Changes in GNOME 3.20

• Wayland improvements that should provide a usable day to day experience, including: kinetic scrolling, drag-and-drop, application startup notification, middle-click paste and more;
• Cantarell, the default GNOME font, has received lots of improvements for this release and overall, the text has a far better appearance, with more harmonious and consistent letters at all sizes, as well as new supported character sets, like Vietnamese, Cyrillic and Devanagari;
• there's a new option that allows displaying the battery charge percentage in the GNOME Shell Top Bar. This can be found in dconf Editor: org > gnome > desktop > interface > show-battery-percentage;
• GTK+ CSS theming has had a major overhaul, which should result in easier theme writing and more dynamic interfaces;
• gspell, a new spell-checking library for GTK applications, has been introduced with GNOME 3.20 and is already used by Gedit;
• xdg-app, the cross-distro framework for building and distributing desktop apps on Linux, has matured for the 3.20 release and it includes xdg-app-builder, a tool that makes it easy to build apps, along with other important changes such as support for creating single-file application bundles and more. More info available in the GNOME 3.20 release notes for developers.

GNOME applications

With GNOME 3.20, the Software application now supports upgrading to new major versions of the operating system, along with other changes, such as support for user reviews, support for xdg-app and Limba bundles and more:

• a new, more compact preferences dialog;
• new settings to show action to create symbolic links and to permanently delete files and folders, as well as recursive search settings (to search in subfolders: local only, all locations or never);
• extra zoom level in the list and grid views;
• display available / remaining space for drives listed in Other Places.

• the application now supports pasting images directly into chats;
• server properties are now accessed from the sidebar;
• added support for traditional IRC features, such as tab completion for IRC commands, the ability to open IRC links, support for the /msg command and more;
• Polari can now handle server passwords;
• improved look and feel, with a restyled input bar and new text animations;
• more.

• support for advanced we-based graphics and audio, with WebGL and Web Audio;
• feedback when visiting non-HTTPS sites has been improved;
• new tabs now inherit browsing history when opened from a link (this restores behavior that was lost in a previous version);
• the cookies dialog has a built-in search now.

• the application now allows adding and editing place information from OpenStreetMap;
• place popovers now include more information, like phone numbers or website address;
• the application now supports adding custom layers using common mapping file formats like GeoJSON, KML and GPX;
• added support for printing route directions;
• the application now supports exporting maps as PNGs;
• a new scale ruler was added;
• the app can now open links prefixed by "geo:".

image via chergert

• the app now supports building xdg-app bundles and within a JDBuild environment;
• a new multi-process plugin framework, which adds a wide rage of functionality to Builder, including auto indenters, autocompletion providers, tools, services, search providers, version control systems and more;
• overhauled application preferences;
• autocompletition is now faster and supports fuzzy matching;
• a new To Do plugin was added to track to do items;
• improved VIM emulation;

• Nibbles comes with updated artwork as well as a new retro arcade style, along with a new game screen and better high scores integration;
• the quick add popovers used in GNOME Calendar now allow selecting the calendar to which you want to add the event to;
• tasks in the scheduled view are now grouped under date headings in the To Do application. To Do also includes a new plugin system which will allow the app to integrate with various online task managers (but no plugins are available for now);
• Documents app now allows listing the documents by name, date or author
• Boxes application was updated to automatically create a snapshot after creating a virtual machine;
• GNOME Games now supports MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) and Neo-Geo Pocket.

 

GNOME 3.20 video

Getting GNOME 3.20

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Originally published at WebUpd8: Daily Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

Video: quick look at what's new in Ubuntu 16.04 final beta

Unity changes in Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial Xerus LTS final beta

