Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

Rhythmbox 3.0 was released more than a month ago, bringing an improved user interface, Python 3 support for the plugins and more. Unfortunately, the new version didn't make it into Ubuntu 13.10, but there's a PPA you can use to install it (also available for Ubuntu 13.04).

Rhythmbox 3.0

Changes in Rhythmox 3.0:
  • the plugins now use Python 3;
  • new task progress display below the track list (used for various things including track transfers and import jobs);
  • support for composer tags;
  • restyled playback controls;
  • restyled source list using symbolic icons;
  • better introspection of everything;
  • separate CBR and VBR encoding styles with different sets of exposed properties;
  • playlist settings (browser visibility etc.) saved in playlists.xml;
  • better use of RTL icons where appropriate;
  • fixed IM status and ReplayGain plugins;
  • many other bug fixes.

A complete Rhythmbox 3.0 changelog can be found HERE.


Install Rhythmbox 3.0 in Ubuntu 13.10 or 13.04


Rhythmbox 3.0 Ubuntu
Rhythmbox 3.0 in Ubuntu 13.10 (Unity)

Because Rhythmbox 3.0 uses Python3 for plugins instead of Python 2, none of the plugins available in the Rhythmbox third-party plugins PPA will work. You can get some of them to work by installing them manually (including the Equalizer plugin and the cool CoverArt browser) - for more info, see THIS article.

Rhythmbox 3.0 is available in an unofficial PPA maintained by Jacob Zimmermann, for Ubuntu 13.10 and 13.04 (and derivatives). Add the PPA and install/upgrade Rhythmbox 3.0 using the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jacob/media
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install rhythmbox

Important note: a recent update broke the installation of librhythmbox-core8 (resulting in an error like this: dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/ibrhythmbox-core8...deb trying to overwrite...). Fix this by running the commands below:
sudo dpkg -i --force-all /var/cache/apt/archives/librhythmbox-core8_3.0.1-1ubuntu2~*.deb
sudo apt-get install -f
More on why this error happens: Fix DPKG Error "Trying to Overwrite X Which Is Also In Package Y" In Ubuntu