App Review | UbuntuHandbook

CoBang – Native GTK QR Code Scanner for Linux Desktop

Last updated: June 7, 2020

CoBang is a new QR code scanner for Linux, which is written with Python 3 and GTK+ and support Wayland session.

The name is “Cỏ bàng” (Lepironia articulata), in Vietnamese. Compare to QtQR, Qt QR code generator and decoder, CoBang features:

Work in both X and Wayland.
Scan from webcam (embedded webcam video).
Scan from image:
- drag and drop support.
- copy and paste image into app window
- open remote image (http, ftp)
- open via file browser.

It is however lacks the feature to generate QR code so far.

How to Install CoBang in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, the tool is available as Flatpak package in Flathub repository.

For Ubuntu 20.04 only, the developer has made the package into the PPA repository.

1.) Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) from ‘Show Applications’ menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ng-hong-quan/ppa

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

2.) Then install the QR code scanner via command:

sudo apt install cobang

Uninstall CoBang:

To remove the PPA, either open Software & Updates and remove repository line under Other Software tab, or run command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ng-hong-quan/ppa

And remove the scanner via command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove cobang

In App Review GTK QR scanner, QR code scanner

How to Install My Weather Indicator in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: January 2, 2022

Looking for a desktop weather application for Ubuntu desktop? My Weather Indicator is one of the great choices.

My Weather Indicator is an application especially designed for Ubuntu. It’s written in Python 3 and works on Plasma, GNOME, MATE, Xfce, etc.

The software displays current weather and the weather forecast via system tray indicator applet and desktop widget. Supported weather services include: OpenWeatherMap, Yahoo, wunderground.com, and World Weather Online.

To install the weather application, open terminal from your system application menu and run following commands one by one.

1.) Add the developer’s PPA by running command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao

Type your login password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompt and hit Enter to continue.

2.) Refresh package cache and install the software:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install my-weather-indicator

3.) The first launching My Weather Indicator will bring up the settings dialog. There you can setup your location, widget theme, weather services, auto-start, refresh frequency, etc.

Note: after clicking OK button, it can take a few seconds to show the desktop widget.

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA, either open Software & Update > Other Software or run command:

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

To remove the weather application, run command:

sudo apt remove my-weather-indicator

In App Review, Howtos weather indicator, weather widget

Superpaper – Advanced Multi Monitor Wallpaper Manager for Linux

Last updated: January 6, 2021

Superpaper is a cross-platform wallpaper manager that focuses on multi-monitor support. It features pixel density correction that spans an image flawlessly across displays of different shapes and sizes, and bezel correction and perspective correction.

Other Superpaper features include:

Set a single image across all displays
Set different image on every display
Manual pixel offsets for fine-tuning
Desktop Slideshow with configurable file order from local sources
Command-line interface
Hotkey support
Align test tool

How to Install Superpaper in Ubuntu:

You can try the wallpaper manager without installing it on your system via Appimage, which is available to download at:

Superpaper releases

Right-click on the Appimage package, go to Properties -> Permissions -> enable ‘Allow executing file as program’, and finally run it to launch the wallpaper manager.

Superpaper also available to install from PyPI, open terminal and run following commands one by one:

1.) Run command to install wxPython:

sudo apt install python3-wxgtk4.0 python3-pip

2.) Then download and install the wallpaper manager as well as dependencies via command:

pip3 install --user -U superpaper

Once installed, launch it from your system application menu (may need to reboot first) and enjoy!

Uninstall superpaper:

For any reason you can easily remove the software via command:

pip3 uninstall superpaper

In App Review wallpaper changer

Wavemon – Display Live WiFi Signal Strength in Terminal

Last updated: March 23, 2020

wifi hotspot

Looking for a wireless network manager? Wavemon is a command line ncurses-based wireless network monitoring application for Linux.

Wavemon displays live signal and noise levels, packet statistics, device configuration and network parameters of your wireless network hardware. It should work with all devices supported by the Linux kernel.

Wavemon is available in Ubuntu universe repositories. Simply open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install it:

sudo apt install wavemon

Then run wavecom to start the monitor. For more information run man wavemon.

While the software packages in Ubuntu repositories are always old. You can get the latest release from the link below:

Wavemon in Github

In App Review wifi signal strength

SameBoy – Powerful Game Boy Emulator Available as Snap

Last updated: March 19, 2020

The latest version of SameBoy, powerful Game Boy Emulator, available to install via Snap package in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

SameBoy is an open-source user friendly Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Super Game Boy emulator for macOS, Windows and Unix-like platforms.

SameBoy is extremely accurate and includes a wide range of powerful debugging features, making it ideal for both casual players and developers.

In addition to accuracy and developer capabilities, SameBoy has all the features one would expect from an emulator – from save states to scaling filters.

SameBoy is available to install in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher via Snap (runs in sandbox) pacakge. Simply search for and install it from Ubuntu Software.

You can also run command instead to install the Game Boy Emulator in terminal:

snap install sameboy

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

In App Review Game Boy Emulator

Fill Ubuntu Console With Hollywood Melodrama Technobabble

Last updated: March 17, 2020

Want to make your Ubuntu look like a busy-looking console? Hollywood is a utility that will split your console into a multiple panes of genuine technobabble, perfectly suitable for any Hollywood geek melodrama. It is particularly suitable on any number of computer consoles in the background of any excellent schlock technothriller.

Hollywood is open source software, created by Dustin Kirkland in 2014 and has been used by NBC News, on Saturday Night Live, in cybersecurity commercials for Experian, Full Frontal by Samantha Bee, Map Men, and magazine articles such as this one from Texas A&M University.

How to Install Hollywood in Ubuntu:

Hollywood is available in Ubuntu main repositories, though it’s always old.

The Hollywood PPA contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and Ubuntu 20.04.

1.) Open terminal from system application menu, then run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hollywood/ppa

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

2.) Then refresh system package cache and install the utility via following 2 commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install --install-recommends hollywood

To start hollywood, run command hollywodd either in terminal (toggle fullscreen mode vi F11) or TTY console (Ctrl+Alt+F3). And stop it via Ctrl+C.

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA, either use Software & Updates utility or run command in terminal:

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

To remove Hollywood utility, run command:

sudo apt remove hollywood

In App Review hollywood

Internet Radio Player Shortwave 1.0 Released (Howto Install)

Last updated: March 15, 2020

Shortwave, an internet radio player desktop application for Linux, released its first stable version 1.0 today. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

Shortwave is a new desktop radio app for Linux built with Rust. It provides access to a station database with over 25,000 stations. It features:

Create your own library where you can add your favourite stations
Easily search and discover new radio stations
Automatic recognition of songs, with the possibility to save them individually
Responsive application layout, compatible for small and large screens
Play audio on supported network devices (e.g. Google Chromecasts)
Seamless integration into the GNOME desktop environment
Import stations from Gradio.

How to install Shortwave in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, Shortwave radio player can be easily installed via Flatpak from flathub repository.

First do following steps to setup flathub repository if you’re first time installing a flatpak package in Ubuntu:

1.) Open terminal either from system application menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command:

sudo apt install flatpak

2.) Add the flathub repository which hosts the flatpak package:

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

Then install Shortwave flatpak package via command:

flatpak install flathub de.haeckerfelix.Shortwave

Once installed, launch the internet radio player from your system application menu and enjoy!

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

flatpak uninstall de.haeckerfelix.Shortwave

In App Review internet radio, shortwave

Mechvibes: Play Mechanical Keyboard Sounds When You Type

Last updated: March 8, 2020

Mechvibes is a desktop application that plays mechanical keyboard key-press sound when your type on your keyboard.

It’s a side project that I made for myself since when I use my own mechanical keyboard at late night or in the office and my parents and my coworkers hate that a lot because the sound of the keyboard is very loud (especially in quiet places). So if you are facing this issue just like me then this product is for you!

With Mechvibes, you can:

Set custom keyboard sound set by recording any sound you like
Use your laptop keyboard or non-mechanical keyboard at work and still hear your loved sound.
Use this app as any purpose as you want

How to Install Mechvibes in Ubuntu:

The software can be easily installed in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher via Snap package in Ubuntu Software utility.

Once installed, launch the software from system application menu. And you may read the official document about Mechvibes Editor.

In App Review play key-press sound

Colorpicker: Mininal But Complete Color Picker App

Last updated: March 6, 2020

There are quite a few color picker applications for Ubuntu Linux. Colorpicker is another one written with Electron, and works in Linux, Windows, and Mac OS.

The colorpicker tool features: