August 2012 ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

August 2012

Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal Community Wallpapers Revealed

Author: Andrew | Date: August 31, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: community wallpapers, Quantal Quetzal, ubuntu, wallpapers

The package that comes with the winning wallpapers for the Quantal wallpaper contest has just uploaded to the Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal repositories.

Here are the 12 winning wallpapers:

Install ADB And Fastboot Android Tools In Ubuntu Via PPA

Author: Andrew | Date: August 29, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: android, cli, linux, ubuntu

A package called "android-tools", which comes with "adb" and "fastboot" command line utilities, has been uploaded to the Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal repositories recently. I've got a request to upload this package in a PPA for older Ubuntu releases, so I've backported it to Ubuntu 12.04, 11.10 and 11.04.

Quickly Open Large PDF Files Even On Slow Machines With MuPDF

Author: Andrew | Date: August 29, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: android, iOS, linux, mupdf, pdf, ubuntu, windows

MuPDF is a small and fast PDF viewer that can quickly open large PDF files, even on slow computers.

Install GIMP 2.8.2 In Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

Author: Andrew | Date: August 28, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: gimp, image editor, linux, ubuntu

GIMP 2.8.2 has been released a few days ago with lots of bug fixes, but without any new features.

Ubuntu Alternate CDs Could Be Dropped For 12.10

Author: Andrew | Date: August 28, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: cd, linux, Quantal Quetzal, ubuntu

Steve Langasek, Ubuntu release manager, has proposed on the Ubuntu-devel mailing list to drop the alternate CDs for Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal.

Install PowerTOP 2.1 In Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin Via PPA

Author: Andrew | Date: August 28, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: battery, cli, laptop, linux, powertop, ubuntu

PowerTOP is a command line tool that helps diagnose issues with power consumption and provides suggestions on how to improve power usage.

Audio Tag Editor `Puddletag` 1.0.0 Stable Released

Author: Andrew | Date: August 22, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: linux, music, music tags, puddletag, ubuntu

Puddletag is an awesome Mp3tag-like audio tag editor for Linux which uses a spreadsheet layout so the tags are always visible, making it easy to edit them.

gThumb 3.0.2 Available For Ubuntu 12.04 And 11.10 (PPA)

Author: Andrew | Date: August 21, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: gthumb, image editor, linux, photo manager, ubuntu

gThumb is an image organizer/viewer that can export images to PicasaWeb, Facebook, Flickr or Photobucket, comes with some basic image editing features such as cropping, resizing, rotation, image enhancing, has video support, can import images from digital camera and many other cool features.

Greybird, The Default Xubuntu Theme Gets A Complete Makeover For Xubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal

Author: Andrew | Date: August 21, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: eyecandy, gnome 3, greybird, linux, Quantal Quetzal, themes, ubuntu, xfce, xubuntu

Greybird, the default Xubuntu theme, has got a complete makeover for Xubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal, thanks to the great work of Satya and Simon from the Shimmer project.

Get HDMI Working With Nvidia Optimus On Ubuntu By Using Bumblebee And Synergy

Author: Andrew | Date: August 21, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: hardware, hdmi, linux, nvidia, optimus, ubuntu, video

HDMI doesn't work with Optimus hybrid graphics chipsets under Linux for most laptops, even if you use Bumblebee, but there is a way to get HDMI to work: by using a separate session.

Unity: Dash Gets A Cool New Previews Feature [Video] - Ubuntu 12.10 Development

Author: Andrew | Date: August 17, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: dash, linux, previews, Quantal Quetzal, ubuntu, unity

A cool new feature has landed in the Unity Staging PPA, for Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal: previews in Dash.

With the new "previews" feature, you'll be able to right click applications or files in Dash to get a preview, along with some extra information which depends on the item you've right clicked.

Tomdroid 0.7 Beta Adds Support For Creating And Editing Notes, More [Android]

Author: Andrew | Date: August 17, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: android, linux, notes, tomboy, tomdroid, ubuntu

The stable Tomdroid, an application compatible with Tomboy Notes that you can use to sync notes between your desktop computer and Android device, works in read-only mode for now so you can only read the notes created on your computer, but you can't edit them or create new notes.

But there's some good news. Tomdroid 0.7 beta was released recently, adding support for editing and creating new notes along with other new features. The new beta version isn't available on the Android market (Google Play), but you can download the apk from Launchpad.

How To Get Encrypted Blu-Rays Working In VLC

Author: Andrew | Date: August 16, 2012 | View Comments

With a small tweak, the latest VLC 2.0.x should be able to play most Blu-rays released before 2012 (it doesn't work for Blu-rays that use BD+).

So here's what you must do to get encrypted Blu-ray discs working with VLC 2.0.x in Ubuntu 12.04 and newer.

reNIX: A Squared, Android Like GTK3 Theme Compatible With Unity And GNOME Shell

Author: Andrew | Date: August 15, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: eyecandy, gnome shell, linux, themes, ubuntu

reNIX is an interesting Android like GTK theme that uses a squared Metacity theme and is compatible with both Unity and GNOME Shell.

Get Up To 20GB Of Extra Free UbuntuOne Cloud Storage By Inviting Your Friends

Author: Andrew | Date: August 15, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: cloud, linux, sync, ubuntu, ubuntu one

Ubuntu One is a cloud service similar to Dropbox, SpiderOak and so on, which allows users to store files online and sync them between computers and mobile devices. The service comes with clients for Ubuntu, Windows, Android and iOS.

Canonical has announced the Ubuntu One referrals program today, through which Ubuntu One users can get up to 20GB of extra storage space by inviting friends to join Ubuntu One.

Unity 2D No Longer Installed By Default, Removed From The Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal Repositories

Author: Andrew | Date: August 15, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: linux, Quantal Quetzal, ubuntu, unity, unity 2D

According to the latest "ubuntu-meta" package update from the Ubuntu Quantal Quetzal repositories, Unity 2D will no longer be installed by default in Ubuntu 12.10, and Unity 2D users are being transitioned to the Unity 3D session, just like it was discussed at UDS-Q.

Further more, the latest Unity package, uploaded to the Ubuntu Quantal repositories a few hours ago, uses a "dummy" Unity-2D package, so Unity 2D is no longer available in the repositories and won't be installable at all in Quantal.

Ubuntu users without graphical acceleration will be able to use Unity 3D thanks to llvmpipe, so there will be no fallback session anymore and Unity will look the same for all users.

How To Install Dropbox In Xubuntu And Get Thunar Integration (Xfce)

Author: Andrew | Date: August 13, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: cloud, dropbox, linux, sync, thunar, xfce, xubuntu

The Ubuntu deb package available for download via the official Dropbox website requires Nautilus. But if you're using Xubuntu (Xfce), you'll probably want to use Dropbox with Thunar, the default file manager, instead of Nautilus.

So here's how to install Dropbox in Xubuntu/Xfce without Nautilus and get some basic Thunar integration (you won't get file emblems, but you'll get options to browse the file on the Dropbox website, get shareable link and view previous revisions, like in the screenshot above).

Fix Dell XPS 13 Backlight Brightness Not Adjustable And Trackpad Not Working Properly In Ubuntu 12.04 Or 12.10

Author: Andrew | Date: August 12, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: fix, kernel, laptops, linux, ubuntu

Sputnik Kernel PPA is an official Canonical Hardware Enablement Team PPA that provides an updated Linux Kernel which fixes some Dell XPS 13 laptop issues on Ubuntu:

Ubuntu Tweak 0.7.3 Adds Support For Linux Mint 13 And Ubuntu 12.10

Author: Andrew | Date: August 12, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: linux, linux mint, tweak, ubuntu, ubuntu tweak

Ubuntu Tweak is a tool that lets you configure various aspects of the Ubuntu / Linux Mint desktop: change the GTK / icon theme, Unity settings, LightDM settings, clean up application cache, it comes with an Unity quicklist editor, a PPA source center and more.

Use Wallpaper Clocks, Live Earth Wallpaper In Ubuntu With Slidewall

Author: Andrew | Date: August 11, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: linux, ubuntu, wallpaper changer, wallpaper clocks, wallpapers

Slidewall is a wallpaper changer that comes with some interesting features: besides allowing you to use all images in a folder as a wallpaper slideshow, the application supports live wallpapers: live earth wallpaper, wallpaper clocks and more.

According to its PPA description, the application was especially created for Unity, but it should work with GNOME Classic / GNOME Shell too. It's also worth mentioning that Slidewall always starts minimized which is a bit confusing and might make you think it doesn't start - but it does, just look for its icon in the launcher.

qBittorrent 3.0.0 Released

Author: Andrew | Date: August 10, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: bittorrent, linux, macosx, qbittorrent, ubuntu, windows

qBittorrent is a cross-platform BitTorrent client that comes with an integrated search engine, web interface, sequential download support, bandwidth scheduler, RSS support and other useful features.

Use Facebook From The Command Line With fbcmd

Author: Andrew | Date: August 10, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: cli, facebook, linux, macosx, ubuntu, windows

fbcmd is a cross-platform tool that lets you use Facebook from the command line. It supports posting a status, uploading photos, creating albums, listing profile information for friends, display events or your stream, share links and lots more.

Insync: Google Drive Client For Linux (Beta 2 Released, DEB And RPM Packages Available For Download)

Author: Andrew | Date: August 09, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: cloud, google drive, insync, linux, sync, ubuntu

Insync is a Google Drive client for Mac, Windows and mobile devices that recently got support for Linux (beta).

Besides full sync support for Google's cloud storage service, Google Drive, which includes Google documents (unlike Grive) that it downloads as .doc, .xls, .ppt, etc., Insync for Linux also comes with Nautilus integration, tray / Ubuntu AppIndicator support that displays recent changes, errors and the sync status and support for multiple accounts.

Add Stacks To The Unity Launcher With `Drawers`

Author: Andrew | Date: August 09, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: drawers, linux, ubuntu, unity

Stacks is a feature firstly found on Mac OS X, which, as the name implies, "stacks" files into small organized folders on the dock - in our case, the Unity Launcher.

Drawers is an utility that lets you create stacks (drawers) on the Unity launcher, a feature that was often requested but it hasn't been implemented in Unity, at least for now.

With Drawers, you can create launchers for Unity on which you can add applications, files, folders or links so you can, for instance, have a drawer for web browsers, one for work-related applications and one some important documents. This allows you to have a well organized, uncluttered Unity launcher while having all the applications/files you need just one click away.

Ubuntu 12.10 Might Ship With Nautilus 3.4 Instead Of 3.6

Author: Andrew | Date: August 08, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: linux, nautilus, Quantal Quetzal, ubuntu

Nautilus is causing a lot of controversy lately: Linux Mint is forking it, SolusOS has added some patches to make it more usable, and the Ubuntu developers don't agree with its direction either and are thinking on going back to Nautilus 3.4.x for Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal.

Y PPA Manager 0.0.9.0 Released With New Package Installation Feature, More

Author: Andrew | Date: August 08, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: linux, linux mint, ppa, tweak, ubuntu, y ppa manager

Y PPA Manager, a tool to easily search for packages in Launchpad PPAs and perform various PPA actions: add, remove, purge, backup PPAs and more, has been updated to version 0.0.9.0 today.

Y PPA Manager 0.0.9.0 brings an option to install a package from the PPA search results dialog (which adds the PPA too if it's not added already), an improved duplicate source removal feature and more.

Ubuntu Light Themes Updated With New Style For Nautilus, More [Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal]

Author: Andrew | Date: August 08, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: eyecandy, light themes, linux, Quantal Quetzal, themes, ubuntu

The Ubuntu Light Themes branch has been updated a few minutes ago (the changes aren't in the official Quantal repositories for now), bringing some interesting changes to the Ambiance and Radiance themes for Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal:

LibreOffice 3.6 Available For Download

Author: Andrew | Date: August 08, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: libreoffice, linux, macosx, ubuntu, windows

LibreOffice 3.6 has been released today with some interesting new features and improvements, such as a new CorelDRAW importer, improved auto-format function for tables in text documents, SmartArt import support, improved CVS import, PDF export with watermarking and more.

Install SolusOS Patched Nautilus In Ubuntu 12.04

Author: Andrew | Date: August 06, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: file manager, linux, nautilus, ubuntu

Speaking of Nautilus, Linux Mint isn't the only distribution that wants to use its own custom Nautilus; SolusOS 2, a Debian-based Linux distribution currently in alpha that uses the GNOME fallback session as default, uses a customized Nautilus too.

It's not a fork but it comes with some cool patches that bring an unified, customizable toolbar with the back/forward buttons on the left, as well as some smaller patches like for instance a patch to restore the ability to create a .desktop launcher from the Nautilus context menu.

Rhythmbox Third-Party Plugins Ubuntu PPA

Author: Andrew | Date: August 06, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: linux, music player, plugins, rhythmbox, ubuntu

Now that Rhythmbox is once again the default music player in Ubuntu, AskUbuntu moderator fossfreedom has created a PPA for various Rhythmbox plugins that many Ubuntu users might find useful. Among the plugins included are: Equalizer, Jump-to-Playing, Tray Icon, Microblogger, Tablature plugin, JumpToWindow and more.

Nemo: The Linux Mint Team Forks Nautilus

Author: Andrew | Date: August 04, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: file manager, linux mint, nautilus, nemo

After Cinnamon, Muffin and MDM, the Linux Mint team works on yet another fork: Nemo, a file manager forked from Nautilus 3.4.x.

Download VirtualBox 4.2 Beta 1

Author: Andrew | Date: August 03, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: linux, macosx, ubuntu, virtualbox, windows

Oracle has released VirtualBox 4.2 beta 1 today, which includes some major improvements, like improved Windows 8 support, an expert mode for wizards, experimental support for drag'n'drop from the host to Linux guests and more.

Install Audacious 3.3 In Ubuntu 12.04 Or 12.10 [PPA]

Author: Andrew | Date: August 03, 2012 | View Comments | Tags: audacious, linux, music player, ubuntu

Audacious is an audio player that focuses on high audio quality and low resource usage which comes with a pretty large plugin list as well as two interfaces: a GTK interface and a Winamp 2.x like interface.

With a bit of a delay, Audacious 3.3 stable is now available in the main WebUpd8 PPA, for Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin and 12.10 Quantal Quetzal. The new version brings GTK interface improvements, partially re-written core output which now supports to vary the playback speed without restarting playback (there's a new plugin that takes advantage of this), a more intelligent search that lets you search by artist, album and song title in the same time and more.