GIMP image editor released new development version 2.99.8 for the next 3.0 series with some great new features.
GIMP 2.99.8 introduced multiple layers support for its Clone, Heal and Perspective Clone tools. There are as well 2 new modes in particular:
When sourcing from multiple selected drawables then cloning into a single drawable, the pixel source is the composited render of source layers. When cloning while multiple drawables are selected, each drawable clones from itself to itself, i.e. every drawable is both its source and target.
The release added support for loading and exporting JPEG-XL (.jxl) files via the libjxl library. And it supports larger-than-4GiB PSD files and loading up to 99 channels, as well as PSB files with width and height up to 300,000 pixels.
Thanks to Windows Ink support, GIMP now has more more graphics tablets or touch input devices support. Other changes in GIMP 2.99.8 include:
Selection cue fixed on Wayland and macOS
Clicking anywhere on the toolbox or on Wilber’s drop area now returns the focus to the canvas
Dropped the thumbnail icon feature.
Memory leak fixes and plug-in improvements.
How to Install GIMP 2.99.8 in Ubuntu Linux:
GIMP rolls out new nightly build of the flatpak package for Linux. After installing flatpak daemon, run the command below will install GIMP nightly build:
This simple tutorial shows how to remove the trash icon from the dock in Ubuntu 21.10 Impish Indri.
Different to the previous releases, Ubuntu 21.10 puts the trash icon on left dock instead of the desktop. However, I don’t use the trash icon in either location. Instead, I removes files using right-click menu options, and go to trash via file manager left sidebar.
If you also find it useless, then here’s how to remove it either via a single command or by a graphical configuration tool.
Single command to remove Trash from the dock:
Press Ctrl+Alt+T key combination on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the command below will tell Ubuntu Dock to hide the trash icon:
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock show-trash false
(Optional) The command takes effect immediately. If you change your mind and want to revert it back. Use command:
For beginners and/or those hate Linux commands, an advanced graphical configuration tool “Dconf Editor” is present to do the job.
First, search for install “Dconf Editor” from Ubuntu Software if you don’t have it:
Next, search for and launch the tool from activities overview screen. When it opens, click on “I’ll be careful” button, and then navigate to “org/gnome/shell/extensions/dash-to-dock“.
There you’ll see all the settings for Ubuntu Dock. Scroll down and toggle off the slider icon for “show-trash” will do the trick.
The “Software Updater” utility in Ubuntu MATE 21.10 tries to remove native Firefox package and install the SNAP version instead. If you’ve done that, here’s how to revert to Firefox DEB package and prevent the misbehavior.
As you may know, Ubuntu is switching Firefox from native DEB to the universal SNAP package. Ubuntu 21.10 now has Firefox SNAP out-of-the-box, while its flavors are still having the classic deb package.
However, in Ubuntu MATE 21.10 the “Software Updater” has a bug. It tries to remove pre-installed Firefox package by marking it as “Duplicate packages to be removed”.
Software Updater Tries to Install Firefox SNAP
If you clicked “Install Now” button without attention. The default Firefox web browser will be replaced with the SNAP app:
Revert to pre-installed Firefox DEB:
By going to the app “menu -> Help -> About Firefox” will tell if you’ve done that mistakenly.
The Firefox SNAP app
And, you may press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, and run command to remove the Snap if installed:
sudo snap remove --purge firefox
Then install the native Firefox deb package by running command:
sudo apt install firefox
Prevent Software Updater from installing Firefox Snap:
Thanks to N0rbert, run the single command below in terminal to do the trick until the upstream fixed the bug.
sudo apt-mark manual firefox
The command will work on all Ubuntu flavors, though I found the issue only in Ubuntu MATE so far.
Everyone needs to tweak the default desktop environment before getting ready to work! And here are the top 10 things that I’ve done after installing Ubuntu 21.10 Impish Indri.
1. Install Media Codec:
If you didn’t enable ‘Install third-party software …‘ check-box during the installing process, you need to install the multimedia codecs for audio and video playback with built-in apps.
To do so, open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard and run command:
sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras
As you see in terminal outputs, it will also install codecs for Chromium based browser, Microsoft TrueType core fonts, as well as non-free package to handle rar archive.
2. Enable ‘Click-to-minimize’ dock panel click action:
Clicking app icon on the dock panel will do nothing for the focused app window by default. Though I think most people want it act as minimize the current window.
Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run the single command will do the trick:
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock click-action minimize
3. Remove Default Firefox Snap, and install back the classic Deb package:
In the final release of Ubuntu 21.10, the default Firefox web browser has been switched to the Snap package runs in sandbox. However, it does not support for installing Gnome extensions!
