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Archives For November 30, 1999

GIMP Image Editor 2.10.18 Released with 3D Transform tool

Last updated: February 25, 2020

GIMP extra color palettes

GIMP image editor 2.10.18 was released a day ago with new features and usability improvements. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu.

Due to a critical bug, v2.10.16 was skipped and GIMP 2.10.18 was released with following release highlights:

  • Tools now grouped in the toolbox by default.
  • Sliders now have a compact style by default.
  • Vastly improved user experience for the transformation preview
  • Dockable areas now highlighted when a dockable dialog is being dragged
  • New 3D Transform tool to rotate and pan items
  • Much smoother brush outline preview motion on the canvas
  • Symmetry painting enhancements
  • Faster loading of ABR brushes
  • PSD support improvements
  • Consolidated user interface for merging down and anchoring layers
  • Update check to notify users of new releases available
  • Various bug-fixes, and translation updates.

Install GIMP 2.10.18 in Ubuntu:

Neither the PPA repository nor GIMP Snap package are updated to v2.10.18 at the moment of writing.

However, GIMP Flatpak package has been updated for Ubuntu 18.04 and higher. Simply open terminal from application menu and run following commands one by one:

  • 1. Install flatpak framework: 
    sudo apt install flatpak

  • 2. Add flathub repository: 
    flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

  • 3. Install GIMP flatpak package: 
    flatpak install flathub org.gimp.GIMP

  • 4. If an old GIMP Flatpak version was installed, update it via command: 
    flatpak update flathub org.gimp.GIMP

GIMP Flatpak co-exists with Snap and native .deb packages. Run command to start it if you have more than one GIMP icon, and don’t know which one to run.

flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP

Uninstall GIMP Flatpak package:

To remove the flatpak package, simply run command:

flatpak uninstall flathub org.gimp.GIMP
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VirtualBox 6.1.4 Released with Linux 5.5 Guest Support

Last updated: February 20, 2020

Virtualbox

Oracle Virtualbox released a new maintenance update for the 6.1 series a day ago.

The new release features Linux guest with Kernel 5.5 support, and a shared folder fix for loopback mounting of images.

Other changes in the VirtualBox 6.1.4 include:

  • Fixed a rare issue with ICEBP instruction causing guru meditations on Intel hosts.
  • Fixed macOS Catalina guests failing to boot after upgrading to 10.15.2 onwards.
  • Recent NLS integration and bug fixes for GUI and Qt translation tags
  • Fix isochronous transfers to the VM for xHCI
  • Fix buffer handling, avoiding receiving stale data when the receive queue is flushed.
  • Improve host serial port passthrough handling on Windows host
  • Restore old --clipboard option for modifyvm command
  • macOS host: Use hardened runtime and request the needed entitlements, meeting latest notarization rules which also required moving VirtualBoxVM executable
  • macOS host: Update osxfuse to v3.10.4

    • Windows host: Update Italian translation of installer

  • Windows host: Improve shared folder compatibility with POSIX append semantic
  • Windows host: Restore the ability to run VMs through Hyper-V, at the expense of performance
  • BIOS: Always report non-ATA disks as ready
  • BIOS: Report EFI support through DMI table
  • VGA BIOS: Reduce stack space usage for INT 10h handlers

How to Install Virtualbox 6.142 in Ubuntu:

For 64-bit Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, Ubuntu 19.10, and their derivatives, you can either download the official .deb binary from the link below:

Download Virtualbox for Linux

or install VBox from its official apt repository by running following steps:

1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T), paste below command and run to add the repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -sc) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

For Linux Mint, you HAVE to replace $(lsb_release -sc) in the command with bionic for Mint 19.x, or xenial for Mint 18.x.

2. Then download and install the repository key via command:

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

3. Refresh system package cache via command:

sudo apt update

4. Finally install Virtualbox 6.1:

sudo apt install virtualbox-6.1

Uninstall:

To remove it, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove virtualbox-6.1

And go to Software & Updates -> Other Software to remove apt repositories.

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Install Drop Down Terminal Guake 3.10 in Ubuntu 22.04, 20.04

Last updated: April 24, 2024

This simple tutorial shows how to install the latest drop-down terminal Guake 3.10 in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, and Ubuntu 22.04.

Guake is an open-source drop-down terminal for Gnome desktop. While the software in Ubuntu main repository is old, the latest Guake 3.7 was released with following changes:

  • Add tab selection popover in each notebook
  • Add fullscreen hide tabbar option
  • Set custom colors for each terminal tab.
  • Add --select-terminal and --selected-terminal options to Guake CLI
  • Adds an option to display only the last directory on the current path as the tab name.
  • Reworked the tab name selection to use a drop-down menu.
  • Unfullscreen through D-Bus interface, as well as through CLI.
Guake Split Terminal Screen

Guake Split Terminal Screen

How to Install Guake in Ubuntu:

Ubuntu 23.10 and Ubuntu 24.04 already has the latest terminal package in system repository. Simply open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install:

sudo apt update; sudo apt install guake

Linux Uprising team maintains a PPA repository that contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04.

