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Final Beta of Ubuntu 16.10 Available for Download

Last updated: September 29, 2017

The final beta of Ubuntu 16.10 Yakkety Yak has been released, features images for Ubuntu Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu MATE, and Ubuntu Studio flavors.

Ubuntu 16.10 beta2 ships Linux Kernel 4.8, and its flavors features:

Kubuntu 16.10 ships plasma 5.7 and kde applications 15.12
LXQt images are postponed until Lubuntu 17.04
Ubuntu Gnome 16.10:
- includes Gnome 3.20
- Many apps updated to Gnome 3.22 while core system is still at 3.20
- Most GNOME apps now have a Keyboard Shortcuts popup available in the app menu.
- LibreOffice 5.2 is included.
- experimental wayland session
- new desktop wallpapers.
Ubuntu Mate 16.10 ships MATE desktop 1.15.1, the 1.16 release will be available via updates soon.

The final release of Ubuntu 16.10 Yakkety to be released on October 13th, 2016.

Download:

Ubuntu 16.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/yakkety/

Kubuntu 16.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/16.10/

Lubuntu 16.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/16.10/

Ubuntu Gnome 16.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-gnome/releases/16.10/

Ubuntu Kylin 16.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntukylin/releases/16.10/

Ubuntu Mate 16.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-mate/releases/16.10/

Ubuntu Studio 16.10: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/16.10/

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS can now be upgraded to Ubuntu 16.10 Beta2 via update-manager with –dev-release option.

via: fridge.ubuntu.com

In News Ubuntu 16.10

HP Print Drivers HPLIP 3.16.9 Adds New Printers Support

Last updated: September 23, 2016

HPLIP, HP Linux Imaging and Printing, just reached the 3.16.9 release a few hours ago with new printers support.

HPLIP is a free, open-source HP-developed solution for printing, scanning, and faxing with HP inkjet and laser based printers in Linux. While Ubuntu 16.04 offers HPLIP 3.16.3, the latest 3.16.9 has been released with following new printers support:

HP OfficeJet Pro 8732M All-in-One Printer
HP OfficeJet 8702 All-in-One Printer
HP OfficeJet 6960 All-in-One Printer
HP PageWide 377dw Multifunction Printer
HP PageWide 352dw Printer
HP PageWide Managed Color MFP E58650 series
HP PageWide Managed Color E55650 series

How to install HPLIP 3.16.9 in Ubuntu:

1. Download the installer (hplip-3.16.9.run) from the link below:

Download HPLIP (.run)

2. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run:

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

Then command navigates to the Downloads folder, give permission to run the installer, and finally start the installer.

3. Follow on screen prompts and restart your computer or re-plug your printer when everything’s done.

In Howtos, News HP printer driver, HPLIP

Firefox 49 Released with HTML5, Reader Mode Improvements [How-to Install]

Last updated: September 21, 2016

Mozilla Firefox browser has now reached the 49 release, features HTML5, Reader Mode, and video performance improvements, and Firefox Hello removement.

Mozilla Firefox 49 release highlights:

Removed Firefox Hello
Add features to Reader Mode:
- Controls that allow users to adjust the width and line spacing of text
- Narrate, which reads the content of a page out loud
Improved video performance for users on systems that support SSSE3 without hardware acceleration
Added context menu controls to HTML5 audio and video
Other Windows, Mac improvements and various security fixes.

How to upgrade to Firefox 49 in Ubuntu:

For all current Ubuntu releases, including Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 12.04, and their derivatives. The new firefox release will be made into the official Ubuntu updates & security repositories, check the launchpad page.

At that time, you can easily upgrade Firefox browser using the Software Updater (or Update Manager in Mint) utility:

In Howtos, News Firefox

Liferea Feed Reader 1.12 RC1 Released, Switched to WebKit2

Last updated: September 20, 2016

The first release candidate for the new stable Liferea 1.12 (Linux Feed Reader) has been released. The new series of the open-source news aggregator now switches to WebKit2.

Main changes since Liferea 1.10 series:

Switch to Webkit2
Support for Do-Not-Track
Improved trayicon plugin
Support for Reedah and InoReader.
Support for categories in TheOldReader
Simplified handling of external browsers

In addition, the RC release adds support for downloading content that cannot be displayed by HTML widget (e.g., PDFs), shows new items count in tray icon and minimize to system tray (Gnome Classic) on window close, there are also some bug fixes and translation updates.

How to install Liferea 1.12 rc1 in Ubuntu:

Liferea does not provide pre-compiled Linux binaries, however, there are a few unofficial Ubuntu PPAs contain the most recent Liferea packages. And below is how to install Liferea 1.12 rc1 in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 14.04, or Linux Mint 17, 18 using my personal PPA:

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

Type in password (no visual feedback, so just type in mind and hit Enter) when it asks and hit Enter.

2. Then launch Software Updater and you’ll be able to upgrade Liferea news aggregator after checking for updates:

Or just run command to install or upgrade to Liferea 1.12 rc1:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install liferea

How to Restore:

To downgrade to the stock version of Liferea in Ubuntu main repository, purge the PPA via ppa-purge:

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

In News Feed Reader, liferea

This is the Default Desktop Wallpaper for Ubuntu 16.10

Last updated: September 12, 2016

The default desktop wallpaper for Ubuntu 16.10 Yakkety Yak has been unveiled. PNG-8, PNG-24, and the same for greyscale, along with mobile formatted ones are available for download.

The new desktop wallpaper looks not all that different from the previous releases’ wallpapers:

Ubuntu 16.10 Wallpaper

Ubuntu 16.10 Wallpaper Gray version

Here are the old releases wallpapers:

Ubuntu 16.04 default wallpaper

Ubuntu 15.10 default wallpaper

Ubuntu 15.04 default wallpaper

Download:

All the Ubuntu 16.10 default wallpaper version, provided by Will Cooke, is available for download at Bug #1621413.

In News Ubuntu 16.10, wallpaper

Elementary OS 0.4 Loki Released, Based on Ubuntu 16.04

Last updated: September 10, 2016

The best-looking Linux distro, Elementary OS, has reached the 0.4 release, code name “Loki” and base on Ubuntu 16.04 package system.

The Elementary OS team announced the stable release of Loki last night:

After a little over a year of development, elementary is proud to announce the stable release of elementary OS Loki!

Loki is the newest version of elementary OS, a design-oriented and open source Linux-based operating system for desktops and laptops. It succeeds Freya which was released in April of 2015.

…

What’s new in Elementary OS Loki:

Linux Kernel 4.4 and Ubuntu 16.04 base
redesigned indicators change to be dark or light depending on your wallpaper.
redesigned audio indicator with more compact set of controls and large icons
new network indicator and redesigned network settings, bluetooth indicator
A new lid close setting and related behavior
Notification center now caches notifications and offers Do Not Disturb toggle
use Epiphany as new default web browser.
new app store
various other improvements, see the release note.

Download Elementary OS Loki at: elementary.io. (pay any dollar amount, or type 0 for free)

In News Elementary OS, Loki, Ubuntu 16.04

Adobe Resurrect Flash for Linux via 23 Beta [Howto-install]

Last updated: December 15, 2016

By releasing the 23 Beta flash, Adobe announced that it starts supporting NPAPI Flash for Linux again.

Today we are updating the beta channel with Linux NPAPI Flash Player by moving it forward and in sync with the modern release branch (currently version 23). We have done this significant change to improve security and provide additional mitigation to the Linux community.

In the past, we communicated that NPAPI Linux releases would stop in 2017. This is no longer the case and once we have performed sufficient testing and received community feedback, we will release both NPAPI and PPAPI Linux builds with their major version numbers in sync and on a regular basis.

Adobe says it will release both the NPAPI and PPAPI (used in Chrome) versions of Flash Player for Linux. However, the NPAPI version will not support or add any advanced features and capabilities, like DRM, GPU acceleration, Stage 3D, etc.

Users who require this functionality are recommended to use Pepper (PPAPI) Flash for Linux.

Install Adobe Flash 23 Beta for Firefox in Ubuntu:

Flash sucks! But since many websites still use it, we have to use flash to view the content.

So far only 32-bit and 64-bit binaries of the 23 release are available for download at the link below:

Flash Player 23 Beta for Linux (NPAPI)

For Linux, the binary is just a file called: libflashplayer.so. To use it, do:

1. Install Flash Player 11.2 from Canonical Partners repository:

Launch Software & Updates, and enable Canonical Partners repository in Other Software tab. Then close it.
Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install Adobe-flashplugin:
```
sudo apt update; sudo apt install adobe-flashplugin
```

2. Move the libflashplayer.so file you just downloaded to /usr/lib/adobe-flashplugin/ folder by running the command:

sudo mv ~/Downloads/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/adobe-flashplugin/

Finally restart Firefox browser and check your flash version:

In Howtos, News adobe flash

Twitter App Corebird 1.3.1 Released with some Fixes

Last updated: September 6, 2016

The open-source desktop twitter client Corebird has reached the 1.3.1 release with some fixes to 1.3 release. For those who prefer this modern twitter app, it’s available for upgrade in my PPA (unofficial) for Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 16.10.

Changes in Corebird 1.3.1:

Fix muted and/or blocked tweets still showing up in timelines
Fix accounts not getting saved when first created
Fix retweets of the authenticating user not getting theiry correct seen status
Fix profiles descriptions containing ampersand characters and links
Fix profile banner fade-in transition
Fix doubly-escaped ampersands in link tooltips
Fix missing underlines in @screen_names in the profile popover

Corebird with Numix GTK theme

How to install Corebird 1.3.1 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 16.04, and/or Ubuntu 16.10, you can either download the .deb binary from the PPA file archive, or run the commands below one by one in terminal to add PPA and install Corebird:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/corebird

sudo apt update

sudo apt install corebird

Tip: The GetDeb repository also maintains Corebird packages for Ubuntu 16.04, now it contains Corebird 1.3 and the 1.3.1 release should be available soon.

With the PPA added, you can upgrade Corebird along with other system updates via Software Updater when a new release is out and uploaded into PPA.

And the PPA can be easily disabled or removed via Software & Updates utility under Other Software tab.

In Howtos, News corebird, twitter client

Batch Image Resizer and Converter ‘Converseen’ Ported to Qt5

Last updated: September 2, 2016

Converseen, a free and open-source batch image resizer and converter, has reached the 0.9.5 a few days ago.

Converseen 0.9.5 is the first Qt5 port release written in C++. It works on Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD. With Magick++ image libraries it supports more than 100 image formats.

Features:

Convert an unlimited number of images
Create thumbnails to any of the most popular formats
Carry out a single or a multiple conversion
Resize, compress images.
Rotate and flip images.

How to install Converseen 0.9.5 in Ubuntu 16.04, 14.04

While Ubuntu offers the 0.9.2 release in its main repository, you can install or upgrade Converseen from an third-party PPA.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

2. To upgrade from a previous release, launch Software Updater and install available updates after checking for updates:

Or just run the commands below in terminal to install or upgrade the software:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install converseen

For those who don’t want to add PPA, grab the .deb package from the file archive.

3. (Optional) To remove converseen image processor, run:

sudo apt remove converseen && sudo apt autoremove

And the PPA can be disabled or removed via Software & Updates utility in Other Software tab.

In Howtos, News batch image converter

The First Beta of Ubuntu 16.10 Yakkety Yak Released

Last updated: September 29, 2017

The Ubuntu Team has announced the first beta release of Ubuntu 16.10 Yakkety Yak, feathers images for Lubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Studio.

This pre-release includes the v4.4 kernel, LibreOffice 5.2, and a number of software updates that are ready for wider testing. These images are still under development, so you should expect some bugs.

Ubuntu 16.10 Beta 1 Release Highlights:

Lubuntu still uses LXDE since LXQT is still in development.

Ubuntu GNOME 16.10:

includes GNOME 3.20
Select apps have been updated to their GNOME 3.22 Beta 1 (3.21.90) versions.
GTK 3 version of LibreOffice 5.2 by default.
GNOME’s Initial Setup utility is included and enabled.
Empathy is no longer installed by default for new installs.
The new Characters character map utility is installed by default.
The experimental wayland session is included.

Ubuntu Kylin 16.04 fixed many internationalization and localization bugs.

Ubuntu MATE 16.10:

Migrated to GTK 3.20
Updated to MATE Dock Applet 0.74
Updated many MATE packages for improved GTK 3.20 support
Removed MATE Heads-Up Display (HUD)

Ubuntu Studio 16.04 included dgedit, drumgizmo, gpick, calibre, pdf-shuffler, plume-creator. Replaced recordmydesktop with vokoscreen, and gnome-color-manager with dispcalgui. Also an updated list of packages included.