UbuntuHandbook

Cross Stitch App ‘KXStitch’ 1.1.0 Released with Enhancements & Fixes

Last updated: March 29, 2014

KXStitch, the cross stitch app for Linux, just got an update a few hours ago with enhancements, bug fixes, and translation updates.

KXStitch is a KDE/Qt based software that lets you create cross stitch patterns and charts. Patterns can be created from scratch on a user defined size of grid, which can be enlarged or reduced in size as your pattern progresses. Alternatively you can import images from many graphics formats which will allow you to reduce the number of colours and to restrict the conversion to full stitches or optionally use fractional stitches. You may also use an image as a background. These imported images can then be modified using the supplied tools to produce your final design.

Changes in KXStitch 1.1.0:

Added French translation and updated Italian, Czech and British translations
Fix to show translator name in About dialog
Improvements to print setup using template
Added page numbers to printer setup pattern elements
Added config option for pattern element selected color
Updated symbol library (140 symbols)
Scaled symbols to smaller size to fit better into grid
Limit import colors to number of symbols available
Stop adding flosses in palette manager when there are no more symbols
Display warning when insufficient symbols available loading files
Added size tooltip for selection areas
Updated handbook
Fixed merge function for pasting
Make grid line thicknesses an application setting
Set Mirror/Rotate makes copies as configurable option
Made default zoom factor configurable
Removed palette show symbols flag from document settings
Fix for bug #22 – Library pattern properties change

Install KXStitch:

Besides building this app from the source tarball, you can install the KDE build from the PPA repository.

To install from PPA, 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:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install kxstitch

So far, the PPA supports Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04 and their derivatives.

How to Install or Upgrade to Linux Kernel 3.13.7 in Ubuntu/Linux Mint

Last updated: March 24, 2014

The latest Linux Kernel 3.13.7 has been released a few hours ago, March 23, by the famous kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman.

This release brings various important improvements, such as architecture updates (ARM, PowerPC, x86 and s390), and driver updates for gpu, wireless, usb and radeon, as well as other fixes. For details, see the release note.

Install/Upgrade to Kernel 3.13.7:

Ubuntu Kernel Team has built the new kernel and you can download and install them at kernel.ubuntu.com.

If you’re familiar with Linux command line, you can also follow the steps below to download & install this kernel:

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

For 32-bit system:

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-headers-3.13.7-031307-generic_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_i386.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-headers-3.13.7-031307_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-image-3.13.7-031307-generic_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_i386.deb

For 64-bit system:

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-headers-3.13.7-031307-generic_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_amd64.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-headers-3.13.7-031307_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_all.deb

wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v3.13.7-trusty/linux-image-3.13.7-031307-generic_3.13.7-031307.201403240156_amd64.deb

2. Install them via:

sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-3.13.7-*.deb linux-image-3.13.7-*.deb

Once installed, restart your computer and done.

NOTE: Proprietary video driver may need a re-build or upgrade to get it work with the new kernel.

If for some reason this kernel release doesn’t work properly for you, reboot into previous kernel (Grub -> Advanced -> select previous kernel) and run this command to remove Linux Kernel 3.13.7:

sudo apt-get remove linux-headers-3.13.7-* linux-image-3.13.7-*

In Howtos Linux Kernel, Linux Kernel 3.13 series, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Change An Application Icon in Ubuntu Unity [Tips]

Last updated: March 23, 2014

This quick tutorial is going to show beginners how to changes an application icon in Ubuntu Unity. It’ll work on Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.04 and future Ubuntu releases if Unity still to be the default desktop environment.

In Unity Desktop, application launchers are actually files stored in your computer, with a ‘.desktop’ extension. So besides changing the icon theme, you can edit the ‘.desktop’ to change the launcher icon for an specific application.

Below are the steps to change the application icon, Firefox Web browser as example, in Ubuntu 13.10 Unity:

1. Edit the ‘firefox.desktop’

The ‘.desktop’ files are usually stored in “/usr/share/applications/”. For some applications that are installed in user’s directory, you may find the .desktop files in “~/.local/share/applications/” directory.

To edit the firefox.desktop, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run:

cd /usr/share/applications

sudo gedit firefox.desktop

It will navigate to /usr/share/applications/ directory and open the firefox.desktop file via gedit editor. You can run ls |more to list all available files in that directory.

2. Change the value of Icon

In gedit window, scroll down to find out the line that starts with “Icon=” and change its value to the exact path to your NEW icon file. The image is usually .png file in 64×64 or 128×128.

3. After saved the changes, open the unity dash and search the launcher and see the result:

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos Change Application Icon, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04

Install Shotwell 0.18 in Ubuntu 13.10 or Linux Mint 16

Last updated: March 20, 2014

Yorba Team has announced the 0.18 release of its shotwell photo manager recently with various bug fixes and translation updates.

According to the release note, Shotwell 0.18 contains below changes:

Tumblr publishing fixed
Fixed resource leak when importing videos
Improved searching for event comments and diacritics
Various bug fixes
Compile and install translated help files
Updated translations

Install Shotwell:

Yorba’s Stable PPA only provides the update for Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy. To install it, 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:yorba/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install shotwell

For Ubuntu 14.04 and Ubuntu 12.10, besides building it from the source code. You can use the Yorba’s Daily build PPA.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yorba/daily-builds

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install shotwell

NOTE: As the Daily PPA’s description says, “This PPA contains daily builds of Yorba’s software, including Shotwell Photo Manager and Geary. Because these builds correspond to the current state of the development source tree, they are untested and highly volatile. Us it at your own risk!”

In Howtos shotwell, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 14.04

Install NetBeans IDE 8.0 in Ubuntu 14.04/13.10/12.04

Last updated: March 19, 2014

NetBeans IDE 8.0 was finally released on March 18, 2014, which provides out-of-the-box code analyzers and editors for working with the latest Java 8 technologies.

Besides the Java 8 support, the IDE also has a range of new enhancements that further improve its support for Maven and Java EE with PrimeFaces; new tools for HTML5, in particular for AngularJS; and improvements to PHP and C/C++ support. See the release note for more details.

Install NetBeans IDE 8.0:

1. Download the installer:

NetBeans IDE 8.0 works better and faster with JDK distribution, so you can download the oracle’s Co-bundled package from the links below. You may check your OS type 32-bit (x86) or 64 bit (x64) via System Settings -> Details.

Download the Linux x86 or x64 package

You can also download the other bundles at netbeans.org/downloads/.

2. Give executable permission.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the command below to make the installer executable.

chmod +x ~/Downloads/jdk-8-nb-8-linux-*.sh

You may change the file name “jdk-8-nb-8-linux-*.sh” in the code to yours, also do this in next command.

3. Start the installer:

In the terminal run:

cd ~/Downloads && ./jdk-8-nb-8-linux-*.sh

This will bring up the install wizard. Just follow it and you’ll finally get the NetBeans IDE 8 installed on your system.

(Optional) To uninstall the IDE, run ./uninstall.sh in the install directory.

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos NetBeans IDE, NetBeans IDE Ubuntu Installation, Ubuntu 14.04

Install Cuttlefish in Ubuntu 14.04 or Ubuntu 13.10

Last updated: March 16, 2014

Cuttlefish is a simple tool, which realises reflexes on your computer by executing actions when specific events are triggered. You can configure the tool in such way that cuttlefish can for example change your default printer according to the currently connected wireless network. You can also lock/unlock your computer, when a specific USB device is dis/reconnected.

Install:
The cuttlefish is available in Ubuntu 12.04 Precise’s repository. If you want to install this app on Ubuntu 14.04 or Ubuntu 13.10, besides building from source, you can use my PPA which contains the latest build released in December 2013.

Changes in 13.12 release:

Fixed activate/deactivate reflex not show options.
Fixed bug in start/stop application.
Removed dependencies on launchpad
Added default null logger
Added local directory for finding plugins during development
Fixed help and about menu items
Made dialogs popup centered on main window
Changed to mono-icon for indicator
Some bug fixes

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

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install cuttlefish

For the source code, go to code.launchpad.net/cuttlefish

In Howtos Cuttlefish Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.04

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Default Wallpapers Available For Download

Last updated: March 13, 2014

The default wallpapers of Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr LTS are now available for download in launchpad.net. There are the classic purple background and other 11 wallpapers from the wallpaper contest.

Ubuntu 14.04 default background:

Download the original picture

The other wallpapers:

Download all the 11 wallpapers at launchpad.net (ubuntu-wallpapers-trusty_*_all.deb under the trusty tahr section).

In News Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.04 Wallpapers

Install Nuvola Cloud Music Player 2.3.1 in Ubuntu

Last updated: March 11, 2014

Nuvola cloud music player gets a new release days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.10, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint and other derivatives.

As you may know, Nuvola Player is a desktop app that integrates Google Music, Bandcamp, Deezer, Grooveshark, Hype Machine, 8tracks, Pandora, Rdio and Amazon Cloud Player. Version 2.3.1 was release on March 09, 2014 with following fixes:

Google Play settings are applied settings instantly.
Fixed occasional JavaScript crashes. (Closes: LP:1263705)
Google Play: Remove broken feature Hide Google+ buttons. The developer have given up fixing.
Google Play: fixed pause action (Closes: LP:1282346)
Imported translations.

Install Nuvola Player:

Ubuntu, Linux Mint and their derivatives can easily install this player from the developer’s PPA. Just 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:nuvola-player-builders/stable

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install nuvolaplayer

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos Nuvola Cloud Player, Ubuntu 14.04

95 Beautiful Images From Ubuntu 14.04 Wallpaper Contest

Last updated: March 4, 2014

Here are some beautiful images from the Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr Wallpaper Contest.

The atareao team has built these images into the PPA. You can download the .tar.gz package and get all the pictures in its data folder, or install the .deb which will save all the wallpapers into /usr/share/backgrounds/, the default location for Ubuntu Wallpapers.

Below are a few of them:

To download these images, go to the link below and scroll down and click the line that says “trusty-tahr-wallpaper-contest – 0.0.1-0extras14.04.0“.

Download Ubuntu 14.04 Wallaper Contest

In Unity Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.04 Wallpapers

Ubuntu 14.04 Beta 1 Builds Are Available to Download

Last updated: February 28, 2014

The first set of beta builds of Ubuntu 14.04 are now available for download in 8 different ‘flavors’, including:

Kubuntu 14.04 Beta 1
Ubuntu GNOME 14.04 Beta 1
Xubuntu 14.04 beta 1
Lubuntu 14.04 beta 1
Edubuntu 14.04 beta 1
Ubuntu Kylin 14.04 beta 1
Ubuntu Cloud 14.04 beta 1
Ubuntu Studio 14.04 beta 1

According to the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS release schedule, the next beta will be released on March 27th. After the Release Candidate (April 10th), the Ubuntu 14.04 final release will be available on April 17th.

Download Ubuntu 14.04 Beta 1: