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Audacious 3.9 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: August 22, 2017

Audacious music player

Audacious audio player reached 3.9 release a few days ago with many new features, Qt UI enhancements, usability improvements, and various bug-fixes.

Audacious 3.9 release highlights:

  • New ‘View’ menu and additional options in Settings.
  • Full drag-and-drop capability for playlist entries
  • Configurable playlist columns (add, remove, resize, and rearrange)
  • New controls for stream recording
  • Improved playlist search bar, which hides until Control+F is pressed.
  • Integrated menu items and keyboard shortcuts for the Playlist Manager and Search Tool
  • Better high-DPI support and many other cosmetic fixes
  • audtool gains better support for multiple playlists with the --select-displayed and --select-playing commands
  • Recursive adding of folders specified in M3U playlists
  • See the release note for details.

Audacious GTK and Winamp like interface

How to Install Audacious 3.9 in Ubuntu:

The Webupd8Team PPA has made the packages for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Linux Mint 18.x, and derivatives.

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching it from app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8

Type in your password (no visual feedback while typing due to security reason) when it asks and hit Enter.

2. Upgrade Audacious via Software Updater (Update Manager) if you have a previous release installed:

Or run following commands one by one to check updates and install the audio player:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install audacious audacious-plugins

Uninstall:

You can restore the Audacious music player to its stock version in your Ubuntu by puring the PPA via command:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8

You can then remove the audio player as you want via Ubuntu Software utility.

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MKVToolNix Reached 15.0.0 Release, How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: June 17, 2018

MKVToolNix, a set of Matroska tools for Windows and Linux, has now reached the 15.0.0 release with improved support for new track header elements and a couple of bug-fixes.

MKVToolNix 15.0.0 release highlights:

  • Add “Set destination file name from selected file’s name” option to the “source files” context menu for multiplex tool.
  • Add “Only use the first source file that contains a video track” option in the preferences on “Multiplexer” → “Output”.
  • Ctrl+Up/Down keys to move up/down selected jobs
  • Add support for the “video projection” track header attributes for the GUI, mkvmerge, mkvinfo, and mkvpropedit.
  • Add support for editing the video colour attributes for the GUI and mkvpropedit.
  • Remove the keyboard shortcuts for switching between the different tools in GUI

How to Install MKVToolNix 15.0.0 in Ubuntu:

The tool has an official Linux repository offers the latest packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04 so far.

Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching it from app launcher. When it opens, do following steps:

1. Run command to add the repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://mkvtoolnix.download/ubuntu/ $(lsb_release -sc) main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/bunkus.org.list'

Replace $(lsb_release -sc) with xenial for Linux Mint 18.x. And input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it prompts and hit Enter.

2. Then install the key:

wget -q -O - https://mkvtoolnix.download/gpg-pub-moritzbunkus.txt | sudo apt-key add -

3. Finally either upgrade the software via Software Updater (Update Manager):

or run command to install the software packages:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mkvtoolnix mkvtoolnix-gui

Uninstall:

To remove the repository, launch Software & Updates utility and navigate to Other Software tab.

To remove MKVToolNix, use Synaptic Package Manager or run following command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove mkvtoolnix mkvtoolnix-gui
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Gscan2pdf reached 1.8.5 release with enhancements

Last updated: August 20, 2017

Gscan2pdf, a simple graphical tool to produce PDFs or DjVus from scanned documents, reached the new 1.8.5 release a day ago with some new features.

Five clicks are required to scan several pages and then save all or a selection as a PDF or DjVu file, including metadata if required.

gscan2pdf can control regular or sheet-fed (ADF) scanners with SANE via libimage-sane-perl, scanimage or scanadf, and can scan multiple pages at once. It presents a thumbnail view of scanned pages, and permits simple operations such as cropping, rotating and deleting pages.

OCR can be used to recognise text in the scans, and the output embedded in the PDF or DjVu.

PDF conversion is done by PDF::API2. The resulting document may be saved as a PDF, DjVu, multipage TIFF file, or single page image file.

Changes in gscan2pdf 1.8.5 include:

  • Add support for Poppler (pdftops) as postscript backend.
  • Remove support for libsane-perl
  • Reapply current scan settings for those scanners that reset them when forcing a reload
  • Eliminate unnecessary strings from gscan2pdf.pot to prevent unnecessary work and confusion on the part of the translators.
  • Add A3 to default paper sizes
  • Translation updates.

How to Install Gscan2pdf 1.8.5 in Ubuntu:

The developer’s PPA offers the latest packages for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, and derivatives.

Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for “terminal” from app launcher. When it opens, do following steps:

1. Add the PPA via command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jeffreyratcliffe/ppa

Type in your password (no visual feedback while typing due to security reason) when it prompts and hit Enter.

2. For those who have a previous release installed, upgrade it through Software Updater:

For the first time, you can either install it via Synaptic Package Manager or by running following commands in terminal:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gscan2pdf

How to Remove:

To remove gscan2pdf, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove gscan2pdf

And the PPA can be removed via Software & Updates utility, under Other Software tab.

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Install Latest Gnome Twitch 0.4.1 via Snap in Ubuntu 16.04

Last updated: August 19, 2017

Gnome Twitch, GTK+3 Twitch app for Linux desktop, now is available as Snap package in beta channel for testing.

WebUpd8 PPA is maintaining the latest Gnome Twitch app for Ubuntu, however, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS is excluded due to old system GTK+3 libraries.

Now Ubuntu 16.04 and even Ubuntu 14.04 users can easily install the latest Gnome Twitch app via snappy store, though it’s in beta stage at the moment.

1. For those who’ve never installed a snap app, install the snapd deamon first in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt install snapd snapd-xdg-open

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing due to security reason) when it prompts and hit Enter.

2. Install Gnome Twitch snap app via command:

sudo snap install --beta gnome-twitch

3. And gnome environment is required. Install and connect to it via 2 commands:

sudo snap install gnome-3-24

sudo snap connect gnome-twitch:gnome-3-24-platform gnome-3-24:gnome-3-24-platform

Finally launch the app from your application launcher and enjoy! And it should automatically update itself once a new release is out and published in snappy store.

Uninstall:

To remove Gnome Twitch snap app, simply run command:

sudo snap remove gnome-twitch

You may also remove the gnome-3-24 snap if you don’t require it via sudo snap remove gnome-3-24 command.

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IntelliJ IDEA 2017.2.2 Released with New Features & Numerous Fixes

Last updated: August 16, 2017

JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA java IDE has reached the new point release 2017.2.2 a few hours ago. The new release brings some new features, numerous bug-fixes and improvements.

Changes in IntelliJ IDEA 2017.2.2 includes:

  • Fix crashes that occurred with the use of using custom fonts
  • Fix wrong HiDPI scaling on multiple monitors for Windows 10
  • Kotlin pugin updated to 1.1.4
  • Support for CSS Modules with LESS and SASS
  • XQuery/XPath with Language Injection
  • Favorites in the Database tool window
  • Fix major performance regression

How to Install IntelliJ IDEA 2017.2.2 in Ubuntu:

JetBrains offers official Linux packages for download at the link below:

Just extract and run the executable file to launch the Java IDE.

For Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, Ubuntu 17.10, you can also use the installer script available in the link below.

Run the script will download the official package from JetBrains web server, then install it in your Ubuntu automatically with application shortcut integration.

Then install the script via command:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/intellij-idea-*_2017.2.2-1_all.deb

To automatically update the installer script, add the PPA repository via command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

Uninstall:

To remove IntelliJ IDEA installed via the script, run command:

sudo apt-get remove intellij-idea-community intellij-idea-ultimate
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Avidemux Video Editor Reached 2.7.0 Release

Last updated: April 4, 2019

The Avidemux video editor has reached the new version series 2.7.0 release earlier today.

The official website wrote in the announcement:

“On windows, some antivirus do not like recent versions, it is a false positive. There is no virus/trojan…… The code is generated on linux.”

Changes in Avidemux 2.7.0 include:

  • FFmpeg switched to the 3.3.x branch
  • Fixed frame computation bug that led to bad cutting
  • Put log files into the local folder for Win32.
  • Steplessly zoom paused video when the window is resized
  • Added Ctrl+Shift+C shortcut to copy the current PTS to clipboard
  • HEVC decoding via DXVA2 blacklisted on win32, active on win64
  • Fix VP9 decoding
  • New filter:ADM ivtc
  • Distinguish between AC3 and EAC3 when importing
  • UI improvements and more.

Download / Install Avidemux 2.7.0 in Ubuntu:

The getdeb repository and Thanh Tung Nguyen’s PPA maintain the Avidemux packages for Ubuntu, though the two repositories do not update with the new 2.7.0 release at the moment of writing.

The official AppImage, a single executable file for all Linux, is available for download at the link below:

Make the AppImage executable from its ‘Properties’ dialog, and run the file will launch the video editor:

If you don’t see ‘Run’ option, go to menu Edit -> Preferences -> Behavior -> tick the box says ‘Run executable text files when they are opened’, and finally re-open Nautilus file browser.

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Visual Studio Code 1.15 Released with Large File Improvements

Last updated: August 11, 2017

Microsoft VS Code IDE has reached the 1.15 release recently. 64-bit installation now has no size limit for large files.

Visual Studio Code 1.15 release highlights:

  • Large file improvements. No size limit on 64-bit, and 300MB limit on 32-bit.
  • Full search for Release Notes, Markdown preview, and Extensions.
  • Source code auto-indenting and new Emmet support.
  • User definable syntax highlighting colors
  • A color picker to easily create colors in your CSS, SASS, and Less files.
  • Added Loaded Scripts explorer
  • Support for Markdown preview plugins
  • See the release note for details.

How to Install VS Code 1.15 in Ubuntu:

The official .deb package for Debian/Ubuntu is available for download at the link below:

Then install it via either Gdebi package manager or command (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/code_*.deb; sudo apt -f install

For those who want to receive updates for VS Code via Software Updater utility, add the Microsoft repository via following steps (64bit only):

1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to add the repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/vscode stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list'

2. Download and install the repository key via commands:

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > microsoft.gpg

sudo mv microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/microsoft.gpg

Install VS Code Snap app in Ubuntu:

Microsoft Visual Studio Code is available via Snap app in Ubuntu, though it’s not updated to version 1.15 at the moment of writing, see how to install VS Code vis Snap in Ubuntu.

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Vivaldi Browser 1.11 Released with New App Icon

Last updated: August 10, 2017

The Vivaldi web browser reached the 1.11 stable release today with new application icon and accessibility improvements.

Vivaldi 1.11 release highlights:

  • Advanced reader mode with font, text size, column width and line height, and background setting at the top.
  • Apply custom theme to the reader mode.
  • Turn off animated GIFs easily from the Status Bar.
  • Adjustable mouse gesture sensitivity
  • Optional Speed Dial buttons
  • And the new application icon.
  • See the release note for details.

Download / Install Vivaldi Browser:

For Ubuntu, it offers the DEB package available for download at the link below:

For those who have installed a previous release, and enabled the Vivaldi Linux repository, upgrade the browser via Software Updater:

To manually add the repository, run command to edit the source file:

gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vivaldi.list

When the file opens, un-comment or add (if empty) the following line and save it:

deb http://repo.vivaldi.com/stable/deb/ stable main

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Mozilla Firefox 55 Released with WebVR Support

Last updated: August 8, 2017

Mozilla Firefox 55.0 was released earlier today. The new release features WebVR support, faster start time, updated address bar and more.

Firefox 55.0 release highlights:

  • Windows support for WebVR.
  • Option to enable Hardware VP9 acceleration on Windows 10 Anniversary Edition.
  • Significantly faster startup times when restoring lots of tabs.
  • Search with any installed one-click search engine directly from address bar.
  • Added support for stereo microphones with WebRTC
  • Made the Adobe Flash plugin click-to-activate by default
  • And see the release note for more.

How to Install Firefox 55 in Ubuntu:

Although Mozilla website offers non-install version Linux binaries, the best way to get the latest Firefox in Ubuntu is using Software Updater to upgrade it through Ubuntu main (security & updates) repository.

NOTE that there will some delay for the new release being published in main repositories, check the build page.

The security and updates repositories are enabled by default. If you don’t see the Firefox updates even after Ubuntu published it in these repositories, check out the Updates tab in Software & Updates utility.

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Qmmp Audio Player 1.1.10 Released with New Feature & Fixes

Last updated: August 5, 2017

Qmmp, an Qt based and winamp or xmms like audio player, has reached the 1.1.10 (and 0.10.10 for Qt4) release last night.

Changes in Qmmp 1.1.10 & 0.10.10 include:

  • added feature to download playlist from https
  • increased DirectSound buffer size
  • decreased waiting time in the WASAPI plugin
  • improved plugin list in the settings dialog
  • fixed regression in the ‘jump to track’ dialog
  • fixed possible segmentation fault
  • fixed seeking in the ffmpeg plugin
  • fixed null pointer dereference in the mpeg plugin
  • fixed gcc warnings
  • fixed dithering settings
  • fixed 24 bits support in the WASAPI plugin
  • fixed segmentation fault on Ogg FLAC streams
  • fixed XPM skins support
  • fixed Qt 5.9 support in the global hotkey plugin (1.1.10 only)
  • updated translations.

How to Install Qmmp 1.1.10 (or 0.10.10) in Ubuntu:

Qmmp has an PPA repository that offers the latest packages for Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, and their derivatives.

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or from app launcher, and then run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:forkotov02/ppa

2. Then update and install Qmmp and its plugins:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install qmmp qmmp-plugin-pack

The commands install Qmmp 1.1.10 (Qt5 version) in Ubuntu 16.04 & higher, and Qmmp 0.10.10 (Qt4 version) in Ubuntu 14.04 & Ubuntu 12.04.

For Ubuntu 16.04 and higher users who want to install Qmmp 0.10.10 (Qt4 version), run following commands instead:

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt-get install qmmp-qt4 qmmp-plugin-pack-qt4

Uninstall:

You can manage the PPA repository via Software & Updates utility, under Other Software tab.

To remove Qmmp music player, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove qmmp qmmp-plugin-pack
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