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Archives For November 30, 1999

gThumb Image Viewer & Organizer 3.11.4 Adds AVIF/HEIF Support [PPA]

Last updated: September 20, 2021

The GNOME image viewer and organizer app, gThumb 3.11.4 was released! PPA updated with Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, and upcoming Ubuntu 21.10 support.

Thanks to libheif library, the new release introduced HEIF file format support, so it can now handle photos imported from your iOS devices. Also AVIF, an image file format specification for storing images or image sequences compressed with AV1 in the HEIF file format is supported, and you can save file as AVIF.

There’s a performance improvement for browsing directory with thousands of images, so users will get a smoother experience. The file list now starts more thumbnailers in parallel, status bar has a button to show the progress dialog. And the color picker tool shows colors in two more formats: rgb in % and hsl.

Other changes include:

  • Allow to set shortcuts to activate filters.
  • Added a template editor to edit text values with special codes: script commands, rename templates, print header and footer, etc.
  • Allow to mount unmounted volumes.
  • Allow to keep browsing while executing long-running external tools.
  • Show the properties in a single column to save horizontal space.
  • Bug-fixes and translation updates.

How to Install gThumb 3.11.4 in Ubuntu:

The software lacks a repository for Ubuntu packages. Besides building from the source tarball, I’ve made the packages into the unofficial PPA for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, Ubuntu 21.10, Linux Mint 20 and derivatives.

The Ubuntu 18.04 package is built without AVIF/HEIF support since it requires updated FFmpeg library (as dependency of libheif) that might break other packages in your system.
1.) Add the PPA

To add the PPA, open terminal either from the ‘show applications’ menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When terminal opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

2.) Install / Upgrade gThumb

You can then either upgrade the image viewer from an old version via Update Manager (Software Updater), or run command in terminal:

sudo apt install gthumb

NOTE for Linux Mint, you have to run sudo apt update to refresh package cache first.

Uninstall gThumb & the Ubuntu PPA

To remove gThumb image viewer, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove gthumb gthumb-data

To remove the Ubuntu PPA, either run the apt-add-repository command with --remove flag, or use Software & Updates -> Other Software.

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The Gnome 2 Fork – MATE Desktop 1.26 Released for Old Computers

Last updated: August 23, 2021

For those looking for a lightweight Linux Desktop Environment, MATE is a good choice besides XFCE and LXDE.

MATE is a free open-source fork of the classic Gnome 2 desktop. It also forked a list of core applications, e.g., Caja file manager from Nautilus, Pluma text editor from Gedit, MATE Terminal from Gnome Terminal.

Though it’s Gnome 2 continuation, MATE fully supports the GTK 3 application framework. And by releasing version 1.26, it introduced initial Wayland support.

MATE desktop is NOT specifically designed for older computers, but it’s really lightweight and works fast in low-cost computers, including Raspberry Pi.

What’s New in MATE 1.26

The new 1.26 release features Wayland support for its core applications, including Atril document viewer, System Monitor, Pluma text editor, MATE Terminal, MATE Panel and other components of the Desktop.

The text editor, Pluma, got a new mini map allows that gives you instant overview over the content. New grid background pattern can be toggled in Preferences. And you can press Ctrl+Y to show or hide the line numbers.

MATE Pluma Text Editor Grid pattern

The release also introduced a new indicator applet to toggle ‘Do Not Disturb‘ mode. The applet defaults to green and turns to white once you enable the function. As well, it offers options to change the theme, position of notification bubbles, and control which monitor to display.

The Caja file manager now supports adding current location into left pane as “Bookmark”. And you can format an external device via the context (right-click) menu. By right-clicking on the desktop, there’s an option to lock the desktop icons position.

The Atril document viewer is greatly improved, so it works faster and use even less memory. And the Engrampa archive now supports EPUB and ARC, as well as encrypted RAR archives.

Other changes include:

  • Display settings now has option for scaling.
  • Hyperlinks support for notifications.
  • Option to disable mouse scrolling in Window List applet.
  • Add history support for the Calculator.
  • Option to reduce keyboard backlight when on battery.
  • And much more other changes, see release note for details.

