For notepad++ fans, there’s a free open-source project that reimplement the text editor with native Linux support!
It’s Notepad Next, a C++ application uses Qt5 toolkit for its user interface. Compare to Notepadqq (another Notepad++ like editor), this app looks almost same to Notepad++.
And it’s a cross-platform app that not only supports for Linux, but also works Windows and MacOS.
Install Notepad Next:
I’m not a programmer and don’t even use Notepad++, so I can’t tell how it different to this original Windows app. Just try it out yourself:
NOTE: Though the application overall is stable and usable, it should not be considered safe for critically important work.
This simple tutorial shows how to replace the default Snap Store (Ubuntu Software or App Center) with Gnome Software with Flatpak support in Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
Many applications today publish Linux packages via Flatpak. However, Ubuntu’s software center (aka Snap Store, now renamed to App Center in 24.04) does not support this universal package format.
If you like, Gnome Software can be a good alternative which has both Snap and Flatpak as well as Deb packages support.
Install Flatpak apps via Gnome Software
(Optional) Step 1: Remove Snap Store
If you don’t need the default snap store, removing it will free up more than 100 MB memory.
To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, and run command:
sudo snap remove --purge snap-store
You may also follow this guide to completely remove Snap and prevent Ubuntu from automatically installing them back.
Remove the default Ubuntu Software (Snap Store)
Step 2: Install Gnome Software
Also in terminal window (press Ctrl+Alt+T to open one), run the command below to install Gnome Software as well as Flatpak support:
Ubuntu seems to be a little bit self-centered. Without --install-suggests flag, it installs with Canonical’s Snap support but not for Flatpak.
Install Gnome Software
Step 3: Add Flathub repository
The previous command will also install the Flatpak daemon package if you don’t have it. But, it does not add the Flathub.org repository, the best place to get Flatpak apps.
Now you may press Windows (Super) key on keyboard, then search for and open Gnome Software to install apps in Deb, Snap, Flatpak, and use “Software Install” context menu option to install local files in the 3 formats.
Gnome Software original app icon
The app window looks almost same to the Ubuntu Software (Snap Store) but the icon does not.
If you want, edit the app shortcut file by running command in terminal:
For Ubuntu 24.04, replace gedit with gnome-text editor. When the file opens, set software-center (or app-center for Ubuntu 24.04)as value for “Icon“. You may also change the value of “Name” which displays as text in search result.
After saving the file, re-search it again from the overview screen to see the magic:
How to Restore:
For any reason, you can easily remove the Gnome Software app using command:
sudo apt remove --autoremove gnome-software
And install back the original Ubuntu Software via command:
Ubuntu is distributing more applications as the universal Snap package, but some users don’t like them. So I’m writing this tutorial for those want to completely get rid of Snap and prevent it from being installed back.
NOTE 1: Before getting started, please backup your app data, e.g., Firefox bookmarks. Attention that Ubuntu Software and App Center will also be removed after following this tutorial. NOTE 2: This tutorial is tested and works in Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 24.04. It should also work on official flavors, e.g, XUbuntu, KUbuntu, etc.
Step 1. Remove Snap apps and the Daemon
Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open a terminal window. When it opens, run the commands below one by one.
1.) List all installed snap applications:
snap list
They are by default Snap Store (Ubuntu Software), Firefox, default theme, and few core packages.
2.) Remove the apps one by one, Firefox and Snap-store go first, then theme package, gnome platform (in sandbox), and finally base packages and snapd daemon. NOTE: the package names may vary depends on “snap list” output.
sudo snap remove --purge firefox
sudo snap remove --purge snap-store
sudo snap remove --purge gnome-3-38-2004
Also run snap remove command to remove “gtk-common-themes”, “snapd-desktop-integration”, “bare”, “core20”, and finally “snapd”.
3.) Finally remove the Snap daemon package via apt:
sudo apt remove --autoremove snapd
Step 2. Block Snap package
After completely removed snap packages, you may prevent Ubuntu from installing them back by settings low priority for the Snapd package. Here’s how to do the trick inspired by the way Linux Mint 20 did.
1.) Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the command below to create and open a configuration file:
sudo gedit /etc/apt/preferences.d/nosnap.pref
For Ubuntu 24.04, replace gedit with gnome-text-editor. For non-GNOME desktop, use your system text editor or nano (Ctrl+S to save, and Ctrl+X to exit) that works for all.
When the file opens, paste lines below to tell refuse snapd from any repository:
# To prevent repository packages from triggering the installation of snap,
# this file forbids snapd from being installed by APT.
Package: snapd
Pin: release a=*
Pin-Priority: -10
2. After save the file, refresh package cache via command:
sudo apt update
Now, whenever you try to installed a Snap package or the daemon, it outputs either unmet dependencies (snapd) or package has no installation candidate.
How to Restore:
If you change your mind, run the commands below at any time will install back the Snap apps.
Firstly, run command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) to unblock the daemon:
sudo rm /etc/apt/preferences.d/nosnap.pref
Then, install Ubuntu Software via command:
sudo snap install snap-store
And install Firefox as snap if you want by running command:
To run Microsoft Windows applications in Ubuntu Linux, Wine or CrossOver (paid version) is a good choice. And here’s how to install and use Wine in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04, and Ubuntu 20.04
In this tutorial, you’ll see 2 ways to install Wine in Ubuntu. Choose either one that you prefer.
NOTE: NOT all Windows apps can install & run through Wine. See this page for the list of apps compatible with Wine.
Option 1: Install Wine from Ubuntu repository:
Ubuntu included Wine package in its own repository, though it’s old. User may simply press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal and run command to install it:
Finally, you may right-click on an EXE file to run via “Wine Windows Program Loader” option:
Option 2: Install Latest Wine 10.0 from its official repository:
The Wine developer team provides an official apt repository for Debian/Ubuntu based systems. Now the repository contains Wine 10.0 stable, and the new Dev versions.
The repository so far supports Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 24.04! It also works for Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 18.04, but old versions will be installed (Wine 5.0.3 for 16.04, and Wine 8.0.1 for 18.04).
1. Install Wine key
The repository now has updated with new method to install the key to follow Debian policy, as apt-key is deprecated. However, it’s still ASCII-armored key so far.
Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, create the directory for storing the keys:
sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
Then, run the single command to download the key, dearmor, and move to “/etc/apt/keyrings” directory:
NOTE: This command is for Ubuntu only. “$(lsb_release -sc)” returns system’s code-name. For Linux Mint and other Ubuntu based system, replace it with jammy (22.04), focal (20.04), or noble (24.04) depends on which Ubuntu edition your system is based on.
If you don’t know which Ubuntu edition your system is based on, run cat /etc/os-release to tell through UBUNTU_CODENAME section.
3. Update cache
Before installing any package from that repository, you need to refresh system cache by running command in terminal:
sudo apt update
4. Install Wine:
The Wine repository provides three Wine packages:
winehq-stable – the stable version (v10.0 so far)
winehq-devel – the latest development release.
winehq-staging – the testing version with patches applied on top of the corresponding wine-devel
Select install one of the packages by running command below in terminal:
To install the stable edition use command:
sudo apt install winehq-stable
Install wine development release via:
sudo apt install winehq-devel
Or install wine-staging via command:
sudo apt install winehq-staging
NOTE: It does not re-build old packages for new Linux systems. winehq-stable so far is not available for Ubuntu 22.04, since the new LTS is released after wine stable 7.0. User may wait for the next stable release (v7.0.1 or v8.0).
After installation, right-click on your EXE file and start it via Wine program loader option. See if your app works with wine.
How to Remove Wine:
1. To remove the Wine package, simply open terminal and run commands:
There will be local configuration files and app data left under .wine and .local/share/applications. They are hidden folders, press Ctrl+H in file manager to toggle display and remove them as you want.
2. To remove the Wine repository, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:
sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq-*.sources
And remove the repository key via command:
sudo rm /etc/apt/keyrings/winehq-archive.key
Finally apply changes by running sudo apt update to refresh system package cache.
