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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

In Howtos file renamer

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”:

In News batch image converter

Search DuckDuckGo from Terminal in Ubuntu Linux via ddgr Command

Last updated: July 4, 2021

For command line users want to search on DuckDuckGo, ddgr is the free open-source tool to search from Linux terminal.

It’s a tiny tool written mostly in Python3. And it’s quite easy to use. For instance, run the command below will search ‘Windows 11’ and output 10 results per page.

ddgr Windows 11

You can then type n / p / f and hit Enter to go next page, previous page, or to the first page.

By typing o 1 will open the first result, and c 1 will copy the first URL into clipboard. And you can type ? to get more actions in the search output.

Result number per page can be set via --num. And you can specified website to search via --site flag.

For example, search Ubuntu 21.10 on Ubuntu.com with 3 results per page, run:

ddgr --num 3 --site ubuntu.com ubuntu 21.10

To automatic open the first result in web browser, use -j or --ducky flag. For example:

ddgr --ducky Windows 11

For Ubuntu Server without desktop UI, you can firstly specify text-based web browser, w3m in the case, easily via:

export BROWSER=w3m

Other features include:

DuckDuckGo Bangs
Search and option completion scripts (Bash, Fish, Zsh)
Search file type: filetype:mime
HTTPS proxy support
Do Not Track set by default

How to Install ddgr in Ubuntu:

The nifty tool is available in Ubuntu repositories. You can install it simply by running command in terminal:

sudo apt install ddgr

As Ubuntu does not provide the software updates, you can always get the latest .deb package from the link below:

ddgr Github releases

In App Review duckduckgo

Automatic Shutdown Easily in Ubuntu via System Menu Option

Last updated: July 2, 2021

Want to automatically power off Ubuntu after given time? Here’s an Extension adds the option to top-right system menu.

Yes, you can do this either via a graphical shutdown application, or shutdown command with few parameter. However, for beginners or those hate Linux command, life will be easier with the ShutdownTimer extension.

The extension adds an option under Power Off/Log Out menu. With it, you can just move the slider to change time delay, and turn on the toggle icon to automatically shutdown your computer.

A setting dialog is available by clicking on the gear icon. There you can set the minimum and maximum time value, and use Automatic Suspend instead of shutdown.

As some running apps/services might prevent user shutdown, “Root mode” is available to perform the action via super user privilege. However, you need to type user password every time you enable automatic shutdown.

How to Install the ShutdownTimer extension:

The extension supports all current Ubuntu releases running with default Gnome Desktop. As well, GNOME 40 is supported.

1.) Firstly, open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When terminal opens, run command to install the required packages:

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

2.) Secondly, go to the extension web page and click on the slider icon to install it.

Install Shutdown Timer Extension

Don’t see the toggle icon? Install browser extension via ‘Click here to install browser extension’ link and refresh the web page.

Once you installed the extension, the option should appear in system menu immediately. Log out and back in or restart Gnome Shell if you don’t see the option.

In Gnome Shell Gnome

Free DJ Software Mixxx 2.3.0 Released as New Major Update [PPA]

Last updated: July 1, 2021

After more than two years of development, free open-source DJ software Mixxx 2.3.0 released as the big stable release with a total of 7477 changes over 1 million lines of code since the last release.

The new release introduced hotcue colors and custom labels. Hotcues can now have individual colors to make them visually distinguishable. And it’s now possible to see the hotcue labels on the overview waveforms, as well edit them by right-clicking.

For Rekordbox or Serato users, switching to Mixxx is easier. And it can now play tracks directly from USB drives that contain Rekordbox and Serato libraries.

The 2.3.0 also added Opus and HE-AAC streaming and recording support, as well as out-of-the-box support for:

Pioneer DDJ-200 and DDJ-400
Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S3
Hercules DJControl Inpulse 200 and Jogvision
Roland DJ-505
Behringer B-Control BCR2000 and DDM4000
ION Discover DJ Pro and the Numark iDJ Live II.

Other changes in Mixxx 2.3.0 include:

Add deck cloning (aka “instant doubles”) by dragging and dropping between decks
Add laptop battery widget to skins
New default skin “LateNight”
Multithreaded analysis for multicore CPUs
Remove VAMP plugin support and use Queen Mary DSP library directly.
Add FFmpeg audio decoder, bringing support for ALAC files
And much more.

How to Install Mixxx 2.3.0 in Ubuntu via PPA:

For Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, Linux Mint 20, you can install the release package from its official PPA.

1. Open terminal either from app launcher or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mixxx/mixxx

Input your password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. If an old Mixxx package exist on your system, upgrade the DJ software using Software Updater:

Or run commands one by one in terminal to install or upgrade the software:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install mixxx

Uninstall:

You can easily remove the software by running command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove mixxx

And remove the PPA repository via Software & Updates, by removing relevant line utility under Other Software tab.

