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VLC 3.0.11 Released with HLS, AAC Playback Improvements

Last updated: June 17, 2020

VLC media player 3.0.11 was released a day ago as the twelfth update of “Vetinari” branch.

Changes in VLC 3.0.11 according to the release note:

Fixes HLS regressions
Fixes a potential crash on startup on macOS
Fixes imprecise seeking in m4a files
Fixes resampling on Android
Fixes a crash when listing bluray mountpoints on macOS
Avoid unnecessary permission warnings on macOS
Fixes permanent silence on macOS after pausing playback
Fixes AAC playback regression
And a security issue

How to Install VLC 3.0.11 in Ubuntu:

The official Snap package (runs in sandbox) has been updated. You can install it from Ubuntu Software.

Already installed the Snap package? It will be updated to the latest automatically.

VLC is also available as flatpak in Flathub repository, which is not updated at the moment.

In News vlc media player

HPLIP 3.20.6 Released with New Printers, Fedora 32 Support

Last updated: June 16, 2020

HP Linux Imaging and Printing

HPLIP, HP print, scan, and fax drivers for Linux, released 3.20.6 today with new printers and Linux distributions support, though it still does not install on Ubuntu 20.04.

HPLIP 3.20.6 added following new printers support:

HP Color LaserJet Managed MFP E78223a, MFP E78223dv, MFP E78223dn.
HP Color LaserJet Mngd MFP E78223dn Plus, MFP E78223dn CN
HP Color LaserJet Managed MFP E78228dn, MFP E78228dn Plus, MFP E78228dn CN
HP Color LaserJet Managed Flow MFP E78330z Plus, Flow MFP E78330z CN
HP Color LaserJet Managed MFP E78330dn, E78330dn Plus, E78330dn CN, MFP E78330z
HP Color LaserJet Managed Flow MFP E78325z Plus, Flow MFP E78325dn CN, Flow MFP E78325z CN
HP Color LaserJet Managed MFP E78325dn, MFP E78325z
HP Color LaserJet Managed Flow MFP E78323z
HP Color LaserJet Mgd Flw MFPE78323Z Plus, Flw MFPE78323z CN
HP Color LaserJet Managed MFP E78323dn
HP Color LaserJet Mngd MFP E78323dn Plus, MFP E78323dn CN

The new release also added support for Fedora 32, Manjaro 20.0, RHEL 8.2.

How to Install HPLIP 3.20.6 in Ubuntu:

HPLIP 3.20.6 still does not install on Ubuntu 20.04 due to requirement of python-pyqt5 library.

1. To install the software, download the package “hplip-3.20.6.run” from the link below:

HPLIP Download Page

2. Then open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for “terminal” from app launcher. When it opens, run command to give executable permission:

chmod +x ~/Downloads/hplip-3.20.6.run

3. Finally run command to start installing the driver:

./Downloads/hplip-3.20.6.run

Follow the terminal output and answer some questions. If everything goes OK, plug or re-plug your HP devices and enjoy!

In News HPLIP

GScan2PDF 2.8.0 Released, How to Install in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: June 15, 2020

GScan2PDF, GUI to produce PDFs or DjVus from scanned documents, released version 2.8.0 a few days ago.

Changes in GScan2PDF 2.8.0 include:

Interpolate colours according to OCR confidence in HSV space.
Limit zoom to 100 to avoid errors
Update text position and rectangle when updating bounding box.
Add button to add to text layer
Add preference to disable device list cache
Add mini-wizard if device not found
Fix save as PS.
And translation updates.

How to Install gscan2pdf 2.8.0 in Ubuntu:

The official Gscan2PDF PPA has made the new release packages for all current Ubuntu releases, and their derivatives, including Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, Ubuntu 20.04, Linux Mint 18.x and 19.x

1. Open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jeffreyratcliffe/ppa

Type user password (no asterisk feedback due to security reason) when it prompts and hit Enter.

2. For those who have a previous release installed, upgrade it through Software Updater:

upgrade gscan2pdf

Or run following command in terminal to install or upgrade the software:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install gscan2pdf

How to Remove:

To remove gscan2pdf, either use your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove gscan2pdf

And the PPA can be removed via Software & Updates utility, under Other Software tab.

In News gscan2pdf

Battle for Wesnoth 1.14.13 Fixed 2 Major Long-standing Bugs

Last updated: June 14, 2020

Battle For Wesnoth in Ubuntu

Battle for Wesnoth 1.14.13 was released today as the new maintenance release for the turn-based strategy game.

The new release fixed two major long-standing issues affecting all Wesnoth players, with effects varying from the innocuous to the game-breaking depending on the game content being played as well as the system configuration.

Wesnoth 1.14.13 release highlights:

Graphics engine memory leak fix
WML/Lua engine reliability fix
Campaign changes and fixes
See full list of changes.

How to Install Wesnoth 1.14.13 in Ubuntu:

The latest Wesnoth package so far is only available as Flatpak. You can install it in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher by running following commands one by one.

1.) If you’re first time installing a Flatpak package in Ubuntu, setup your system by running commands in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

Install flatpak framework via command:
```
sudo apt install flatpak
```

Add Flathub repository via command:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

2.) Then you can install Battle for Wesnoth flatpak package by running command:

flatpak install flathub org.wesnoth.Wesnoth

You can then keep it updated by running flatpak update org.wesnoth.Wesnoth command.

Uninstall Wesnoth:

To remove the flatpak package, simply run command in terminal:

flatpak uninstall org.wesnoth.Wesnoth

In News Battle for Wesnoth

HandBrake 1.3.3 Released with Improved Intel QSV Support

Last updated: February 23, 2021

HandBrake video transcoder 1.3.3 was released today with a number of bug-fixes and improvements.

Changes in HandBrake 1.3.3 include:

Fixed ISO 639-2/B language codes in MKV
Improved support for sources where pixel format cannot be quickly identified
Improved Intel QSV memory footprint
Improved Intel QSV H.265 memory buffer size
Improved support for out-of-order SSA subtitles
Improved flatpak package support
Updated libraries: FFmpeg 4.2.3
Miscellaneous bug fixes and improvements

How to Install HandBrake in Ubuntu:

HandBrake has an official PPA which so far supports for Ubuntu 19.10 and Ubuntu 20.04.

NOTE the PPA is not updated at the moment of writing. The new release packages should be available in a few days, check the previous PPA link before getting started.

1.) Open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or by searching for ‘terminal’ from ‘Show Applications’ menu. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompts and hit Enter to continue adding the PPA.

2.) Once the PPA is updated with the new release packages, you can run following commands one by one to install it on your system:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install handbrake-gtk

(Optional) To remove the handbrake PPA repository, either go to Software & Updates -> Other Software, or run command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases

In addition, HandBrake also available to install in Ubuntu via Flatpak package.

In News handbrake

GIMP 2.10.20 Released with Better PSD Support

Last updated: June 13, 2020

GIMP image editor 2.10.20 was released a few days ago with some new features as well as important bug-fixes.

GIMP 2.10.20 release highlights according to the release note:

Tool-group menus can now expand on hover
Non-destructive cropping now available by cropping the canvas rather than actual pixels
Better PSD support: exporting of 16-bit files now available, reading/writing channels in the right order
On-canvas controls for the Vignette filter
New filters: Bloom, Focus Blur, Lens Blur, Variable Blur
Blending options now built into filter dialogs
Over 30 bugfixes

How to Install GIMP 2.10.20 in Ubuntu:

Ubuntu PPA:

It seems that the otto’s PPA is not being updated, while it’s still at v2.10.14.

Snap package:

The community maintained GIMP Snap package is still v2.10.18 at the moment. If you’ve installed it on your system, it will be auto-updated once the new package published.

Flatpak package:

GIMP 2.10.20 Flatpak package was made into flathub repository on June 7 once the source tarball was available. You can install it by running following commands one by one in terminal:

1.) Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install flatpak:

sudo apt install flatpak

2.) Add the flathub repository by running command:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

3.) Finally install GIMP flatpak via command:

flatpak install flathub org.gimp.GIMP

(Optional) To update installed GIMP Flatpak package, run command:

flatpak update org.gimp.GIMP

To remove GIMP flatpak package, run command:

flatpak uninstall org.gimp.GIMP

In News gimp

Vivaldi 3.1 Released with Built-in Note-Taking Tool

Last updated: June 11, 2020

Vivaldi web browser 3.1 was released today with full-page notes manager, configurable menus, and speed improvements.

The new release ships with a note-taking tool with a full-blown notes editor. It’s available both in left-sidebar and start page.

The note manager features:

Text formatting, Markdown support
WYSIWYG Editor
Find text, undo / redo, full-screen editing
automatically attach screenshots, web url.
sync notes across devices.

Vivaldi 3.1 also features configurable menus. Go to Settings → Appearance → Menu, there you can drag and drop to add, remove, rearrange menu items. Also the new release includes faster startup and better handling of tabs.

Download / Install Vivaldi in Ubuntu:

The official Ubuntu .DEB packages are available for download at the link below:

Download Vivaldi (DEB)

Grab the deb matches your OS type, then install it via either Ubuntu Software or Gdebi package manager. Or run command in terminal:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/vivaldi-stable_3.1*.deb

You may also add the official Vivaldi apt repository to your system, to be able to receive the browser package updates via Software Updater utility.

Open terminal by either pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or searching for terminal from application menu. When it opens, run following commands one by one:

1. Download and install the repository keyring:

wget -qO- https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -

Typer user password when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Add Vivaldi repository via command:

sudo add-apt-repository 'deb https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/deb/ stable main'

3. Finally check updates and install the web browser via command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install vivaldi-stable

Or upgrade from an old version via Software Updater utility.

(Optional): To remove Vivaldi apt repository from you system, launch Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software tab.

In News Vivaldi

How to Install Mumble 1.3.1 via PPA in Ubuntu 19.10, 18.04

Last updated: June 10, 2020

Open source low latency and high quality voice chat application Mumble 1.3.1 was released a few days ago. Here’s how to install it via PPA in Ubuntu.

Mumble 1.3.1 is the first bug-fix release for the 1.3 series after 9 months of development. There’s a security fix that safeguards from potential attacks against OCB2.

Other changes include fixes to crash on multiple monitors, high CPU usage for update-check, OpenSSL error, manual placement plugin improvement, and more. See release note for details.

How to Install Mumble 1.3.0 in Ubuntu:

No Ubuntu 20.04 support at the moment of writing. Check the following PPA link, or install Snap / Flatpak instead.

Mumble Team PPA has built the new release package for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and even Ubuntu 14.04.

1. Open terminal either from application menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, paste below command and hit Enter:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mumble/release

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue adding the PPA.

2. If an old release was installed, simply upgrade Mumble via Software Updater:

Or run commands one by one in terminal to check updates and install the chat utility for gamer:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mumble mumble-server

Uninstall Mumble:

You can purge the PPA which also downgrade the VoIP chat app to the stock version via command:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:mumble/release

To simply remove mumble, either use system package manager or run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove mumble mumble-server

In News mumble

KDE Plasma 5.19 Released with Improved Wayland Support

Last updated: June 19, 2020

KDE Plasma 5.16

KDE Plasma 5.19 was released today with many new features, stability improvements, and better Wayland support.

KDE Plasma 5.19 release highlights:

New wallpaper
New collection of user avatars.
Consistent system tray applets.
Rewritten system monitor widgets.
New configurable file indexing options for individual directories
New option to configure mouse / touchpad scroll speed on Wayland.
Overhaul system settings pages
Redesigned info center, added information about graphics hardware.
KWin Window Manager improvements
Discover now displays app version and easy to remove Flatpak repositories.
Updated KSysGuard that support systems with more than 12 CPU cores
Screen rotation for tablets and convertible laptops works on Wayland.

Download / Install Plasma 5.19:

The new release packages ~~will be made into Kubuntu Backports PPA in a few days.~~

For live images, source tarball, go to KDE Plasma 5.19 release note.

In News plasma 5.19

Mixxx 2.3 Beta Released! How to Install in Ubuntu 20.04

Last updated: June 9, 2020

Free DJ mixing software Mixxx 2.3 beta was released. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10, Ubuntu 20.04.

See what’s new in this beta for next major Mixxx 2.3 series:

Hotcue colors and custom labels
Serato, Rekordbox metadata import.
Intro/Outro cues and silence detection
Add deck cloning (also known as “instant doubles”) by dragging and dropping between decks
Revamped LateNight skin
Multi-threaded analysis
Add FFmpeg audio decoder, bringing support for ALAC
And many other changes!

How to Install Mixxx 2.3 Beta in Ubuntu:

NOTE the beta release is for testing purpose. Don’t use it for live performances

1.) Open terminal from system application menu. When it opens, run command to add the Beta PPA.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mixxx/mixxxbetas

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2.) Then either upgrade Mixxx using Software Updater (Update Manager), or run command:

sudo apt install mixxx

Uninstall Mixxx Beta:

You can purge the PPA repository to remove the beta package and back to stable series by running command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:mixxx/mixxxbetas

In Howtos, News Mixxx Beta

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