UbuntuHandbook

Remove Guest Session From Ubuntu 14.04 Login Screen

Last updated: November 6, 2014

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS is Out! One of the first things to do after upgraded to or installed the Trusty Tahr is disable the Guest Session. Here I’ll show you how.

In Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty, the configuration files for LightDM has been moved to /usr/share/lightdm directory. I could only guess that the previous location “/etc/lightdm” is in preparation for giving the login option of logging in to a Unity 8 preview session running on Mir/Xmir.

Anyhow, you can follow the below steps to remove Guest Session in Ubuntu 14.04:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the command below to edit the config file:

gksudo gedit /usr/share/lightdm/lightdm.conf.d/50-ubuntu.conf

Type in your user password when it asks. You may need to install gksu first from Ubuntu Software Center.

2. When the file opens, add this line in the end of file and save it.

allow-guest=false

That’s it. Guest Login will disappeared at next boot.

In Howtos remove guest session, Ubuntu 14.04

Install Grub Customizer in Ubuntu 14.04 to Manage Your Grub Bootloader

Last updated: April 18, 2014

Grub Customizer is a graphical tool for managing the Grub boot entries in Ubuntu Linux.

With it, you can set the default OS, add/remove boot entries, change boot order, set an background image, and more.

This simple tutorial is going to show you how to install the Grub Customizer in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr from the developer’s PPA.

To get started:

press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, paste the commands below and run one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install grub-customizer

Once done, you’re able to open this tool from the Unity Dash or application menu. Enjoy!

In Howtos grub customizer, Ubuntu 14.04

Minimize Application Window on Click For Ubuntu 14.04 Unity Launcher

Last updated: April 18, 2014

One of my favorite Unity features was that we can click on an Unity Launcher icon to minimize an opened application window.

The feature was last supported in Ubuntu 12.04 Precise LTS. Now it comes back in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty LTS and here is how to enable it.

Once screencast is enough:

To get started:

Search for and install compizconfig settings manager via Ubuntu Software Center. Or install it via terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) command:
```
sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager
```
Open CCSM from Unity Dash.
Click “Ubuntu Unity Plugin” and then navigate to the Launcher tab.
Enable “Minimize Single Window Applications (Unsupported)” by check the box after that line

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos Minimize on click, Ubuntu 14.04

Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr Is Out!

Last updated: April 17, 2014

Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr, the Long-Term Support release finally is out!

Here’s a summary of the most obvious changes in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (zdnet.com):

Choice of application menu position
Application click-to-minimise from the Launcher
A wider range of scale for launcher icons – from 16 to 64 pixels
Appearance improvements for very high-resolution displays
Anti-aliased corners on windows
Borderless windows
New language status icon in the top menu bar
Harmonised appearance for the lock screen
System Settings (GNOME Control Centre) replaced by Unity Control Centre
Linux kernel incremented to version 3.13
Multi-task filtering by text input (see our 14.04 beta preview)
Opening a guest session triggers a ‘changes are temporary’ warning
Since Ubuntu One is to close in June, 14.04 will not support Ubuntu One File Services
First time for Ubuntu community flavours (Edbuntu, Kubuntu et al) to also be approved for LTS status
New Upstart — its last outing before Ubuntu switches to systemd

Download Ubuntu 14.04:

releases.ubuntu.com/trusty

Links:

In News Ubuntu 14.04

Install SMPlayer 14.3 in Ubuntu 14.04 to Play Blu-ray Discs

Last updated: April 17, 2014

SMPlayer, the graphical front-end of MPlayer, now is able to play non-protected blu-ray discs since release 14.3.0. While Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty still has the version 0.8.x, here’s how to install the latest build of this media player in Ubuntu via the PPA.

Changes in SMPlayer 14.3:

The control for fullscreen mode has been rewritten and improved. Now it is displayed over the video.
(Windows) New option in Preferences -> Subtitles to enable or disable the use of the Windows font directory. Disabling this option prevents the annoying font scanning.
Some presets have been added to the audio equalizer.
(Experimental) Possibility to play (non-protected) blu-ray discs.
Better support for multimedia keys. This can help control SMPlayer with a remote control.
New option in the playlist preferences for adding automatically other files in the folder to the playlist.
The option “Move the window when the video area is dragged” has been fixed.
(Windows) Now it’s possible to open Windows shortcuts (symlinks).
Better support for Youtube.
(Windows) Better screensaver disabling.
Many bugfixes.
Possibility to compile with Qt 5.

Install SMPlayer:

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rvm/smplayer 

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt-get install smplayer smtube smplayer-themes smplayer-skins

It will install the media player, skins, themes, and the YouTube Browser in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.10, or Ubuntu 12.04.

In Howtos Play Blu-ray, SMPlayer, Ubuntu 14.04

LiVES Video Editor 2.2.3 Released, Ubuntu PPA’s Ready

Last updated: April 15, 2014

LiVES, an open source video editor and DJ tool, has released version 2.2.3 with bug fixes and translation updates.

LiVES is designed to be simple to use, yet powerful. It is small in size, yet it has many advanced features.

The application allows the user to manipulate video in realtime and in non-realtime. The application also has features which go beyond traditional video editing applications – for example, it can be controlled and monitored remotely over a network, and it has facilities for streaming to and from another copy of LiVES. It is resolution and frame rate independent.

LiVES uses a system of plugins for effects, decoders, encoders and video playback. The APIs for these are now well defined, and the application can be easily extended.