So I have to remove it by running command in a terminal window:
sudo snap remove --purge firefox
And then install back the classic deb package via command:
sudo apt install firefox
4. Tweak the Dock Panel Appearance:
Also for the left dock panel, there are a few tips to tweak its appearance. Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T key combination on keyboard, and run the command below:
Move ‘Show Applications’ (9 dots icon) to the top:
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock show-apps-at-top true
Shorten the panel to make it compact:
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock extend-height false
Move dock to the bottom, though you may do it via System Settings:
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock dock-position BOTTOM
Disable USB and other removable device icons from panel:
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock show-mounts false
For those prefer a graphical configuration tool, all the above commands can be done via Dconf Editor tool.
5. Enable Gnome Extensions Support:
The most extensions for Gnome is to be installed via web browser by visiting extensions.gnome.org, though you have to install something to enable it.
Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install chrome-gnome-shell and Gnome Extensions app:
After that, you may visit the web site and install browser extension for the first time and install your prefer Gnome Extensions.
And by searching for ‘Gnome Extensions’ from activities overview, you can open the app to manage them.
6. Install Gnome Tweaks:
Besides the default system settings, Gnome Tweaks is the must have configuration tool for GNOME desktop, especially for changing themes and fonts.
To install the tool, open terminal and run command:
sudo apt install gnome-tweaks
7. Manage desktop icons:
Ubuntu 21.10 now defaults the trash icon into dock panel, though the Home icon present in the desktop out-of-the-box. User may choose to hide it or change the icon size via new settings menu.
Simply right-click blank area on the desktop and choose “Desktop Icons settings” will open the page to manage desktop icons.
8. Modern desktop appearance via blur effect:
The default top bar and overview screen is a little bit ugly. To make them look good, try “Blur my Shell” Gnome Shell Extension.
After doing step 5, you may click the link below to install it:
To be able to switch between dark and light menus, notifications, etc, and try out different Gnome Shell themes, you have to install the User Themes extension.
After that, use Gnome Tweaks to change Shell themes under Appearance tab.
10. Switch back Xorg Session:
Ubuntu defaults to Wayland session since Ubuntu 21.04. However, some applications are still not working good with Wayland. If you’re sticking to those apps, you may choose to switch back “Ubuntu on Xorg” from the login screen via bottom right gear button.
That’s all. If you have more tips to improve the Ubuntu desktop appearance, please leave comment in the bottom!
Ubuntu 21.10 officially released! Here’s what’s new and how to upgrade from the previous Ubuntu 21.04.
Ubuntu 21.10, codenamed “Impish Indri”, is the new short-term release with 9 months support. It features Linux Kernel 5.13 with new hardware support. And it ships GNOME Desktop 40 with a redesigned activities overview screen. Workspaces are now arranged horizontally. Three-finger touchpad gestures are supported out-of-the-box to toggle overview and switch workspaces.
For Ubuntu Server 21.10, it integrates OpenStack Xena, QEMU 6.0, PHP8, libvirt 7.6, Kubernetes, and Ceph with advanced life-cycle management tools.
Other changes include:
Wayland session available while using the Nvidia proprietary driver.
PulseAudio 15 introduces support for Bluetooth LDAC and AptX codecs.
For those want to do a fresh install, download Ubuntu 21.10 from the official website.
How to Upgrade From Ubuntu 21.04 Desktop to Ubuntu 21.10:
Before getting started, it’s always recommended to backup important data and switch to open-source driver via “Additional Drivers” utility. Also, disable third-party PPAs via “Software & Updates -> Other Software”. And it’s better to purge Ubuntu PPAs that contains updated graphics & multi-media libraries, e.g, FFmpeg, Mesa.
1.) First, search for and open “Software Updater” utility and install all available updates. And restart your computer if required.
2.) Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, and run command to launch the Software Updater with checking system upgrade:
update-manager -c
It will open up ‘Software Updater’ and indicate that Ubuntu 21.10 is available for upgrade. Don’t see the prompt? Try opening “Software & Updates” and select notify me for any version under ‘Updates’ tab.
3.) After clicking on “Upgrade” button, it will bring up the ‘Impish Indri Release Note’ dialog.
4.) Click “Upgrade” again and it opens the “Distribution Upgrade” wizard indicates the process.
5.) After ‘Preparing to upgrade’ and ‘Setting new software channels’, it will ask for confirm again for upgrading the system.
Now, it starts downloading the new packages and installing the updates! And, it will ask for confirm to clean up obsolete packages. After all, restart computer when it indicates restart to complete upgrade.
How to Upgrade From Ubuntu 21.04 Server to Ubuntu 21.10:
To upgrade Ubuntu Server, firstly connect to command console, and install the update-manager-core package via command:
sudo apt install update-manager-core
Make sure the Prompt line in /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades is set to normal via command:
