UbuntuHandbook

Install App Grid – Lightweight Alternative to Ubuntu Software Center

Last updated: July 31, 2014

App Grid is an Ubuntu Software Center alternative that aims to be lightweight, fast, clean and simple.

Every day we use USC (Ubuntu Software Center) to install, remove, buy, and manage applications, but it works really slow and freezes frequently in my old laptop.

App Grid provides a clean and simple interface and delivers stunning startup speed, and swift reactions throughout. It has almost all features that USC provides: install, launch, remove button, screenshots, a short description along with user comments, Ubuntu One login and more.

Install App Grid in Ubuntu:

This project provides an official PPA for Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 14.04, and Ubuntu 12.04.

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:appgrid/stable

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install appgrid

If you don’t want to add the PPA, grab the .deb package directly from Launchpad Page.

In Howtos Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu Software Center Alternative

Get Digital TV Guide in Ubuntu with TV-Browser

Last updated: April 23, 2024

TV-browser is a free and open-source app which gets the daily TV program from the internet and shows it clearly arranged – like a printed TV guide. An internet connection is only necessary during the data update. It provides more than 1000 TV stations and 100 radio channels.

TV-browser works on Windows, Linux, MacOS, OS/2 with Java runtime minimum version 6.0. And, its features include:

Electronic TV guide
More than 1000 (mostly German and European) TV stations
More than 100 radio channels
Remote control of hard- and software
Extensible with plug-ins
Configurable with skins, icon sets and many options

The latest release at the moment of writing is ersion 4.2.7. According to the release note in its website. It’s a bug-fix release, also include a feature that it will now automatically keep Reminders for programs for which the start time has changed by a couple of minutes during a data update.

Install TV-browser in Ubuntu:

The app is easy to install in Ubuntu now, since it provides an official .deb package for Debian and Ubuntu users.

To download it, just go to the link below:

Download TV Browser

Select the latest version, then click download the package with .deb extension.

After downloaded the package, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open up a terminal window, then use the command below to install it:

sudo apt install drag'n'drop-deb-file-here

Once installed, search for and launch it from either start menu or GNOME’s overview screen. And, first time launching the app, you need to follow the wizard to download plugins that you need.

Uninstall TV-Browser

To uninstall the software package, also open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove tvbrowser

In Howtos Digital TV Guide, Ubuntu 14.04

Install Speed Dreams Racing Simulator 2.1 in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: April 4, 2019

Speed Dreams, an open source motorsport simulation and racing game, now is at v2.1 with new physics engine, more cars and tracks.

Speed Dreams is initially forked from TORCS, it has now reached a clearly higher realism level in visual and physics simulation, thanks to its active development team and growing community.

Features:

3D real-time motorsport simulator for gamers and researchers
Accurate physics targeting maximum possible realism
High Quality graphics
Many more cars and tracks available from the community
2 first class AI opponents for thrilling races
Fully open to any research, study or teaching work (physics, AI, graphics, …)
Support for many input devices (keyboard, joypad, joystick, wheel/pedal …)
Runs under Windows and Linuxes (WIP on Mac OS X)

According to the announcement, the 2.1 release includes a new physics engine (V4), with a choice of 33 cars from ‘Super-cars’, 1930’s racers and high speed ‘open-wheelers’. There are 25 tracks including Grand-Prix circuits, road courses and stadium ovals. Practice sessions let you hone your skills before competing in a Quick Race, Challenge Race or a ‘full-on’ Endurance Race.

Install Speed Dreams 2.1 in Ubuntu 14.04:

The 2.1 release is available in Playdeb repository for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and Linux Mint 17. Follow below steps to install it:

1. Add Playdeb repository:

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

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.getdeb.net/ubuntu trusty-getdeb games"

wget -q -O- http://archive.getdeb.net/getdeb-archive.key | sudo apt-key add -

2. Open Synaptic Package Manager (install it from Software Center), then do:

Click Reload button to update package lists.
Search speed-dreams in the Quick filter box.
Right click on the results and select “Mark for installation”
Finally click the green check mark button to apply changes

If you don’t want to add the repository, you can grab the Speed Dreams related packages from ~~THIS PAGE~~.

In Howtos speed dreams, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Mount Partitions Automatically on Start Up in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: July 26, 2014

This quick tutorial will show you how to make your Ubuntu mount partitions automatically on start up.

1. Search and open Disks utility from Unity dash.

2. When it opens, choose the hard disk and highlight the partition your want to mount automatically. Then click the gear icon and select “Edit Mount Options…”

3. In next window do:

Turn on “Automatic Mount Options”
Due to bug, un-check “Show in user interface”. Also leave “Display Name, Icon Name, Symbolic Icon Name” empty.
(Optional) Edit Mount Point, usually we can use “/mnt/xxx” or “/media/USER_NAME/xxx” or “/media/xxx”.
Filesystem Type: find it in the above picture.

Re-do previous steps on other partitions and done!

In Howtos auto mount, Ubuntu 14.04

Ubuntu 14.04: How to Change Drives Name in Nautilus File Browser

Last updated: July 26, 2014

This quick tutorial is going to show you how to change the display name of drives, partitions (under Devices) in the left pane of Nautilus file browser.

Besides Ubuntu 14.04, I have 4 other partitions in my laptop. However, the Nautilus file manager only displays them as “x GB Volume” and I was always annoyed to find out which is which!

See the result first:

Before

After

How to fix it by changing drive label:

1. First make sure all the drives under Devices are unmounted in Nautilus file browser.

2. Search for and install Gparted in Ubuntu Software Center.

3. Launch Gparted. When it opens, do below one by one:

Right click on a drive/partition and choose Label
On pop-up dialog box, give a name.
Click the green check mark button to apply changes.

Re-do step 3 on other partitions and done.

In Howtos drive name, Ubuntu 14.04

Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS Is Available For Download

Last updated: July 25, 2014

The first point release, Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS (Long-Term-Support) for its Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products, as well as other flavors, has been announced just a few hours ago.

José Antonio Rey said in the release note:

As usual, this point release includes many updates, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates and corrections for other high-impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

Download Ubuntu 14.04.1 and its flavors:

Ubuntu 14.04.1: http://releases.ubuntu.com/trusty/

Edubuntu 14.04.1: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/trusty/release/

Kubuntu 14.04.1: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/trusty/release/

Lubuntu 14.04.1: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/trusty/release/

Mythbuntu 14.04.1: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/mythbuntu/releases/trusty/release/

Ubuntu Gnome 14.04.1: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-gnome/releases/trusty/release/

Ubuntu Kylin 14.04.1: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntukylin/releases/trusty/release/

UbuntuStudio 14.04.01: cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/trusty/release/

Xubuntu 14.04: cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/trusty/release/

Users of Ubuntu 12.04 will soon be offered an automatic upgrade to 14.04.1 via Update Manager. If you’re running on Ubuntu 14.04, regular update via Software Updater will bring you to this point release.

via: fridge.ubuntu.com

In News Ubuntu 14.04

Remove Shutdown / Log Out Confirm Dialog Box in Ubuntu 14.04/14.10

Last updated: July 24, 2014

Every time you click the Shutdown option in Ubuntu Unity, it pops up a dialog box that asks for your confirmation whether to shutdown or not.

If you find this is annoying, this quick tutorial will show you how to disable the Shutdown and Log Out confirmation dialog box.

1. Search and launch the dconf Editor from Unity dash.

2. Navigate to apps -> indicator-session.

3. Check the value box after “suppress-logout-restart-shutdown”

After that, you’ll see Restart option available in system menu and all shutdown, restart or log out options will be implemented immediately without confirmation when you click on one of them.

Remove Confirmation Dialog Box When you’re at Login Screen:

Previous steps will not work if you are logged out and try to shutdown or restart your computer at the Unity Greeter (LightDM login screen).

To make it work, you need to start dconf Editor with lightdm user privilege:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run below command and type in your user password to get the root (super user) privilege:

sudo -i

2. After that, in this terminal window run command to allow user lightdm to create a connection to the X server:

xhost +SI:localuser:lightdm

3. Next switch to user lightdm in this terminal window:

su lightdm -s /bin/bash

4. Finally launch dconf Editor and do the changes:

dconf-editor

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos shutdown confirmation, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.10

Nomacs 2.0 Released, Available in PPA for Ubuntu 14.10/14.04/12.04

Last updated: July 23, 2014

Nomacs image viewer has finally reached v2.0 with plugins support and other new features. It’s available in its official PPA for Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 14.04, and Ubuntu 12.04.

Nomacs is small, fast image viewer that handles the most common image formats including RAW images. Additionally it is possible to synchronize multiple viewers. A synchronization of viewers running on the same computer or via LAN is possible. It allows to compare images and spot the differences (e.g. schemes of architects to show the progress).

Nomacs features:

VIEWING: most common formats (including RAW), thumbnail preview, framless view, slideshow, and more.
EDITING: crop, resize, rotate, drag and drop images, color adjustments, multi page TIFF export, and more.
SYNCHRONIZATION: synchronize multiple instances.

See the video about the viewer:

New features in Nomacs 2.0:

nomacs now supports plugins (windows only for now)
Recent Files/Folders on start-up
Threaded file loading/saving
UPnP support that allows for detecting nomacs in WLAN networks
Remote control via WLAN/LAN
Fading for fullscreen/slideshow
Option for syncing all actions
Auto file updating (without locks)
Full exif support on linux (fixes issue #192)
White list to automatically connect with your computers
Gamma correction on down sampling (fixes #322)
New (improved) cacher
Improvements in the Thumbnail Preview

Install Nomacs 2.0 in Ubuntu:

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:nomacs/stable

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install nomacs

The above will add the nomacs stable PPA and install the latest packages in your system.

Don’t like Ubuntu PPAs? Grab the .deb package directly from the Launchpad Page.

In Howtos nomacs image viewer, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.10

Rhythmbox Cover Art Browser Plugin 2.0 Available For Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: July 22, 2014

Cover art browser plugin v2.0 for the pre-installed Rhythmbox music player was finally announced by the developer, available for Ubuntu 14.04 and later.

For the uninitiated, the CoverArt Browser plugin for Rhythmbox allows you to find, play and queue both albums & individual tracks through various views:

Tile-View – a grid like view completely customisable – you can have a iTunes like layout, xnoise or any other media player grid layout.
Flow-View – swipe through your albums using different types of flows
Artist-View – list all album-artists graphically and find their albums
Music Library View – deep integration with standard rhythmbox – move to the Track-based layout and back to the other views in the same way via a toolbar menu (“…”)
Play Queue View – new to this release, further deeper integration – move to the Play Queue to see what you have manually queued.

Taken together, you no longer need the side-pane – press F9 to hide and enjoy the increased screen-space to view and play your albums.

Single click has improved in this release – play – pause – add albums with one click. For detailed changes, see the link at the end of post.

Install Cover Art Plugin 2.0 in Ubuntu 14.04:

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:fossfreedom/rhythmbox-plugins

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install rhythmbox-plugin-coverart-browser

The above will add the developer’s PPA, and install the cover art browser as well as CoverArt search providers from it.

Once installed, re-open the Rhythmbox player and enable the two plugins from Tools -> Plugins …

Enjoy!

via: xpressubuntu

In Howtos Cover Art plugin for rhythmbox, rhythmbox, Ubuntu 14.04

Linux RSS Reader ‘Liferea’ Updates with Improvements [PPA]

Last updated: July 21, 2014

Liferea, a free feed reader for Linux desktop, has updated to v1.10.10 with various bug fixes and improvements.

Liferea is an abbreviation for Linux Feed Reader. It is a news aggregator for online news feeds. It supports a number of different feed formats including RSS/RDF, CDF and Atom. There are many other news readers available, but these others are not available for Linux or require many extra libraries to be installed. Liferea tries to fill this gap by creating a fast, easy to use, easy to install news aggregator for GTK/GNOME.

Distinguishing Features:

Read articles when offline.
Synchronizes with InoReader (git master)
Synchronizes with Reedah (git master)
Synchronizes with TheOldReader (since 1.10)
Synchronizes with TinyTinyRSS (since 1.8)
Permanently save headlines in news bins.
Match items using search folders.
Play Podcasts in Liferea

What’s New in latest Liferea 1.10.10:

Fixed: RTL comments appear incorrectly (reported by yaronf)
Fixes: No notifications for Tiny Tiny RSS feeds
minimize to tray (Ubuntu 14.04 get back tray icon: PPA)
Fixed tab/space mix
Enlarge search folder dialog to 640×400 to avoid scrolling
…

Install Liferea 1.10.10 via PPA:

The latest release available in PPA for Ubuntu 14.04 and Ubuntu 12.04.