How to Get MATE 1.26 in Linux:

For apt-based systems, Ubuntu MATE is a good choice to try out the MATE desktop. The Ubuntu flavor will update to mate 1.26 soon.

For Arch Linux and Manjaro based system with MATE, a single command will update the desktop environment to the latest:

sudo pacman -Syu

And for Fedora 34 users, the MATE 1.26 is now in the build system, tagged with f34-updates-candidate. I don’t know how the Fedora repository works, it may/might be published in next few days.

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Zorin OS 16 Released! New Modern Beginner Friendly Linux based on Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: August 18, 2021

Zorin OS 16 was officially released! Features Ubuntu 20.04 LTS package base, Kernel 5.11, and modified Gnome Desktop 3.36.

Zorin OS is an open-source Linux distribution for personal computers. It provides an user friendly desktop appearance based on Gnome. With built-in utility, it allows to single click changing UI layout to original Gnome, classic or modern Windows style.

A lightweight version is also available for old computers based on XFCE desktop environment. And it features “Zorin Connect”, GSConnect / KDE Connect similar implementation to link your Android phone and computer together.

What’s New in Zorin OS 16:

The new release introduced a revamped and refined desktop appearance, along with new wallpaper changes automatically according time of day.

The lock screen now displays a blurred version of desktop wallpaper, just like what it does in Ubuntu 20.04 LT. Follow GNOME 40, Zorin OS now has multi-touch gestures out-of-the-box for laptop users. The finger gestures are however a little different, and I prefer the way in Gnome and Elementary OS 6.

Touch-pad gestures:

  • 4 fingers up/down to switch workspaces.
  • Pinch with 3 fingers to trigger activities overview.

The Pro edition introduced a Windows 11 style desktop layout, though this edition need to play for downloading.

Other changes include:

  • Support flatpak and snap out-of-the-box.
  • New sound recorder app.
  • Redesigned Zorin Appearance
  • New Jelly mode to toggle wobbly window effect.
  • Better fingerprint reader support with simpler setup
  • Fractional scaling for high-resolution displays

Short overview of Zorin OS 16 via YouTube video:

And to get Zorin OS dico image, go to its website.

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SMPlayer 21.8.0 Adds macOS Support, Linux Appimage, Flatpak, & Snap

Last updated: August 18, 2021

SMPlayer media player released version 21.8.0 with official dmg package for macOS, and more binary packages for Linux users.

SMPlayer is a free open-source video player for Windows and Linux. By releasing v21.8.0, it finally adds macOS support officially. It uses MPV and/or MPlayer multimedia engine, so it can play virtually all video and audio formats.

The player remembers the settings of all files you play, so when you open an unfinished movie it will be resumed at the same point you left it, as well as the same settings. It also has built-in YouTube browser, allows to search for and click to play YouTube video directly in the media player.

I always keep SMPlayer in my system as an alternative media player, because it has some useful features that I need. They include:

  • ability to fetch subtitles from internet.
  • cast to smart phone and chromecast.
  • rotate video and change aspect ratio while playback.

What’s New in SMPlayer 21.8.0

Besides the macOS package, Linux Appimage, Flatpak, and Snap support, the release also include following changes:

  • Better automatic resizing of the main window, trying to prevent black borders.
  • Add option to rotate the video by 180 degrees.
  • Add some predefined speeds (0.25x, 0.5x, 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x).
  • Prevent a one second delay when using play prev/next.
  • The installation of YouTube support is now optional on Windows.
  • Disable power saving on Linux Wayland during playback.
  • And some bug-fixes.

How to Get SMPlayer:

The media player now is available at Github. All the binary packages as well as source tarball are available to download at the link below:

Download SMPlayer

For Linux, since Appimage is a non-install executable, Flatpak and Snap are universal package formats need separate daemons to run in sandbox, native .deb / .rpm package may still be preferred.

To install and keep SMPlayer native packages up-to-date, you can either use the official OBS repository for Arch Linux, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE.

Or use the official Ubuntu PPA for all current Ubuntu releases, Linux Mint, and derivatives.

1. Add Ubuntu PPA.

Open terminal either from start menu (click top-left ‘Activities’, search for and open terminal), or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rvm/smplayer

Type user password, no asterisk feedback, and hit Enter to continue. So for, it supports Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, and Ubuntu 21.04.

