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The First Point Release Ubuntu 18.04.1 Available to Download

Last updated: July 27, 2018

Ubuntu 18.04

The first point release of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS was finally released.

Except for Ubuntu 18.04.1 Desktop, Server, and Cloud, Ubuntu Budgie 18.04.1 LTS, Kubuntu 18.04.1 LTS, Ubuntu MATE 18.04.1 LTS, Lubuntu 18.04.1 LTS, Ubuntu Kylin 18.04.1 LTS, and Xubuntu 18.04.1 LTS are also now available.

Ubuntu 18.04.1 come with updated Kernel and hardware support, many sever and cloud related fixes, installation and upgrade bug-fixes, and desktop fixes that include:

  • Make audio work on Lenovo machines with dual audio codecs
  • Upgrade Gnome Shell, GDM, and some other core apps to 3.28.2
  • Fix login fails (blank purple screen and mouse pointer only)
  • Ubuntu Software improvements for Snap packages.
  • New thunderbolt panel in System Settings (under Devices)
  • And see the change summary for details.

How to get Ubuntu 18.04.1:

For Ubuntu 18.04 users, simply launch Software Updater and install all system updates will bring you to Ubuntu 18.04.1.

For Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 17.10 users, see the official how to upgrade documentation.

For the iso images, go to http://releases.ubuntu.com/bionic/

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PyCharm 2018.2 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: July 26, 2018

PyCharm python IDE 2018.2 was released yesterday. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04.

PyCharm 2018.2 release highlights:

  • Fully supports pipenv: easily create projects with pipenv, create a pipfile, and have PyCharm update it for you when you install packages.
  • Improved support for pytest: code completion and inspections are now support for pytest fixtures.
  • Redesigned quick documentation for easy use and better look.

See the feature video for more about PyCharm 2018.2:

How to Install PyCharm 2018.2 in Ubuntu:

It’s quite easy to install the latest PyCharm in Ubuntu since JetBrains offers the official snap packages in snap store.

Simply open Ubuntu Software and search for PyCharm. You’ll see the community, professional, and educational packages are available.

You can also install the software by running command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

snap install pycharm-community

For professional version, replace pycharm-community with pycharm-professional in command.

Note for Ubuntu 16.04 users first time installing a snap package, make sure if the snapd is installed via command:

sudo apt install snapd snapd-xdg-open

In Howtos, News ,
 

Sigil 0.9.10 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: June 18, 2021

Sigil epub ebook editor 0.9.10 was released earlier today with new features and various bug-fixes.

According to the changelog.txt, Sigil 0.9.10 adds following new features:

  • allow plugins to supply their own icon (plugin.png 48×48) for use on the Quick Launch Toolbar icons
  • extend plugin interface to include the status of the epub inside Sigil (modified or saved)
  • extend plugin interface to include the path to the saved epub file or the null string if never saved
  • extend Insert->Special Characters to include both a Greek letter panel and a mathematical symbol panel
  • add support for calibre:series and calibre:series_index to Metadata Editor for epub2
  • add support for calibre:title_sort to Metadata Editor for epub2
  • add support for clicking internal links in Preview to load the proper destination tab
  • add support for loading Qt’s base translation files if present. Allows buttons on native qt dialogs to be translated (Windows users may need to manually copy newer qtbase_xx.qm files to Sigil’s translation directory if they didn’t exist in Qt5.6.2)
  • allow user to add custom css rules to Preview/Book View by creating a file called “custom_preview_style.css” in the Sigil preferences folder (not responsible for custom css and ebook css fighting with each other)

There are also various bugs fixed in the release, see changelog file for details in Sigil github page.

How to Install Sigil 0.9.10 in Ubuntu:

The new release can be easily installed in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Linux Mint 19/18 via PPA (unofficial) repository.

1. Open terminal by either 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:ubuntuhandbook1/sigil

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

2. Then you can upgrade Sigil editor from an existing release via Software Updater:

Or install /upgrade Sigil via commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install sigil

Uninstall:

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

To remove Sigil epub editor, either use system package manager or run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove sigil sigil-data
In Howtos, News
 

Liferea News Feed Reader 1.12.4 Released (How to Install)

Last updated: July 24, 2018

Liferea (Linux Feed Reader) 1.12.4 was released a day ago. The new release brings smaller bug and security fixes.

Changes in Liferea 1.12.4 include:

  • Add installable plugin to change accels
  • Fix segfault on date out of range
  • Fix Free Music Archive link in default OPMLs
  • Switch from persistent to session-only cookies
  • Fix unread count of vfolder
  • Add etra keywords in .desktop file (syndication; rss; atom)
  • Fix updating counters for remote sources
  • Updated cookie usage hint in FAQ

How to Install Liferea 1.12.4 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Linux Mint 19, 18.x, the new release is available in a third-party PPA repository.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

Type your password (no asterisks feedback while typing) when it prompts 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

Finally launch the news reader from your application launcher and enjoy! (Log out and log back if you don’t see the icon).

Uninstall Liferea:

As the PPA also contains many other software packages, you may remove it by launching Software & Updates and navigating to Other Software tab.

If you want to remove the news reader software, either use your system package manager or run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove liferea
In Howtos, News ,
 

MPV Media Player 0.29.0 Released

Last updated: July 27, 2018

MPV media player, an open-source fork of mplayer2 and mplayer, reached 0.29.0 release with numerous changes.

MPV 0.29 now requires FFmpeg 4.0 or newer, and it features:

  • ao/openal: Add better sample format and channel layout selection
  • ao/openal: Add support for direct channels output
  • cocoa-cb: initial implementation via opengl-cb API
  • context_drm_egl: Introduce 30bpp support (requires Mesa 18.0.0_rc4 or later)
  • osx: add some more menu bar items as suggested by Apples’s HIG
  • vo_gpu: make screenshots use the GL renderer
  • x11: support Shift+TAB as an input key bind
  • ytdl_hook: support native dash demuxer, if present
  • ao_alsa, ao_pulse: reduce requested buffer size
  • audio: change format negotiation, remove channel remix fudging
  • client API: deprecate opengl-cb API and introduce a replacement API
  • demux: lower demuxer cache default sizes from 400MB/400MB to 50MB/150MB
  • osx: always deactivate the early opengl flush on macOS
  • scripting: change when/how player waits for scripts being loaded
  • vo_gpu: various improvements to HDR peak detection
  • vo_gpu: various improvements to HDR tone mapping
  • wayland_common: update to stable xdg-shell
  • ytdl_hook: parse youtube playlist urls to set start index if --ytdl-raw-option=yes-playlist= is specified
  • build: drop support for SDL1 (only applied to ao_sdl)

There are also many new command options, bug fixes and minor enhancements.

While no Ubuntu packages available at the moment, you may download the source and see more details at the link below:

UPDATE: This PPA now includes MPV 0.29 for Ubuntu 18.04.

Simply open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run following commands one by one to add the PPA and install mpv 0.29 in Ubuntu 18.04:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mc3man/mpv-tests

sudo apt-get install mpv
In News
 

Install PowerShell Easily via Snap in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: July 21, 2018

Microsoft PowerShell Core now can be easily installed in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04 via Snap package.

PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language.

It was announced on MSDN blogs:

    “The goal of PowerShell Core is to be the ubiquitous language for managing your assets in the hybrid cloud. That’s why we’ve worked to make it available on many operating systems, architectures, and flavors of Linux, macOS, and Windows as possible.

    Today, we’re happy to announce an addition to our support matrix: PowerShell Core is now available as a Snap package.“

How to Install PowerShell in Ubuntu via Snap:

Snap packages are containerized applications that can be installed on many Linux distributions. Snap bundles its dependencies in a single package and updates itself automatically once new version is published.

To install PowerShell snap, open Ubuntu Software, search for and install PowerShell Core:

or open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and install it by running command:

snap install powershell --classic

NOTE for Ubuntu 16.04 users first time installing a snap package, install snapd before getting started:

sudo apt install snapd snapd-xdg-open

In Howtos, News
 

Ubuntu 17.10 Reached End of Its Life

Last updated: July 20, 2018

Ubuntu 17.10 Artful Aardvark reached end of life on July 19 2018. It was announced last night:

“This is a follow-up to the End of Life warning sent earlier this month to confirm that as of today (July 19, 2018), Ubuntu 17.10 is no longer supported. No more package updates will be accepted to 17.10, and it will be archived to old-releases.ubuntu.com in the coming weeks.

The original End of Life warning follows, with upgrade instructions:

Ubuntu announced its 17.10 (Artful Aardvark) release almost 9 months ago, on October 19, 2017. As a non-LTS release, 17.10 has a 9-month support cycle and, as such, the support period is now nearing its
end and Ubuntu 17.10 will reach end of life on Thursday, July 19th.

At that time, Ubuntu Security Notices will no longer include information or updated packages for Ubuntu 17.10.“

Users of Ubuntu 17.10 are recommended to upgrade to Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. Before following the official documentation, you need to first make backups, uninstall proprietary drivers, purge third-party PPAs.

And it’s always a good choice to do a fresh install of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

In Howtos, News
 

MusicBrainz Picard 2.0 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: July 19, 2018

MusicBrainz Picard 2.0 stable was released today many fixes and new features and much needed upgrades!

MusicBrainz Picard 2.0 release highlights:

  • Add Retina and Hi-DPI display support.
  • Add DSF file support
  • Add keyboard shortcut for deleting scripts from options > scripting page
  • Support only 64 bit Picard builds from 2.0
  • Update dependencies minimal requirements: Python 3.5, PyQt 5.7, and Mutagen 1.37.
  • And numerous bug-fixes, UI and performance improvements.

How to Install MusicBrainz Picard 2.0 in Ubuntu:

The official PPA has built the music tagger for Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04, and Ubuntu 18.10.

1. Launch terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or searching for ‘terminal’ from software launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:musicbrainz-developers/stable

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

2. If a previous version was installed, upgrade the software via Software Updater:

or run following commands one by one in terminal to install or upgrade to MusicBrainz Picard 2.0:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install picard

Uninstall:

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

To remove MusicBrainz Picard music tagger, run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove picard
In Howtos, News , ,
 

TeXstudio 2.12.10 Released, How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: July 6, 2018

Full featured LaTeX editor TeXstudio 2.12.10 was released silently today. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 16.04, and/or Ubuntu 14.04.

No release note, no changelog. I can only find following words about TeXstudio 2.12.10:

  • bug fixes
  • fix structure view with Qt >5.10

How to Install TeXstudio 2.12.10 in Ubuntu:

There’s a PPA repository contains the latest TeXstudio packages for all current Ubuntu releases. You can do following steps to add the repository and install the latest TeXstudio.

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sunderme/texstudio

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

2. If you’ve installed the distro’s build of TeXstudio from Ubuntu Software, you may first remove the doc, debug packages via command:

sudo apt-get remove texstudio-d*

3. Finally run commands one by one in terminal to install (or upgrade) the software:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install texstudio

Uninstall:

To remove the editor, run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove texstudio

And launch Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software tab to remove PPAs.

In Howtos, News ,
 

GIMP Image Editor 2.10.4 Released (Ubuntu PPA)

Last updated: July 27, 2018

The second point release for GIMP 2.10 was released a day ago with new features and various bug-fixes.

GIMP 2.10.4 release highlights:

  • Add simple horizon straightening option in the Measure tool
  • Asynchronous fonts loading to improve startup time.
  • Add fonts tagging support.
  • Add new features to the Dashboard dockable dialog that help debugging or finetune the use of cache and swap.
  • Load PSD file saved with “Maximize Compatibility” option enabled in Photoshop.
  • Improved Recursive Transform operation, allow multiple transformations to be applied simultaneously

How to Install GIMP 2.10.4 in Ubuntu:

The best way to install the latest GIMP in Ubuntu is using the otto-kesselgulasch’s PPA, as the PPA maintainer promised the PPA will never die and the most recent packages will for ever be.

The PPA contains the most recent packages for Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 17.10, though GIMP 2.10.4 is not available at the moment (there are always one or two days delay).

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

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

Type your password (no visual feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. After added the PPA, you can upgrade to GIMP 2.10.4 once it’s published via Software Updater (Update Manager):

Or run following commands one by one in terminal to install or upgrade GIMP image editor:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gimp

How to Restore:

For any reason, you can downgrade to the stock version of GIMP by running following command in terminal to purge the PPA:

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

In addition to Ubuntu 16.04 users who want to install the latest GIMP 2.10.4, run following commands one by one to install the flatpak app:

1. Run commands to install Flatpak framework in Ubuntu 16.04:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexlarsson/flatpak

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install flatpak

2. Install GIMP flatpak application via command:

flatpak install https://flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.gimp.GIMP.flatpakref

Once installed, it will be made available exactly the same way as other applications.

In Howtos, News