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Archives For November 30, 1999

GIMP 2.99.14 Adds Apple Silicon Support, New ‘Gray’ Theme, Text Outline option

Last updated: November 19, 2022 — Leave a comment

GIMP image editor got a new update for its 2.99 development release this Friday. Here’s the new features as well as how to install guide for Ubuntu users.

GIMP 2.99.14 is the 7th development release for the next major 3.0 release. It reworked the Align and Distribute tool to make it easy to use. Target items to align or distribute are now the selected layers and/or paths. For layers in particular, a new option “Use extents of layer contents” is available to align or distribute target layers based on their pixel contents.

The Text tool now has new “outline” and “fill” options, to insert text in different styles. For me, it’s no longer required to use ‘Grow…’ and then ‘Stroke Selection’ to do similar job.

This release also introduced a new ‘Gray‘ theme, as well as “Override icon sizes set by the theme” option to resize icons among small, medium, large and huge.

XCF file support is greatly improved with multi-threading support. Saving with default RLE and zlib is now much faster! And, this release introduced initial Apple Silicon package support for macOS users.

Other changes in GIMP 2.99.14 include:

  • Transform tools activated automatically
  • New “Paste as Single Layer” and “Paste as Single Layer in Place” options in the Edit > Paste as submenu.
  • Moving to GApplication and GtkApplication
  • Add ‘Root layers only’ option on PDF export.
  • export PSD images as CMYK(A) support.
  • Metadata import and export for JPEG-XL support.
  • Initial support for Apple’s ICNS files.
  • Add “Show reduced images” option when importing TIFF.

How to Install GIMP 2.99.14:

The image editor has an official download page for the development releases. It offers the official package for Linux as Flatpak, though there’s also an unofficial PPA for Ubuntu users.

Option 1: Install GIMP 2.99.14 as Flatpak

Ubuntu and most other Linux can install the editor as Flatpak that runs in sandbox. For Ubuntu users, they are generally 3 commands for installing it:

  1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Run command to install the daemon package in case you don’t have it. 
    sudo apt install flatpak
  2. Then, add the flathub beta repository by running command:flatpak remote-add –user flathub-beta https://flathub.org/beta-repo/flathub-beta.flatpakrepo
  3. Finally, install GIMP beta release via command: 
    flatpak install --user flathub-beta org.gimp.GIMP

If you already installed the previous GIMP 2.99.12, use flatpak update --user org.gimp.GIMP beta command to update it.

And, if you also have GIMP 2.10 stable release installed as Flatpak, only one of them can be visible in system app launcher. Use either command below to switch between them:

flatpak make-current --user org.gimp.GIMP beta
flatpak make-current --user org.gimp.GIMP stable

NOTE: skip --user flag if you installed the package system wide without this parameter.

Option 2: install GIMP 2.99.14 from PPA

For those who prefer the classic .deb package format, there’s an unofficial PPA contains the package for Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 22.10.

Simply, open terminal from start menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, then run the commands below one by one to add the PPA, update, and install GIMP 2.99.x:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mati75/gimp30
sudo apt update
sudo apt install gimp

NOTE: If you have GIMP 2.10 stable installed as .deb package, the commands above will upgrade it to the latest development release.

To restore the stock GIMP package in system repository, run command to purge the Ubuntu PPA which also downgrade all installed packages:

sudo apt install ppa-purge & sudo ppa-purge ppa:mati75/gimp30
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Circular Desktop Widget for CPU/RAM Usage in Ubuntu 22.10/Fedora 37

Last updated: May 7, 2024 — Leave a comment

UPDATE: This Extension has NOT been updated for almost 1 year! Support ends at GNOME 43. Meaning you can still try it in Debian 12 GNOME.

Want to display digital clock, system memory and CPU load in your Desktop? There’s new circular widget for Ubuntu 22.10, Fedora 37, and other Linux with GNOME 43.

There are quite a few tools to display system load widget in desktop. Here I’m going to introduce the one that has a Conky look alike circular widget for GNOME desktop.

