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Pika Backup is A Modern New Backup Utility for GNOME Desktop

Last updated: May 15, 2022

Looking for a personal data backup program? Pika Backup is a good choice for Ubuntu, Fedora, and other Linux with GNOME desktop.

Pika Backup is free open-source tool to backup your personal data into either local disk (e.g., an USB stick) or remote server using secure shell or sftp. It’s a modern GTK4 + libadwaita app that offers a stylish and easy to use user interface.

The utility is based on BorgBackup (aka Borg), features data de-duplication technique to save time and disk space since only changes are stored for daily backups. With the power of authenticated encryption technique, it also supports password protect for your data.

The app starts in a clean UI with a “Configure Backup” button to get started creating repositories to store backups. The top-left ‘+‘ icon is also present to do the same job.

Once click on “+” icon, it will ask you to create a new repository or select an existing repository to use in next dialog.

You may select to back your data into a remote server via ssh remote file transfer by specifying URL, e.g., “ssh://user@server.example.org/~/backup“, however borg need to be installed in the server side. For choice, the “sftp://” prefix can be used without borg.

Remote Location

Data can also be saved in local folder or removable devices, such as an USB drive. It will create a sub-folder in selected directory or device and save backup either encrypted or not depends on your selection.

After creation, it will recognize the USB repository automatically once you plug it in, allows you to either edit or select use the repository.

Local repository (USB Stick)

After creating / choosing the backup repository, it brings you to the file selecting screen. There you can choose any file folders, and exclude any for the backup. When you done data selection, click the green “Back Up Now” button to start. It indicates the process with how many percentage finished and how much time left.

setup backup

Backups are stored in unreadable files. You have to open the Pika Backup tool to mount the backups using “Browse saved files” under Archives tab. Then recover files or folder via opened file manager using copy & paste actions. This is not friendly in my opinion since no recover option present.

Archives tab to browser and manage your backups

Scheduled backups are not supported so far, and excluding files from a backup via regular expressions and alike is not implemented yet. Start in v0.4.0, it supports for schedule backup hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly with given time or day. It can also delete old archives automatically by keeping user selected number of last backups.

Install Pika Backup in Ubuntu Linux:

The Pika Backup software is available for most Linux via the universal Flatpak package.

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for and opening it from ‘Activities’ overview screen. When it opens, run following commands one by one:

1.) Install flatpak daemon, if you don’t have it, by running command:

sudo apt install flatpak

For Ubuntu 18.04, users have to add the Flatpak PPA first.

2.) Next add the flathub repository, considered as official place hosts flatpak packages:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

3.) Finally install the backup utility via this command:

flatpak install flathub org.gnome.World.PikaBackup

Like normal apps, you can search for and open it from ‘Activities’ overview screen.

Uninstall Pika Backup:

To remove the software, paste the command below into terminal and hit run:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.gnome.World.PikaBackup

And you may clear up unused run-time by running command:

flatpak uninstall --unused
In App Review
 

KeePass 2.49 Released! How to Install in Ubuntu 20.04 / 18.04

Last updated: September 11, 2021

KeePass Password Safe 2.49 released with user interface improvements and minor new features. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu via PPA.

According to the release note, the new release added new dedicated context menus for custom string fields and auto-type associations in the entry dialog. Allows to copy names, values, target windows and sequences, copy and paste items, and do select all and move to actions. The button “More” is present to the right of the custom string fields and auto-type associations list to show the context menu.

The release also added optional “Auto-Type – Enabled” and “Auto-Type – Sequences” main entry list column. They are disabled by default and can be turned on via menu “View -> Configure Columns”.

KeePass 2.49 added support for importing Keeper 16.0.0 JSON files, and automatic screen reader detection based on the operating system’s screen reader parameter. Other changes include:

  • New ‘Show confirmation dialog when opening a database file whose minor format version is unknown’ option.
  • Dialog banners can now be read by screen readers
  • Added accessibility names for some controls
  • Controls in the accessibility/automation control tree are now ordered by their visual locations
  • Various accessibility enhancements and other improvements.

How to Install KeePass 2.49 in Ubuntu:

KeePass 2.x runs on Linux through Mono, the open-source .NET Framework-compatible software framework. The UI looks old. If you don’t like it, try KeePassX the native Linux password manager.

The software does not provide Linux binary package so far. Besides building from the source, you can use the unofficial Ubuntu PPA.

NOTE: I offer no warranty for any package in the PPA. Build rules and patches borrowed from the Julian Taylor’s PPA. Use it at your own risk.

1.) Firstly, open terminal from start menu and run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/keepass2

Type user password when it asks since sudo command need user authentication and hit Enter to continue

2.) Then run command to update package cache, though it’s done automatically in Ubuntu 20.04 & higher while adding PPA:

sudo apt update

3.) Finally install this mono based password manager package by running command:

sudo apt install keepass2

By keeping the Ubuntu PPA, next time a new release is published you’ll be able to upgrade it using system’s Software Updater (Update Manager) utility.

Uninstall KeePass2:

To remove the software package, run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove keepass2

And remove the Ubuntu PPA either via command in temrinal:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/keepass2

or by launching “Software & Updates” utility and removing the relevant line under “Other Software” tab.

In Howtos
 

YOGA Image Optimizer – Graphical Tool to Convert & Compress PNG, JPEG, WebP

Last updated: September 10, 2021

YOGA Image Optimizer is a graphical tool to batch convert photos into JPEG, PNG and WEBP, and compress file sizes while having equivalent quality.

It’s a free and open-source tool based on YOGA command line tool, which can also convert and optimize 3D models from various formats to glTF and GLB.

YOGA:

The YOGA backend uses Python Pillow library to convert images into PNG, JPEG, or WebP as you prefer. And it uses Google’s Guetzli library to generate JPEG that are typically 20-30% smaller than libjpeg while having some quality. Google’s Zopflipng and libwebp libraries are in use for optimizing other two image formats.

The command line tool also support converting and optimizing 3D models using the Open Asset Import Library (Assimp).

YOGA Image Optimizer:

The official front-end for YOGA provides an easy to use graphical interface to do converting and optimizing process in Linux and Windows.

Simply open a batch of photo images (press Shift or Ctrl while choosing files), it shows the thumbnails, input file name and size, as well as output name and file format.

Before you clicking “Optimize”, you can choose output format and set compress level for each or a selection of images.

YOGA Image Optimizer also features:

  • Multi-thread support. You can set how many CPU cores to use.
  • GTK theme support. It allows to choose between all installed GTK theme for the app only.
  • Dark Mode.
  • Custom output pattern.

Install YOGA Image Optimizer in Ubuntu Linux:

For Linux, the software can be installed either via universal Flatpak package or using pip (Python Package Installer).

1. Flatpak Package

Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, you can then run following commands one by one to get the software via Flatpak in Ubuntu 20.04 and higher. For Ubuntu 18.04, you need to add this PPA before getting started.

a. ) Install the flatpak daemon if you don’t have it:

sudo apt install flatpak

b.) Add the Flathub the preferred repository hosting Flatpak package:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

c.) Finally install the image converter and optimizer via command:

flatpak install flathub org.flozz.yoga-image-optimizer

(Optional) For any reason, you can easily remove the software by running command in temrinal:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.flozz.yoga-image-optimizer

2. Install the package via pip3:

For those don’t like the Flatpak package, use the Python pip3 package installer. It however does NOT create app shortcut for launching it from the ‘Show Applications’ start menu.

a.) Firstly, open terminal and run command to install required libraries:

sudo apt install git build-essential python3 python3-dev python3-pip libgirepository1.0-dev libcairo2-dev pkg-config gir1.2-gtk-3.0

b.) Next install the package via command:

sudo pip3 install yoga-image-optimizer

The pip package does not has app shortcut, you need to either run yoga-image-optimizer command to start it from terminal and create a .desktop file manually.

(Optional) To remove the package, use command:

sudo pip3 install yoga-image-optimizer
In App Review
 

How to Install GIMP 2.99.18 (GIMP 3.0 Dev) via PPA in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: April 7, 2024

For those don’t like the Flatpak package, here’s how to install GIMP 2.99.18 from PPA in Ubuntu 20.04 and/or Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

The popular GIMP image editor is working on the next major 3.0 release. For testing purpose, GIMP 2.99.18 was released as the latest development version. It provides the official Linux package via Flatpak package. However, some users don’t like it, since Flatpak is an universal package format needs separate daemon to run in sandbox.

Install GIMP 3.0 Dev from PPA in Ubuntu 20.04/22.04:

For Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and derivatives, e.g, Linux Mint 20/21 and Zorin OS 17, the unofficial PPA contains the classic .deb package for GIMP 3.0 Dev release.

NOTE: The package in the PPA is unstable. It may have bugs and used only for testing purpose. Installing GIMP from this PPA will override the 2.10 stable release, don’t install it on production machine.

1. Add the PPA.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, or search for and open terminal from start menu if you’re on Linux Mint or ZorinOS.

When terminal opens, copy and paste the command below and hit Run to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mati75/gimp30

Type your password as sudo command need user authentication, and hit Enter to continue.

2. Update package cache

Since Ubuntu 20.04, it updates the system package cache automatically while adding Ubuntu PPAs, However, Linux Mint 20 does not. So you may need to manually run command in terminal to update cache:

sudo apt update

3. Install / Upgrade to GIMP 3.0 Dev

Finally, you can either open Software Updater (Update Manager) to install or upgrade the GIMP package, or run command in terminal instead:

sudo apt install gimp gegl

Revert to GIMP 2.10 Stable:

It’s possible to downgrade the image editor back to 2.10 stable release, 2.10.18 if no other relevant PPA added.

Simply open terminal and run the command below to install the ppa-purge package, and then purge the Ubuntu PPA which will remove it as well as downgrade installed packages:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:mati75/gimp30

That’s all. Enjoy!

In Howtos
 

Firefox 92.0 Released with More Secure HTTPS Connection / Full-range Color

Last updated: September 7, 2021

Mozilla Firefox 92.0 was released today with new features and various security fixes.

The release will use HTTPS resource record (HTTPS RR) as Alt-Svc headers to make connections more secure.

The full-range color (0-255) levels are now supported for video playback. Though the limited color range (16-235) is ideal for movies and TV, the source can be switched to full-range color to match PC monitor.

For Mac, users can now access the macOS share options from the Firefox File menu. And it enables support for images containing ICC v4 profiles.

Other changes include:

  • Firefox performance with screen readers and other accessibility tools is no longer severely degraded if Mozilla Thunderbird is installed or updated after Firefox.
  • macOS VoiceOver now correctly reports buttons and links marked as ‘expanded’ using the aria-expanded attribute.
  • An open alert in a tab no longer causes performance issues in other tabs using the same process.
  • The bookmark toolbar menus on macOS now follow Firefox visual styles.
  • Certificate error pages have been redesigned for a better user experience.

How to Install Firefox 92:

Usually, Ubuntu will publish the new Firefox package in next few days. The best choice is just wait!

You’ll see the packages in Software Updater once published:

Or see the release note & download the Linux portable package from this page.

In News
 

How to Install Virtualbox Guest Additions in Ubuntu 21.10 [Quick Fix]

Last updated: September 6, 2021

This simple tutorial shows how to install Virtualbox Guest Additions in Ubuntu based systems, e.g., Linux Mint, Zorin OS and Elementary OS, with fix or workaround for common issues.

Guest Additions is a set of device drivers and system applications to install in Guest OS. It’s useful when you try to share folder and/or clipboard between guest and host, enable USB support etc. Installing the software suite is easy via a menu option. However, it might not function in some cases.

Install Guest Additions in the Normal Way

Firstly, start and login the Guest OS. Then go to VM menu “Devices -> Insert Guest Additions CD image“.

Usually, a pop-up dialog will open and prompt whether to run autorun script or not. Just click “Run” and it starts to install the guest additions after you typing user password in authentication dialog.

After installation, the additions will function in next boot of the Guest OS.

[Workaround] Unable to insert the virtual optical disk:

Sometimes it outputs an error “Unable to insert the virtual optical disk … into the machine …” when you click on the menu option in VM (VirtualBox Machine).

It happens in my case when trying to install the additions in Elementary OS 6. And it will pop-up an error dialog:

Don’t know why but do following steps will fix the issue in next Guest boot:

1.) Power off the Guest OS, then go to its Settings page. Under the Storage settings, remove the attached iso under Controller:IDE.

2.) Next add new optical drive, and click “Leave Empty” in the select dialog.

After saving the changes, start the Guest OS and try to install the additions again.

Manually Download & Install Guest Additions:

Nothing happens when clicking ‘Insert Guest Additions CD image’ option? You can download the iso, mount it, and install the Guest Additions manually.

1.) Firstly start the VirtualBox Machine, download the iso image for your VirtualBox edition, usually “VBoxGuestAdditions_x.x.xx.iso”, from the link button below:

Download VBoxGuestAdditions

2.) Next open the Downloads folder, right-click or (double-click) on the file and select to mount the iso image.

The dialog should pop-up allows you to select “Run” to install the additions. If not, go to the mounted folder from the left pane in file manager. Right-click on blank area and select ‘Open in Terminal‘ to open a terminal window and navigate to the directory automatically.

When terminal opens, run the .run installer manually via command:

sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

That’s all. Enjoy!

In Howtos
 

HPLIP 3.21.8 Released with RHEL 8.4, Linux Mint 20.2 & More Printers Support

Last updated: September 6, 2021

HPLIP, Hewlett-Packard’s Linux imaging and printing software, released version 3.21.8 with new printers support.

The open-source HP printer and scanner driver add some new devices support. They are:

  • HP Smart Tank 500 series
  • HP Smart Tank 530 series
  • HP Smart Tank Plus 570 series
  • HP Smart Tank 7600
  • HP Smart Tank 750
  • HP Smart Tank 790
  • HP Smart Tank Plus 710-720
  • HP Smart Tank Plus 7000
  • HP Smart Tank Plus 660-670
  • HP Smart Tank Plus 6000
  • HP DeskJet Ink Advantage Ultra 4800 All-in-One Printer series

And Linux Mint 20.2, RHEL 8.4 and Manjaro 21.0.7 are officially supported according to the release note.

How to Install HPLIP 3.21.8 in Ubuntu:

The official installer package, “hplip-3.21.8.run“, is available to download at the link below:

Download HPLIP

After downloaded the file, open the Downloads folder in terminal by right-clicking on blank area in that directory and choose ‘Open in Terminal.’

Open Downloads folder in terminal

When terminal opens, add executable permission to the file by running command:

chmod u+x hplip-3.21.8.run

Then run the installer and follow terminal output to start installing the driver:

./hplip-3.21.8.run

For the python-pyqt5 dependency issue, see this how to tutorial. Or, you can manually install the dependencies via command:

sudo apt-get install libcups2 cups libcups2-dev cups-bsd cups-client libcupsimage2-dev libdbus-1-dev build-essential ghostscript openssl libjpeg-dev libsnmp-dev libtool-bin libusb-1.0-0-dev wget python3-pil policykit-1 policykit-1-gnome python3-pyqt5 python3-dbus.mainloop.pyqt5 python-gi-dev python3-dev python3-notify2 python3 python3-reportlab libsane libsane-dev sane-utils xsane libavahi-client-dev libavahi-core-dev

And compile it from source folder (generated automatically once you run the .run file) via configure, make, sudo make install.

Uninstall HPLIP 3.21.8:

While installing the driver, it creates a source folder that contains an uninstall script. Until you remove that folder, you can run the script to remove HPLIP:

cd ~/Downloads/hplip-3.21.8/ && sudo ./uninstall.py
In News
 

Add ‘Open File/Folder as Root / Administrator’ in Elementary OS 6 [Update 2021]

Last updated: September 4, 2021

This is a step by step tutorial shows how to add “open as root (or administrator)” option in Pantheon file browser in Elementary OS 6 Odin.

Elementary OS now is at version 6.0 based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. For those looking for the “Open as Administrator” function to open system file via root user permission, or do copy & paste things outside of user’s home directory, things have changed.

The executable command for the file manager now is io.elementary.files, and the command to start text editor is io.elementary.code. Both are named in Flatpak app style. Gksu has gnone, and “pkexec” takes the place to allow an authorized user to execute program as root.

Add Open as Admin action in Elementary OS 6:

1. ) Firstly, search for and open “terminal” from the top-left corner Applications menu.

2. When terminal opens, run command to create (& edit via nano) the configuration file for option to edit file as root user privilege:

sudo nano /usr/share/contractor/io.elementary.code.open-as-root.contract

When the file opens in terminal, paste following lines and save via Ctrl+X, type y and hit Enter.

[Contractor Entry]
Name=Edit as Administrator
Icon=io.elementary.code
Description=Edit file via root user privilege
MimeType=text/plain;
Exec=pkexec io.elementary.code %U
Gettext-Domain=code

3. And create another config file for an option to open folder as root permission:

sudo nano /usr/share/contractor/io.elementary.files.open-as-root.contract

Then paste the following lines and save it (Ctrl+X, type y, and hit Enter):

[Contractor Entry]
Name=Open as Administrator
Icon=system-file-manager
Description=Open a folder via root user privilege
MimeType=inode/directory;
Exec=pkexec io.elementary.files %U
Gettext-Domain=file manager

After creating the two files, “Edit as Administrator” and “Open as Administrator” context menu option appear when right-clicking a file or folder immediately without restart.

As you see, you can create more actions by creating files with “.contract” extension under /usr/share/contractor directory. The name will be displayed as menu option, and you can find value of icon, MineType and Exec by checking the app shortcut file (.desktop) under /usr/share/applications directory.

That’s all. Enjoy!

In Howtos ,
 

Gtkeddit – GTK4 Reddit App Designed for Linux Mobile Such as Pinephone

Last updated: September 3, 2021

For Reddit users, Gtkeddit is another GTK app for Linux desktop and mobile.

It’s a free and open-source app written in C++. With the libadwaita library (formerly libhandy), it has an adaptive UI that works on Linux phones such as the Pinephone.

The software has dark mode for working at night, though I don’t find how to enable it in Ubuntu using the Flatpak package. And it allows you to browser without an account.

Compare to Giara, another Reddit App written in Python with GTK4, the UI navigation feels good and smoother in Gtkeddit. Though it freezes every time during loading new content, maybe due to my poor VPN network connection.

All functions including new post, rely and comment work in new navigation page instead of a pop-over dialog. And the developer promoted that it works better on Pinephone, boots and runs faster on slow hardware.

Other features in Gtkeddit:

  • Browse home feed
  • Search subreddits/users/posts
  • Submit Text/Url/Images/Videos
  • View images, galleries
  • Watch Reddit/Youtube videos in app
  • View and reply to posts/comments
  • Save posts / comments
  • Browse user Saved/Upvoted/Downvoted/Hidden/Gilded posts
  • Browse user Subreddits

How to Install Gtkeddit:

Most Linux can install the app via the Flatpak package from the flathub page. For Ubuntu users, there’s a step by step guide for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04 and higer.

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

sudo apt install flatpak

Flatpak supports Ubuntu 18.04 and even Ubuntu 16.04, you have to add the Ubuntu PPA first!

2.) Then add the flathub repository, the preferred place to get Flatpak apps.

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

3.) Finally, install the Reddit App via command:

flatpak install flathub io.gitlab.caveman250.gtkeddit

Like normal apps, open it by searching from start menu and enjoy!

Uninstall Gtkeddit:

To remove the app, simply use command:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data io.gitlab.caveman250.gtkeddit

Remove the --delete-data if you want to keep the personal data for the app. And run command to run unused runtime which may free up more disk spaces.

flatpak uninstall --unused
In App Review
 

Apostrophe – An Elegant Markdown Editor You Should Try in Ubuntu Linux

Last updated: September 2, 2021

For Gnome fans, Apostrophe is a clean and intuitive Markdown editor you should try!

Apostrophe is one of the Gnome Circle Apps that provides a modern and distraction-free writing environment for Linux.

The editor supports for inputting via Pandoc’s Markdown, CommonMark, GitHub Flavored Markdown, MultiMarkdown and Plan Markdown formats.

The app has Light, Dark, and Gray (maybe) UI appearance. The ‘Hemingway Mode’ is available which will disable the backspace key. And ‘Focus Mode’ will highlight the current line, remove header and bottom bar to provide a zen-like environment when writing.

With inline preview, it formats your text automagically for you. By Ctrl+Clicking on anything, it shows popover preview, links, footnotes, equations.

Live Preview can be set to full window, right / bottom part, or a separate window. In bottom right it indicates how many words you wrote. It also counts characters, sentences, paragraphs, and read time.

And you can save you work as PDF, HTML, ODT. An advanced export dialog allows exporting to more formats including:

  • LibreOffice Text Document.
  • Microsoft Word(docx).
  • EPUB v3.
  • HTML5 Slideshow (reveal.js, DZSlides)
  • LaTeX (tex)
  • LaTeX Beamer Slideshow (tex, pdf)
  • Textile, Texinfo, and more.

How to Install Apostrophe in Ubuntu Linux:

The software is available as universal Flatpak package. You can install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04 and higher via following steps:

1.) Open terminal from start menu, and run command to add the Flatpak PPA for Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 18.04:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:flatpak/stable

And run sudo apt-get update command to update cache afterwards.

2.) Install the Flatpak daemon if you don’t have it:

sudo apt install flatpak

3.) Add Flathub repository (considered official) that hosts the package:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

4.) Finally install Apostrophe Markdown editor:

flatpak install flathub org.gnome.gitlab.somas.Apostrophe

Uninstall:

To remove the editor as well as your personal app data, run command in terminal:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.gnome.gitlab.somas.Apostrophe
In App Review