2. Install / Upgrade SMPlayer:

After adding the PPA, you can either install it via command:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install smplayer smtube

or upgrade the player via Software Updater (Update Manager) if an old release was installed.

Uninstall SMPlayer in Ubuntu:

To remove the PPA, either open “Software & Updates”, go to “Other Software” line and remove the relevant repository line, or run command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:rvm/smplayer

To remove the media player, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove smplayer smtube
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Debian 11 ‘Bullseye’ Released! Kernel 5.10, exFAT, Modern Printers Support

Last updated: August 15, 2021

Debian 11, code-name ‘Bullseye’, officially released. Features 5-year support, Kernel 5.10 LTS, out-of-the-box support for exFAT file-system and most modern printers.

Debian is free open-source community-supported Linux distribution started in 1993. It aims to be “The Universal Operating System” that is suitable for Desktop users, servers to cluster systems; and for database, web, and storage servers. And it’s the basis for many other distributions, including Ubuntu.

In my mind, Debian is a quite stable and reliable system for production use. While serving with less system resources, it’s very popular for server users. Though the package base is a little old, there are package teams keep working for the security, stability and performance. And in “Bullseye”, the Debian Med team has been flighting against COVID-19 by packaging software for researching the virus on the sequence level and for the tools used in epidemiology.

What’s New in Debian 11:

For personal computers, Debian 11 is available via different Desktop Environments, including:

  • Gnome 3.38,
  • KDE Plasma 5.20,
  • LXDE 11,
  • LXQt 0.16,
  • MATE 1.24,
  • Xfce 4.16.

The release provides Linux Kernel 5.10 with support for exFAT file system. The exfat-fuse package is no longer required for mounting exFAT file-systems. And the exfatprogs provides the tools to create, check and label exFAT filesystems.

With ipp-usb, it offers out-of-the-box support for most modern printers without vendor specific drivers.

There are also updated packages including Apache 2.4.48, BIND DNS Server 9.16, Calligra 3.2, Cryptsetup 2.3, Emacs 27.1, GIMP 2.10.22, GNU Compiler Collection 10.2, GnuPG 2.2.20, Inkscape 1.0.2, LibreOffice 7.0, MariaDB 10.5, OpenSSH 8.4p1, Perl 5.32, PHP 7.4, PostgreSQL 13, Python 3.9.1, Rustc 1.48, Samba 4.13, and Vim 8.2.

Other changes includes:

  • Activate the persistent journal functionality by default.
  • New Fcitx 5 input method.
  • Defaults to Wayland and better addon support.
  • 64-bit/32-bit PC, PowerPC, IBM S/390, ARM, MIPS architectures support.
  • Over 11,294 new packages, 9,519 packages marked as obsolete and removed.

How to Get Debian 11:

Debian website provides small disco image that need internet connection while installing process to download more. There are also complete image, and live iso for trying Debian without installing it on your machine.

Get Debian 11

To upgrade from the previous Debian 10 buster, the documentation is available with detailed information.

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Thunderbird 91.0 Released with Native Apple Silicon Support, Multi-Process By Default

Last updated: August 12, 2021

Mozilla Thunderbird email client released new major 91.0 version with many new features and improvements.

Thunderbird 91.0 now runs in multi-process (e10s) mode by default, which offers many advantages in responsiveness, stability, performance, and security.

For macOS users, the release adds native support for computers with Apple silicon CPUs. There are also Latvian language support, new user interface for adding attachments, etc.

The ‘Account Setup’ has a new look and finally move to new tab instead of a floating dialog. It also adds ability to detect and set up CalDAV calendars and address book during setup.

The new version also brings improvements to Calendar, such as remote calendar auto-detection, ‘Edit’ option in event context menu, double-click to open .ics files, and import filter and sort items.

And a warning popup will appear when either trying to spend a reply to a likely non-existant email address such as “[email protected]”, or public recipients of a message exceeds threshold.

Other changes in Thunderbird 91.0 include:

  • Beta-level support for Matrix servers chat.
  • Enable redirect of messages.
  • PDF.js viewer support.
  • Allow showing empty CC/BCC rows in compose window
  • Allow pinning folder views to the Folder Pane
  • And much more!

How to Get Thunderbird 91.0 for Ubuntu:

As the release note said, the release only is available as a direct download, and not as an upgrade from Thunderbird version 78 or earlier.

Download Thunderbird (tar.bz2)

For Ubuntu Linux, it’s a tar.bz2 package. Once you get it, extract and right-click to run the executable to launch the client.

To create a shortcut icon for Thunderbird 91.0, you can open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to create & open a .desktop file:

gedit .local/share/applications/thunderbird91.desktop

Then paste following lines into the file. Replace “/PATH/TO/thunderbird“ with the executable file path, and finally save it.

If you don’t plan to move the source folder to another place for long time using, the file path should be: /home/USER_NAME/Downloads/thunderbird-91.0/thunderbird/thunderbird

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Thunderbird 91.0
Comment=Send and receive mail with Thunderbird
Keywords=Email;E-mail;Newsgroup;Feed;RSS
Exec=/PATH/TO/thunderbird %u
Terminal=false
X-MultipleArgs=false
Type=Application
Icon=thunderbird
Categories=Application;Network;Email;
MimeType=x-scheme-handler/mailto;application/x-xpinstall;
StartupNotify=true
Actions=Compose;Contacts

[Desktop Action Compose]
Name=Compose New Message
Exec=/PATH/TO/thunderbird/thunderbird -compose
OnlyShowIn=Messaging Menu;Unity;

[Desktop Action Contacts]
Name=Contacts
Exec=/PATH/TO/thunderbird -addressbook
OnlyShowIn=Messaging Menu;Unity;
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Firefox 91.0 Released with Enhanced Cookie Clearing / Https-First Policy

Last updated: August 11, 2021

Mozilla Firefox 91.0 is available with more than 1200 bug-fixes, new major privacy enhancement, and other features.

The release introduced more comprehensive logic for clearing cookies. With Firefox Strict Mode, you can clear a site data including embed content, such as images, videos and scripts, from other websites. This “cross-site” content was previously left behind.

You can now clear cookies and site data for current page by clicking the SSL lock icon in url bar. Or by right-clicking on sites under History menu and select ‘Forgot About This Site’.

For all sites, go to Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Cookies and Site Data. There you can click on “Manage Data” to search a site or remove all sites.

Firefox 91 now https first in Private Browsing windows. Even by clicking or entering http site in url, it tries to connect https first if available.

Other changes include:

  • Supports logging into Microsoft, work, and school accounts using Windows single sign-on.
  • Add Simplified option back in print settings.
  • New locale: Scots (sco)
  • The address bar now provides Switch to Tab results also in Private Browsing windows.
  • Automatic High Contrast Mode when “Increase Contrast” is checked on MacOS
  • 10-20% improvement in response time to most user interactions.
  • Various security fixes.

How to Install Firefox 91:

Usually, Ubuntu publishes the new Firefox packages through the security & updates repositories. So just wait and keep your system updated. It’s will be available in next few days.

Alternatively, see the release note and download the portable package from Firefox website.

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Polychromatic 0.7 Released, New UI / CLI to Control Razer RGB Lighting in Linux

Last updated: August 9, 2021

Got Razer peripherals? Polychromatic released version 0.7.0 with redesigned UI and command line interface to control the RGB lighting in Linux.

For those never heard of Polychromatic, it’s a free open-source vendor agnostic front-end for managing lighting, RGB effects and some special functionality for keyboards, mouse, keypads and other gaming peripherals.

It so far only supports OpenRazer as backend for Razer devices. Though it aims to add OpenRGB and phue for Philips Hue and more brands support.

The software now uses PyQt5 instead of WebKitGTK for its graphical user interface. And it redesigned the UI with following features:

  • New tab & sidebar interface.
  • New preferences dialog.
  • New colour picker dialog and saved colour management.
  • New “Apply to All” section
  • New “Inspect Matrix” for testing LEDs and co-ordinates
  • New DPI controls, allowing independent X/Y axis.
  • Add ability to set custom DPI stages.
  • Ability to use “native” system theme.

polychromatic new UI

The indicator menu in the release is also overhauled with legacy GTK Status Icon support, and new options.

The release also introduced a new command line interface for terminal warrior. You can get started by running command in terminal: 

polychromatic-cli --help

For any device capable of individually addressable LEDs, you can now create your own static and animated effects via the Effect Editor, by clicking & draging with your pointer to draw on a graphic representing your devices, or use a grid.

So far the device graphics are available for the following devices: Razer BlackWidow Chroma, Razer BlackWidow Elite, Razer DeathStalker Chroma, Razer Huntsman Elite, Razer Mamba Elite, Razer Mamba Tournament Edition, Razer Blade Stealth (2016), Razer Blade (2018), Razer Blade Pro (2019), Razer Firefly, Razer Base Station Chroma. While the grid is always available.

Other changes include:

  • App can run without OpenRazer, but will be limited.
  • Add support for multizoned hardware.
  • Support custom effects for all compatible hardware.
  • New troubleshooter and new configuration editor.
  • New and updated icons.

How to Install Polychromatic in Ubuntu:

The Polychromatic team maintains official Ubuntu PPA that so far supports for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, Ubuntu 21.10, and Linux Mint 20.

Open terminal from start menu, paste the command below and hit run to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:polychromatic/stable

Also add the OpenRazer PPA for the backend package:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openrazer/stable

Finally update package cache, install it as well as OpenRazer daemon:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install polychromatic openrazer-daemon

Uninstall Polychromatic & OpenRazer:

To remove them simply run apt command with remove flag:

sudo apt remove --autoremove polychromatic openrazer-daemon

And you can remove the 2 Ubuntu PPAs by launching “Software & Updates” and navigating to “Other Software” tab. Then remove the relevant lines from the list:

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0 A.D. Alpha 25 Released! Implement Single Player Campaigns [Ubuntu PPA]

Last updated: August 9, 2021

Real-time strategy video game 0 A.D. released version Alpha 25 a day ago. Code name is “Yaunã”.

0 A.D. (pronounced “zero ey-dee”) is a free and open-source RTS game under development by Wildfire Games, that works on Windows, Linux, and MAC. It is a historically-based war/economy game that allows players to relive or rewrite the history of Western civilizations, focusing on the years between 500 B.C. and 500 A.D.

“Yaunã” comes with the twenty-fifth alpha version that initially implements Single Player Campaigns, along with other big ones including:

  • Improved Pathfinding, Performance And Reduced Game Lag.
  • Push new orders to the front Of their production queues.
  • Improved Unit AI.
  • New Biomes incorporating wew 2k textures and normal/specular maps.
  • GUI improvements.
  • Extended Graphics options.
  • Improved Mod support and game filtering in the multiplayer lobby.
  • Ongoing civilization balancing.
  • Various other game stability bug fixes and speedups.

See video about 0 A.D. Alpha 25:

How to Install 0 A.D in Ubuntu:

The game package is available in Ubuntu repository but always old! To get the latest version, keep an eye on this Ubuntu PPA while the official one is not being updated for long time.

Usually, maintainers update the latest software packages a few days after the release note. For beginners, you can follow this tutorial to add the PPA and install 0 A.D. once the new package published.

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Ubuntu 21.10 Finally Removed “Standard” Theme-box, Only Light & Dark Mode Now

Last updated: August 7, 2021

Ubuntu 21.10 daily build got an update for its gnome-control-center package(System Settings) recently. The ‘Standard’ mode is finally removed from the Appearance settings.

The Yaru theme developer team submitted the request to remove the ‘Standard’ theme when in June, since both GTK3 and GTK4 do NOT support having different background / text colors for headerbar than in the rest of the window.

The development build of Ubuntu 21.10 finally apply the change in the recent update. The ‘Window colors’ options under Appearance settings are now only fully dark and fully light. There’s no longer dark header bar with light window color called ‘Standard’.

Along with the new thumbnail preview, the context menus for the desktop, file manager, and other Gnome apps also inherit the dark and light appearance setting.

They are still some apps, e.g, Gnome Terminal and Ubuntu Software, that are not implemented for the changes.

As before, the settings do not change the color of top-bar menus, notification, and left dock menu, etc. However, a patched version of gnome-control-center is available to easily toggle the WHOLE system to Dark or Light.

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