As you may know, GNOME 42 adopted Microsoft RDP protocol for its built-in remote desktop feature. Ubuntu 22.04 Beta previously excluded it because of the bug due to mixed Gnome-control-center and Gnome-remote-desktop versions.
In recent updates, this feature is finally back. Users may now easily remote access to Ubuntu 22.04 desktop with the more secure and MS Windows friendly protocol.
Remote Ubuntu 22.04 desktop from Windows 11
Enable Remote Desktop in Ubuntu 22.04
1. Firstly, open system settings (Gnome Control Center) from the system tray menu.
2. Then navigate to ‘Sharing’ from left, and turn on the toggle icon on right-corner of app header. You can finally click “Remote Desktop” to enable the function and configure user, password, etc.
In my case, the first connection does not work until I re-start the remote-desktop service by running command (press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal):
For laptop user, there could be a quite annoying issue that the ‘Airplane Mode’ automatically turns on when lid closed, or when the screen is tilted sideways.
For HP laptops running Ubuntu, Fedora, or other Linux using systemd, there’s a workaround by mapping the HP e057 and e058 scancodes to 240 (no-op key). So it won’t automatically turn on Airplane Mode, while the option in ‘Wi-Fi’ settings and fn + F12 key combination still function.
NOTE: This tutorial is tested and works in my Ubuntu 22.04 on HP 246 laptop. It may or may not work in your machine.
1. Create service to remap the scancode:
1.) Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command to create a service file and edit via Gedit text editor:
Depends on your desktop environment, replace gedit in command with your system text editor (e.g., gnome-text-editor for Ubuntu 22.10+/Fedora workstation), or use nano command line editor that works in most Linux. When file opens, paste below lines and save it.
JetBrains announced the 2022.1 release of its PyCharm IDE few days ago. Here’s how to install in Ubuntu in different ways.
What’s New in PyCharm 2022.1
This is the first release of the IDE in 2022. Release highlights include (see release note for details):
Basic http authentication support for custom package repositories
Enhanced code completion for TypedDict
Improved TypedDict per-key warnings
Run commands directly from Markdown files
New Copy code snippet for Markdown.
Code cells remain in Edit mode after execution (Pro)
Optimized cell copy-pasting (Pro)
MongoDB: Editing fields in results (Pro)
New Services UI for Docker (Pro)
How to Install PyCharm 2022.1 in Ubuntu Linux
Method 1: Snap package
JetBrains provides official package for Ubuntu users through the Snap which runs in sandbox. Ubuntu user may just search for and install it from Ubuntu Software:
For choice, you may also press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard and run commands below to install it:
sudo snap install pycharm-community --classic
And you may replace pycharm-community with pycharm-professional in command for pro edition.
Method 2: Flatpak package
The IDE is also available to install as Flatpak, another universal package runs in sandbox.
1. First press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard and run command to install Flatpak daemon:
sudo apt install flatpak
2. Next, install the Python IDE as Flatpak using command:
Want to play some nature sounds or ambient noise on Linux? Blanket is a really good choice with a stylish user interface.
As far as know, there are 2 good open-source applications in Linux for playing ambient sounds. They are ‘Blanket‘ who has a good design on its UI, and ‘Anoise‘ which has many more cool sounds but looks ugly.
For Ubuntu 22.04, Fedora 36 or Arch Linux user with GNOME 42, Blanket looks more native because of the dark mode support and GTK4 + libadwaita port.
As you see in the picture, it can play some nature sounds including Rain, Storm, Wind, Waves, Stream, Birdsong, Summer Night, as well as a few travels, coffee shop, and other noises.
The app starts playing either by clicking on a sound icon or moving the volume control slider. It supports multiple sounds playback. All playing sound icons are highlighted. By clicking on the icons can mute/un-mute them, though there’s a global start/stop button in the top-left.
Though it has only more than a dozen of sounds, there’s “Add Custom Sounds” button in the bottom to add your own sounds. And, it supports presets and can run in background and control via the Clock menu button.
Install Blanket in Ubuntu & other Linux:
Method 1: Install Blanket via universal Flatpak
The app is available to install as Flatpak for most Linux. Just follow the official setup guide.
For Ubuntu, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal and run command to install the daemon:
This simple tutorial shows how to install Google Earth Pro or Enterprise Client in Ubuntu 22.04 step by step.
Today we can use Google Earth easily in web browser or mobile phone. For those still need a desktop app, Google’s official apt repository provides the .deb packages for Debian/Ubuntu Linux.
1. Setup the key:
To add the Google Earth repository, you need to first install the key so your Ubuntu will trust the package from that repository.
To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal and run the command below:
This is a single command that download the key file, dearmor it, and install as ‘earth.gpg’ file under ‘/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d’ to follow the new Debian policy.
In case the command STUCK at blinking cursor, type user password (no visual feedback) and hit Enter for sudo authentication. And it should finally output un-readable messy code.
2. Add Google Earth repository:
After setup the key, run the command below will add the Google Earth apt repository into your system:
This command will create google.list file under ‘/etc/apt/sources.list.d’ directory, and write the line “deb [arch=amd64] http://… main” (without quotes) into that file.
3. Install Google Earth
Finally, refresh system package cache via command:
sudo apt update
And, then install the application by running command:
sudo apt install google-earth-pro-stable
You may replace google-earth-pro with google-earth-ec for Enterprise Client
After installation, search for and launch it from ‘Activities’ overview screen and enjoy!
Remove Google Earth and its repository
After installed the package, it setup the apt repository again so you’ll get duplicated warning next time you run apt update.
To fix it, launch “Software & Updates” and remove one of the sources under “Other Software” tab.
Or remove all of them if you don’t want to get updates from the repository any more.
And to remove the Google Earth package, run the command below in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):
For Linux users want to configure the boot menu screen, Grub Customizer is always a good choice for beginners.
I’ve written quite a few tutorials about the default boot-loader, which is called Grub, including set default OS to boot, install themes, add kernel parameters for hibernate, custom screen resolution, etc. All of them can be done via Grub-Customizer besides editing the configuration file.
Grub Customizer – Set default entry, menu visibility, & Kernel parameters
Why Grub Customizer Removed from Ubuntu Repository:
Grub Customizer is removed from Ubuntu 22.04 repository due to its broken logic issue. See this bug for details
However, there are some customizations that are apparently not doable by simply editing the existing configuration scripts. For those, the program moves all existing conf scripts out of the way, and instead installs “proxy scripts” written in a custom language that basically filter the output of the original scripts…
In general, Grub Customizer works for what it does, but it has logic issue about how it do the customizations that might cause issues (especially for upgrading system). So Ubuntu developer team remove the package from the universe repository.
How to Install Grub Customizer via PPA in Ubuntu 22.04/24.04
The software developer has updated the app claimed that the bug mentioned above has been fixed. And, the package has been published in its official Ubuntu PPA.
1. Add Grub Customizer PPA
Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the command below to add the PPA:
Type user password when it asks (no asterisk feedback), then hit Enter to continue.
2. Add Grub Customizer PPA
After adding the PPA, you may run the apt command to install the tool in Ubuntu:
sudo apt install grub-customizer
NOTE: For Ubuntu based system, it may need to run sudo apt update to update package cache first.
Once installed, click on top-left ‘Activities‘ then search for and open the tool.
Configuring boot menu requires root (administrator) permission, so it will ask for password authentication on app start.
In the first tab, you may edit the text to display, add, remove, and/or re-arrange the menu entries.
For dual-boot or multi-boot machine, it’s possible to select which entry as default under General settings page. There are as well menu visibility and kernel parameters options (see the first screenshot).
Just like editing ‘/etc/default/grub‘ files, the bottom-right ‘advanced settings‘ button adds ability to add/edit/remove more rules.
And, ‘Appearance settings’ page offers options to configure text font, background, themes etc. Though, I prefer to install themes directly via source tarball (find Grub Themes here).
After configuration, remember to click ‘save‘ button to apply changes. That’s all.