LiVES 2.2.3 changelog:

Run data processing plugins in both video and audio threads.
Fix crash when loading device map (regression).
Fix bug which prevented audio changes from being recorded when audio analysers are running.
Updates for gtk+ >= 3.8.
Define HAVE_AVFORMAT_FIND_STREAM_INFO in decplugin/Makefile.am
Workaround for missing av_set_pts_info() in libav.
Fix to handle changed option order in ffmpeg.
Updated translations to Russian, Piemontese, Uk English, Spanish and Ukranian.

Install LiVES in Ubuntu:

Besides building from the source tarball. Ubuntu users can install this video editing system from PPA. To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. Then run the commands below one by one:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/lives

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt-get install lives

Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10 and Ubuntu 12.04 are supported.

LiVES Video Editor Homepage.

In Howtos LiVES, LiVES Video Editor PPA, Ubuntu 14.04

Enable SSH in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

Last updated: April 15, 2014

This simple tutorial is going to show you how to enable Secure Shell (SSH) service in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr.

Secure Shell (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol for secure data communication, remote command-line login, remote command execution, and other secure network services between two networked computers.

SSH is not enabled by default in Ubuntu, but you can easily enable this service via OpenSSH, a free version of the SSH connectivity tools developed by the OpenBSD Project.

To do so, run the command below in terminal:

sudo apt-get install openssh-server

Or install the openssh-server package via Ubuntu Software Center if you’re on Desktop edition:

Once installed, you can change the port, disable root login and do other changes by editing the config file:

sudo gedit /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Finally restart the ssh server to take place:

sudo /etc/init.d/ssh restart

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos ssh, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Enable DVD Playback in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: May 19, 2014

Want to play DVDs on your Ubuntu Desktop? Well, Ubuntu can’t play DVDs out of the box for a whole tangle of legal reasons. But you can follow this tutorial to enable DVD playback in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr.

1. Buy Fluendo DVD Player:

Fluendo DVD Player is a software application specially designed to reproduce DVD on Linux/Unix platforms, which provides end users with high quality standards.

The following features are provided:

Full DVD Playback
DVD Menu support
Fullscreen support
Dolby Digital pass-through
Dolby Digital 5.1 output and stereo downmixing support
Resume from last position support
Subtitle support
Audio selection support
Multiple Angles support
Support for encrypted discs
Multiregion, works in all regions
Multiple video deinterlacing algorithms

The Ubuntu Software Center sells Fluendo DVD Player for $24.95:

2. Enable DVD Playback in Ubuntu:

Don’t want to pay? Thanks to the open-source software libdvdread, it provides the library to read DVDs in Ubuntu Linux.

To install it, open Ubuntu Software Center and search for and install the package libdvdread4 and libdvdnav4.

After that, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run:

sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh

This script will allow you to play encrypted DVDs in Ubuntu.

UPDATE: Since Medibuntu is no longer available, you have to install libdvdcss2 repository manually. Download it from the link below:

32 bit libdvdcss2

64 bit libdvdcss2

Once installed, you’ll be able to playback and navigate DVD menus in most video applications, including the default Totem and VLC.

In Howtos enable DVD playback, play encrypted DVD, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Install Nvidia Driver 331.67 in Ubuntu 14.04/12.04

Last updated: April 13, 2014

Nvidia driver 331.67 for Linux has been released which brings new GPUs support and a few bug fixes. This tutorial will show you how to install this proprietary driver in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty and Ubuntu 12.04 Precise.

Nvidia 331.67 release highlights:

Added support for the following GPUs:
- GeForce GT 705
- GeForce GT 720
- GeForce GTX 860M
- GeForce GTX 870M
- GeForce GTX 880M
- GeForce GTX TITAN Black
Fixed a bug that could lead to crashes when running Left 4 Dead 2 with threaded optimizations enabled.
Updated the makefile for the NVIDIA kernel module to work around a bug in older versions of GNU Make that prevented the NVIDIA kernel module from building correctly. This bug was fixed in version 3.81 of GNU Make.
Fixed a bug that causes some X clients to be disconnected from the X server when the screen is resized while RandR 1.4 display offloading is in use.
Fixed a bug that could cause display corruption when resuming from suspend on systems using RandR 1.4 display offloading with recent Linux kernels.
Added support for Tridelity SL stereo mode.
Fixed a bug that could cause nvidia-settings to crash or display incorrect information after switching virtual terminals while a color correction confirmation countdown was active.

Install Nvidia 331.67:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below to remove the previous driver:

sudo apt-get purge nvidia*; sudo apt-get install nvidia-331-updates-dev

2. Restart your computer. Go to Software & Updates -> Additional drivers and switch to recommended open-source driver.

3. Download Nvidia 331.67 for:

32 bit Linux

64 bit Linux

32 bit ARM

4. Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 (or F2 ~ F6) key combination on your keyboard to switch to command console and login. Stop the graphic session by running the appropriate command below:

sudo service lightdm stop ## For the default LightDM

sudo service gdm stop ## For the Gnome GDM

sudo service mdm stop ## For the Linux Mint default MDM

5. Now give executable permission and start the installer, and finally follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

chmod +x ~/Downloads/NVIDIA-Linux-*-331.67.run && sudo sh ~/Downloads/NVIDIA-Linux-*-331.67.run

Tips: You may keep the installer file so that you can remove this driver via below command if for some reason this driver does not work properly:

sudo sh ~/Downloads/NVIDIA-Linux-*-331.67.run --uninstall

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos Nvidia Driver, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04

Reset Unity and Compiz Settings in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: June 26, 2014

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to reset unity and compiz if you messed up your Unity desktop in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr. All you need to do is run two commands in a terminal window.

Don’t be scared if you’re not comfortable with Linux commands. Just copy the code via Ctrl+C, then paste it into the terminal via Ctrl+Shift+V and finally hit Enter to run.

To get started, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open a terminal window. When it opens, run the below command to reset Unity and Compiz settings: