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Selene Media Converter 17.7 Released (How to Install)

Last updated: July 30, 2017

The open source Selene media converter got a new release a few days ago with enhancements, translation updates, and updated installers.

Selene is an audio/video converter for Linux that supports almost every file format that you are likely to come across and can encode them to popular output formats like MKV, MP4, etc. It aims to provide a simple GUI for converting files to popular formats along with powerful command-line options for automated/unattended encoding.

Selene 17.7 features:

Added support for OPUS in WEBM, MKV and OGG containers
Added audio tag support for Fraunhoffer AAC encoding
Use VLC for playing media instead of internal player
MediaPlayer: Center screen and show file name in header bar
Updated installers and translations.

How to Install Selene 17.7 in Ubuntu:

The project offers the .deb and .run installers in its release page.

To upgrade the software easily via system Software Updater utility, you can install Selene from the developer’s PPA repository:

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:teejee2008/ppa

Type in your password (no visual feedback while typing due to security reason) when prompts and hit Enter. Supports for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, Ubuntu 17.10

2. To install the media encoder for first time, run commands to check updates and install it:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install selene

To upgrade it from an existing release, simply launch Software Updater and install the updates.

Uninstall:

To remove selene media converter, run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove selene

And remove the PPA repository via Software & Udpates utility under Other Software tab.

In Howtos, News media converter, Selene media converter

Second Alpha of Ubuntu 17.10 Available for Opt-in Flavors

Last updated: July 28, 2017

The second alpha release of Ubuntu 17.10 Artful Aardvark now is available for download. Ubuntu 17.10 Alpha 2 features images for Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Kylin, and Ubuntu MATE.

Ubuntu 17.10 is still based on Kernel 4.11, which is used in Ubuntu 17.04, however there are a lot of internal updates, such as Python 3 support as default, GNOME’s GDM as default login manager instead of LightDM, and hardware-accelerated video playback.

Download Ubuntu 17.10:

NOTE the pre-release images are not recommended for anyone who need a stable system. However, they are recommended for developers or users who want to test by finding, reporting, and/or fixing bugs, or people want to see how the current snapshot of Ubuntu 17.10 will look and behave.

LUbuntu 17.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/artful/

KUbuntu 17.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/artful/

Ubuntu Kylin 17.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntukylin/releases/artful/

Ubuntu Budgie 17.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-budgie/releases/artful/

Ubuntu MATE 17.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-mate/releases/artful/

Future releases of Ubuntu 17.10:

August 31st	Beta 1 (for opt-in flavors)
September 28th	Final Beta
October 19th	Final Release

In News Ubuntu 17.10

0 A.D. Alpha 22 Released, How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: July 27, 2017

0 A.D. PPA

The twenty-second alpha version of the free and open-source real-time strategy game of ancient warfare, 0 A.D. Alpha 22 “Venustas”, was released a few hours ago.

New Features in 0 A.D. alpha 22:

Remake of many models, animations and textures, two new music tracks
Configuration-free Multiplayer Hosting
Capture the Relic Gamemode
Aura and Heal Range Visualization
Twelve new maps, including scripted enemies, rising water and a tutorial
Espionage Technology, Team Bonuses and Hero Auras
Petra AI Diplomacy and Attack Strategies
Summary Screen Graphs
Cinema Path Editing
Buddy System
A complete list of changes can be found here.

How to Install 0 A.D. alpha 22 in Ubuntu:

The Wildfire Games team is currently building (and testing) the PPA packages. It will be soon available in the official PPA for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, Ubuntu 17.10, and their derivatives.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wfg/0ad

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

2. Then upgrade the game from an existing release via Software Updater:

Or simply run commands to update and install the game:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install 0ad 0ad-data

Uninstall:

Purge the PPA via the following command will remove the PPA as well as downgrade 0 A.D. to its stock version in your Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:wfg/0ad

If you still want to remove the game, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove 0ad 0ad-data

In Howtos, News 0 A.D.

HPLIP 3.17.7 Released with Some New Printers Support

Last updated: July 25, 2017

HP Linux Imaging and Printing

HPLIP, free and open-source HP developed Linux drivers for HP printers, has reached the 3.17.7 release with some new printers supported.

New supported printers in HPLIP 3.17.7:

HP DeskJet Ink Advantage 2635 All-in-One
HP DeskJet Ink Advantage 2636 All-in-One
HP DeskJet Ink Advantage 2675 All-in-One
HP DeskJet Ink Advantage 2676 All-in-One
HP DeskJet Ink Advantage 2677 All-in-One
HP DeskJet Ink Advantage 2678 All-in-One
HP DeskJet 2620 All-in-One
HP DeskJet 2621 All-in-One
HP DeskJet 2622 All-in-One
HP DeskJet 2623 All-in-One
HP DeskJet Ink Advantage 2200 All-in-One
HP DeskJet 3722 All-in-One
HP DeskJet Ink Advanatge 3789 All-in-One
HP DeskJet Ink Advanatge 3790 All-in-One

How to Install HPLIP 3.17.7 in Ubuntu:

The official .run installer is available for download at the link below:

Download HPLIP (.run file)

After downloaded the .run installer, open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for “Terminal” from app launcher. When it opens, run command to install it:

cd ~/Downloads/ && chmod +x hplip-3.17.7.run && ./hplip-3.17.7.run

Follow the terminal prompts to build HPLIP and setup your devices.

In Howtos, News HP Fax Driver for Linux, HP Print Driver for Linux, HPLIP

IntelliJ IDEA 2017.2 Released, How to Install in Ubuntu

Last updated: July 22, 2017

JetBrains’ IntelliJ IDEA IDE has reached the new massive 2017.2 release a few days ago with many new features, performance improvements and important bug-fixes.

IntelliJ IDEA 2017.2 features:

Smarter code completion and control flow analysis
New inspections and refactorings
Java 9 module diagrams
Debugger: filtering arrays, collections, and maps
Kotlin 1.1.3 support
Groovy 2.5.0 support
VCS: reverting and rewording commits, formatting commit messages
native look and feel in Windows 10
Better HiDPI support for multiple display setup on Windows
JavaScript and TypeScript improvements and more.
See announcement for details.

Download IntelliJ IDEA 2017.2:

The official Linux binaries are available for download at the link below:

Download IntelliJ IDEA

Extract the tarball, run idea.sh from bin folder to launch the IDE, and you may manually create an application launcher for it.

Install IntelliJ IDEA 2017.2 in Ubuntu via PPA:

An installer script, originally created by Marcel Kapfer, is available to automatically download the source tarball, extract to /opt, and create application launcher.

All you need to do is open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run following commands one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install intellij-idea-community

replace intellij-idea-community in the code with intellij-idea-ultimate for ultimate version.

For those who don’t to add the PPA, grab the installer script from the link below:

intellij-idea-community_xxx.xx_all.deb

intellij-idea-ultimate_xxx.xx_all.deb

Then install it via Gdebi package manager or using dpkg command:

Once installed, launch the IDE from Unity Dash, Gnome launcher, or other app launcher and enjoy!

In Howtos, News IntelliJ IDEA

Oracle Virtualbox 5.1.24 Released with Many Fixes

Last updated: July 18, 2017

Virtualbox

Oracle Vritualbox got an update for its 5.1 series earlier today with lots of bug-fixes.

For Linux users, Virtualbox 5.1.24 brings fixes to Kernel 4.12 and Kernel 4.13, fixes for loading shared libraries, fixes for kernel modules built with gcc-7, makes 2D video acceleration available for older Linux distributions.

Other changes in Virtualbox 5.1.24 include:

VMM: mask the VME CPUID capability on AMD Ryzen processors.
VMM: emulate more SSE2 instructions
VMM: properly clear the TF and AC flags when dispatching real-mode interrupts
GUI: fixes to make the mini-toolbar work with recent versions of KDE / Plasma
GUI: fixed a potential crash when a VM with multiple screens is running in full screen / seamless mode and a host screen is removed.
GUI: fixed initial size hints for guests which set intermediate sizes before responding
GUI: prevent stopped screen updates or black screen on reboot in a multi-screen setup under certain conditions
Audio: many improvements for Windows 10 guests
Storage: fixed possible crash when using Intels SPDK
API: use the correct file name of the VM machine state if the VM settings directory is renamed, for example during grouping / ungrouping a VM
API: return the correct error code if powering up a VM fails
API: video recording did not automatically start at VM start when enabled in the VM settings
API: when relocating a medium, check that the target path is fully qualified
EFI: fix for VMs with more than 3504MB RAM
Host-only adapter: correctly determine IPv4 netmasks on Windows hosts
NAT network: properly do the refcounting for starting / stopping the NAT / DHCP services if the NAT network is changed while the adapter network connection type is anything else but NAT network
VBoxManage: fixed controlvm videocapfile
Windows hosts: fixed crashes if driver verifier is enabled

Download / Install Virtualbox:

The official Linux binaries (i386 for 32-bit, amd64 for 64-bit) for Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04 are available for download at the link below:

Virtualbox Linux Download

If you have a previous 5.1 series installed, and enabled the Virtualbox Linux repository, you can simply upgrade Virtualbox via Software Updater:

upgrade virtualbox

To manually add the VirtualBox Linux repository, do:

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching it from app launcher, when it opens, run command:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

for Linux Mint 18.x, replace $(lsb_release -cs) in the code with xenial

Virtualbox Official Linux repository

2. Download and install the gpg key:

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

To install virtualbox 5.1 for the first time, run command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install virtualbox-5.1

In Howtos, News Virtualbox, Virtualbox 5.1

LibreOffice 5.3.4 Available for Install via PPA in Ubuntu

Last updated: July 14, 2017

LibreOffice 5.3.4

LibreOffice 5.3.4, the fourth release for LibreOffice 5.3 family, was announced more than 2 weeks ago. It’s finally made into PPA for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 17.04, and Ubuntu 17.10.

