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MyPaint 1.2.0 Released, How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: January 16, 2016

Open source painting and drawing software, MyPaint, sees a new stable release after a long time of development.

The developer announced the release of MyPaint 1.2.0 yesterday, along with Ubuntu binaries available in PPA for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 15.10, Ubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu 14.04, and their derivatives. MyPaint 1.2.0 features:

New intuitive Inking tool for smooth strokes.
New Flood Fill tool.
Automated backups of your working docs, with recovery on startup.
Improved symmetry-setting and frame-setting modes.
New workspace UI: two sidebars, with dockable tabbed panels.
Smoother scrolling and panning.
New brush pack.
New brush and color history panel.
New layer trimming command in frame options.
Added layer groups.
New layer modes: several masking modes added.
Add display filters: greyscale, simulate dichromacy for trichromats.
New color wheel options: Red/Yellow/Blue, Red-Green/Blue-Yellow.
Uses dark theme variant by default.
Clearer icons, prettier freehand cursors.
Device prefs allow glitchy devices to be restricted.
Eraser mode no longer changes the size of the brush.
New vector layers, editable in an external app (Inkscape recommended).
New fallback layer types: non-PNG image, data.
More kinds of images now work as backgrounds.
Improved Windows support
Ported to GTK3.
Accelerator map editor has moved to preferences.
Many other bugfixes, translations, and code quality improvements.

How to Install MyPaint 1.2.0 in Ubuntu:

1. Open terminal from Unity Dash, App Launcher, or via Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut key. When it opens, paste below command and hit run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:achadwick/mypaint-testing

It will add the developer’s PPA after you typing password (no visual feedback so just type in mind) when it asks, and hitting Enter to continue.

2. Launch Software Updater if you have a previous release installed. After checking for updates, upgrade MyPaint by installing the available updates.

Or install the software via either Software Center, or commands below:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mypaint mypaint-data-extras

3. (Optional), for any reason you want to remove the software, remove PPA by launching Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software tab, and uninstall MyPaint via Software Center.

In Howtos, News MyPaint, painting software

How to Install Linux Kernel 4.4 in Ubuntu

Last updated: January 11, 2016

Linus Torvalds finally announced the release of Linux Kernel 4.4 yesterday afternoon. He wrote on LKML:

Nothing untoward happened this week, so Linux-4.4 is out in all the usual places.

The changes since rc8 aren’t big. There’s about one third arch updates, one third drivers, and one third “misc” (mainly some core kernel and networking), But it’s all small. Notable might be unbreaking the x86-32 “sysenter” ABI, when somebody (*cough*android-x86*cough*) misused it by not using the vdso and
instead using the instruction directly.

Full shortlog appended for people who care or are just curious.

And with this, the merge window for 4.5 is obviously open, even if I won’t start actually pulling until tomorrow.

Linux Kernel 4.4 features:

initial AMD Stoney APU Support
numerous AMD GPU additions for AMD Carrizo, Tonga, or Fiji graphics processor
Raspberry Pi KMS driver for kernel mode-setting
VirGL VirtIO 3D GPU driver added to Gallium3D
many Network, WiFi, and eBPF updates
64-bit ARM updates, nouveau improvements, and much more.

How to Install Kernel 4.4 in Ubuntu:

Ubuntu Kernel Team has made the binaries a few hours ago, available for download at the link below:

Download Linux Kernel 4.4 DEBs

You may first check out your OS type, 32-bit or 64-bit, (also arm, ppc64 packages available) then download and install below packages one by one:

linux-headers-4.4.0-xxx_all.deb
linux-headers-4.4.0-xxx-generic_xxx_i386/amd64.deb
linux-image-4.4.0-xxx-generic_xxx_i386/amd64.deb

If you need a low latency system (e.g. for recording audio) then download & install below packages instead:

linux-headers-4.4.0_xxx_all.deb
linux-headers-4.4.0-xxx-lowlatency_xxx_i386/amd64.deb
linux-image-4.4.0-xxx-lowlatency_xxx_i386/amd64.deb

For Ubuntu Server or those who prefer Linux commands, run below commands one by one to download and install the kernel binaries:

For 64-bit system:

cd /tmp/

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.4-wily/linux-headers-4.4.0-040400_4.4.0-040400.201601101930_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.4-wily/linux-headers-4.4.0-040400-generic_4.4.0-040400.201601101930_amd64.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.4-wily/linux-image-4.4.0-040400-generic_4.4.0-040400.201601101930_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

For 32-bit system:

cd /tmp/

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.4-wily/linux-headers-4.4.0-040400_4.4.0-040400.201601101930_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.4-wily/linux-headers-4.4.0-040400-generic_4.4.0-040400.201601101930_i386.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.4-wily/linux-image-4.4.0-040400-generic_4.4.0-040400.201601101930_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Restart computer after installation.