1.) Open terminal and run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linuxuprising/guake

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

2.) Then run command to install the drop-down terminal application via commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install guake

Once installed, launch Guake Preferences from system application menu, configure the keyboard shortcuts, and other preferences, and then you can either use the top-right indicator applet, or the shortcut key to drop-down the terminal from top.

If an old version was installed previously, you may first kill Guake process or just reboot your machine to make it well working.

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA, simply go to Software & Updates -> Other Software, then remove the repository line.

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MyPaint 2.0 Released with New Layer Mode, Linear Compositing

Last updated: February 17, 2020

MyPaint 2.0, free open-source raster graphics editor for digital painters, was finally released after more than a year of development.

MyPaint 2.0 is a new major release that features a new layer mode and uses linear compositing by default.

  • Linear compositing and spectral blending (pigment).
  • Full Python3 support
  • Layer views.
  • Brush strokes dependent on view rotation and view zoom.
  • Additional symmetry modes: vertical, vertical+horizontal, rotational, snowflake.
  • Expanded flood fill functionality: offset, feather, gap detection and more.
  • New brush settings: offsets, gridmap, additional smudge settings, posterize, pigment.
  • New brush inputs: barrel rotation, base radius, zoom level, gridmap x/y, direction 360, attack angle.

How to Install MyPaint 2.0 in Ubuntu:

So far, there’s only .appimage available in the Github releases page. Go to the following link, scroll down, and select download the ‘MyPaint-v2.0.0.AppImage‘ package.:

Download MyPaint [.Appimage]

Then right-click on the .appimage file, go to Properties -> Permissions, and finally make it executable by checking the box says ‘Allow executing file as program’.

Finally run the .appimage file from its context menu to launch MyPaint and enjoy!

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Blender 2.82 Released with UDIM, USD Support

Last updated: February 15, 2020

Blender 2.79

Blender 2.82 was released as the second update for the 2.80 series. The snap package has been updated for Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

Blender 2.82 comes with over a thousand fixes and several important updates. Changes in the new release include:

  • New Mantaflow system allows to create mind-blowing fire and smoke simulations.
  • New FLIP solver to create lifelike liquids
  • Improved Cloth Simulations
  • The popular tiled-based UV mapping system is now fully integrated
  • Pixar’s USD export support.
  • Cycles supports AI-Accelerated Denoiser from OptiX, for NVIDIA RTX graphics cards.
  • AI denoising, Grease Pencil improvements, and much more!

How to Install Blender 2.82 in Ubuntu:

Blender offers official Snap packages (runs in sandbox) for Linux Desktop. If you’ve already installed the snap package, it will be updated automatically.

For Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, simply search for and install it from Ubuntu Software:

Note there are 3 Blender packages in Ubuntu Software: blender snap, native .deb package, and blender-tpaw (abandoned).

Go check the package details, and install the one from Snap store.

For Ubuntu 16.04, first open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install snapd:

sudo apt install snapd

Then install the official Blender snap package via command:

sudo snap install blender --classic

Once installed, launch it from your system application launcher and enjoy!

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Vivaldi Browser 2.11 Released with Themes Update

Last updated: February 14, 2020

Vivaldi web browser 2.11 was released a few days ago. The new release features pop-out video improvements and themes update.

Vivaldi 2.11 brings pop-out video improvements. Now you can easily launch the separate, floating video window via a single click on a small video box icon displayed in the center of the video.

Other changes in the new release include:

  • The default browser theme will follow system’s Dark/Light mode.
  • Add F6/Shift+F6 focus handling. allows moving keyboard focus between a few UI elements and active pages.
  • Improved full-screen tab casting that adjusts to fit in the current window.
  • And various stability improvements and fixes.

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_2.11*.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.

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Ubuntu 18.04.4 Released with Kernel 5.3 [How-to Install]

Last updated: February 13, 2020

Ubuntu 18.04

The fourth point release Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS was released. Here’s how to install the new Linux Kernel 5.3 and Xorg in your current Ubuntu 18.04 machine.

Ubuntu 18.04.4 comes with an updated “hardware enablement stack” (HWE) from Ubuntu 19.10, including Kernel 5.3 that enables the latest hardware and peripherals available from IBM, Intel, and others.

It was announced last night:

The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS (Long-Term Support) for its Desktop, Server, and Cloud products, as well as other flavours of Ubuntu with long-term support.

Like previous LTS series, 18.04.4 includes hardware enablement stacks for use on newer hardware. This support is offered on all architectures and is installed by default when using one of the desktop images.

Ubuntu Server defaults to installing the GA kernel; however you may select the HWE kernel from the installer bootloader.

…

How to Upgrade to Ubuntu 18.04.4:

Besides downloading the ISO image, installing all available updates via Software Updater will bring you to the latest point release in the current Ubuntu 18.04 machine.

