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Install Cool Reader 3 on Ubuntu, Linux Mint via PPA Repository

Last updated: July 11, 2013

This simple and brief tutorial shows how to install CoolReader 3.x on Ubuntu 13.04, 12.10, 12.04, 11.10, 10.04 and Linux Mint via PPA repository.

CoolReader is fast and small cross-platform XML/CSS based E-Book reader for desktops and handheld devices. Supported formats: FB2, TXT, RTF, DOC, TCR, HTML, EPUB, CHM, PDB, MOBI. Platforms: Win32, Linux, Android. Ported on some eInk based devices.

CoolReader3

To install it, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal, then follow the below steps:

1.) Copy and paste this command and run in terminal. It adds the ppa repository to your system:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:vovansrnd/coolreader

2.) If you’ve already Synaptic Package Manager, open it and click Reload to update package lists. Search for and install cr3:

CoolReader-Synaptic

If not, run this command instead:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install cr3

Enjoy!

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Install Nightingale Player on Ubuntu, Linux Mint via PPA Repository

Last updated: May 20, 2024

Nightingale in Ubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu 14.10

UPDATE 2024: Nightingale discontinued! Try Clementine Music Player which is available to install in App Center or Ubuntu Software.

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to install the Nightingale Music Player on Ubuntu 13.04, 12.10, 12.04 and Linux Mint 15, 14, 13 via ppa repository.

As such, Nightingale’s engine is based on the Mozilla XULRunner with libraries such as the GStreamer media framework and libtag providing media tagging and playback support, amongst others. Since official support for Linux was dropped by Songbird in April, 2010, Linux-using members of the Songbird community diverged and created the project.

nightingale main window

Nightingale smart playlist

Nightingale smart playlist

Notable features of Nightingale:

  • Plugins compatible with Songbird (with one modification to the addon)
  • Multi-platform compatibility with Windows XP, Vista, 7, Linux and Mac OS X v10.5 (x86, x86-64).
  • Ability to play multiple audio formats, such as MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Apple Lossless and WMA
  • Ability to play Apple FairPlay-encoded audio on Windows and Mac platforms via hooks into QuickTime (authorization takes place in iTunes)
  • Ability to play Windows Media DRM audio on Windows platforms
  • Media files stored on pages viewed in the browser show up as playable files in Nightingale
  • MP3 file download
  • Ability to subscribe to MP3 blogs as playlists
  • Ability to build custom mixes
  • Ability to scan the user’s computer for all audio files and add them to a local library
  • A configurable and collapsible graphical user interface similar to iTunes, and mini-player mode
  • Keyboard shortcuts and media keyboard support
  • Last.fm integration via a plugin, complete with love/hate buttons
  • Microsoft MTP compatible device support
  • Ability to edit and save metadata tags
  • Gapless playback and ReplayGain
  • Watch folders
  • Media import and export (from and to iTunes)

To install it, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal, then follow the below steps:

1.) Copy and paste this command, then run in terminal to add the ppa repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nightingaleteam/nightingale-release

2.) If you’ve already installed Synaptic Package Manager, open it and click Reload button. Search for and install the nightingale package:

nightingale-synaptic

If not, run the below command instead:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install nightingale

Enjoy!

UPDATE: To uninstall the software, also use Synaptic Package Manager, or run following commands in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove nightingale && sudo apt-get autoremove

The PPA can be removed via Software & Updates utility via Other Software tab.

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Easiest Way to Change Grub2 bootloader Background Wallpaper

Last updated: July 10, 2013

Grub is the default boot loader of Ubuntu Linux. Since Grub2 there’s an easy way to change its background wallpaper, without any third-party software.

All you need is the picture file you want to set as background. Supported file format: jpeg, tga, and png.

To get started:

1.) Open Nautilus as root account by pressing Alt+F2, then type gksudo nautilus and hit enter.

open-nautilus-asroot

2.) Navigate to Computer/Home/your-user-name, copy the picture and paste it into /boot/grub

boot-grub

3.) Now apply the changes by running this command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo update-grub

You’ll find “Found background image: picture-name.jpg” in the output.

Reboot and see the magic!

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How to Connect to Ubuntu Remote Desktop using Android Phone

Last updated: July 9, 2013

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to easily connect to your Ubuntu Desktop using Android Phone.

Preparation:

  • An Ubuntu PC connected to your home network (I’m on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS).
  • An Android Phone (Mine is LG E960, Google Nexus 4).

To get started:

1.) On Ubuntu, search and open Ubuntu Sharing from Unity Dash.

desktop-sharing-unity-dash

2.) Here’s how I configured the preference to enable remote access to my desktop:

desktop-sharing-preferences

3.) Find your Ubuntu IP address by click on Network Manager icon -> Information

4.) On Android Phone, install android-vnc-viewer from Google Play for free. Then open it, type in a nickname, IP address of Ubuntu, and the password to connect:

android-vnc

That’s it. Enjoy!

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How to Play Encrypted DVDs on Ubuntu 13.10, 13.04

Last updated: July 9, 2013

This brief tutorial will show you how to install DVD decryption library to enable DVD playback on Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy, 13.04 Raring. Due to legal reasons, Ubuntu doesn’t play normal or encrypted DVDs by default.

For easy, you can install Fluendo DVD player which is specially designed to reproduce DVD on Linux. It costs $24.95.

Fluendo-DVD-player

For free, you can enable this feature by installing the libdvdcss2 package which is available in medibuntu repository. But the maintainer will stop maintaining the Medibuntu repository, the repository will stay on line as is for a while.

Legal Warning: Check with your local laws to make sure usage of libdvdcss2 would be legal in your area.

1.) Press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal, run command to install libdvdread4 and vlc:

sudo apt-get install libdvdread4 vlc

2.) Then download and install libdvdcss2 by running below script:

sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh

After reboot, VLC media player should play DVD movies.

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Install BlueGriffon WYSIWYG editor on Ubuntu using PPA

Last updated: April 23, 2024

NOTE: BlueGriffon has been DISCONTINUED! See the announcement in its website.

This brief tutorial shows how to install BlueGriffon WYSIWYG editor on Ubuntu 13.04, 12.04, 12.10, Linux Mint using the GetDeb repository.

BlueGriffon is a new WYSIWYG content editor for the World Wide Web. Powered by Gecko, the rendering engine of Firefox, it’s a modern and robust solution to edit Web pages in conformance to the latest Web Standards.

The GetDeb repository contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 13.04 Raring, 12.04 Precise, and old versions for Ubuntu 12.10, 11.10, 11.04 and 10.04.

To get started, follow the below steps:

1.) Download the getdeb package and double-click to install. It adds the repository to your system.

2.) If you installed Synaptic Package Manager, open it, click Reload button and search for and install BlueGriffon package.

bluegriffon-synaptic

If not, run below 2 commands instead:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install bluegriffon

Enjoy!

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How to Install PeerGuardian on Ubuntu 16.04 From PPA

Last updated: April 23, 2024

NOTE: PeerGuardian is NO LONGER updated since 2016. This tutorial only works in old Ubuntu 16.04 and earlier.

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to install the PeerGuardian Linux (pgl) on Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial, Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty, 12.04 Precise using ppa repository.

PeerGuardian Linux (pgl) is a privacy oriented firewall application. It blocks connections to and from hosts specified in huge blocklists (thousands or millions of IP ranges). Its origin seeds in targeting aggressive IPs while you use P2P.

peerGuardian

PeerGuardian Linux is actively developed. However the team is very small and with few spare time. Contributors are welcome! Check out http://peerguardian.sourceforge.net.

A ppa repository has been created to make it easy to install for Ubuntu and Linux Mint users. Press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal, then follow the below steps:

1.) Run this command in terminal to add the ppa repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jre-phoenix/ppa

2.) Update the package lists to make it available:

sudo apt-get update

3.) Finally instal it:

sudo apt-get install pgld pglcmd pglgui
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Install Google Talk Plugin on Ubuntu from Official Repository

Last updated: April 22, 2024

google_talk_large

This brief tutorial is going to show you how to install Google Talk plugin on Ubuntu 13.10, 13.04, 12.10, 12.04 from the official repository.

Update: This Tutorial is outdated, and does NOT work anymore!

Google Talk is browser plugin that allows you to make a voice and video chat with your friends via your webcam and microphone connected to the computer.

To get started, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal, then follow the steps below:

1.) Run this command to add the official repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://dl.google.com/linux/talkplugin/deb/ stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-talkplugin.list'

2.) Download and install the key:

wget -q -O - https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -

3.) Update the package lists to make it available:

sudo apt-get update

4.) Finally install the plugin via Synaptic Package Manager, or by this command:

sudo apt-get install google-talkplugin

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Install Desura Gaming Client on Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: April 23, 2024

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to install Desura client (Desurium) on Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail and Linux Mint from ppa repository.

Desura is a gaming client that allows users to one click download and install games and game modification. Desurium is the open-source client of Desura.

desura-linux-client

A ppa repository has been built for Ubuntu and Linux Mint users to make it easy to install. So far, it supports Ubuntu 13.04, 12.10, 12.04 and Linux Mint 15, 14, 13.

To get started:

NOTE: This PPA support ended for Ubuntu 14.04

Press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal, then follow the steps below:

1.) Copy and paste this command and run to add the ppa repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:makson96/desurium

2.) Update:

sudo apt-get update

3.) Install the client:

sudo apt-get install desurium

Once installed, open it from Unity Dash. Then you need register a free account to login.

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