendar days. However, you can change the time period or disable the notification entirely.

The release comes with the new Bulky batch file renamer out-of-the-box. As a desktop independent app, you can install it on Ubuntu easily via the .deb package.

For Cinnamon edition, the new Cinnamon 5.0 features file search and content search in Nemo file manager, memory limit for the desktop usage, new CLI and python3 module.

Other changes include:

  • Automated Flatpak updates in Update Manager preferences. It will automatically remove unused flatpak run-times to free up your disk space.
  • Replace GNote with Sticky Notes as default note taking app.
  • Improvements for the ‘Warpinator’ file transfer app.
  • HPLIP 3.21.2 as well as the latest ipp-usb and sane-airscan
  • The WebApp manager now supports for incognito/private browsing.
  • The NVIDIA Prime applet can now switch between AMD onboard chipsets and discrete GPUs.

How to Get Linux Mint 20.2:

You can get the Linux Mint 20.2 upgrade wizard easily via “Edit->Upgrade to Linux Mint 20.2 Uma” menu in Update Manager. However, it’s recommended to backup, disable screensaver, and update Cinnamon spices (applets, desklets, extensions, themes) before getting started.

For the ISO images as well as release notes, go to linuxmint.com.

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How to Install Linux Mint’s New ‘Bulky’ File Renamer in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: July 7, 2021

Linux Mint introduced a new batch file renamer app ‘Bulky’ in the upcoming 20.2 release. Here’s how you can install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04.

Bulky is a simple and elegant tool for renaming multiple files and folders in Linux. It’s a free and open-source tool developed by Linux Mint team.

With Bulky Renamer, you can find and replace file / folder names with regular expression support, while preview the changes under ‘New name’ section before clicking “Rename” button.

As well, it allows to remove letters and insert text with specified position, batch change filename to lower case, upper case, title case, or first character upper case.

How to Install Bulky in Ubuntu:

The tiny tool is an XApp that works on any distribution and many desktop environments. It only requires a few Python3 libraries.

Which means, you can get the .deb from Mint repository and install on all current Ubuntu releases (Ubuntu 18.04 and higher) without any issue.

Download Bulky in Mint repo

Download the .deb package from the button above, and double-click to install via Ubuntu-install. Or, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install the local package:

sudo apt install ./Downloads/bulky*.deb

For other Linux, grab and build the source tarball from the Github project page.

Once installed, search for and open ‘File Renamer’ from system app launcher and enjoy!

Uninstall Bulky:

To remove the tool, simply run command:

sudo apt remove bulky
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Converseen Adds Support for Batch Converting JFIF files to JPEG / PNG

Last updated: July 5, 2021

Batch image converting and scaling app Converseen released version 0.9.9.1, features JFIF file format support.

Converseen is a free open-source tool based on Qt5 framework. It provides a lightweight and easy to use interface to convert single or multiple photo images.

Thanks to Magick++, it supports 100+ supported file formats, including the most popular DPX, EXR, GIF, JPEG, JPEG-2000, PhotoCD, PNG, Postscript, SVG, and TIFF. And, it supports for converting PDF to image, and/or image to PDF.

In addition, it can scale, rotate, and flip images, and replace transparent background with specified color. For JPEG and PNG, you can set the quality level via ‘Image settings’ button.

By releasing Converseen 0.9.9.1, it now supports for converting JFIF file to any supported image format. As well, there are minor updates and various bug-fixes in the release.

How to Install Converseen 0.9.9.1 in Ubuntu:

Besides building from the source tarball, you can install the app from the unofficial PPA in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, as well as Linux Mint 20.

1.) Firstly, open terminal from system app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

2.) After that, run command to update package cache, though it’s done automatically in Ubuntu 20.04 and higher:

sudo apt update

3.) You can finally either upgrade the tool from existing release via Software Updater, or install it via command:

sudo apt install converseen

How to Remove Converseen:

To remove the software, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove converseen

As well, you can remove the PPA either via command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

or by removing relevant line from “Software & Updates -> Other Software”:

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