Want to do performance test on your graphics card? Here I’m going to introduce some for you that work on Linux desktop.

Benchmark or stress test is a way to measure your hardware performance, tell if it’s working the way it should be, and compare with other devices.

When you got a new device, installed new drivers, or changed some configuration options, you may do the performance test on the device. And, here are some tools for benchmarking GPU in Linux.

Continue Reading…

Want to see frames per second (FPS), as well as CPU, GPU, RAM usage in your game screen? Here’s how to do the job in Debian, Ubuntu, and Linux Mint based systems.

Most Linux distributions include a free open-source mangohud package in their system repositories. Which, allows to add a Vulkan and OpenGL overlay for monitoring FPS, temperatures, CPU/GPU load and more while gaming.

And, here’s how to install and configure mangohud for gaming in Debian/Ubuntu based systems.

Continue Reading…

This tutorial shows how to downgrade and lock (prevent automatic & manual update) Flatpak app packages in Ubuntu and other Linux.

Flatpak is an universal Linux package format that runs in sandbox environment. Many popular applications (e.g., Firefox, GIMP, OBS Studio) provide official Linux packages through Flatpak, and Flathub repository hosts tons of app packages in this format.

I’ve written many tutorials that include how to install a Flatpak package. Here I’m going to show you how to downgrade a Flatpak app, as you know new releases may sometimes have regressions or remove features that you prefer.

Continue Reading…

GIMP, the popular free open-source image editor, announced the first release candidate for the next major 3.0 version on Wednesday.

So, what exactly is a “release candidate” (RC)? A release candidate is something that might be ready to be GIMP 3.0, but we want the larger community to test it first and report any problems they find.

According to the announcement, it’s time to try it out for those who are interested in the new release.

Continue Reading…

This tutorial shows how to install and configure AnyDesk for remote desktop access in Ubuntu 24.04 and Ubuntu 24.10.

AnyDesk is a popular remote desktop application works in Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It features full remote access, file manager and file transfer, chat, VPN, wake-on-lan, and more.

For Debian, Ubuntu, and Linux Mint based systems, AnyDesk is available to install through either way below:

  • native .deb package, and apt repository to keep it up-to-date.
  • Flatpak package – runs in sandbox, maintained by open-source community.

Both so far supports only amd64 (Intel/AMD) CPU architecture types.

Continue Reading…

How to Add PATH Variables in Ubuntu 24.04

Last updated: November 4, 2024 — Leave a comment

This tutorial shows how to configure PATH environment variables. Though title said for Ubuntu 24.04, it works in most Linux systems.

PATH specifies the directories in which the executable files of programs are located on the system. Without knowing or typing the full path to the file, just type the app name in the command line, then your system will look into the path directories and run the first that matches.

For example, type firefox in command line will run /usr/bin/firefox to launch Firefox web browser in Ubuntu, Fedora, and other Linux that use the browser as default.

Continue Reading…

The popular free open-source Audacity audio editor announced new 3.7.0 release few days ago!

Unlike v3.5.0 or v3.6.0, this is NOT a feature release but maintenance updates with many bug-fixes and performance improvements. While, the developers are working on next major Audacity 4.0.

The new release improved contrast in the light theme. Which, fixed the issue that the focus border was hard to discern as it was blue against a blue-based background.

To not make disabled and neurodivergent people uncomfortable while they use Audacity, it renamed the word “Insane” in the Quality drop-down menu in the Export Audio dialog with “Excessive“.


Continue Reading…

This tutorial shows how to install and setup howdy to get Windows Hello™ style authentication in Ubuntu 24.04 and Ubuntu 24.10.

Howdy is a free open-source Python program, that can use your built-in IR emitters and camera in combination with facial recognition to prove who you are.

With it, you will no longer need to type password anymore for login, un-lock screen, sudo commands, or launching apps that need root permission (e.g., Grub Customizer and Synaptic).

Continue Reading…

Disable Mouse Side Buttons in Ubuntu 24.04

Last updated: November 27, 2024 — Leave a comment

This tutorial shows how to disable your mouse forward/backward buttons in Ubuntu. Though the title said for Ubuntu 24.04, this tutorial should also work in most modern Linux, such as Debian, Fedora, and Arch.

Many mouses today have extra buttons on the side, allowing to navigate forward and back when working with web browsers, file explorers, etc applications.

If you don’t like the side-buttons, like me, then you can disable them in Linux.

Without using third-party apps (e.g., input-remapper), here I’m going to show you how to do the job by creating an udev rule that works in most Linux on both Xorg and Wayland sessions.

A Mouse with side buttons

Continue Reading…

This tutorial shows how to install and use CoolerControl to control your CPU or graphics card fan speed in Ubuntu desktop computer or laptop.

I’ve written about how to control fan speed for Thinkpad laptops. But for those who are looking for how to do the job for NVIDIA/AMD GPUs and other laptops, then try CoolerControl.

CoolerControl is a free open-source feature-rich cooling device control application written in Python programming language.

It depends on Hwmon kernel drivers and liquidctl to access and control supported hardware, including Thinkpads, some ASUS and HP laptops, as well as most NVIDIA and AMD GPUs.

CoolerControl user interface

Continue Reading…