VLC 3.0.17 Released with DAV Video Playback Support

Last updated: March 14, 2022

A new point release for VLC media player 3.0 branch, VLC 3.0.17 is out.

Without any tweak, VLC now support for playing .DAV video files, created via a DVR365 or Dahua Technology digital video recorder (DVR).

The release also features better notch support for new macbooks, adaptive streaming stack overhaul, and major codec updates.

Other changes include:

  • Add Webp image support.
  • Allow brackets in path part of URLs
  • Fix support for screen capture on macOS with avcapture
  • Improve HTTP2 memory usage, AVCapture module, AudioCD support and SMB compatibility
  • Add support for DTS LBR
  • Add support for new Fourcc for E-AC3, AV1, GeoVision
  • Fix playback of live AV1 streams
  • Support Uncompressed audio in mp4 (ISO/IEC 23003-5)
  • Third-party libraries updates and various fixes.

How to Install VLC 3.0.17 in Ubuntu:

Option 1: the official Snap package:

VLC provides official Linux package via Snap, though v3.0.17 is now in beta channel at the moment.

Ubuntu user may simply search for and install it from Ubuntu Software. It’ll update to the latest version automatically.

Option 2: Flatpak package

VLC is also available to install via the universal Flatpak package, which is now updated to v3.0.17.

Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, then run command to install Flatpak daemon:

sudo apt install flatpak

For old Ubuntu 18.04 and ubuntu 16.04 need to add this PPA first.

Next, install VLC as Flatpak via command:

flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.videolan.VLC.flatpakref

How to Remove VLC:

For VLC installed via Snap, either remove it from Ubuntu Software or run command in terminal:

sudo snap remove vlc

For the Flatpak package, run the command below in a terminal window:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.videolan.VLC

And remove unused libraries via flatpak uninstall --unused.

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How to Install Firefox ESR via PPA in Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

Last updated: March 13, 2022

This simple tutorial shows how to install the latest Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) via PPA in Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 16.04.

Firefox ESR:

Mozilla Firefox has 2 release series: Rapid and ESR. The rapid release updates every month with new features, and it’s default in Ubuntu. Firefox ESR moves slowly. It receives major updates on average every 42 weeks, but includes security fixes and policy updates as need every month.

Firefox ESR is an official version that does not come with the latest features but has the latest security and stability fixes. It is useful for business or school use, or those who don’t want to update the browser quite regularly that might break specific extension/addon.

Install Firefox ESR via PPA:

Ubuntu Mozilla Team, the packaging team for Ubuntu’s official Firefox package, maintains a PPA repository that contains the latest Firefox ESR packages for all current Ubuntu releases.

1. Add the PPA

To add the PPA, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open a terminal window. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/ppa

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

2. Refresh package cache:

Ubuntu 20.04 and higher will update the package cache automatically after adding PPA. Though, Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 18.04 need to manually run the command below to do it:

sudo apt update

3. Install Firefox ESR:

Finally, install the Firefox Extended Support Release via command:

sudo apt install firefox-esr

The ESR package won’t replace the system default Firefox package. So, you may have duplicated app icons afterwards.

Check the about page for Firefox edition and pin it into dock (left panel), or you may remove the rapid release if you don’t need it anymore.

How to Remove Firefox ESR:

To remove the Firefox package, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove firefox-esr

And run command to remove the Ubuntu PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:mozillateam/ppa

That’s all. Enjoy!

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Wine 7.4 Dev Released! Vkd3d bundle, Defauts to Light Theme

Last updated: March 12, 2022

Wine 7.4, the new development of the compatibility layer capable of running Windows apps on Linux, is out.

The new release bundled Vkd3d, 3D graphics library built on top of Vulkan, for its implementation of Direct3D 12.

Other changes include defaults to ‘Light’ theme, WineD3D, D3D12 and DXGI modules converted to PE, more large scale cleanups to support ‘long’ type. And, there more than a dozen of bug-fixes. See more here.

How to install Wine 7.4 in Ubuntu:

The official Wine repository provides the packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.10, Linux Mint 20, and their derivatives.

NOTE: Installing Wine Dev release will replace the stable package (if installed from same repository) in your system if any.

1. Enable 32 bit architecture

For modern 64-bit systems, you may first make sure the ability to install 32-bit app packages has been enabled.

To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

2. Install the key:

To make your system trust the package from Wine repository, you have to download & install the key.

It’s can be done simply by running the command below in terminal:

wget -O - https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key | sudo apt-key add -

Though the apt-key command is deprecated, it’s still working and the most efficient so far.

NOTE: The command may stuck with blinking cursor after downloading the key, if you run this command in another window or a few minutes after the last. It’s waiting for you to type password for ‘sudo’ authentication. Just type your password (no visual feedback) in mind and hit Enter.

3. Add Wine Repository:

Now in terminal window, run command to add the Wine repository (replace focal accordingly!):

sudo add-apt-repository 'deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ focal main'

NOTE: the command above is for ‘Ubuntu 20.04’ and ‘Linux Mint 20’ only!!! For other Ubuntu edition (check via lsb_release -a command), do change focal in the code with:

  • bionic for Ubuntu 18.04.
  • impish for Ubuntu 21.10.

Say you’re running Ubuntu 21.10, the command will be:

sudo add-apt-repository 'deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ impish main'

4. Install Wine 7.4:

Finally, refresh system package cache by running command:

sudo apt update

And, install Wine 7.4 via:

sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-devel

Unmet dependency is a common issue while installing Wine in Ubuntu. In my Ubuntu 20.04, I never had the issue after manually installing the following packages: 

sudo apt-get install libgnutls30:i386 libldap-2.4-2:i386 libgpg-error0:i386 libxml2:i386 libasound2-plugins:i386 libsdl2-2.0-0:i386 libfreetype6:i386 libdbus-1-3:i386 libsqlite3-0:i386

Also, you may use aptitude (install it via sudo apt install aptitude) instead to print workarounds:

sudo aptitude install winehq-devel

Uninstall Wine 7.4:

To remove the wine packages, use command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove winehq-devel

And remove the Wine repository using ‘Software & Updates‘ utility at Other Software tab.

That’s all. Enjoy!

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Blender 3.1.0 Released with Metal GPU backend, Multi-thread Support for Geometry Nodes

Last updated: March 10, 2022

The free open-source 3d modeling software, Blender released new major 3.1.0 version a day ago.

Blender 3.1.0 introduced new Metal GPU backend for the Cycles renderer, contributed by Apple. It currently works on M1 computers running macOS 12.2+, and Apple computers with AMD graphics cards running macOS 12.3 or newer.

The release also has big performance improvements to Geometry Nodes. Many nodes are now multi-threaded. Medium loads up to 10x faster. Memory usage reduced up to 100x in large fields.

Other features include:

  • Instances can now have own dynamic attributes!
  • Support for Pixar OpenSubDiv
  • Copy Global Transform add-on
  • The Fill tool now allows negative values.
  • GPU acceleration support for Subdivision modifier.
  • Faster OBJ, FBX export.
  • Image editor now handle much larger images
  • See release note for more.

How to Install Blender 3.1.0 in Ubuntu:

Method 1: Blender Snap.

The easiest way to install the latest Blender is using the Snap package. It’s official, and can be installed directly from Ubuntu Software:

Ubuntu Software sucks. It may not load apps sometimes. To workaround it, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal and run command to install the Snap package:

sudo snap install blender --classic

Method 2: Blender Linux Tarball.

For those don’t like the universal Snap package, Blender website also provides the ‘.tar.xz‘ Linux tarball.

Download Blender

After download the ‘Blender-3.1.0-linux-x64.tar.xz’ package, just extract and run the executable to launch the software. Or, you may follow this step by step guide to add app shortcut.

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Ymuse – A Cantata Alternative MPD Client for Ubuntu / Fedora Linux

Last updated: March 9, 2022

Cantata has discontinued. If you’re looking for another app for Music Player Daemon, then Ymuse is a good choice for GNOME, Xfce or other GTK based desktops.

Ymuse is a free open-source GTK front-end for Music Player Daemon, written in Go programming language. It can be used as either a player for local music playback or a client to control remote MPD, while using few resource.

As a GTK app, it looks modern in Ubuntu, Fedora, and other Linux with GNOME. It has light / dark mode that follow system color scheme. Besides the basic job that MPD client does, it also has HTTP streaming support.

Compare to Cantata, Ymuse has less features and does not load cover art embedded in audio file .

How to Install Ymuse in Ubuntu:

It’s easy to install the app via the universal Snap package. Simply search for and get it from Ubuntu Software:

Don’t like Snap? The native .deb package as well as .rpm package for Fedora based systems are available to download in Github page:

Download Ymuse (under ‘Assets’)

And, if you want to use Ymuse for local music playback, also install mpd by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal and running command:

sudo apt install mpd

The default settings are usually OK. But, you may edit the ‘/etc/mpd.conf‘ (run sudo gedit /etc/mpd.conf to edit the file) as need. See the documentation for more. Also, change the Ymuse preferences accordingly.

How to Remove Ymuse:

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

sudo snap remove ymuse

To remove the deb package, run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove ymuse
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The Qt MPD Client ‘Cantata’ Finally Discontinued

Last updated: March 6, 2022

After 10 years of development, the Qt based graphical MPD client Cantata finally discontinued.

Cantata is a free open source graphical client for MPD, features multiple MPD collections, highly customizable layout, MPRISv2 DBUS interface, Jamendo, Magnatune, SoundCloud, and Podcasts support.

The source code of the project has been archived for a period of time after version 2.4.2. By releasing Cantata 2.5.0, the developer finally announced that the development of Cantata has now ceased!

Cantata 2.5.0 removed some features that are not working, including stream providers, Google and Spotify image search, and SoundCloud support. There are also various bug-fixes and some new features:

  • Increase number of album tracks shown in context view to 500
  • Remember and restore main window position.
  • Add support for MPD’s “Partitions”
  • Allow queue to be sorted by path.
  • Add “Refresh” action to hover actions for podcasts.
  • Add Grouping tag support to playlists and play queue.

How to Get Cantata 2.5.0:

The source code is available to download at the link below until you switching to another player.

Download Cantata (source)

I’ve tried to make the release package into PPA, but with no luck! It seems that there’s bug due to code clean-up. I don’t known about C++, and the project now does not support reporting bugs anymore. So, there may be no update for Cantata 2.5.0 in my PPA.

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Kodi 19.4 Released with Various Fixes! Install it via Ubuntu PPA

Last updated: March 5, 2022

The popular Kodi media center has the first update in 2022 by releasing v19.4. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu.

The release fixed many issues in the Kodi 19 “Matrix”, including Chinese keyboard character display issue, seekbar wouldn’t disappear when pause via a remote app, EDL mute now working, flickering with interlaced H.264 SD on AMD GPUs. For Linux, it now automatically plays DVDs.

And for Xbox users, it may now passthrough audio via WASAPI, and install Python add-ons without permission issue. See release note for more about Kodi 19.4.

How to Install Kodi 19.4 in Ubuntu:

Kodi has an official Ubuntu PPA. It usually contains the latest packages for all current Ubuntu releases.

1. Add Kodi PPA.

Firstly, open terminal either by searching from the activities overview screen or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard.

When terminal opens, paste the command below into it and hit Enter to add the PPA:

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

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

2. Install / Upgrade Kodi.

If you’re now running the stock version of Kodi package in Ubuntu, the Software Updater may refuse to update it. So it’s recommended to use the command below to install or update the media player.

Firstly refresh system package cache for old Linux, e.g., Ubuntu 18.04, by running command:

sudo apt update

Next, install or upgrade Kodi via command:

sudo apt install kodi

Once installed, you may open Kodi like normal apps by searching from the overview screen. Or log out and select login via Kodi session.

The PPA also provides more audio encoder and PVR add-ons packages. Install them as you need via either apt command or synaptic package manager.

How to Downgrade:

You can purge the Ubuntu PPA as well as downgrade Kodi to the stock version available in Ubuntu main repositories. To do so, run command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:team-xbmc/ppa
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‘Getting Things GNOME’ is a Flexible ToDo list & Tasks App for Ubuntu Linux

Last updated: March 4, 2022

Looking for task manager or todo list app for Linux? ‘Getting Things GNOME’ is worth a try!

There are quite a few task managing apps for Linux desktop. ‘Getting Things GNOME’ (GTG in short) is one of the best for the GNOME desktop.

I’m using Gnome ToDo to write down what to do in next days. It’s easy to use, and has a good-looking UI that turns dark automatically according to sunrise / sunset. It’s so good until I found GTG.

GTG is attractive by the flexible tagging and searching system. User may create tags either by inserting ‘@‘ with the keyword in tasks, or using the tasks’ context menu. Each tag may have its own icon and color.

The app also supports sub-task that can be easily created either from a task’s context menu. Or, just type new line started with ‘–‘ will generate a sub-task, and that line turns blue with underline and checkbox at the beginning automatically.

GTG also features a ‘Actionable’ view tab, that shows all ‘start-able’ tasks, i.e. the start date is already over, or doesn’t have open subtasks.

Other features of ‘Gnome Things GNOME’ include:

  • Emoji support
  • Searching system (with save support)
  • Easily set start date / due date.
  • Drag & drop rearrange tasks.
  • ‘Closed’ tab for done, dismiss tasks.
  • Dark mode support.
  • Plugin support.

How to Install Getting Things GNOME:

The app is available to install as Flatpak package, which could be the only downside for those having low disk space.

Firstly, open terminal (Ubuntu may simply press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard) and run command to install flatpak daemon:

sudo apt install flatpak

Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 18.04 needs to add this PPA first before installing Flatpak.

Next, install the ToDo app via command:

flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.gnome.GTG.flatpakref

Remove Getting Things GNOME:

To remove the Flatpak package, run command after making backup of your data:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.gnome.GTG

And clear useless run-times via flatpak uninstall --unused.

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Cool Grub Boot-loader Theme Inspired by DedSec from Watch Dogs

Last updated: March 3, 2022

Boring with the poor boot menu appearance? Try the cool DedSec GRUB theme.

It’s a Grub boot-loader (defaults in most Linux) theme inspired by the fictional hacker group DedSec from Watch Dogs series video game. With it installed, you’ll get the themed background, font, icons, and so forth in the boot-screen:

How to Install DedSec Grub Theme:

The theme project is hosted on Github. User may install it either by the installer script in the source or manually by configuring Grub.

Method 1: Install DedSec theme via the script:

Firstly, search for and open terminal from start menu (Ubuntu may just press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard). When it opens, run command to grab the source:

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/vandalsoul/dedsec-grub2-theme.git

Install git if you don’t have it via sudo apt install git.

After the downloading process finished, go to the source folder:

cd dedsec-grub2-theme

Finally, run the installer and select from the 18 theme-styles to install:

sudo python3 install.py

If everything runs successfully, you’ll see the new boot-menu appearance in next boot!

Method 2: Manually Install DedSec theme:

The installer script seems to always install theme name as ‘dedsec‘. While there are 18 theme styles, you can only get one of them installed at a time.

To get them all, download the package from the link below:

Download DedSec Grub theme (check Files tab)

Extract and put the sub-folder(s) (which contains icons, background, and theme.txt file) into “/boot/grub/themes” folder.

Create ‘boot/grub/themes’ folder via sudo mkdir /boot/grub/themes if NOT exist. And open that folder via “sudo nautilus /boot/grub/themes” command as you need root permission to do drag & drop operation.

Finally, apply a Grub theme either via ‘Grub Customizer’ (available in Ubuntu Software):

or manually edit the ‘/etc/default/grub’ file via the command below:

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

Replace gedit with your favorite text editor or use xdg-open as GNOME 42 will no longer defaults to gedit. And, write new line GRUB_THEME = “PATH/TO/theme.txt”.

Changing the configuration file manually needs to update the grub via the command below:

sudo update-grub

For Fedora, the command will be:

grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/grub.cfg
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KeePassXC 2.7.0 Implements KDBX 4.1, Unlock via Windows Hello & Apple Watch

Last updated: March 1, 2022

Using KeePassXC to store your passwords? By releasing v2.7.0 (Beta at the moment), the popular password manager introduced many exciting new features!

KDBX 4.1. The new release finally implements the KDBX 4.1 which was introduced 10 months ago via KeePass 2.48. The new version of the KDBX file format features

  • assign tags to groups;
  • optional password quality estimation;
  • remember previous parent group;
  • custom icons with names and last modification/deletion times;
  • custom data items with last modification times.

Replace all crypto libraries with Botan. Due to feature list and maintainer support, the release now replaces Argon2 library with Botan on all platforms. And, the minimum requirement is Botan 2.11.0.

Quick unlock database via Windows Hello / Apple Watch. If you’re using the software in Windows 10+, then you’re able to unlock KeePassXC database easily via a PIN, facial recognition, or fingerprint. And, macOS Catalina (10.15)+ may use TouchID or Apple Watch to get access.

Security improvements. Also in Windows and macOS, the new release now make KeePassXC (main & child windows) invisible for screen recording and screen shooting. It prevents malware from looking at your screen by recording your desktop or taking screenshots.

Other changes in KeePassXC 2.7.0 (Beta) include:

  • Direct write save option, which my solve problems for cloud storage and GVFS
  • Allow to specify custom backup location & filename.
  • Add group clone action.
  • Add tag functionality.
  • Implement support for hardware keys via wireless NFC
  • Add support for OpenSSH 8.2 FIDO/U2F keys
  • Add Microsoft Edge support for Linux
  • Bulk-delete and purge unused custom icons
  • Support adding custom passphrase wordlists
  • Improve attachment handling and security
  • Add option to double-click copying some entry columns.

Download / Install KeePassXC:

As the release is in beta stage, it’s not available in the official download page so far.

However, you may download the packages for Linux, Windows, and macOS from ‘Assets‘ section via the release page:

KeePassXC Github Releases

For Linux user, grab the ‘.AppImage‘ package. Add executable permission by right-clicking and going to ‘Properties -> Permissions’. And finally run it to launch the password manager.

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