Uninstall the 4.4 Kernel:

For any reason you want to remove this kernel, restart your computer and select boot with the previous Kernel (under Advanced Options) when you’re at Grub boot menu, after logged in run below command in a terminal:

sudo apt-get remove linux-headers-4.4.0-* linux-image-4.4.0-*; sudo update-grub

In Howtos, News Linux Kernel

Ubuntu 16.04 Flavors: Alpha 1 Downloads Now Available

Last updated: January 30, 2016

The first alpha of Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial Xerus LTS has been released. Features images for Lubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, and UbuntuKylin.

Ubuntu 16.04 Alpha 1 comes with Linux Kernel 4.3. As an alpha pre-release, it is only recommended for developers and those who want to test by finding, reporting, and/or fixing bugs.

Download links:

LUbuntu 16.04: cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/xenial/
Ubuntu MATE 16.04: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-mate/releases/xenial/
UbuntuKylin 16.04: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntukylin/releases/xenial/

For a reminder of upcoming Ubuntu release dates see the table:

January 28th	Alpha 2 (for opt-in flavors)
February 25th	Beta 1 (for opt-in flavors)
March 24th	Final Beta
April 14th	FinalFreeze, ReleaseCandidate
April 21st	Final release of Ubuntu 16.04

In News Ubuntu 16.04

Install Nuvola Player 3 Stable in Ubuntu 15.10, 14.04

Last updated: January 3, 2016

Linux cloud music player Nuvola Player 3 finally goes stable. Its official repository is ready for Ubuntu 15.10, Ubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu 14.04, and derivatives.

Nuvola Player 3 supports various services such as Google Play Music, 8tracks, Amazon Cloud Player, Bandcamp, Deezer, Jango, KEXP Live Stream, Logitech Media Server, Mixcloud, Plex Music, Spotify, TuneIn, Yandex Music.

The new release has been rewritten from scratch and contains plenty of improvements over Nuvola Player 2. It features:

built on top of WebKit2Gtk+ so it doesn’t need any hacks to support Flash plugin
run multiple services side-by-side, the software creates a desktop application shortcut when a particular service starts
official repositories for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora.
GTK header bar, client-side-decorations in Gnome.
and more at the release page.

How to Install Nuvola Player 3 in Ubuntu:

Open terminal from Unity Dash, Application Launcher, or via Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut key. When it opens, run below command one by one.

1. Add the official repository.

Paste below command in terminal and hit run:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb https://tiliado.eu/nuvolaplayer/repository/deb/ wily stable" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tiliado-nuvolaplayer.list'

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

Here you may replace wily in the code with:

wily — for Ubuntu 15.10 Wily Werewolf
vivid — for Ubuntu 15.04 Vivid Vervet
trusty — for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, Linux Mint 17.x, Elementary OS Freya, etc.

2. Add GPG key to trust the repository packages.

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv-keys 40554B8FA5FE6F6A

3. Finally install Nuvola Player 3 via either Synaptic Package Manager after clicking Refresh, or below commands one by one:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install nuvolaplayer3

For those who hate Linux commands, try the graphics installer available at this page.

In Howtos, News cloud music, Nuvola Cloud Player

Install Free DJ Software Mixxx 2.0 in Ubuntu 15.10, 14.04, 12.04

Last updated: December 30, 2015

The Mixxx team finally announced the release of its free, open-source DJ software Mixxx 2.0 after years of development.

Mixxx 2.0 comes with so many new features and below is a few of them:

Dynamic, resizable skins to fit whatever size screen you have.
Support the latest DJing techniques
New effect processing system
Cover art support
Improved, expanded support for DJ controllers
upgraded libraries and much more.

For more details, go to the release page.

How to install Mixxx 2.0:

Mixxx has an official PPA repository, which contains the binaries for Ubuntu 15.10, Ubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 12.04, and derivatives.

1. Add the PPA.

Open terminal from Unity Dash, App Launcher, or via Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut key. When it opens, paste below command and hit run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mixxx/mixxx

Type in your password (no visual feedback just type in mind) when it asks and hit enter to continue.

2. Install or upgrade the software.

If you have a previous release installed, launch Software Updater after added the PPA to check for updates and upgrade Mixxx.

Or, run commands below one by one in terminal to do the update and install things:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mixxx

3. (Optional)

After installation, you may keep the PPA for receiving future updates, or disable/remove PPA via either Software & Updates -> Other Software tab, or command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:mixxx/mixxx

In Howtos, News DJ software, Mixxx

[How-to-Install] SuperMario-Like Game SuperTux 0.4.0 Released

Last updated: December 22, 2015

SuperTux, a classic Super Mario-like 2D jump ‘n run sidescroller game, has reached the 0.4.0 release, a new STABLE release since 0.1.3 after more than 10 years of development.

Compared to 0.1.3, this release features:

a nearly completely rewritten game engine based on OpenGL, OpenAL, SDL2, …
support for translations
in-game manager for downloadable add-ons and translations
Bonus Island III, a for now unfinished Forest Island and the development levels in Incubator Island
a final boss in Icy Island
new and improved soundtracks and sound effects
new badguys, bonuses and power-ups (air-, earth- and ice-flower)
a halloween tilemap
new graphic effects (glowing objects, particles, …)
levels and worldmaps are scriptable using squirrel
much more game objects: trampolines, switches, portable stones, wind, moving platforms, … – most of them have scripting APIs
improved statistics
many invisible changes, like unit tests, efficiency improvements and more bugfixes
much more..

Compared to the latest beta, 0.3.5a, SuperTux 0.4.0 features updated translations, many bugfixes, more levels, and much more. See the release notes for details.

How to Install SuperTux 0.4.0 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, the new release has been made into the official Ubuntu repositories, just search for and install the game via Software Center.

For Ubuntu 15.10, Ubuntu 14.04, and Mint 17.x, run below commands one by one in terminal to install it from third-party PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install supertux supertux-data

For those who don’t want to add PPA, grab the .deb packages from links below:

1. First download and install supertux-data for both 32-bit & 64-bit:

supertux-data for Ubuntu 15.10

supertux-data for Ubuntu 14.04

2. Then install the .deb package for supertux:

supertux for Ubuntu 15.10: 32-bit | 64-bit

supertux for Ubuntu 14.04: 32-bit | 64-bit

In Howtos, News Supertux

Firefox 43.0 Released, How to Upgrade in Ubuntu

Last updated: December 16, 2015

Mozilla Firefox web browser has reached the 43 release on Tuesday, available for upgrade in Ubuntu 15.10, Ubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 12.04 and their derivatives.

What’s new in Firefox 43:

Private Browsing with Tracking Protection offers choice of blocking additional trackers
Improved API support for m4v video playback
Firefox 64-bit for Windows is now available via the Firefox download page
Users can choose search suggestions from the Awesome Bar
On-screen keyboard displayed on selecting input field on devices running Windows 8 or greater
Firefox Health Report has switched to use the same data collection mechanism as telemetry

Also various security fixes and developer improvements are included in this release. See the release note.

How to Install / Upgrade:

Canonical has made the new release into the updates & security repositories for all current Ubuntu releases.

To install it, just run Software Updater and click install available updates after checking for updates:

Don’t see it in the list? Launch Software & Updates, select download from ‘Main Server’ and make sure the security and updates repositories are enabled in Updates tab.

In Howtos, News Firefox

Install KeePassX 2.0 in Ubuntu 16.04, 15.10, 14.04

Last updated: August 4, 2016

KeePassX, a native Linux port of KeePass password manager, finally reached the 2.0 release after several years of development.

KeePassX 2 has been rewritten from scratch. It uses the new .kdbx (same as KeePass 2) database format. You can import your .kdb database from 0.4 series from menu Database > Import KeePass 1 database.

New features include:

Multiple attachments per entry
Add custom key/value pairs to entries
Open multiple database in one window

For more details, see official release note.

How to Install KeePassX 2 in Ubuntu:

The official KeePassX PPA does not update at the moment, but a third-party PPA has built the KeePassX 2.0 for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 15.04, and ~~Ubuntu 14.04 LTS~~.

1. Add PPA

Open terminal from Unity Dash, App Launcher, or via Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut key. When it opens, paste below command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:eugenesan/ppa

Update: The 14.04 package so far is broken in the eugenesan/ppa. Use this PPA instead with yubikey support:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hda-me/keepassx2-yubico

Type in your password when it asks (no visual feedback just type in mind) and hit Enter to continue.

2. After that, upgrade KeePassX by running Software Updater. Or run below commands one by one in terminal:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install keepassx

For those who don’t want to add PPA, grab the .deb installer directly from HERE.

3. (Optional) As a third-party PPA, it also contains many other applications. You may remove the PPA after installation by either using Software & Updates -> Other Software tab, or running below command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:eugenesan/ppa && sudo apt-get update

In Howtos, News KeePass, KeePassX, password manager

Lightweight PDF Viewer ‘MuPDF’ 1.8 Released [How-to-Install]

Last updated: November 12, 2015

MuPDF, a free, open-source, and lightweight PDF and XPS viewer, now reaches the 1.8 release with new features, improvements and various fixes.

MuPDF is a lightweight PDF viewer and toolkit written in portable C, which also reads XPS, OpenXPS and EPUB documents. It works on Windows, Android, and Linux.

The renderer in MuPDF is tailored for high quality anti-aliased graphics. It renders text with metrics and spacing accurate to within fractions of a pixel for the highest fidelity in reproducing the look of a printed page on screen.

What’s New in MuPDF 1.8:

Headline changes:

New OpenGL-based barebones desktop viewer.
New URW fonts with greek and cyrillic.
64-bit file support.
Ghostscript proofing mode (source only; not in shipped binaries).

EPUB improvements:

User style sheets.
GIF images (also for CBZ).
Table of contents.
CJK text.
Page margins.
Many bug fixes.

Bug fixes:

Updated FreeType to version 2.6.1.
Various font substitution bug fixes.
Fix setjmp/longjmp behaviour which could cause optimizing compilers to misbehave.

In addition, mudraw has been merged into mutool, use mutool draw to use mudraw.

How to Install MuPDF 1.8 in Ubuntu:

There are Android, Windows installers, and source tarball available in its official download page.

For Ubuntu and derivatives, you can either build the viewer from the source or use my personal binaries in PPA.

Method 1:

Open terminal from Unity Dash, App Launcher, or via Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut key. When it opens, run below commands one by one to add my PPA and install MuPDF:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mupdf mupdf-tools

Method 2 For those who don’t want to add PPA:

Depends on your Ubuntu edition (e.g., 15.10, 15.04, 14.04, and 12.04), and OS type (i386.deb for 32-bit and amd64.deb for 64-bit)

select download the .deb packages for mupdf and mupdf-tools from the link below:

MuPDF in PPA page

Finally click install the packages via Ubuntu Software Center.

How to Use:

The PDF viewer doesn’t have a launcher. To use it, right-click on the file and select it from the “Open With” option.

To set default, go to file’s context menu -> Properties -> Open With tab -> select MuPDF from list -> finally click ‘Set as default’ button.

For mouse behavior and key bindings run man mupdf command in terminal.

Uninstall:

You may remove the PPA by launching Software & Updates and then navigate to Other Software tab. Also remove MuPDF via Ubuntu Software Center if you want.

In Howtos, News MuPDF, pdf viewer

Firefox 42 Now Is Available for Upgrade in Official Repository

Last updated: November 5, 2015

Mozilla Firefox 42.0 was finally released one day ago. Now it’s available in Ubuntu official repositories for Ubuntu 15.10, Ubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 12.04, and their derivatives, e.g., Linux Mint 13/17, and Elementary OS Freya/Luna.

Firefox 42.0 features:

Private Browsing with Tracking Protection blocks certain Web elements that could be used to record your behavior across sites
Control Center that contains site security and privacy controls
Indicator added to tabs that play audio with one-click muting
WebRTC improvements:
- IPV6 support
- Preferences for controlling ICE candidate generation and IP exposure
- Hooks for extensions to allow/deny createOffer/Answer
- Improved ability for applications to monitor and control which devices are used in getUserMedia
Login Manager improvements:
- Improved heuristics to save usernames and passwords
- Edit and show all logins in line, Copy/Paste usernames/passwords from the Context menu
- Migration imports your passwords to Firefox from Google Chrome for Windows and Internet Explorer; import anytime from the Login Manager
Improved performance on interactive websites that trigger a lot of restyles
HTML5
- Implemented ES6 Reflect
- Support ImageBitmap and createImageBitmap()
- Media Source Extension for HTML5 video available for all sites
DEVELOPER:
- View HTML source in a tab
- Remote website debugging over WiFi (no USB cable or ADB needed)
- Asynchronous call stacks now allow web developers to follow the code flow through setTimeout, DOM event handlers, and Promise handlers.
- Configurable Firefox OS Simulator in WebIDE, to simulate reference devices like phones, tablets, even TVs
  CSS filter presets in the Inspector
- Ability to save filter presets inside CSS Filter Tooltip
And also various security fixes.