In News DJ software

Fix Incorrect Time in Windows 11 That Dual boot with Ubuntu Linux

Last updated: October 24, 2021

For those dual boot Windows 11 with Ubuntu or other Linux, you’ll find different time display in each system. And usually Windows shows the incorrect clock time.

There are two time standards, localtime and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC, aka GMT). The local time standard is dependent on the current time zone, while UTC is the global time standard that is independent of time zone.

By default, Windows uses localtime, but Ubuntu uses UTC. So you get the different time in the dual boot. And the solution is set the same time standard in the two systems.

Method 1.) Set RTC to local time zone in Ubuntu:

Though it’s not recommended, set the Real Time Clock (RTC) to use local time zone just works.

Firstly, open terminal either from system app launcher or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command:

timedatectl set-local-rtc 1 --adjust-system-clock

Then you can check system clock status via command:

timedatectl

And “RTC in local TZ: yes”, where TZ means time zone, tells localtime standard is in use.

As I said “it’s not recommended“, it warns that localtime standard may cause various problems with time zone changes and daylight saving time adjustments.

You can restore UTC time standard and do method 2 instead by running command:

timedatectl set-local-rtc 0

Method 2.) Enable UTC time in Windows 11:

If you’re now running Windows 11, you can easily enable the UTC / GMT time standard via following steps.

1. Firstly, click on ‘Search’ icon on task bar. Then search for and right-click on ‘Command Prompt’ and select ‘Run as administrator’.

2. When command prompt opens, copy and paste the command below and hit run:

reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\TimeZoneInformation" /v RealTimeIsUniversal /d 1 /t REG_DWORD /f

The command creates a registry key to tell Windows to use universal time standard.

Refresh the display time to apply change:

If Windows 11 shows the incorrect date and time, search for and open “Settings” from start menu. Then go to “Time & Language” from left pane, click “Date & time” and finally disable and re-enable ‘Set time automatically’ option will correct your system time.

For Ubuntu users, it may also display incorrect time when “Automatic Date & Time” not enabled. Simply enable or refresh the option in System “Settings -> Date & Time” will do the trick.

In Howtos UTC time

Audacity Finally Adds Official Binary for Linux via Appimage

Last updated: July 4, 2021

By releasing version 3.0.3 RC1, Audacity digital audio editor finally adds official Linux binary support!

It’s the 64-bit Appimage package that runs in most Linux Distributions. Without installing, it’s a single executable that launches the software via double-click.

According to the Privacy Notice, Audacity may COLLECT personal data necessary for law enforcement, litigation and authorities. And it dissuade those under 13 years old from using the App.

It is incompatible with the GPL license. Use it at your own risk!

Other changes in Audacity 3.0.3 so far includes:

switch to 64-bit Windows binary, and drop Windows XP support.
Improved default spectrogram colors
Fix user interface display issue on HiDPI display in Linux.
Fix that font size scales incorrectly.
Fix crashes with Macros on files when the macro-output folder is in an unwriteable location
No error message when attempting to save to SMB drive
Fix Macros running on files can’t be cancelled

To get the Audacity Appimage, go to:

Download Audacity (Appimage)

Once you get it, add executable permission in file Properties dialog. Then click run to open the editor:

In News audacity

Linux Kernel 5.13 Released! How to Install in Ubuntu 21.04

Last updated: June 28, 2021

Linux Kernel 5.13 was officially released. Linus Torvalds wrote on lkml:

So we had quite the calm week since rc7, and I see no reason to delay 5.13. The shortlog for the week is tiny, with just 88 non-merge commits (and a few of those are just reverts). It’s a fairly random mix of fixes, and being so small I’d just suggest people scan the appended shortlog for what happened.

Kernel 5.13 features include:

Initial and early support for Apple M1.
New “Landlock” Linux security module.
Initial graphics support for Alder Lake S.
AMD FreeSync HDMI support.
New Intel cooling driver
Realtek RTL8156 and RTL8153D support
New drivers support for Amazon’s Luna game controller.
Touchpad & keyboard support for recent Microsoft Surface laptops.

How to Install Linux Kernel 5.13:

The Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Archive provides the new kernel packages via DEB files.

The mainline build kernels do not include any Ubuntu-provided drivers or patches. They are not supported and are not appropriate for production use.

And it’s “incorrectly” built with updated libc6 library required. So it WILL NOT install on Ubuntu 20.10, Ubuntu 20.04 and earlier.

For those prefer using a graphical tool, see this tool to install the latest Kernel.

To manually download the mainline kernel packages for Linux 5.13, go to the link button:

Download Kernel 5.13

Select generic for common system, and lowlatency for a low latency system (e.g. for recording audio):

linux-headers-5.13.0-xxxxxx_all.deb
linux-headers-5.13.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64.deb
linux-modules-5.13.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64.deb
linux-image-xxx-5.13.0-xxx-generic(/lowlatency)_xxx_amd64.deb

Alternatively you can download and install the kernel binaries via terminal commands ( open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T):

cd /tmp/

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.13/amd64/linux-headers-5.13.0-051300_5.13.0-051300.202106272333_all.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.13/amd64/linux-headers-5.13.0-051300-generic_5.13.0-051300.202106272333_amd64.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.13/amd64/linux-image-unsigned-5.13.0-051300-generic_5.13.0-051300.202106272333_amd64.deb

wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.13/amd64/linux-modules-5.13.0-051300-generic_5.13.0-051300.202106272333_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Once installed, restart your computer and enjoy!

Uninstall Linux Kernel 5.13:

Restart your machine and select boot with the previous kernel in boot menu ‘Grub2 -> Advanced Option for Ubuntu’. Then run command to remove Linux Kernel 5.13:

sudo dpkg --purge linux-image-unsigned-5.13.0-051300-generic

In News kernel

How to Create Bootable Windows 11 USB Installer on Ubuntu Linux

Last updated: June 27, 2021

Microsoft has announced Windows 11. Besides online upgrading, here’s how to burn Windows 11 as an USB installer in Ubuntu Linux.

The official Windows 11 iso image will be available to download soon in next week. Though it has leaked! And you can easily install it using an USB stick.

Requirements:

Before getting started, you need a 6 GB+ USB drive, as well as a computer or laptop with:

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor.
4GB+ RAM.
60GB+ hard disk.
Graphics with DirectX 12 or later compatible.
UEFI, Secure Boot capable.
TPM 2.0 (Some succeed on old machines via WinPE).

Option 1: Boot Windows 11 iso via Ventoy:

It has been tested that Ventoy works for Windows 11. Simply install Ventoy on your USB stick and then copy the iso and boot it! See the link for more:

Create Bootable USB installer via Ventoy

Option 2: Create Windows 11 USB via WoeUSB:

WoeUSB is a free and open-source Microsoft Windows® USB installation media preparer for GNU+Linux.

1. Install WoeUSB in Ubuntu:

For all current Ubuntu releases, including Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, you can install the tool from the PPA repository.

First, search for and open terminal from system app launcher.

Next, run command to add the PPA. Type user password, no asterisk feedback, when it asks and hit Enter.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tomtomtom/woeusb

Finally, install WoeUSB via command:

sudo apt install woeusb woeusb-frontend-wxgtk

For Ubuntu 18.04, Linux Mint, you need to run sudo apt update command to refresh package cache first.

2. Burn Windows 11 iso image:

Now plug-in your USB drive! Search for and open WoeUSB from system app launcher.

When it opens, select ‘From a disk image (iso)’ and choose your ISO image. Then highlight the USB device from ‘Target device’. Finally click on ‘Install’ button.

NOTE you have to unmount the USB or it will pop-up an error dialog. To do so, search for and open Disks utility.
Select your device in left pane, and click on the square icon to unmount it.

Next go back to WoeUSB, click refresh and select the USB device. After clicking on the Install button, it starts to wipe USB and burn Windows 11 into it.

When everything’s done successfully, it will prompt that installation succeeded. Close it and boot the USB to get start installing Windows 11!

In Howtos windows 11

Install Audacity 3.0.2 From PPA in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04

Last updated: May 13, 2022

Audacity audio editor and recorder is easy to install in Ubuntu Software via Snap package. For those prefer the classic deb package, the Ubuntu PPA has updated for the latest Audacity 3.0.2.

Since Audacity 3.0, it requires the development branch of wxWidgets toolkit 3.1.x. However, Ubuntu provides only the stable v3.0 series packages.

Thanks to Pascal de Bruijn, I’ve successfully built wxWidgets 3.1.3 for Audacity. So the audio editor packages updated for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, and Linux Mint 20.

Known issues:

There are however known issues in the PPA build. When starting Audacity in Ubuntu 21.04 or Linux Mint 20, it will popup “An assertion failed” dialog, which indicates:

./src/widgets/FileConfig.cpp(98): assert “mDirty == false” failed in ~FileConfig().

Just click on “continue” button, and the software should start.

Another issue is that the app window slow to open. It takes a few seconds to start due to AlSA issues and warning. However, it works once app window opens!

Install Audacity 3.0.2 via PPA:

Open terminal either from system application menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When terminal opens, run following commands one by one:

1.) Run command in terminal to add the Ubuntu PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity

Type user password (no asterisk feedback due to security reason) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Then either upgrade from an old release (if exist) via Software Updater, or run following commands one by one to check updates and install (or upgrade) audacity 3.0.2:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install audacity

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA repository, launch Software & Updates utility and remove relevant line under ‘Other Software’ tab. Or simply run command in terminal:

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

To remove Audacity audio software, either use system package manager or run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove audacity audacity-data

In Howtos audacity