If you never installed the “hardware enablement stack” in your Ubuntu 18.04 machine, you may also do:

To install the 5.3 Kernel, you may need to run following command in terminal:

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends linux-generic-hwe-18.04

Or run command to install both new kernel and Xorg Server stack:

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends linux-generic-hwe-18.04 xserver-xorg-hwe-18.04

Once installed, restart and enjoy!

How to remove the new hardware enablement stack:

To remove the new v5.3 kernel, first reboot and choose previous kernel from Grub boot-loader > Advanced options. Then run command:

sudo apt remove linux-image-unsigned-5.3*generic linux-image-5.3*generic

To remove the new Xorg packges, run command:

sudo apt remove xserver-xorg-*-hwe-18.04

And you DO HAVE to install back the old xorg packages via command:

sudo apt install xorg
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Plasma 5.18 LTS Released! How to Install in KUbuntu 19.10

Last updated: February 12, 2020

KDE Plasma 5.16

KDE Plasma desktop 5.18 LTS was released a day ago. Now it’s available to install it in (K)Ubuntu 19.10 via PPA.

Plasma 5.18 is an LTS (Long Term Support) release that will be updated and maintained by KDE contributors for the next two years. It features:

  • New Emoji Selector (press Windows key + the peroid (.))
  • New Global Edit mode
  • Better support for GTK applications using client-side decorations.
  • Audio Volume System widget improvement.
  • Optional User Feedback settings (disabled by default).
  • Redesigned the Application Style settings.
  • Fractional scaling improvement on X11

How to Install Plasma 5.18 in (K)Ubuntu 19.10:

Open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, do:

1. Add Kubuntu Backports PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports

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

2. Install Plasma 5.18 in Kubuntu 19.10:

Either install all system update via Update Manager, or run command in terminal:

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

3. For non-Kubuntu user:

Run command to install Plasma desktop:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install plasma-desktop

or install full KDE desktop environment via command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install kubuntu-desktop

Uninstall:

You can purge the Kubuntu Backports PPA, which also downgrade Plasma desktop to the stock version (5.16.5) in Ubuntu 19.10 repository.

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
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Firefox 73 Released with Global Zoom Level Setting

Last updated: February 11, 2020

Mozilla Firefox 73.0 was released today. The new release features new global zoom level setting and High Contrast Mode improvement.

While per-site zoom is still available, Firefox 73.0 adds a new global default zoom level setting, which is available in about:preferences under ‘Language and Appearance’.

For user with low vision rely on Windows’ High Contrast Mode, without disabling background images websites in High Contrast Mode are now more readable.

Firefox 73.0 release highlights:

  • New global zoom level setting.
  • High Contrast Mode improvement.
  • Audio playback improvement
  • WebRender will roll out to laptops with Nvidia with drives newer than 432.00 and smaller than 1920X1200 screen resolution.
  • Various security fixes.

Download / Install Firefox in Ubuntu:

While Ubuntu 20.04 already contained the new Firefox package in the main repository, Firefox 73.0 will be available to upgrade via Software Updater utility in a few days for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and Ubuntu 19.10. Check HERE.

Or you can install the Firefox 72 Snap package (runs in sandbox) simply from Ubuntu Software. It can be installed alongside the pre-installed Firefox, and will be automatically update to the latest.

Also Mozilla Firefox website offers non-install (extract and run the executable) tarball for all Linux desktop.

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OpenShot 2.5 Released with Hardware Encoding/Decoding Support

Last updated: February 15, 2020

OpenShot Video Editor

OpenShot video editor 2.5.0 was released a few days ago with exciting new features hardware acceleration support.

OpenShot 2.5.0 brings experimental support for hardware acceleration. You will see some new options available if you have a supported encoder/decoder. This can result in a huge performance improvement on some systems.

It has also completely rewritten the keyframe system to deliver real-time interpolated values, and no longer cache the entire value set.

Other changes in openshot 2.5.0 include:

  • Export and Import of EDL and XML.
  • Improved Thumbnail generation via a local HTTP server
  • Blender 2.8+ support
  • Ability to recover previous saves
  • many fixes and improvements to SVG support.
  • Improved preview window resizing in OpenShot
  • Disable metrics until opt-in
  • Export, built, and Cross-platform improvements.

How to Install OpenShot 2.5.0 in Ubuntu:

OpenShot has an official PPA repository that contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.10 though it’s not updated at the moment for the new release.

1.) You can add the PPA repository by running command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T), so to receive future software updates via Software Updater utility.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openshot.developers/ppa

2.) Then install the video editor via commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install openshot-qt

Alternatively you may simply download the 64-bit .appimage file from OpenShot website:

OpenShot Downloads Page

Right-click on the .appimage and make it executable in the file ‘Properties > Permissions’. And finally run the .appimage to launch Openshot video editor 2.5.0.

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