Archives For News

Free open-source software updates and Linux news

Battle for Wesnoth 1.14.7 was released a few days ago with many improvements and fixes, and later 1.14.8 was released with a quick fix for Mac OS. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and higher.

Battle for Wesnoth 1.14.7 release highlights:

  • Numerous improvements and bug-fixes to the Campaigns
  • Units, tutorial, and translation updates.
  • UI improvements, including fix undoing a recall, add jamming to the vision tooltip in the sidebar, and more.
  • Miscellaneous and bug fixes. See HERE for details.

How to Install Battle for Wesnoth 1.14.7 in Ubuntu:

The new release package has been made into Flatpak package, available to install via the Flathub repository.

1. (For Ubuntu 16.04 only), open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from app launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexlarsson/flatpak

sudo apt-get update

2. Install flatpak framework via command:

sudo apt-get install flatpak

3. Add flathub repository:

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

4. Finally install the flatpak package of Battle for Wesnoth:

flatpak install flathub org.wesnoth.Wesnoth

Once installed, launch the game either from software launcher, or by running command flatpak run org.wesnoth.Wesnoth

If you already installed an old version via Flatpak, update it via command:

flatpak update org.wesnoth.Wesnoth

(Optional) 5. To remove the game, run command:

flatpak uninstall org.wesnoth.Wesnoth

NVIDIA announced the new Linux driver 430 series a day ago with GTX 1650 support. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and higher.

NVIDIA 430.09 was released as first beta with following new features:

  • New GPUs Support. GeForce GTX 1650, GeForce GTX 1650 with Max-Q Design, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design
  • Added HEVC YUV 4:4:4 decode support to the NVIDIA VDPAU driver.
  • Raised the minimum supported X.Org xserver version to 1.7
  • Added support for the GL_NV_vdpau_interop2 OpenGL extension
  • Bug-fixes, and various other VDPAU additions

How to Install NVIDIA Driver 430.09 in Ubuntu:

The Graphics Drivers Team PPA has built the 430.09 packages for all current Ubuntu releases, though it’s still in beta stage.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application menu. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa

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

2. For Linux Mint 19, you may need to run command to refresh system package cache:

sudo apt update

3. Launch Software & Updates utility, and navigate to Additional Drivers tab.

Then choose using “NVIDIA driver metapackage from nvidia-driver-430” from the list and click Apply Changes.

In addition, if the driver does not install after clicking ‘Apply Changes’, try running command in terminal:

sudo apt install nvidia-driver-430 nvidia-settings

For unmet dependency issue, try removing old NVIDIA proprietary drivers first.

Kodi “Leia” 18.2 was released a day ago with numerous bug-fixes and performance improvements. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and higher.

Kodi 18.2 is a bug fix release with no real new functionality. Release highlights include:

  • Fix performance and dependency regressions in GLES rendering path.
  • Fixes to the AML platform
  • VAAPI on Intel improvements.
  • Fixes and improvements across all aspects of PVR
  • Music experience improvements.
  • Huge number of improvements for the Android platform

How to Install Kodi 18.2 in Ubuntu:

The Kodi stable PPA has made the new release packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, and their derivatives.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or from application menu. When it opens, paste below command and hit run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa

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

2. Then refresh system package cache and install Kodi 18.2 via command:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install kodi

For Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, you can skip the apt update command.

Uninstall:

To remove the Kodi PPA repository, simply open Software & Updates -> Other Software.

To remove Kodi, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove kodi kodi-data kodi-bin

The final release of the open source kart racing game, SuperTuxKart 1.0, was announced. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 19.04

SuperTuxKart 1.0 is a major release that features:

  • Play online with up to 10 other players.
  • Multiple game mode: normal race, time trial, soccer mode, battle mode and the new Capture-The-Flag mode
  • Create your own server, or join a public server.
  • Replace the old mansion track with the new upgraded Ravenbridge Mansion track.
  • Add the Black forest add-on to the official STK track set!
  • And numerous bug-fixes, performance improvements, and more.

How to install SuperTuxKart 1.0 in Ubuntu:

The dev PPA now is building the packages at the moment for all current Ubuntu releases. You’ll be able to install the package via following steps in a few hours.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcuts, or by searching for ‘terminal’ from app launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stk/dev

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

2. For Ubuntu 16.04 and Linux Mint, you need to run command to refreah system package cache:

sudo apt update

3. Finally install the game via command:

sudo apt install supertuxkart

Once installed, open the game from your system application launcher and enjoy!

Uninstall:

To remove SuperTuxKart, open terminal and run command:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove supertuxkart supertuxkart-data

To remove the PPA, open Software & Updates -> Other Software, and remove the repository line:

Gnu Emacs text editor 26.2 was released yesterday with a wide variety of new features. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 19.04, and derivatives.

New features in Gnu Emacs 26.2 include:

  • Emacs modules can now be built outside of the Emacs tree source.
  • Compliant with the latest 11.0 of the Unicode Standard.
  • In Dired, the ‘Z’ command on a directory name compresses all of its files.
  • New toggle ‘ibuffer-do-toggle-lock’, bound to ‘L’.
  • The value for ‘imenu-auto-rescan-maxout’ increased to 600000.
  • Supports 24-bit colors on capable text terminals.
  • VC support for Mercurial was improved
  • And many other changes, see the changelog.

How to Install Emacs 26.2 in Ubuntu:

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for “Terminal” from start menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kelleyk/emacs

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

2. Then install Emacs26 either via Synaptic package manager, or by running following commands one by one in terminal:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install emacs26

For text-only interface, replace emacs26 with emacs26-nox in the last command. And Ubuntu 18.04 and higher can skip apt update command.

Once installed, open emacs from your system application launcher and enjoy!

How to Remove:

To remove Emacs26, open terminal and run commands:

sudo apt remove --autoremove emacs26 emacs26-nox

The PPA can be removed by going to Software & Updates -> Other Software tab.

CopyQ, advanced clipboard manager with editing & scripting feature, released version 3.8.0 with new script functions and performance improvements.

CopyQ 3.8.0 release highlights:

  • Custom settings from scripts now saved in “copyq-scripts.ini”.
  • New script functions onStart and onExit
  • New script functions pointerPosition and setPointerPosition
  • New script callback onClipboardUnchanged
  • Detect encoding for other text formats.
  • Clipboard dialog opens much faster and retrieves clipboard data only when
    needed.
  • Faster app start, smaller memory footprint.
  • FakeVim improvements and many bug-fixes.

How to Install Copyq 3.8.0 in Ubuntu:

The official PPA repository has made the latest packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, and Linux Mint 18.x, 19.x.

1. To add the PPA, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) from application launcher and run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hluk/copyq

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

2. After added the PPA repository, install CopyQ either via Synaptic package manager or by running commands in terminal:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install copyq

Once installed, start the clipboard manager from application launcher and you’ll see the icon in system tray area.

Uninstall:

To remove the software, either use Synaptic package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove copyq

To remove PPA repositories, launch Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software tab.

For Ubuntu users with Razer peripherals, here’s how to install the Linux driver and configure Razer peripherals in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and higher.

OpenRazer is an open source driver and user-space daemon that allows you to manage your Razer peripherals on GNU/Linux. See the list of supported devices.

With Polychromatic GUI front-end, you can configure your Razer peripherals with a graphical tool and system tray applet.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from app launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openrazer/stable

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

2. Also add Polychromatic PPA by running command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:polychromatic/stable

3. Finally refresh your system package cache and install the drivers and GUI tool via commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install openrazer-meta polychromatic

Once installed, open polychromatic from your system application launcher and enjoy!

Uninstall:

To remove the drivers as well as the configuration tool, run command:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove openrazer-meta polychromatic

And open Software & Updates, navigate to Other Software tab to remove the PPAs.

DeaDBeeF music player 1.8.0 was released a few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 19.04, and derivatives.

It’s been almost 3 years since the last 0.7.2 release. DeaDBeeF is considered mature enough and stops using version 0. DeaDBeeF 1.8.0 features:

  • add Opus support
  • add ReplayGain Scanner
  • add proper tracks+cue support
  • add/improve MP4 tag reading and writing
  • load embedded album art from MP4 files
  • add File Copy and File Move converter presets
  • add GBS, SGC support to Game_Music_Emu
  • improve detecting GTK theme colors for custom widgets
  • add Copy & Paste in playlist
  • add localization support for plugin UI
  • add Drag’n’drop support from deadbeef to other applications
  • add --volume command line option
  • and a large list of other improvements and bug-fixes (See the previous link).

How to Install DeaDBeeF 1.8.0 in Ubuntu:

Besides using the official portable package, the new release is available to install in all current Ubuntu releases via PPA repository.

1. Open terminal either from app launcher or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:spvkgn/deadbeef

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

2. Then refresh system package cache and install deadbeef via following 2 commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install deadbeef

If you wouldl like to install GTK2 interface, replace deadbeef with deadbeef-gtk2 in the code.

Uninstall:

To remove the music player, open terminal and run command:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove deadbeef

And remove the PPA via Software & Updates -> Other Software.

GIMP image editor 2.10.10 was released on Sunday with new features, optimizations, and stability fixes.

GIMP 2.10.10 release highlights:

  • Line art detection in the Bucket Fill tool for comic artists
  • Various usability improvements in transformation tools
  • Sample Merged option added to the Heal tool and fixed in the Clone tool
  • Parametric brushes now have 32-bit per channel precision
  • Easier brush and pattern creation workflow
  • On-canvas layer selection
  • Faster saving/exporting and layer groups rendering
  • Initial DDS support
  • Many improvements in GEGL, the image processing engine

How to Install the latest GIMP in Ubuntu:

GIMP 2.10.10 packages will be available in both PPA repository and Snap store (CHECK the links before getting started) in a few days.

Install GIMP via Snap in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, simply install the snap package from Ubuntu Software (See picture above).

For Ubuntu 16.04, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run following 2 commands one by one:

sudo apt-get install snapd

sudo snap install gimp

The snap co-exists with native Ubuntu package, you’ll have two GIMP icons in app launcher if both were installed.

Install GIMP via PPA in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 18.10, you can upgrade the native Ubuntu package using PPA repository.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from application launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompt and hit Enter to continue.

2. After that, launch Software Updater (Update Mananger) and upgrade GIMP after checking for updates:

Uninstall:

To remove the GIMP snap packge, either use Ubuntu Softwrae or open terminal and run command

sudo snap remove gimp

To purge the PPA repository as well as downgrade GIMP to its stock version, run command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp