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GIMP 2.9.8 Released with On-Canvas Gradient Editing (How to Install)

Last updated: December 13, 2017

GIMP 2.9.8, a new unstable release, an intermediate state on the way to the next GIMP 2.10, was released.

GIMP 2.9.8 introduces on-canvas gradient editing and various enhancements while focusing on bugfixing and stability.

  • Blend tool now features on-canvas gradient editing: adding, shifting, removing color stops, shifting midpoints and converting them to color stops, assignging colors to color stops, changing blending type for midpoints.
    Faster color library
  • ‘Clip Warning’ in Display Filters
  • The default brush is now “Hardness 050”.
  • OpenCL disabled by default
  • Statusbar will blink on warnings, errors
  • Screenshot for KDE/Wayland has been implemented
  • Color Picker now works on KDE/Wayland.
  • For more details, see the News page.

How to Install GIMP 2.9.x in Ubuntu:

There’s a PPA repository contains the latest development GIMP packages for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, and Ubuntu 17.10.

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for it from app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

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

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it asks and hit Enter.

2. Then upgrade GIMP from an existing release via Software Updater utility:

or simply run commands to check updates and install GIMP:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install gimp

How to Restore:

You can easily restore GIMP image editor to the stock version (distribution build) in your Ubuntu by purging the PPA via command:

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

And if you want to re-install the latest stable GIMP (2.8.22 so far), see this tutorial after purging the previous PPA.

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Panorama Stitcher ‘Hugin’ 2018.0 Beta 1 Released

Last updated: December 10, 2017

The 2018.0 release of the open-source Hugin Panorama photo stitcher reached the first beta release a day ago.

Changes in Hugin 2018.0 include:

  • Several improvements for optimizer tabs (mark deselected images, allow changing optimizer variables for all selected images at once, option to ignore line cp)
  • hugin_stacker: New tool to stack overlapping images.
  • Hugin: Added option to disable auto-rotation of images in control point and mask editor.
  • Nona, verdandi and hugin_stacker can now write BigTIFF images (for files >4 GB).
  • Added expression parser to GUI: This allows to manipulate several image variables at once. (This is the same as running pto_var –set from the command line.)
  • Add user-defined assistant and expose it in the GUI. It allows to set up different assistant stategies without the need to recompiling. Provide also some examples (scanned images, multi-row panoramas with orphaned images, single-shot panorama
    cameras).

Download Hugin 2018.0 Beta:

The source tarball, Windows and Mac OS packages are available for download at the link below:

For Ubuntu, Hugin Packages team offers three PPAs, though the Beta build is not available at the moment.

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Audacity 2.2.1 Adds Ability to Change Waveform Colorways

Last updated: December 9, 2017

Audacity audio editor reached the 2.2.1 release a few days ago with performance improvements and various bug-fixes.

Audacity 2.2.1 adds ability to change the colorway of the waveforms displayed in your project. The setting is per track and not per project so you can have multiple colorways in the same project.

Other changes in Audacity 2.2.1:

  • File menu called “Save Other” is reverted “Export”
  • Fix crash applying certain chain files
  • Fix MIDI playback timing / synchronisation problems for Linux
  • Fix Quick Play loops fail to start at click position
  • Fix auto-scroll stopped working issue in 2.2.0
  • And various other bug-fixes.

How to Install Audacity 2.2.1 in Ubuntu:

The Audacity team does not offer pre-compiled Linux binaries. Besides building from source, a third-party PPA is available with Audacity 2.2.0 for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, Ubuntu 17.10, and Ubuntu 18.04

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it prompts and hit Enter to add the PPA.

2. If you have a previous version installed, you can upgrade Audacity via Software Updater after adding the PPA.

or run following commands one by one to check updates and install (or upgrade) audacity 2.2:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install audacity

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA repository, launch Software & Updates utility and navigate to ‘Other Software’ tab.

To remove Audacity audio software, either use system package manager or run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove audacity audacity-data
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VLC Media Player 2.2.8 Released with Security Fixes (PPA)

Last updated: December 6, 2017

VideoLAN finally announced the release of VLC media player 2.2.8.

VideoLAN and the VLC development team are happy to publish version 2.2.8 of VLC media player today.

This release fixes a security issue in the AVI demuxer. Additionally, it includes the following fixes, which are part of 2.2.7: This release fixes compatibility with macOS High Sierra and fixes SSA subtitles rendering on macOS. This release also fixes a few security issues, in the flac and the libavcodec modules (heap write overflow), in the avi module and a few crashes.

For macOS users, please note: A bug was fixed in VLC 2.2.7 concerning the update mechanism on macOS. In rare circumstances, an auto-update from older versions of VLC to VLC 2.2.8 might not be possible. Please download the update manually from our website in this case.

The source tarball was available more than a week ago. It’s been made into main repository of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

For Ubuntu 14.04 and Ubuntu 16.04, I’ve wrote about how to install VLC 2.2.7 via PPA, which now contains VLC 2.2.8.

VLC is also available as Flatpak for Ubuntu 16.04 and higher. Install latest Flatpak via PPA, then open terminal and run command to install VLC via Flatpak:

flatpak install --from https://flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.videolan.VLC.flatpakref
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QupZilla browser 2.2.2 Released with Various Bug-Fixes

Last updated: December 5, 2017

The second bug-fix release for QupZilla 2.2 series was release a few hours ago. The new release features following changes:

  • updated available user agent strings
  • added support for “font” option in AdBlock
  • fix build with Qt 5.10
  • fix build on macOS < 10.12
  • fix showing irrelevant domain completions in locationbar
  • fix showing site icons on some systems
  • fix clearing visited links when clearing history
  • fix using system network proxy configuration
  • fix saving window geometry when closing app with Ctrl+Q shortcut
  • fix various issues with web page not being focused after restoring session
  • fix AutoScroll plugin not being able to scroll to all directions in some cases
  • Linux: add StartupWMClass to desktop file
  • Windows: fix possible isssue with uninstaller removing more files than it should

Download / Install QupZilla 2.2.2 in Ubuntu:

QupZilla can’t be built into .deb packages in all current Ubuntu releases due to outdated Qt5 libraries.

So far, the easiest way to run QupZilla in Ubuntu is to use the Appimage, a non-install single executable file:

Download the file, make it executable from its Properties window, and finally run the Appimage to launch QupZilla web browser:

Don’t see the “Run” option even after made the Appimage executable? Go to file manager’s menu Edit -> Preferences -> Behavior -> Choose the option says ‘Run executable text files when they are opened’.

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How to Install MAME Emulator 0.192 via PPA in Ubuntu

Last updated: December 4, 2017

MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) reached the 0.192 release. Here’s how to install it via PPA in Ubuntu 17.04, Ubuntu 17.10.

MAME is a free and open source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms.

The latest MAME 0.192 was release a few days ago with following changes:

  • Supports Oriental Legend 2 and Knights of Valour 2 New Legend
  • The MCU for Ping Pong King is simulated
  • Flower and Taito’s abstract maze game Marine Date are emulated better.
  • Missing graphics in the Merit Megatouch games fixed.
  • graphical fixes for FM Towns
  • heaps of improvements for the Tatung Einstein
  • No-Slot Clock support for the Apple //e family
  • support for some Brazilian CoCo clones from Prológica and Codimex.
  • The ACI Destiny Prodigy, Mephisto RISC 1MB and Mephisto RISC II chess computers are now working.

How to Install MAME 0.192 in Ubuntu:

There’s an unofficial PPA contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 17.04, and Ubuntu 17.10 so far. Unfortunately, Ubuntu 16.04 build is not updated any more since version 0.189.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:c.falco/mame

Input your password (no visual feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue adding the PPA.

2. Then upgrade the emulator via Software Updater utility if you have a previous release installed.

or run commands one by one in terminal to install it:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mame

Uninstall:

To remove MAME emulator, run following command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove mame

To remove the PPA, launch ‘Software & Updates’ utility and navigate to Other Software tab.

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Vidcutter 5.0.5 Released with Overhauled Appimage for Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: December 3, 2017

Free and open-source video cutting and joining software, Vidcutter 5.0.5, was released a few hours ago.

The new release is mainly for users of the AppImage binary which has been overhauled and tested on Ubuntu 14.04, 15.04 + KDE Neon.

Other changes include:

  • AppImage contains latest nightly binary of FFmpeg so SmartCut will work properly.
  • fixed timeline slider tooltip displaying issue.
  • Removal of Python 3 OpenGL module to allow app to work on Linux distros containing older 3.0.1 versions of the module.

How to Install Vidcutter 5.0.5 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 14.04 users, grab .Appimage from the ‘Downloads’ section in the link below:

The Appimage is a single file with most run-time and dependency libraries bundled. To run it, do:

  • Right-click and go to its Properties -> Permissions window.
  • Check the box says ‘allow executing file as program’.
  • And right-click and run the Appimage to launch Vidcutter.

For Ubuntu 16.04 and higher users, Vidcutter can be installed via its official PPA.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ozmartian/apps

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it prompts and hit Enter.

2. Then install Vidcutter either via your system package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install vidcutter

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA, open ‘Software & Updates’ utility and navigate to Other Software tab.

To remove the video cutting software, either use your system package manger or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove vidcutter
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Liferea Feed Reader 1.12.0 Released! How to Install

Last updated: December 1, 2017

The open-source Liferea feed reader finally reached the new stable 1.12.0 release after months of development. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04.

Liferea 1.12.0 release highlights:

  • Wide view is now default view
  • HTML view now has a ‘View Image’ context menu
  • Redesign of the wide view: large icons with teaser text for better using 16:9 screen ratios and making Liferea usable on touchscreen
  • Optional AMP / HTML5 rich content fetching feature
  • Upgrade to WebKit2: This is an important security improvement!
  • Added a “Do Not Track” preference (disabled per-default)
  • Reordered columns in ‘Normal’ email-like view to have the date column always at the end
  • Plugins switched to Python3 libpeas loader
  • Full screen support for videos
  • Simplified external browser support
  • Experimental support for InoReader and Reedah online services
  • Added category/folder support for TheOldReader
  • Added folder auto-removal for TinyTinyRSS & TheOldReader
  • Removed libindicate, libnotify code, tray icon code (re-added as a plugins)
  • Some important bug-fixes.

How to Install Liferea 1.12.0 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 16.04 and higher, you can easily install the new release from this PPA repository.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

Type your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it asks and hit Enter.

2. Then upgrade Liferea via Software Updater utility:

or run commands one by one to install the Linux feed reader:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install liferea

Uninstall Liferea:

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

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove liferea

To remove the PPA repository, open “Software & Updates” utility and navigate to Other Software tab.

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IntelliJ IDEA 2017.3 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: November 30, 2017

Jet Brains announced the release of IntelliJ IDEA 2017.3 earlier today. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, and Ubuntu 18.04.

IntelliJ IDEA 2017.3 is a new massive release that includes loads of new features and dozens of important bugfixes. See the release note for details.

How to Install IntelliJ IDEA 2017.3 in Ubuntu:

There are a few ways to run the latest release of the Java IDE in Ubuntu desktop. And here are 3 of them:

method 1: Download official Linux package (NON-INSTALL), extract and run the executable to launch the IDE:

method 2: Install the Snap package for Ubuntu 16.04 and higher:

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

sudo snap install intellij-idea-community --classic

Replace intellij-idea-community with intellij-idea-ultimate for ultimate edition. And type your password (no visual feedback) when it asks.

method 3: Install the traditional .deb package via PPA to get the official Linux package and install the application shortcut automatically.

To do so, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run following commands one by one to add the PPA and install the .deb packages:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install intellij-idea-community

Also replace intellij-idea-community in the code with intellij-idea-ultimate for ultimate edition.

Uninstall:

For the snap packages, you can either remove them from Ubuntu Software, or by running command in terminal:

sudo snap remove intellij-idea-community intellij-idea-ultimate

For the PPA packages, remove them either via Synaptic package manager, or by running command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove intellij-idea-community intellij-idea-ultimate

And you can remove the PPA via “Software & Updates” utility under Other Software tab.

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PyCharm 2017.3 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: November 29, 2017

Jet Brains announced the release of PyCharm 2017.3 earlier today. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04.

PyCharm 2017.3 release highlights:

  • Performance improvements: Python indexing is twice as fast, JavaScript indexing is up to 40% faster, configuring SSH interpreters is much faster (in some cases over 100x), and more!
  • The new release makes creating and selecting Python interpreters easier.
  • A new scientific mode, which puts all the tools you need for data science at your fingertips (professional version only)
  • An all new HTTP client for those who build (REST) APIs.
  • Fully supports for Django 2.0 (professional edition only)
  • Supports running Python modules (python -m )
  • Supports for SSH config files

How to Install PyCharm 2017.3 in Ubuntu:

You can easily run the new release in Ubuntu via either:

method 1: official Linux binaries. NON-INSTALL version, just extract and run executable file to launch the IDE:

method 2 (recommended): or install the Snap package. WELL integrated with Ubuntu. Support for Ubuntu 16.04 and higher:

Simply open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for ‘terminal’ from app launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo snap install pycharm-community --classic

For sudo prompts, input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it asks and hit Enter.

For professional edition, run following command instead:

sudo snap install pycharm-professional --classic

Once installed, launch the IDE from your application launcher and enjoy!

Uninstall:

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

sudo snap remove pycharm-community pycharm-professional
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