It displays local time, RAM usage and CPU load in 3 separated circular widget. Meaning you can drag moving any one of them to anywhere in your screen. And, it allows to resize the circle, change its color, line width, as well as text color and background, etc to get different look and feel.

Cool, isn’t it? Let me show you how to install it.

Step 1: Install Extension Manager

First, search for and install the “Extension Manager” app from Ubuntu Software, for installing Gnome extensions.

Install Extension Manager in Ubuntu 22.04+

Once installed, search for and launch the tool from ‘Activities’ overview screen.

Step 2: Install the Circular Widgets via Extension Manager

When Extension Manager opens, navigate to ‘Browse’ tab, then search for and install the Circular Widgets extension.

For Fedora 37 user, simply go to this web page and use ON/OFF switch to install it.

Step 3: Configure the widget

After installed the extension, go back to ‘Installed‘ tab in Extension Manager, or install and open ‘Gnome Extensions’ app from GNOME Software for Fedora. There you can open the configuration dialog for each circle widget.

NOTE: For Ubuntu & other Linux using “Desktop Icons NG (DING)” extension, you have to disable it temporarily until being able to drag moving the system load widget.

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Show Clock in Top-bar for different Locations in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04

Last updated: May 5, 2024 — 1 Comment

This simple tutorial shows how to add world clock in top panel, so you can have a glance at what time is it now for different countries and locations.

Say you have business world-wide or family members or good friends live in different countries, a world clock can be quite useful to know the time in their locations.

If you’re working on Ubuntu, Fedora Workstation, or other Linux with GNOME desktop, then there’s an extension to display the time for your specified locations in top panel to make life easier.

As you see in the screenshot above, it also shows the sunrise and sunset time for the selected location.

Step 1: Install GNOME Clock

The extension uses GNOME Clock for the date and time information. You need to first install it either from Ubuntu Software (or App Center for 24.04):

Install GNOME Clock

Pay attention that you need to install the package in native .deb format, meaning from ‘ubuntu-xxx-universe’. Check the source drop-down box in header bar of Ubuntu Software. Or, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal and run command to install it:

sudo apt install gnome-clocks

Step 2: Add different locations

After installing the app, press Super (Windows logo) key, then search for and open it from ‘Activities’ overview screen.

When it opens, click on the top-left corner ‘+’ button to add locations for your business partners or family members.

Step 3: Install Extension to make World Clock display on Panel

For Ubuntu 22.04 & Ubuntu 24.04, do the steps below one by one to install the extension:

  1. Search for and install ‘Extension Manager’ from Ubuntu Software or App Center.
  2. Click top-left edge ‘Activities’ to open overview, then search for and launch ‘Extension Manager’.
  3. Finally, use the tool to search and install ‘Panel World Clock (Lite)’ extension under ‘Browse’ tab.

For Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 20.04, use web browser instead to install it:

  1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open a terminal windows. When it opens, run command to install the agent package and manager app: 
    sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell gnome-shell-extension-manager
  2. Next, go to the extension web page by clicking the link button below:
    Panel World Clock (Lite)
  3. Click install browser extension if prompted via the link in that page. Finally, refresh and use the ON/OFF switch to install it.

After installing the extension, it should display world clock in top panel alongside local date and time. If not, try log out and back in to reload it.

In case you don’t like the default display location, you can open the configuration page in either Extension Manager or Gnome Extensions app. Then configure to:

  • show world clock in center or right.
  • Set number of clocks.
  • Show/hide local clock.
  • Display city/country name.

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Steam now easy to install in Ubuntu via SNAP package

Last updated: November 16, 2022 — 1 Comment

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, is building the popular Steam game platform as Snap package!

The Ubuntu developer team is going to improve gaming experience on this popular Linux distribution. The first step is to simplify the process of setting up gaming environment. As the number 1 game platform, Steam to be first one they focus on.

Meaning Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 22.10 can easily search for and install Steam as snap package from Ubuntu Software:

Steam in Ubuntu Software as Snap package

Or, user can press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal and run the single command to get it:

snap install steam --beta

The command also work in Ubuntu 18.04, though --beta flag is required at the moment, because the package so far is in earlier stage for testing purpose.

After installed the package, just search for and launch it from ‘Activities’ overview screen:

It automatically install updates and setup runtime, and finally launch the client app for you.

Other Choices

As some users do not like Snap package, there are a few other ways to install Steam app in Ubuntu.

Option 1: Steam Installer

By searching in Ubuntu Software, you’ll see a “Steam Installer” package. Which is an empty package that automatically download steam package from its server and set it up in Ubuntu.

Steam Installer in Ubuntu Software

The package however is a 32-bit package which will also install a list of 32-bit libraries as dependencies.

Option 2: Steam’s official .deb package

Steam website offers official .deb package available for Debian/Ubuntu based systems.

Download Steam

User can download and then double-click on the package in file manager to install it.

Option 3: Flatpak package

The game platform is also available as the universal Flatpak package that runs in sandbox.

Just for choice, you may first run command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) to install the Flatpak daemon:

sudo apt install flatpak

Then, install steam as flatpak package by running command:

flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/com.valvesoftware.Steam.flatpakref

Summary:

Ubuntu starts working on its official Steam package as Snap. Meaning user can now directly search for and install the game platform from Ubuntu Software. Besides that, there are also an installer script in Ubuntu Software, official .deb package from steam website, and Flatpak package available for choices.

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Completely Turn Off Automatic Updates of Snap Apps in Ubuntu

Last updated: July 25, 2023 — 10 Comments

Ubuntu finally added support for disabling automatic updates for snap applications, though it’s currently considered experimental at the moment of writing.

As you may know, Snap is an universal package format runs in sandbox. It’s developed by Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, as a competitor to Flatpak.

The pre-installed Firefox in Ubuntu 22.04+, and Ubuntu Software in Ubuntu 20.04+ are Snap applications. And there are lots of apps in Ubuntu Software available as Snap, including Chromium browser, Skype, and more.

By default, Snap apps automatically update to the newest version. Though, user can delay or specify when to perform updates. It was impossible to completely disable automatic updates due to security issue.

But as the snap update mechanism has been continuously refined, and to give IT teams more control they expect for Linux systems, this long-awaited feature is finally released for preview.

Hold or completely disable Snap updates

The function is done via a new --hold parameter using snap refresh command.

  • For example, completely disable automatic updates for Firefox via command: 
    snap refresh --hold firefox

    It will output something like “General refreshes of “firefox” held indefinitely”.

  • Or, hold automatic updates for 24 hours for both firefox and snap-store via command: 
    snap refresh --hold=24h firefox snap-store
  • For all the Snap apps, just skip package name in the command. So, disable automatic updates for all apps by running command: 
    snap refresh --hold

Oppositely, re-enable automatically updates via --unhold parameter.

  • To re-enable updates for all apps, use command: 
    snap refresh --unhold
  • To re-enable center apps, such as Firefox, use command: 
    snap refresh --unhold firefox

Switch Snapd to edge channel

UPDATE: This feature is available in stable release. You don’t have to switch to edge channel any more!

As mentioned, the feature is not in edge channel for preview. If you found the commands above do not work, but you really want to try it out, switch Snapd daemon to edge channel via command:

snap refresh snapd --edge

And verify by running snap list |grep snapd command.

To switch back the daemon package to stable channel, use command:

snap refresh snapd --stable

via: this post.

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Use GTK4 port of Desktop Icons NG Extension in Ubuntu 22.04

Last updated: May 8, 2024 — Leave a comment

As you may know, icons on Ubuntu desktop is handled by an extension called “Desktop Icons NG”. While GNOME has been moving to GTK4, the extension so far still uses GTK3 toolkit to implement all the functions.

A GTK4 port of this extension now is in development, with all previous functions, bug-fixes, as well new features.

The new version works as another extension as it’s not been merged upstream. It comes with GSconnect integration, and features drag and drop app icons from Ubuntu Dock (Dash-to-Dock) to the desktop.

  • Drag and drop from left dock panel to desktop will REMOVE app icon from favorites.
  • Hold Ctrl + drag and drop will REMOVE from favorites, and ADD onto desktop.
  • Hold Shift + drag and drop will ADD icon to desktop without removing it from favorites.

Also, it adds more functions to drag and drop files from file manager (Nautilus) to the desktop. By default, drag and drop between desktop and Nautilus will MOVE the files from one to another directory. With the new extension, you can also:

  • Press and hold Ctrl + drag’n’drop to COPY files.
  • Press and hold Alt + drag and drop to select between ‘MOVE’, ‘COPY’, ‘LINK’ actions.

As well, it has a GNOME 43 style file context menu when you right-clicking on desktop. When looks more native in Ubuntu 22.04, except for the arrow …

Install GTK4 port of Desktop Icons NG:

1. Ubuntu 22.04+ users can first search for and install ‘Extension Manager’ app from Ubuntu Software.

Install Extension Manager in Ubuntu 22.04+

2. Then press Super (‘Windows’ logo) key on keyboard to open overview, search and open the tool.

3. Finally, search ‘DING’ and install the new extension under ‘Browse’ tab.

4. To use the extension, user has to disable the system built-in ‘Desktop Icons NG’ extension, and enable the new GTK4 version.

To restore, just re-enable ‘Desktop Icons NG’, disable or remove the GTK4 version via Extension Manager.

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Mozilla Firefox 107 Available to Install via Ubuntu PPA

Last updated: November 13, 2022 — Leave a comment

A new monthly release of Firefox web browser to be released soon! Users of Mozilla team PPA should already received the updates.

Though it’s not officially announced at the moment of writing, user can however check what’s new in the release via the Github Releases page.

And, here are the changes in Firefox 107 according to it:

  • Improved the performance of the instance when Microsoft’s IME and Defender retrieve the URL of a focused document in Windows 11 version 22H2.
  • Power profiling visualizing performance data recorded from web browsers is now also supported on Linux and Mac with Intel CPUs, in addition to Windows 11 and Apple Silicon.
  • A couple of helpful improvements in Firefox DevTools making it easier to debug WebExtensions:
    • New webext argument to automatically open DevTools.
    • Simple to inspect popup windows (implemented by WebExtension) using DevTools.
    • Reload button in the DevTools toolbox to see the changes you made in source code.
  • Various bug fixes and new policies implemented.

How to Install Firefox 107 in Ubuntu:

The best way to install the new Firefox release package is just wait! Wait until Ubuntu developer team build the package and publish into official system repository. So, just keep your system up-to-date, you’ll get Firefox 107 in next few days!

For Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 22.10 users who prefer the classic .deb package, the 107 release is already available in the Mozillateam PPA. Simply open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, and run commands below one by one:

NOTE: This PPA now supports all current Ubuntu releases, meaning Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 20.04 are also supported.

  • 1. Add the Mozillateam PPA by running command: 
    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/ppa
  • 2. Check updates for old Ubuntu releases: 
    sudo apt update
  • 3. Finally, install Firefox from the PPA via command: 
    sudo apt install -t "o=LP-PPA-mozillateam" firefox

IMPORTANT: to avoid Ubuntu 22.04+ to override the PPA package with system built-in Snap package, you have to create a config file under ‘/etc/apt/preferences.d’, and write following rules (See this guide for details):

# Prefer Firefox package from Mozillateam PPA

Package: firefox*
Pin: release o=LP-PPA-mozillateam
Pin-Priority: 501

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VLC 3.0.18 is Out! How to Install in Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

Last updated: July 1, 2023 — 6 Comments

The classic VLC media player got a new release after more than half a year of development. Here’s the changes and how to install guide.

VLC 3.0.18 is probably the last release of the 3.0.x series, as VLC 4.0 is under developing now. It features:

  • Support RISC-V CPU architecture
  • Add support DVBSub subtitle in MKV video.
  • Y16 chroma support
  • Improve SMBv1/SMBv2 behavior and FTP compatibility.
  • Fix AVI muxing for Windows Media Player compatibility
  • Fix seeking speed on macOS
  • Various other fixes and improvements.

How to Install VLC 3.0.18 in Ubuntu:

Option 1: Official Snap package

Though it’s not announced at the moment of writing, the official Snap package has been made into Ubuntu Software for Ubuntu 20.04 and higher users. Which however is an universal package format that runs in sandbox.

Install VLC 3.0.18 as Snap in Ubuntu Software

Option 2: Third-party PPA

For those prefer the native .deb package format, there’s an unofficial PPA contains the package for Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 20.04.

1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/vlc

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

2. Old Ubuntu and Linux Mint user need to refresh the package cache by running the command below:

sudo apt update

3. Finally, install or update VLC package via:

sudo apt install vlc

Uninstall VLC 3.0.18

For the official snap package, you can simply click uninstall button in Ubuntu Software.

For the PPA package, it’s HIGHLY recommended to purge the PPA which also downgrade all installed libraries, so to avoid dependency issue. To do so, run the commands below one by one:

sudo apt install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/vlc

After purging the PPAs, clean up useless libraries via command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove vlc-data vlc-bin

That’s all. Enjoy!

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Firefox in Ubuntu 22.04 Finally Get Back Native Messaging Support

Last updated: November 7, 2022 — 1 Comment

The pre-installed Firefox Snap package in Ubuntu 22.04 & 22.10 now works again for native messaging support. Meaning user can now make it work with GSConnect, KeePassXC, Plasma extension, and/or installing Gnome Shell Extensions,

As you may know, Ubuntu switched to the Snap version of Firefox that runs in sandbox since 21.10. Which, however broke the feature to exchange messages with native applications.

Thanks to Flatpak team for working on a new WebExtensions XDG desktop portal and its integration in Firefox. The new native messaging feature is available for testing for a few months in beta channel. And, it’s made int stable channel just a few days ago.

Firefox as Snap

How to Get it

If you’re now using Firefox as Snap, just wait it will automatically update to the latest version with the new feature. Or, open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard and run command:

sudo snap refresh firefox --stable

And install the XDG desktop portal package by running command in terminal. Also install chrome-gnome-shell if you want to use Firefox to install Gnome shell extensions.

sudo apt update && sudo apt install xdg-desktop-portal

For switching from Firefox .deb package back to Snap, just remove PPA priority file (if any) under ‘/etc/apt/preferences.d/’ directory, then run the command below in terminal:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install firefox

Finally launch Firefox, install or visit the page that need native message exchange. It will pop-up a dialog asks user to grant the permission.

Firefox Snap ask for native messaging permission

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Enable macOS spotlight style Search Box in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04

Last updated: May 8, 2024 — 1 Comment

Prefer macOS spotlight or Alfred style search system? You can now get similar feature in Ubuntu via an extension.

It’s ‘Search Light‘, an extension so far supports for Gnome 42 ~ 46, meaning for Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04, Fedora 38~40, Debian 12, Arch and Manjaro Linux.

With it, you may press a custom shortcut key on keyboard to open the search box. Then, type to search and launch applications, settings, and/or app content.

It uses system’s built in search function, with settings to show search box in preferred monitor, change background, opacity, and search window size.

Search Light with custom background color & opacity

How to Install ‘Search Light’ extension:

For Ubuntu 22.04+ and Arch Linux, first search for and install ‘Extension Manager‘ from Ubuntu Software (App Center) or system software app.

Install Extension Manager in Ubuntu Software/App Center

Then, search for and launch the tool from ‘Activities’ overview screen.

You can finally go to ‘Browse’ tab in Extension Manager to search & install the extension.

And, go back to ‘Installed’ tab in Extension Manager to open the configuration dialog. Finally, set your favorite shortcut key, choose monitor (if more than one available), and change the layout appearance.

Fedora user can simply go to extension web-page, and install it by using the ON/OFF switch. And, install ‘Gnome Extensions’ app from Gnome Software for configuring the extension.

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