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Gscan2PDF 2.5.5 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: July 20, 2019

Gscan2pdf 2.5.5, GTK tool to produce PDF / DjVu from scanned document, was released yesterday with bug-fixes, some improvements, and updated translations.

Gscan2PDF 2.5.5 changelog:

Fix occasional error messages when clearing all pages
Only set paper to Manual if not applying profile
Update OCR view switching between pages with and without OCR output
xz compress log file if xz available
Fix bug applying paper after profile set SANE_INFO_INEXACT
When saving current settings as new profile, actually set the profile
If a device throws an error when opening it, add it to a session blacklist
option tolerance to cover buggy backends that return inexact options without setting SANE_INFO_INEXACT
Update translations.

How to Install gscan2pdf 2.5.5 in Ubuntu:

The official Ubuntu PPA has made the new release packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 19.04 and their derivatives.

1. Open terminal either by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or searching for ‘terminal’ from software launcher. 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:

For the first time, you can either install it via Synaptic Package Manager or by running following commands in terminal:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get 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 Howtos, News gscan2pdf, scan to pdf

Xsnow – Snow on Your Desktop in Ubuntu 18.04 / Higher

Last updated: July 19, 2019

Xsnow, let it snow on your desktop, now is working on Gnome, KDE, FVWM desktop in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

Xsnow is a handy command tool that brings Christmas to your desktop. However, it does not work properly in Ubuntu since Ubuntu 12.04 Precise.

Now a brand new Xsnow based on the original xsnow-1.42 is available to work on many desktop environments, and a simple graphical interface is available for those who are not familiar with command line.

Finally, a working xsnow for Gnome, KDE, etc. Based on the original xsnow-1.42 created by Rick Jansen, after the xsnow-2019 conference in Antas (Spain) we now have available a xsnow that works on many desktop environments, even Raspian. By request of many beta-testers, a graphical front end has been created as well.

For Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 19.04, and higher, download the package from the link below:

Select download i386.deb for 32-bit OS, amd64.deb for 64-bit OS, or armhf.deb for Raspberry pi.

Then double-click to install via Ubuntu Software, or run command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/xsnow_*.deb

Once installed, launch the tool from your application menu and enjoy!

(Optional) To remove the tool, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove xsnow

In App Review, News bring Christmas to desktop, Snow on Gnome, Xsnow Ubuntu 18.04

VirtualBox 6.0.10 Released with UEFI Secure Boot Support

Last updated: July 16, 2019

Oracle Virtualbox 6.0.10 was released today with many improvements and fixes to Linux hosts and guests.

Virtualbox 6.0.10 release highlights:

Fix guest display resolution resize issue with recent Linux hosts.
Fixed guru meditation when raw mode is enabled
Fixed possible VM crash under certain circumstances
Fixed “unrecoverable error” problems in OHCI emulation.
USB: improve captured device identification
Support UEFI secure boot driver signing on Ubuntu and Debian hosts
Fix focus grabbing problems with recent Qt versions.
Share folder fixes for Windows hosts and guests.
Linux kernel module build fixes for various kernels
Remember Linux guest screen size after a guest reboot

How to Install Virtualbox 6.0.10 in Ubuntu:

For all current Ubuntu releases, you can either download the official .deb binary from the link below:

or install VBox from its official apt repository:

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

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://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 6.0:

sudo apt install virtualbox-6.0

Uninstall:

To remove it, simply run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove virtualbox-6.0

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

In Howtos, News Virtualbox

FireFox 68 Releazed with Improved Dark Mode (How to Upgrade)

Last updated: July 12, 2019

Mozilla Firefox 68.0 was released a few days ago with dark mode improvements, new features, and security fixes. Here’s how to install it in all current Ubuntu releases.

Firefox 68.0 release highlights:

Window controls, sidebars and toolbars will be dark with dark mode in reader view.
New reporting feature to report security and performance issues with extensions and themes.
Redesigned extensions dashboard for easy accessing to information about your extensions
Redesigned extensions now displays user count and ratings for each extension.
Add cryptomining and fingerprinting protections to strict content blocking settings
Windows Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) update download support.
Camera and microphone access now require an HTTPS connection.
And various security fixes. See release note for details.

Upgrade to Firefox 68 in Ubuntu:

Firefox 68 has been ~~will be~~ made into Ubuntu universe repositories for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and higher ~~in a few days~~. Check HERE, and do following to upgrade it once available.

For all current Ubuntu releases, simply open Software Updater and install the updates after checking for updates.

If you don’t see the Firefox updates, go to Software & Updates and make sure the security and updates repositories are enabled in Updates tab.

In Howtos, News Firefox

Syncthing 1.2.0 Released, Adds QUIC Transport Protocol

Last updated: July 10, 2019

Open source continuous file synchronization program syncthing 1.2.0 was released yesterday with new features, various bug-fixes, and enhancements.

Syncthing 1.2.0 release highlights:

Add QUIC with NAT traversal as a new transport protocol. TCP remains the preferred way of connection when possible.
Adds automatic crash reporting.
Make large / variable block size the only available mode of operation
Versions are now named with the time of their archiving
The new release does not interoperate with Syncthing 0.14.45 or older

Syncthing offers official Snap package. It can be easily installed in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher via Ubuntu Software:

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

sudo apt-get install snapd

Then install Syncthing via command:

sudo snap install syncthing

Once installed, start it via command syncthing. Then go to localhost:8384 in web browser to setup shared folder, remote devices, and more.