• the file manager (Nautilus) is now integrated with Unity Launcher, so every device icon available on Unity Launcher only manages the relative window, while the Files (Nautilus) icon matches the other views. For instance, if you click on the Trash (or USB devices, etc.) icon, the Nautilus window that opens is managed from the Trash icon, and not from the Nautilus icon from the Launcher;
• session actions (shutdown, reboot, etc.) are now available from Unity Dash
• the option to change the menu visibility (displayed on mouse hovering or always visible) is now available in System Settings (Appearance > Behavior tab) so you no longer need to use dconf Editor or other third-party tools to change this;
• GNOME Software now integrates with Unity Launcher, in the same way Ubuntu Software Center did (it places newly installed app icons on the Launcher);
• Dash now uses GTK-like overlay scrollbars instead of the old, Unity overlay scrollbars-like design;
• better Dash theming support;
• support for scaling cursors in HiDPI environments;
• the Unity workspace switcher now uses quicklists that allows switching to a certain workspace;
• the Unity application window spread (so for an application that has multiple open windows) can now be triggered using a keyboard shortcut: Super+Ctrl+W;
• the option to format USB devices via Unity quicklists has returned (though for some reason, it's not displayed for me, I'm not sure why)
• various other changes and numerous bug fixes - you can see a complete changelog here: Unity | Compiz.

Unity Launcher devices / trash integration for Nautilus

Dash GTK-like overlay scrollbars

An option to toggle menu visibility (autohide / always visible) is now available in System Settings (previously it was only available via dconf Editor and other third-party tools)

Unity Workspace Switcher now comes with quicklists

Default applications / packages in Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial Xerus final beta

Download Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial Xerus LTS final beta (beta 2)

• Ubuntu MATE
• Xubuntu
• Kubuntu
• Ubuntu GNOME
• Lubuntu
• Ubuntu Kylin
• Ubuntu Studio

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Mailnag Unity integration with Messaging Menu

Mailnag GNOME Shell extension

• added support for notification settings in GNOME-Control-Center;
• improved account dialog featuring a new IMAP folder chooser;
• libnotify plugin: added new 'Short Summary' notification mode (new default notification mode; recommended for GNOME 3);
• userscript plugin: accountnames are now passed to the specified userscript;
• non-SSL accounts are now utilizing STARTTLS if available;
• Mailnag now logs a warning if an unencrypted connection is detected;
• acountnames are now exported via the DBUS-API;
• the config window is resizable now;
• various other improvements, fixes and updated translations.

New IMAP folder chooser

• add option to group mails by account (requires Mailnag >= 1.2);
• add option to always show the indicator icon;
• add option to show dates;
• add option to show/hide menu buttons;
• new popup menu layout (inspired by GNOME-Shell's calendar notifications);
• use a fixed width for the popup menu;
• many bugfixes.

• Use GNOME 3.18 Google Drive Integration Feature In Unity, Xfce And Other Desktop Environments [Ubuntu 16.04]

Install Mailnag in Ubuntu / Linux Mint and derivatives

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pulb/mailnag
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mailnag

sudo apt-get install mailnag-unity-plugin

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-mailnag

sudo apt-get install mailnag-goa-plugin

• Mailnag
• GNOME Shell extension
• Unity plugin
• Cinnamon applet

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Originally published at WebUpd8: Daily Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

• improved compatibility and stability on Mac and Windows;
• support for image sequences;
• added a new file properties dialog which displays all known audio/video details about a file;
• initial support for opening legacy 1.x OpenShot project files;
• faster timeline performance;
• improved project saving;
• ImageMagic support is now optional;
• various bug fixes.

Download OpenShot

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openshot.developers/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install openshot-qt

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extensions.gnome.org integration for Google Chrome

extensions.gnome.org Chrome integration also works with Vivaldi

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ne0sight/chrome-gnome-shell
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install chrome-gnome-shell

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Originally published at WebUpd8: Daily Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

• fix Unity3D on lts mesa;
• fix VSCode license page due to server changes;
• fix Android-NDK not working due to server changes (download is now for 64bit only);
• fix Clang support due to server changes;
• fix Intellij .desktop file.

umake ide eclipse-jee

umake ide idea --eap

umake kotlin kotlin-lang

umake ide eclipse-jee --remove

umake --help
and
man umake

Install Ubuntu Make

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-desktop/ubuntu-make
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-make

---

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sudo add-apt-repository ppa:qos/pulseaudio-dlna
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pulseaudio-dlna

pulseaudio-dlna

pulseaudio-dlna --codec mp3 --encoder-backend=ffmpeg

pulseaudio-dlna --help

sudo apt-get install pavucontrol

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Notes

Quick Commands

Vivaldi Settings

Speed Dial

Tab Stacking and Tab Previews

Tiled tab stack

• speed dial which allows access to favorite websites in each new tab;
• speed dial folders allow oraganizing favorite website into folders;
• the browser supports quick text commands;
• built-in notes taking tool;
• side panel with fast access to bookmarks, downloads and notes;
• custom search engines support;
• allows side-by-side browsing using a side panel;
• tab management:
• session management;
• allows previewing open tabs;
• tab cycling;
• tab stacks (you can drop a tab on top of another to create a stack);
• restore closed tabs or blocked pop-ups from the Vivaldi trash can;
• tab stack tiling (view stacked tabs in a grid or side-by-side);
• mouse gestures and keyboard shortcuts;
• user interface scaling;
• adaptive interface color;
• much more.

Download Vivaldi Browser

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Get Vivaldi browser to support H.264

Before installing "chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra"

After installing "chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra"

sudo apt-get install chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra

Get Adobe Flash working in Vivaldi Browser

sudo apt-get install pepperflashplugin-nonfree

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Originally published at WebUpd8: Daily Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

• automatically copies Imgur link to clipboard;
• allows editing the image (by using an external image editing app) before uploading;
• upload images anonymously or to an Imgur account;
• can create and add images to Imgur albums;
• uploaded images can be set to be deleted automatically after a configurable number of seconds;
• highly configurable.

Install and use Imgur-screenshot

cd
sudo install imgur-screenshot.sh /usr/local/bin/imgur-screenshot

sudo imgur-screenshot --update
sudo chmod 775 /usr/local/bin/imgur-screenshot

sudo apt-get install libnotify-bin scrot xclip curl grep

imgur-screenshot --check

imgur-screenshot

After taking the screenshot, Imgur-Screenshot automatically opens the Imgur image link in your default web browser and copies the image link to the clipboard.

The image link is also displayed in the command output, along with the delete link:

You can also bind the script to a hotkey. For instance, under Unity, you can do this by going to System Settings > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Custom Shortcuts:

imgur-screenshot --help

Optional: Configure Imgur-Screenshot

mkdir -p ~/.config/imgur-screenshot/

touch ~/.config/imgur-screenshot/settings.conf

gedit ~/.config/imgur-screenshot/settings.conf

file_dir="$HOME/Pictures"

screenshot_select_command="maim -s %img"
screenshot_window_command="maim %img"

screenshot_select_command="gnome-screenshot --area --file=%img"

screenshot_select_command="shutter --select --exit_after_capture --output=%img"

gedit ~/.config/imgur-screenshot/settings.conf

imgur_acct_key="YOUR_APP_CLIENT_ID"
imgur_secret="YOUR_APP_SECRET"
login="true"

imgur-screenshot -c

Optional: Nautilus, Nemo and Caja scripts for uploading images to Imgur using Imgur-Screenshot

#!/bin/bash

IFS=$'\n'

for FILENAME in $NAUTILUS_SCRIPT_SELECTED_FILE_PATHS; do
 if [ -f "$FILENAME" ]; then
  imgur-screenshot "$FILENAME"
 fi
done

#!/bin/bash

IFS=$'\n'

for FILENAME in $NEMO_SCRIPT_SELECTED_FILE_PATHS; do
 if [ -f "$FILENAME" ]; then
  imgur-screenshot "$FILENAME"
 fi
done

#!/bin/bash

IFS=$'\n'

for FILENAME in $CAJA_SCRIPT_SELECTED_FILE_PATHS; do
 if [ -f "$FILENAME" ]; then
  imgur-screenshot "$FILENAME"
 fi
done

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Originally published at WebUpd8: Daily Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

"Whether it's video from the Internet Archive, music from Creative Commons, or audiobooks from Librivox, you can play it right away. You don't have to wait for it to finish downloading".

Download WebTorrent Desktop (beta)

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Install GNOME Twitch in Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gnome-twitch

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Originally published at WebUpd8: Daily Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

Using wttr.in

sudo apt-get install curl

curl wttr.in

curl wttr.in/"new york"

curl wttr.in/paris

curl wttr.in/lhr

curl wttr.in/60602

curl wttr.in/chicago?m

$ curl wttr.in/:help
Usage:

$ curl wttr.in          # current location
$ curl wttr.in/muc      # weather in the Munic airport

Supported location types:

/paris                  # city name
/muc                    # airport code (3 letters)
/@stackoverflow.com     # domain name
/94107                  # area codes

Special locations:

/moon                   # Moon phase (add ,+US or ,+France for these
                          cities)

Units:

?m                      # metric (SI) (used by default everywhere 
                          except US)
?u                      # USCS (used by default in US)

Special URLs:

/:help                  # show this page

Tip: add a wattr.io alias for your current location

gedit ~/.bashrc

alias wttr='curl wttr.in/CITY_NAME'

. ~/.bashrc

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• as SPDY (open networking protocol for transporting web content) is going to be deprecated soon, Opera switched its implementation of Turbo 2 to HTTP/2;
• ad blocker optimizations: the memory consumption has been significantly reduced;
• language selection in the spellchecker now works correctly;
• the “Adjust Speed Dial animations for slower hardware” setting was selected, but not respected by Opera after a restart. This is now fixed.

Download Opera Beta

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Originally published at WebUpd8: Daily Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

• Vk.com support;
• Seafile support;
• Ampache compatibility (through Subsonic service);
• new "Rainbow Dash" analyzer;
• new "Psychedelic Colour" mode added to all analyzers;
• added support for m4b non-drm files;
• multiple Spotify improvements, including the ability to pause Spotify tracks, improved handling of Spotify Top Tracks and more;
• added HipHop and Kuduro equalizers;
• remember current playlist between restarts;
• IDv3 tag lyrics support;
• added option to change the time step when seeking using the keyboard
• added "Smart Playlists" for Subsonic;
• new lyrics services: AZLyrics, bollywoodlyrics.com, hindilyrics.net, lololyrics.com, Musixmatch, Tekstowo.pl;
• updated to GStreamer 1.0;
• added AppData file for Clementine (for GNOME and KDE Software Centers);
• Ubuntu One, Discogs, Grooveshark and Radio GFM were removed;
• various improvements and and fixes.

Install Clementine 1.3.0 in Ubuntu or Linux Mint

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:me-davidsansome/clementine
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install clementine

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Get some Ubuntu AppIndicators

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao
sudo apt update
sudo apt install my-weather-indicator

sudo apt install caffeine

sudo apt install variety

Tweak Unity

sudo apt install unity-tweak-tool

Install codecs, Java, and encrypted DVD playback

sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras

sudo apt install libavcodec-extra

sudo apt install icedtea-8-plugin openjdk-8-jre

sudo apt install openjdk-8-jdk

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
sudo apt update
sudo apt install oracle-java8-installer

sudo apt install libdvd-pkg

Setup Cloud Sync (Dropbox or Google Drive), Skype, Telegram Desktop and Facebook Chat in Pidgin

sudo apt install nautilus-dropbox

sudo apt install skype

sudo apt install gtk2-engines-murrine:i386 gtk2-engines-pixbuf:i386

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/telegram
sudo apt update
sudo apt install telegram

• purple-facebook 32bit
• purple-facebook 64bit

Install GDebi GTK and Synaptic

sudo apt install synaptic

sudo apt install gdebi

Enable working PPAs from previous Ubuntu releases

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/y-ppa-manager
sudo apt update
sudo apt install y-ppa-manager

[Dev tool] Install Ubuntu Make

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-desktop/ubuntu-make
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ubuntu-make

More

• Configure Gedit and Nautilus to run as root with pkexec instead of gksu;
• Install TLP for improved battery life;
• Install the patched NotifyOSD which allows closing notifications on click and changing notifications position (this is not yet available for Ubuntu 16.04 - I'll make a new post when it's available for Xenial);
• Install Nemo with Unity patches and without Cinnamon dependencies and use it in Unity instead of Nautilus;
• Use Gloobus Preview for quickly previewing files in Nautilus or Nemo (I prefer it over Gnome Sushi);
• Install JAyatana - global menu and HUD support for Java Swing apps (note that using JAyatana, the following message "Picked up JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS: -javaagent:/usr/share/java/jayatanaag.jar" shows up as output in the terminal each time you run a Java app and that may cause issues depending on the Java apps you use - bug report);
• other things I probably forgot.

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Originally published at WebUpd8: Daily Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) Video

Unity / Compiz changes in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) whips with a major new feature for Unity: the ability to move the Unity Launcher and Dash to the bottom of the screen:

Ubuntu 16.04 doesn't ship with an option in System Settings to control the Launcher position and for this, you'll have to use Dconf Editor (com > canonical > unity > launcher > launcher-position) or a third-party tool such as Unity Tweak Tool.

• Dash now uses GTK-like overlay scrollbars instead of the old, Unity overlay scrollbars design;
• better Dash theming support;
• session actions (shutdown, reboot, etc.) are now available from Unity Dash
• the option to change menu visibility (displayed on mouse hovering or always visible) is now available in System Settings (Appearance > Behavior tab) so you no longer need to use dconf Editor or other third-party tools to change this;
• GNOME Software (which is provided to the users as "Ubuntu Software") now integrates with Unity Launcher, in the same way Ubuntu Software Center did (it places newly installed app icons on the Launcher, with a progress bar as the application is being installed);
• support for scaling cursors in HiDPI environments;
• the Unity workspace switcher now uses quicklists that allows switching to a certain workspace;
• the option to format USB devices via Unity quicklists has returned;
• the Unity application window spread (so for an application that has multiple open windows) can now be triggered using a keyboard shortcut: Super+Ctrl+W;
• Controls are now hidden by default in the Ubuntu Sound Menu. They are only displayed when you start using a player that supports the Sound Menu;
• the "Proposed" repository option was moved in Software & Updates from the "Other Software" tab to a new "Developer Options" tab, to make it clear that regular users shouldn't be using it.

Defaults in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

While GNOME Software (aka Ubuntu Software) supports updates, Ubuntu continues to use its own Software Updater tool for this.

Despite being included by default with Ubuntu 16.04 (with Unity), GNOME Calendar wasn't patched to use a traditional titlebar and menu, like Totem, Nautilus, Gedit and so on, and instead, it uses header bars (also known as client-side decorations).

• Files (Nautilus) 3.14.3
• (GNOME) Software 3.20.1
• Calendar 3.20.1
• Gedit 3.18.3
• Totem 3.18.1
• Terminal 3.18.3
• Eye of GNOME (Image Viewer) 3.18.2
• Evince 3.18.2
• System Monitor 3.18.2
• Disks 3.18.3

Download Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus)

• Ubuntu MATE: download | release notes
• Xubuntu: download | release notes
• Kubuntu: download | release notes
• Ubuntu GNOME: download | release notes
• Lubuntu: download | release notes
• Ubuntu Kylin: download | release notes
• Ubuntu Studio: download | release notes
• Mythbuntu: download | release notes

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Originally published at WebUpd8: Daily Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS video

Changes in Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus)

• fixes and improvements for GTK3 support across the entire MATE Desktop including GTK 3.18 support;
• significantly improved touchpad support, which now supports natural scrolling, 2 finger and 3 finger clicks;
• improved multi monitor support;
• the power applet now displays model and vendor information;
• improved session management which now includes screensaver inhibition while playing media;
• extended systemd support.

• complete overhaul of the user interface, with applications separated in a "Software Boutique" section. It includes a expandable/collapsible "More Details" section for each application, which provides screenshots, source (repository), website, platform and license information;
• added System Specifications page;
• added detection of graphics card (including VirtualBox) including one-click enablement of the graphics-drivers PPA if Nvidia is detected;
• added one-click enablement of the LibreOffice Fresh PPA to continually track stable LibreOffice releases;
• added multiple new applications, including Kodi, Nuvola Player, Pinta, Vivaldi, SparkleShare, GNOME Software, OBS Studio and many others.

• added keyboard led indicator option;
• added launcher (Synapse) option;
• added capability to enable/disable animations;
• added support for Compton hardware compositing for Marco and Metacity;
• added Mutiny panel layout which includes Mate Dock Applet and TopMenu Applet.

• improved client-side decoration app theming, with resize area and shadows, minimal style for CSD windows running without a compositor, etc.
• Plank dock was updated to version 0.11 which adds docklets, option (available via Dconf Editor / gsettings) to use multiple docks, and there's also a new Plank theme for Ubuntu MATE;
• MATE Desktop CPU resource requirements have been reduced across the board;
• Google Chrome and Chromium windows are now considered Compiz windows in fullscreen to avoid tearing;
• much more.

Download Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus)

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Originally published at WebUpd8: Daily Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

Y is for… Yakkety yakkety yakkety yakkety yakkety yakkety yakkety yakkety yak. Naturally 🙂

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Originally published at WebUpd8: Daily Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.