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Avidemux video editor

Avidemux video editor has reached the 2.6.19 release a few days ago. It features better support for HEVC in mpeg TS and 10bits codec.

Avidemux 2.6.19 changelog includes:

  • All filters with preview have better navigation dialogs
  • Delogo filter UI redone
  • Fixed changeFps/resampleFps seeking
  • HEVC support improved
  • Flv/Demux : Support large files (rcdrone)
  • Allow EAC3 as external audio track
  • General usability cleanup
  • Allow using the last read folder as default save folder
  • 2 pass encoding dialog cleanup
  • Dynamically enable/disable menu
  • Customizable keyboard shortcut
  • Allow reverting page up/down
  • Better support for 10bits
  • Translation updates
  • Updated ffmpeg libs to 3.0.7

How to Install Avidemux 2.6.19 in Ubuntu:

The GetDeb repository has build the new release for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, and their derivatives.

1. To add the repository, open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “terminal” from start menu, and run command:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://archive.getdeb.net/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc)-getdeb apps" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/getdeb.list'

For Linux Mint 18, add the GetDeb repository via Software Sources -> Additional Repositories

2. Then refresh, search for and install avidemux2.6-qt package via Synaptic Package Manager.

Or run commands in terminal to check for updates and install Avidemux 2.6.19:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install avidemux2.6-qt

How to Uninstall:

To remove the package, either use Synaptic Package Manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove avidemux2.6-qt && sudo apt-get autoremove

And remove the repository by going to Software & Updates -> Other Software tab.

The Vivaldi web browser has reached the new stable 1.8 release earlier today features new advanced History.

The start page contains a new history tab, that gives you a list, daily, weekly, or monthly history overviews. There are also graphs and a color-coded heat map overlay showing peaks of online activity and key browsing trends.

There is also an option to search with a specified date range.

A history icon has also been added into the left Side Panel provides a list of visited URLs. The Vivaldi team announced that “Vivaldi doesn’t collect your history data. All of this information is strictly private and local to your computer.”

Other features in Vivaldi 1.8:

  • create notes with drag and drop
  • auto-muting options for tabs.
  • Option to set the home page to Start page.
  • Ability to open links in the current tab from the right-click menu.
  • An option to display hibernated tabs in grayscale.
  • Matches are highlighted in the address bar drop-down menu.
  • Image search from the right-click menu.

Download / Install Vivaldi 1.8:

The DEB package is available for download at the link below:

If you have a previous version of Vivaldi browser installed, you should be able to upgrade it via Software Updater:

If you don’t see it, re-enable the Vivaldi repository via command in terminal:

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

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

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

Plank 0.11.4, another maintenance release of 0.11.x “Eddy”, was released a dozen hours ago.

The 0.11.4 release of this simplest dock fixed underscores in some menu items not being shown, and plank adding an extra icon when trying to empty trash. See the changelog:

  • Fix underscores not being shown in some menu items (LP: #1662968)
  • Make window-manager aware that empty-trash dialog is part of plank (LP: #1652653)
  • Fix build with -Werror=pointer-to-int-cast, -Werror=format, -Werror=implicit-function-declaration
  • Generate manpage with help2man
  • Update appdata
  • Update translations

How to Install Plank 0.11.4 in Ubuntu via PPA:

The Plank Testing PPA has built the packages for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, and Ubuntu 17.04. The testing package works well enough that it shouldn’t be a problem for daily use.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ricotz/docky

2. After typing your password and hitting enter. Run commands to update and install plank:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install plank

Tip: Although the package marked as 0.11.3+bzr1597, it contains all the changes in plank 0.11.4.

How to Remove:

The PPA can be removed by going to Software & Updates -> Other Software tab. And to remove plank, run command:

sudo apt-get remove plank

The final beta of Ubuntu 17.04 Zesty Zapus has been released earlier today. Features images for Desktop, Server, Cloud, and opt-in flavors, including Kubuntu 17.04, Lubuntu 17.04, Ubuntu Budgie 17.04, Ubuntu Gnome 17.04, UbuntuKylin 17.04, Ubuntu MATE 17.04, Ubuntu Studio 17.04, Xubuntu 17.04.

This Zesty Zapus snapshot includes the v4.10 kernel and Mesa 17. Ubuntu 17.04 download link http://releases.ubuntu.com/17.04/

Kubuntu 17.04 Beta 2 highlights:

  • Plasma 5.9, KDE Applications 16.12.3, KDE Frameworks 5.31
  • Calligra Office Suite updated to Qt/KF5 version 3.0.0.1
  • Krita latest bugfix release – after this popular and advanced digital painting application was split from Calligra.
  • K3B updated to a Qt5/KF5 snapshot of the version to be included in KDE’s next applications release.
  • Okular PDF and document reader is now Qt/KF5 in apps 16.12
  • Kdevelop is now the most recent bugfix release of the new version 5.0.x series.
  • Numerous application and translation updates from KDE.

Ubuntu Budgie 17.04 Beta 2 highlights:

  • latest budgie-desktop stable v10.2.9.
  • GNOME 3.24 applications together with GTK+ 3.24 Mutter window manager
  • latest budgie-welcome app with our browser ballot screen and Material theme makeovers
  • AppIndicator support is now default
  • Terminix is the default terminal
  • Many new GNOME based applications are included by default
  • 17.04 Community Contest Winning Wallpapers
  • Gtk Theme QT apps out of the box.

Ubuntu Gnome 17.04 highlights:

  • Gnome 3.24
  • Night Light feature that automatically reduce the blue light emitted by your computer screen at sunset
  • The Calendar app now has a Week view.
  • Flatpak 0.8 is now installed by default.
  • LibreOffice 5.3

Ubuntu Kylin 17.04 highlights:

  • Gnome Apps updated to 3.24 excluding Nautilus file manager, Terminal, Evolution, and Software.
  • Released foxitreader 1.0.1, available in Kylin Software Center.

Ubuntu MATE 17.04 highlights:

  • MATE Desktop 1.18.0
  • The entire MATE Desktop suite of applications and components is now GTK3+ only!
  • Added full support for libinput
  • Updated version of core apps
  • Dropped 32-bit PowerPC support, completely!

Xubuntu 17.04 highlights:

  • Thunar crash fixes while renaming,copying bugs
  • xfce4-taskmanager has ability to click on window to select process
  • xfce4-notifyd includes persistence support.
  • xubuntu-default-settings include new file templates included – OpenDocument Writer, OpenDocument Spreadsheet

via: fridge.ubuntu.com

Stellarium, a free and open-source planetarium software, has reached the 0.15.2 release a few days ago with over 100 improvements and bug fixes.

Some new features in Stellarium 0.15.2:

  • an algorithm for DeltaT
  • orbit visualization data for asteroids
  • new option for the InfoString group
  • support for calculating extincted magnitudes of satellites
  • new type of Solar system objects: sednoids
  • read the announcement for more details.

How to Install Stellarium 0.15.2 in Ubuntu / Linux Mint:

The new release has been made into the official PPA, available for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 17.04, Linux Mint 18.

1. Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “Terminal” from start menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stellarium/stellarium-releases

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

2. If you have an existing Stellarium installation, launch Software Updater (Update Manager) and upgrade the software after checking for updates.

Tip: It’s highly recommended to reset the settings when you will install the new version

Or just run commands in terminal to install / upgrade Stellarium:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install stellarium

Uninstall:

You can easily restore Stellarium to the stock version in your Ubuntu main repository by purging the PPA via command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:stellarium/stellarium-releases

The Sigil epub editor has reached the 0.9.8 release yesterday. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, Linux Mint 18 via PPA.

Sigil 0.9.8 release highlights:

  • PyQt5 support for plugins.
  • New preferences menu to adjust the size of Sigil’s main icons to your liking.
  • An important fix for temp_folder issues on Windows
  • Add manifest properties to Book Browser tooltips and to All Files Reports Widget for epub3
  • Make Sigil’s UI and spellchecker language settings available to plugins
  • Various bug-fixes, read the announcement for details.

Sigil Adjust menu icons’ size

How to Install Sigil 0.9.8 in Ubuntu / Linux Mint:

Sigil does not offer official Linux binaries. Besides building from the source tarball, you may install Sigil 0.9.8 via my personal PPA.

1. Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “Terminal” from start menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/sigil

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

2. Then you can upgrade Sigil editor from an existing release via Software Updater:

Or install /upgrade Sigil via commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install sigil

In Addition, for Linux libxml2 bug see HERE. Sorry that I can’t build it with DBUILD_PATCHED_LIBXML2=1 option since it requires cloning source from github.com but Launchpad builders do not have internet access.

Kodi 17.1, the first bug-fix release for the v17 “Krypton”, has been released and made into PPA for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, and Linux Mint 17 & 18.

According to the changelog, Kodi 17.1 brings a huge list of fixes and here are some of them:

  • Update Estuary and Estouchy with some bugfixes and improvements
  • Fix EDL skipping
  • Fix slow song smartplaylist
  • Several PVR fixes
  • Update Chorus webinterface
  • Fix addons not being marked broken when they are updated with broken flag
  • Add limiter on random songs which should prevent large memory usage on big libraries
  • Improve keyboard mapping during button mapping
  • Improve analog stick handling
  • Improve plugin performance when building the content list
  • Include RTMP inputstream add-on for Windows

Although the Kodi website does not announced the v17.1 release at the moment, you can now install or upgrade to Kodi 17.1 via following steps:

1. Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “Terminal” from Unity Dash / Start Menu. When it opens, run command to add Kodi PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa

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

2. Then upgrade Kodi Media Center from a previous release via Software Updater:

Or run the commands below one by one to install or upgrade Kodi:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install kodi

Once installed, you can either launch Kodi from app launcher or select log in Kodi session at login screen.

After more than one year of development, the Audacity audio editor has reached the 2.1.3 release. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, and their derivatives.

Thanks to an upgrade of the PortAudio library, Audacity 2.1.3 now properly supports Windows 10. It also features:

  • Added support for Magic Mouse/Trackpad on mac OS.
  • New Distortion effect, Rhythm Track (was called Click Track) and Sample Data Import. Also effects are no longer grayed-out when in pause.
  • New scrub ruler and ‘pinned’ option so the waveform moves and the recording/playing head stays still.
  • New features in Timer Record.
  • On Mac, audacity.app is now added to /Applications/ directly rather than adding a folder there.
  • Over 60 bugs fixed, including five longstanding bugs.

How to Install Audacity 2.1.3 in Ubuntu via PPA:

The Audacity Team does not offer official builds of DEB packages. Besides building from source, you can install Audacity 2.1.3 from my PPA (unofficial). Ubuntu 14.04 is excluded due to requirement of GCC >= 4.9.

1. Open terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “Terminal” from Unity Dash. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity

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

2. After that, upgrade Audacity via the Software Updater (Update Manager) utility:

Or you can run the commands below one by one to install or upgrade the audio editor:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install audacity

Uninstall:

For any reason, you can easily remove the PPA and downgrade Audacity to the stock version in Ubuntu via the ppa-purge tool:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity

The Deluge BitTorrent client 1.3.14 was release one day ago. Users with previous release installed are highly recommended to upgrade to this release.

For WebUI, Deluge 1.3.14 contains a fix for CSRF vulnerability that has the real potential to compromise your machine. For Windows user, the package now includes libtorrent 1.0.11 which should fix crashing on startup.

  • Fixed ‘Too many files open’ errors.
  • Added support for python-geoip for use with libtorrent 1.1.
  • Fixed a single proxy entry being overwritten resulting in no proxy set.
  • Added tracker_status translation to UIs.
  • [GtkUI] Strip whitespace from infohash before checks.
  • Add missed feature autofill infohash entry from clipboard.
  • Backport bind interface option for server.
  • Security: Fixed WebUI CSRF Vulnerability.
  • [Console] Fix decode error comparing non-ascii (str) torrent name.
  • Fixes for splitting magnets from file.
  • Remove duplicate magnet extension when splitting.

How to Install Deluge 1.3.14 in Ubuntu / Linux Mint:

The new release has been made into the official PPA, available for Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, Ubuntu 17.04, Linux Mint 13, 17, 18, and their derivatives.

1. To add the PPA, open terminal and run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deluge-team/ppa

Type in your password (no visual feedback) and hit Enter

2. Then upgrade Deluge using Software Updater (Update Manager):

Or install it for the first time via commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install deluge

How to Restore:

To restore deluge BitTorrent client to the stock version in your Ubuntu main repository, open terminal and run command to purge the PPA:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:deluge-team/ppa

Skype 5.0 for Linux has been announced a few hours ago. It’s now in the beta stage.

What’s New in Skype 5.0 for Linux:

  • Calls to mobiles and landlines with Skype credit
  • one-to-one VIDEO CALLS support from Linux to Skype for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac.
  • View shared screens from other Skype desktop clients
  • Unity launcher now shows the number of unread conversations
  • online contacts in contact list now include Away and Do Not Disturb statuses.

How to Install Skype 5.0 for Linux in Ubuntu / Linux Mint:

The new release can be installed from the Skype apt repository, simply open terminal from Unity Dash, App Launcher, or via Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut key and run following commands one by one:

1. Make sure you have ‘apt-transport-https’ installed by running command:

dpkg -s apt-transport-https > /dev/null || bash -c "sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https -y" 

Type in your password (no visual feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter.

2. Download and install Skype GPG key via command:

curl https://repo.skype.com/data/SKYPE-GPG-KEY | sudo apt-key add -

3. Add Skype apt repository to your system via command:

echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.skype.com/deb stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/skype-stable.list

4. Finally, install Skype for Linux either via Synaptic Package Manager or by running following commands in terminal:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install skypeforlinux

How to Remove:

For any reason you can remove Skype for Linux either via Synaptic Package Manager or by running the command:

sudo apt remove skypeforlinux && sudo apt autoremove

And you can remove the Skype repository via Software & Updates -> Other Software.