For more, read the getting started guide.

In Howtos, News file sync, syncthing

VS Code 1.36 Released! Dropped Linux 32-bit Support

Last updated: July 5, 2019

Code 1.36, the June 2019 release of Visual Studio Code, was released. The new release has updated to Electron 4.x, means it will no longer run on Linux 32-bit.

VS Code 1.36 release highlights:

Context menu for the status bar to hide / show individual entries.
Indent guides now available in File Explorer, Search view, Debug views, etc.
Select Default Shell command for Mac OS and Linux.
Control the order of task and subtask execution.
New debug command Jump to Cursor
New setting controls whether word wrap is enabled in the Debug Console.
New Java installer.
New extension integrates JS/TS nightly builds.
Remote Development (Preview) improvements

How to Install VS Code 1.36 in Ubuntu:

You can either download and click install the Ubuntu .deb from VS code website:

Or install the official Snap (containerized software package) from Ubuntu Software:

For Ubuntu 16.04, the snap package is not integrated into Ubuntu Software.

Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install snapd first:

sudo apt-get install snapd

Then install the VS Code IDE via command:

sudo snap install code --classic

Uninstall:

Depends on your system edition, remove VS Code either via Software Center or run command in terminal:

sudo snap remove code

In Howtos, News Visual Studio Code

DeaDBeeF 1.8.1 Released! How to Install in Ubuntu 18.04 / Higher

Last updated: July 2, 2019

Deadbeef audio player 1.8.1 was released a few days ago with various bug-fixes and performance improvements for the 1.8 series.

Deadbeef 1.8.1 release highlights:

Fixed audio freeze while sorting
Fixed error messages when loading PLS playlist with relative paths
Removed the unmaintained sndio plugin
Added experimental subgrouping support in playlist
Added new title formatting functions $stripprefix and $swapprefix
Updated Repeat and Shuffle hotkey names to match the menus
Fixed rounding bug of total playtime in statusbar
Added FLAC plugin option to ignore corrupted stream errors
Fixed reloading replaygain info
Fixed writing replaygain info to APEv2 tags
And many other bug-fixes, see the release note for details.

How to Install DeaDBeeF 1.8.1 in Ubuntu:

The new release package is available to install in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04 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:starws-box/deadbeef-player

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

Once installed, open the player from your system application menu and enjoy!

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.

In Howtos, News deadbeef music player

Toontown Rewritten Available to Install in Ubuntu 18.04 / Higher

Last updated: June 30, 2019

Toontown Rewritten, a fan-made recreation of Disney’s closed MMORPG Toontown Online, now is available to install via Snap package in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, and higher.

Toontown Rewritten (TTR) is free to play and open to anybody. The TTR snap package contains a slightly modified version of the official Toontown Rewritten launcher, including python 3 support. Due to the fact that this launcher is modified, the TTR team will not provide support if anything goes wrong with the launcher.

For Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, simply search for and install the game from Ubuntu Software utility:

For Ubuntu 16.04, you need to open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and make sure snapd daemon is installed first:

sudo apt-get install snapd

Then install the Toontown Rewritten via command:

sudo snap install toontown

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

Uninstall:

To remove the game, either use Ubuntu Software or run command in terminal:

sudo snap remove toontown

In Howtos, News Toontown snap, Toontown Ubuntu

Opera 62 Released with Dark Mode, HD Displays Improvements

Last updated: June 27, 2019

Opera web browser 62 was released today with improved dark mode, design updates. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu.

Opera 62 release highlights:

Improved Dark Mode and support for Windows dark theme
Add bigger tiles option in EasySetup panel
Task Completer, connect browser’s history to Speed Dial
Bring back start-page preload service
And numerous other changes. See the release note.

How to Install Opera 62 in Ubuntu:

The Opera team offers snap package (containerised software package), which is always up-to-date (auto-updates itself). You can simply install it in Ubuntu Software:

Also traditional Opera binary package for Ubuntu is available for download at the link below:

To receive future updates through Software Updater, add the official Opera apt repository via following steps:

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

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opera.list'

2. Get the key:

wget -O - http://deb.opera.com/archive.key | sudo apt-key add -

Finally either install Opera via following command or upgrade the browser via Software Updater:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install opera-stable

Uninstall:

For the Opera snap package, simply remove it from Ubuntu Software.

For the Opera apt repository, launch Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software tab.

To remove traditional opera package, either use your system package manager or run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove opera-stable

In Howtos, News Opera

MuseScore 3.2 Released with Dozens of Bug Fixes

Last updated: June 26, 2019

Free scorewriter MuseScore 3.2 was released a day ago with dozens of bug-fixes as well as some improvements to user interface.

MuseScore 3.2 release highlights:

Default to dark theme on macOS Dark Mode
Sticking (the process of assigning certain notes to either our left or right hand) as a new command
A few improvements to user interface.
Fixed exporting parts from a score didn’t produce correct MIDI, MP3, WAV, OGG, and FLAC files
Fixed that tuplets and articulations were laid out incorrectly
And many other fixes, see the relese note for details.

Download / Install MuseScore in Ubuntu:

MuseScore has a stable PPA for Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, though it’s falling behind with version 3.0.5.

There’s non-install single executable Appimage available to download at the link below:

Right-click the Appimage, go to Properties -> Permissions -> tick the box says ‘Allow executing file as program’, finally run it to launch MuseScore 3.2: