App Review | UbuntuHandbook

Dynamic Wallpaper Editor – Desktop Slideshow Creator for Gnome

Last updated: August 1, 2019

Dynamic Wallpaper Editor is a simply utility to create or edit background slideshows for Gnome Desktop.

Different from other desktop wallpaper tools (e.g., Variety, Wallch.), Dynamic Wallpaper Editor can set duration of each picture and each transition separately or globally. The total duration can be 24 hours to do a wallpaper fitting the daylight.

It can create and edit slideshows, and adjust the start time of the slideshow. An existing XML file can be set as your wallpaper (or as your lock screen) from the app.

How to Install Dynamic Wallpaper Editor in ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and higher, the utility can be easily installed via the flatpak package.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut key or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, run command to install flatpak framework:

sudo apt-get install flatpak

3. Add flathub repository, which hosts a large list of flatpak applications:

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

4. Finally install the software via command:

flatpak install flathub com.github.maoschanz.DynamicWallpaperEditor

Once installed, launch the software from application menu and enjoy!

Uninstall:

To remove the TeamSpeak flatpak package, run command in terminal:

flatpak uninstall com.github.maoschanz.DynamicWallpaperEditor

In App Review, Howtos slideshow duration, wallpaper changer

Microsoft Teams client for Linux 0.4 Released with Stability Fixes

Last updated: July 21, 2019

Teams for Linux is an unofficial Microsoft Teams client for Linux using Electron. It uses the Web App and wraps it as a standalone application using Electron.

The latest Teams for Linux 0.4 was released 2 days ago with mostly stability improvements and fixes. And the spellchecker has been re-implemented not to need an external module.

Teams for Linux is available to install via Snap package (runs in sandbox). So you can easily search for and install it from Ubuntu Software utility in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher:

Also native Ubuntu .deb package is available to download at the release page:

Click install the .deb package via Ubuntu Software, or open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run following command:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/teams-for-linux*.deb

Once installed, launch the client from your system application menu and enjoy!

In App Review Microsoft Teams for Linux

Xsnow – Snow on Your Desktop in Ubuntu 18.04 / Higher

Last updated: July 19, 2019

Xsnow, let it snow on your desktop, now is working on Gnome, KDE, FVWM desktop in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

Xsnow is a handy command tool that brings Christmas to your desktop. However, it does not work properly in Ubuntu since Ubuntu 12.04 Precise.

Now a brand new Xsnow based on the original xsnow-1.42 is available to work on many desktop environments, and a simple graphical interface is available for those who are not familiar with command line.

Finally, a working xsnow for Gnome, KDE, etc. Based on the original xsnow-1.42 created by Rick Jansen, after the xsnow-2019 conference in Antas (Spain) we now have available a xsnow that works on many desktop environments, even Raspian. By request of many beta-testers, a graphical front end has been created as well.

For Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 19.04, and higher, download the package from the link below:

Select download i386.deb for 32-bit OS, amd64.deb for 64-bit OS, or armhf.deb for Raspberry pi.

Then double-click to install via Ubuntu Software, or run command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/xsnow_*.deb

Once installed, launch the tool from your application menu and enjoy!

(Optional) To remove the tool, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove xsnow

In App Review, News bring Christmas to desktop, Snow on Gnome, Xsnow Ubuntu 18.04

Foliate – A Simple & Modern New GTK eBook Viewer

Last updated: July 13, 2019

Foliate is an open-source GTK eBook viewer built with GJS and Epub.js. It offers a simple and modern user interface, and features:

View EPUB files in two-page view or scrolled view
Customize font, line-spacing, margins, and brightness
Light, sepia, dark, and invert mode, or add your own custom themes
Reading progress slider with chapter marks
Bookmarks and annotations
Quick dictionary lookup with Wiktionary, Wikipedia, and dictd, or translate text with Google Translate
Touchpad gestures—use two-finger swipe to turn the page
Basic text-to-speech support with eSpeak NG and Festival

To install foliate ebook reader in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher:

The software offers Ubuntu .deb package, com.github.johnfactotum.foliate_1.4.0_all.deb at the moment, which is available to download at the release page:

Grab the package, then either double-click to install it, or open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/com.github.johnfactotum.foliate_*.deb

Once installed, launch the software from your system application menu and enjoy!

(Optional) To remove the software, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove foliate

For those who prefer the Flatpak package, Foliate is also available in Flathub repository.

In App Review ebook reader, GTK ebook reader

xinput-gui: Simple Graphical Tool To Configure X Input Devices

Last updated: July 9, 2019

Xinput-gui is a simple graphical application for Xorg’s Xinput tool, utility to configure and test X input devices.

Xinput-gui is written with Python 3 and GTK+3. It’s in early stage with basic features. For bugs, feature requests, reports to project issues page.

To install xinput-gui utility in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher:

1. Download the source tarball from the link below:

2. Then extract and select “open in terminal” from source folder context menu:

3. When terminal opens, run commands:

sudo python3 setup.py install

If everything goes OK, an executable file xinput-gui should be created in the source folder.

To launch xinput-gui utility:

To launch the tool, either run command xinput-gui when you’re in the source folder:

xinput-gui

Or run the executable file from its context menu:

In App Review Xinput GUI

Stacer – System Optimizer / Cleaner / Monitor for Ubuntu Desktop

Last updated: June 9, 2019

Stacer is an open-source, CCleaner like system optimizer and application monitor utility for Linux desktop.

Stacer features:

Monitoring system resource usage.
System cleaner for package caches, application logs.
Manage system services, processes, packages, startup applications, apt repositories.
Window manager and desktop appearance settings.

How to Install Stacer in Ubuntu:

The software offers .Appimage (non-install executable file) and .deb packages in the project release page:

Stacer also has an stable PPA with .deb packages and future updates for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and their derivatives.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut or from application menu. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:oguzhaninan/stacer

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue adding PPA.

2. Then check updates and install the utility via following 2 commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install stacer

Uninstall Stacer:

To remove the utility, run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove stacer

And remove the PPA repository from Software & Updates -> Other Software tab.

In App Review, Howtos CCleaner Alternative Ubuntu

Slimbook – Another Battery Saving Tool for Ubuntu

Last updated: May 4, 2019

Slimbook battery is a battery optimization tool that works on Gnome, KDE, Unity, Cinnamon, and MATE desktop.

The software offers a system tray application indicator with three energy modes: Energy Saving, Balanced, and Maximum Performance. Also an ‘Off‘ menu option is available to turn off the optimization.

Each energy mode comes with default values. User is allowed to change the most important values via the Preferences (Advanced mode).

How to Install Slimbook battery in Ubuntu:

Slimbook’s official PPA contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 19.04, and their derivatives.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or from application menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:slimbook/slimbook

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue adding PPA.

2. Then refresh system package cache and install the tool:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install slimbookbattery

Once installed, launch it from application menu and enjoy!

Uninstall:

To remove the tool, open terminal and run command:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove slimbookbattery

And remove the PPA either via Software & Updates-> Other Software, or by running command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:slimbook/slimbook

In App Review battery saving

Show System Info / Hardware Details in Ubuntu Command Line

Last updated: January 9, 2019

To check system information and hardware details in Ubuntu command console, without confused with various Linux commands, there’s a full featured CLI system information available.

There’s already a great graphical tool Hardinfo available in Ubuntu Software. For the command line tool, inxi is available to check:

Audio/sound card(s), driver, sound server.
System battery info
CPU output
Hard Disk info
Graphics card, driver, display server, resolution, renderer, OpenGL version.
General info, including processes, uptime, memory, IRC client or shell type, inxi version.
Memory (RAM) data (Require root)
Network card, driver.
system info, partition info, sensors output, USB data, and more.

To install inxi in Ubuntu, simply run command:

sudo apt-get install inxi

Then run man inxi to get a list of command options, or run inxi -F to get a brief output:

For more about the tool, go to inxi web page.

In App Review hardware info CLI, system info CLI

Split, Merge, and Mix PDF files in Ubuntu via PDF Mix Tool

Last updated: October 8, 2018

PDF Mix Tool is an open-source and lightweight application allows to split, merge, rotate and mix PDF files.

The software is written in C++ and depends only on Qt 5 and PoDoFo.

The software offers official snap (containerised software package) package, so it can be easily installed from Ubuntu Software:

You can also run command in terminal instead to install the snap package:

snap install pdfmixtool

For Ubuntu 16.04, install snapd daemon if previous command does not work.

sudo apt install snapd snapd-xdg-open

In App Review Merge PDF, PDF Mix Tool, Split PDF

Flameshot – Another Great Screenshot Tool for Ubuntu Linux

Last updated: September 3, 2018

Flameshot is a simple yet powerful screenshot tool with annotation feature. Other than Shutter, it’s another of my favorite screen capturing tools for Ubuntu desktop so far.

Flameshot is written by C++ with Qt5 framework. It offers a system tray icon with ‘Take Screenshot’ and ‘Configuration’ menu options.

While selecting a screen area to capture, many editing tool buttons appear at the bottom. And you can press right-click to show color picker, and Space to open the side panel.

Other software features include:

Customizable appearance.
DBus interface.
Upload to Imgur.

How to Install Flameshot in Ubuntu:

The software is available in Ubuntu Software for Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, however, Canonical won’t provide regular update for the package.

For the latest release, grab the .deb package for Ubuntu 18.04 bionic or Ubuntu 16.04 xenial from the link below:

then right-click the .deb package -> Open with Other Application -> Gdebi package installer. (install gdebi via command sudo apt install gdebi in terminal).