LibreOffice 5.3.4 integrates over 100 patches, with a significant number of fixes for interoperability with Microsoft Office RTF and OOXML documents. See HERE for details.

Install LibreOffice 5.3.4 via PPA in Ubuntu:

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa

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

LibreOffice Fresh PPA

2. Then launch Software Updater and upgrade LibreOffice after checking for updates:

How to restore:

To revert back to the stock version of LibreOffice in your Ubuntu, purge the PPA via command:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:libreoffice/ppa

In Howtos, News LibreOffice

Visual Studio Code 1.14 Now Opens Multiple Project In Same Editor

Last updated: July 12, 2017

Visual Studio Code IDE

Microsoft Visual Studio Code has reached the 1.14 release earlier today with many great new features.

VS Code 1.14 release highlights:

Integrated terminal improvements – Find support, select/copy multiple pages
Command Palette MRU list – Quickly find and run your recently used commands
New Tasks menu in top-level menu bar.
Automatic indentation – Auto indent while typing, moving, and pasting source code.
Emmet abbreviation enhancements – Add Emmet to any language. Multi-cursor support.
New Diff review pane – Navigate Diff editor changes quickly with F7, displayed in patch format.
Angular debugging recipe – Debug your Angular client in VS Code.
Better screen reader support – Aria properties to better present list and drop-down items
Preview: 64 bit Windows build – Try out the Windows 64 bit version (Insiders build).
Preview: Multi-root workspaces – Open multiple projects in the same editor (Insiders build).

Download / Install VS Code in Ubuntu:

Visual Studio Code is available as Snap app for Ubuntu Linux, though it’s version 1.13.1 at the moment of writing.

Also the official .deb installer is available for download at the link below:

VS Code Download Page

Download the .deb package and click install via Ubuntu Software or Gdebi package manager.

Add Visual Studio repository:

For those who want to add VS code Linux repository so to receive updates via Software Updater along with other system updates:

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for “terminal” from app launcher. When it opens, 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. Then download and install the key (need curl installed) via 2 commands:

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

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

In News Visual Studio Code

LiVES Video Editor 2.8.7 Released with Enhancements

Last updated: July 1, 2017

A new update of the free and open-source LiVES video editor and VJ tool was released a few days ago with bug-fixes and some improvements. Here’s how to install or upgrade it in Ubuntu via PPA.

LiVES is a Video Editing System designed to be simple to use, small in size, yet powerfull with many advanced features. The latest LiVES 2.8.7 was released 2 days ago with following changes:

Remove glad.h dependence on khr.
Prompt for clip name when rendering to new clip.
Fix autolives toy.
Increase default frame size to 1024×768 for new installs.
Allow override of frame size when encoding to ffmpeg / h264 format.
Fix breakage in the threaded progress window.
Updated Ukrainian translation (Yuri).

How to Install LiVES 2.8.7 in Ubuntu:

Besides building the software from source, you can install it from unofficial PPA in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 17.04, Linux Mint 18.x and their derivatives by following steps:

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T and run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/lives

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

LiVES PPA

2. Then upgrade the software from an existing release via Software Updater:

or simply run commands in terminal to install or upgrade LiVES:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install lives lives-plugins

Uninstall:

To remove the software, simply run commands:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove lives lives-plugins

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

In Howtos, News LiVES, video editor

The First Alpha of Ubuntu 17.10 Is Available for Opt-in Flavors

Last updated: June 30, 2017

The first alpha of Ubuntu 17.10 Artful Aardvark was released earlier today. It features images for Lubuntu, Kubuntu, and Ubuntu Kylin.

The pre-release uses the kernel and graphics stacks of Ubuntu 17.04, which include Linux Kernel 4.10, X.Org Server 1.19.3 display server, and Mesa 17.1.2 3D Graphics Library. The systemd init system, however, was upgraded to the latest systemd 233.

Download Ubuntu 17.10 Alpha 1:

NOTE the pre-release images are not recommended for anyone who need a stable system. However, they are recommended for developers or users who want to test by finding, reporting, and/or fixing bugs, or people want to see how the current snapshot of Ubuntu 17.10 will look and behave.

LUbuntu 17.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/artful/

KUbuntu 17.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/artful/

Ubuntu Kylin 17.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntukylin/releases/artful/

Future releases of Ubuntu 17.10: