Tech Drive-in: Specials

Showing posts with label Specials. Show all posts

Ubuntu 19.04, codenamed "Disco Dingo", has been released (and upgrading is easier than you think). I've been on Ubuntu 19.04 since its first Alpha, and this has been a rock solid release as far I'm concerned. Changes in Ubuntu 19.04 are more evolutionary though, but availability of the latest Linux Kernel version 5.0 is significant.

Unity is long gone and Ubuntu 19.04 is indistinguishably GNOME 3.x now, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Yes, I know, there are many who still swear by the simplicity of Unity desktop. But I'm an outlier here, I liked both Unity and GNOME 3.x even in their very early avatars. When I wrote this review of GNOME Shell desktop almost 8 years ago, I knew it was destined for greatness. Ubuntu 19.04 "Disco Dingo" runs GNOME 3.32.0.

We'll discuss more about GNOME 3.x and Ubuntu 19.04 in the official review. Let's get down to brass tacks. A step-by-step guide into things I did after installing Ubuntu 19.04 "Disco Dingo".

1. Make sure your system is up-to-date

Do a full system update. Fire up your Software Updater and check for updates.

via Terminal, this is my preferred way to update Ubuntu. Just one command.

sudo apt update && sudo apt dist-upgrade

Enter password when prompted and let the system do the rest.

2. Install GNOME Tweaks

GNOME Tweaks is non-negotiable.

things to do after installing ubuntu 19.04

GNOME Tweaks is an app the lets you tweak little things in GNOME based OSes that are otherwise hidden behind menus. If you are on Ubuntu 19.04, Tweaks is a must. Honestly, I don't remember if it was installed as a default. But here you install it anyway, Apt-URL will prompt you if the app already exists.

Search for Gnome Tweaks in Ubuntu Software Center. OR simply CLICK HERE to go straight to the app in Software Center. OR even better, copy-paste this command in Terminal (keyboard shortcut: CTRL+ALT+T).

sudo apt install gnome-tweaks

3. Enable MP3/MP4/AVI Playback, Adobe Flash etc.

You do have an option to install most of the 'restricted-extras' while installing the OS itself now, but if you are not-sure you've ticked all the right boxes, just run the following command in Terminal.

sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras

You can install it straight from the Ubuntu Software Center by CLICKING HERE.

4. Display Date/Battery Percentage on Top Panel

The screenshot, I hope, is self explanatory.

If you have GNOME Tweaks installed, this is easily done. Open GNOME tweaks, goto 'Top Bar' sidemenu and enable/disable what you need.

5. Enable 'Click to Minimize' on Ubuntu Dock

Honestly, I don't have a clue why this is disabled by default. You intuitively expect the apps shortcuts on Ubuntu dock to 'minimize' when you click on it (at least I do).

In fact, the feature is already there, all you need to do is to switch it ON. Do this is Terminal.

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock click-action 'minimize'

That's it. Now if you didn't find the 'click to minimize' feature useful, you can always revert Dock settings back to its original state, by copy-pasting the following command in Terminal app.

gsettings reset org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock click-action

6. Pin/Unpin Apps from Launcher

There are a bunch of apps that are pinned to your Ubuntu launcher by default.

For example, I almost never use the 'Help' app or the 'Amazon' shortcut preloaded on launcher. But I would prefer a shortcut to Terminal app instead. Right-click on your preferred app on the launcher, and add-to/remove-from favorites as you please.

7. Enable GNOME Shell Exetensions Support

Extensions are an integral part of GNOME desktop.

It's a real shame that one has to go through all these for such a basic yet important feature. From the default Firefox browser, when you visit GNOME Extensions page, you will notice the warning message on top describing the unavailability of Extensions support.

If you are on Firefox, Install GNOME Shell integration Add-on.
For Google Chrome/Chromium users, Install GNOME Shell integration plugin.

Now for the second part, you need to install the host connector on Ubuntu.

Download and Install Chrome GNOME Shell from Software Center
OR you can do the same via Terminal. Just copy-paste this command to Terminal.

sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell

Done. Don't mind the "chrome" in 'chrome-gnome-shell', it works with all major browsers, provided you've the correct browser add-on installed.
You can now visit GNOME Extensions page and install extensions as you wish with ease. (if it didn't work immediately, a system restart will clear things up).

Extensions are such an integral part of GNOME Desktop experience, can't understand why this is not a system default in Ubuntu 19.04. Hope future releases of Ubuntu will have this figured out.

8. My Favourite 5 GNOME Shell Extensions for Ubuntu 19.04

OpenWeather: Weather information.
Dash to Dock: Transforms the default launcher into a configurable dock.
Places Status Indicator: Adds a menu on your top panel for quickly navigating places.
Status Area Horizontal Spacing: Correct the uneven spacing between icons on top-right panel area.
Extensions: Enable/disable gnome shell extensions from a menu in the top panel. A must-have.

9. Remove Trash Icon from Desktop

Annoyed by the permanent presence of Home and Trash icons in the desktop? You are not alone. Luckily, there's an extension for that!

Desktop Icons: lets you add/remove icons from desktop.

Done. Now, access the settings and enable/disable icons as you please.

Extension settings can be accessed directly from the extension home page (notice the small wrench icon near the ON/OFF toggle). OR you can use the Extensions addon like in the screenshot above.

10. Enable/Disable Two Finger Scrolling

As you must've noticed, two-finger scrolling is a system default for sometime now.

things to do after installing ubuntu cosmic

One of my laptops act strangely when two-finger scrolling is on. You can easily disable two-finger scrolling and enable old school edge-scrolling in 'Settings'. Settings > Mouse and Touchpad

Quicktip: You can go straight to submenus by simply searching for it in GNOME's universal search bar.

Take for example the screenshot above, where I triggered the GNOME menu by hitting Super(Windows) key, and simply searched for 'mouse' settings. The first result will take me directly to the 'Settings' submenu for 'Mouse and Touchpad' that we saw earlier. Easy right? More examples will follow.

11. Nightlight Mode ON

When you're glued to your laptop/PC screen for a large amount of time everyday, it is advisable that you enable the automatic nightlight mode for the sake of your eyes. Be it the laptop or my phone, this has become an essential feature. The sight of a LED display without nightlight ON during lowlight conditions immediately gives me a headache these days. Easily one of my favourite in-built features on GNOME.

Settings > Devices > Display > Night Light ON/OFF

OR as before, Hit superkey > search for 'night light'. It will take you straight to the submenu under Devices > Display. Guess you wouldn't need anymore examples on that.

12. Privacy on Ubuntu 19.04

Guess I don't need to lecture you on the importance of privacy in the post-PRISM era.

Ubuntu remembers your usage & history to recommend you frequently used apps and such. And this is never shared over the network. But if you're not comfortable with this, you can always disable and delete your usage history on Ubuntu. Settings > Privacy > Usage & History

13. Perhaps a New Look & Feel?

As you might have noticed, I'm not using the default Ubuntu theme here.

Right now I'm using System 76's Pop OS GTK theme and icon sets. They look pretty neat I think. Just three commands to install it in your Ubuntu 19.04.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:system76/pop
sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt install pop-icon-theme pop-gtk-theme pop-gnome-shell-theme 
sudo apt install pop-wallpapers

Execute last command if you want Pop OS wallpapers as well. To enable the newly installed theme and icon sets, launch GNOME Tweaks > Appearance (see screenshot). I will be making separate posts on themes, icon sets and GNOME shell extensions. So stay subscribed.

14. Disable Error Reporting

If you find the "application closed unexpectedly" popups annoying, and would like to disable error reporting altogether, this is what you need to do.

Settings > Privacy > Problem Reporting and switch it off.

15. Liberate vertical space on Firefox by disabling Title Bar

This is not an Ubuntu specific tweak.

Firefox > Settings > Customize. Notice the "Title Bar" at the bottom left? Untick to disable.

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Ubuntu 19.04 ~~is scheduled to arrive in another 30 days~~ has been released. I've been using it for the past week or so, and even as a pre-beta, the OS is pretty stable and not buggy at all. Here are a bunch of things you should know about the yet to be officially released Ubuntu 19.04.

1. Codename: "Disco Dingo"

How about that! As most of you know already, Canonical names its semiannual Ubuntu releases using an adjective and an animal with the same first letter (Intrepid Ibex, Feisty Fawn, or Maverick Meerkat, for example, were some of my favourites). And the upcoming Ubuntu 19.04 is codenamed "Disco Dingo", has to be one of the coolest codenames ever for an OS.

2. Ubuntu 19.04 Theme Updates

A new cleaner, crisper looking Ubuntu is coming your way. Can you notice the subtle changes to the default Ubuntu theme in screenshot below? Like the new deep-black top panel and launcher? Very tastefully done.

To be sure, this is now looking more and more like vanilla GNOME and less like Unity, which is not a bad thing.

There are changes to the icons too. That hideous blue Trash icon is gone. Others include a new Update Manager icon, Ubuntu Software Center icon and Settings Icon.

3. Ubuntu 19.04 Official Mascot

GIFs speaks louder that words. Meet the official "Disco Dingo" mascot.

Pretty awesome, right? "Disco Dingo" mascot calls for infinite wallpaper variations.

4. The New Default Wallpaper

The new "Disco Dingo" themed wallpaper is so sweet: very Ubuntu-ish yet unique. A gray scale version of the same wallpaper is a system default too.

UPDATE: There's a entire suit of newer and better wallpapers on Ubuntu 19.04!

5. Linux Kernel 5.0 Support

Ubuntu 19.04 "Disco Dingo" will officially support the recently released Linux Kernel version 5.0. Among other things, Linux Kernel 5.0 comes with AMD FreeSync display support which is awesome news to users of high-end AMD Radeon graphics cards.

Also important to note is the added support for Adiantum Data Encryption and Raspberry Pi touchscreens. Apart from that, Kernel 5.0 has regular CPU performance improvements and improved hardware support.

6. Livepatch is ON

Ubuntu 19.04's 'Software and Updates' app has a new default tab called Livepatch. This new feature should ideally help you to apply critical kernel patches without rebooting.

Livepatch may not mean much to a normal user who regularly powerdowns his or her computer, but can be very useful for enterprise users where any downtime is simply not acceptable.

Canonical introduced this feature in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, but was later removed when Ubuntu 18.10 was released. The Livepatch feature is disabled on my Ubuntu 19.04 installation though, with a "Livepatch is not available for this system" warning. Not exactly sure what that means. Will update.

7. Ubuntu 19.04 Release Schedule

The beta freeze is scheduled to happen on March 28th and final release on April 18th.

Normally, post the beta release, it is a safe to install Ubuntu 19.04 for normal everyday use in my opinion, but ONLY if you are inclined to give it a spin before everyone else of course. I'd never recommend a pre-release OS on production machines. Ubuntu 19.04 Daily Build Download.

My biggest disappointment though is the supposed Ubuntu Software Center revamp which is now confirmed to not make it to this release. Subscribe us on Twitter and Facebook for more Ubuntu 19.04 release updates.

Recommended read: Top things to do after installing Ubuntu 19.04

Have been using "Cosmic Cuttlefish" since its first beta. It is perhaps one of the most visually pleasing Ubuntu releases ever. But more on that later. Now let's discuss what can be done to improve the overall user-experience by diving deep into the nitty gritties of Canonical's brand new flagship OS.

1. Enable MP3/MP4/AVI Playback, Adobe Flash etc.

This has been perhaps the standard 'first-thing-to-do' ever since the Ubuntu age dawned on us. You do have an option to install most of the 'restricted-extras' while installing the OS itself now, but if you are not-sure you've ticked all the right boxes, just run the following command in Terminal.

sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras

You can install it straight from the Ubuntu Software Center by CLICKING HERE.

2. Get GNOME Tweaks

GNOME Tweaks is non-negotiable.

things to do after installing ubuntu 18.10

GNOME Tweaks is an app the lets you tweak little things in GNOME based OSes that are otherwise hidden behind menus. If you are on Ubuntu 18.10, Tweaks is a must. Honestly, I don't remember if it was installed as a default. But here you install it anyway, Apt-URL will prompt you if the app already exists.

Search for Gnome Tweaks in Ubuntu Software Center. OR simply CLICK HERE to go straight to the app in Software Center. OR even better, copy-paste this command in Terminal (keyboard shortcut: CTRL+ALT+T).

sudo apt install gnome-tweaks

3. Displaying Date/Battery Percentage on Top Panel

The screenshot, I hope, is self explanatory.

If you have GNOME Tweaks installed, this is easily done. Open GNOME tweaks, goto 'Top Bar' sidemenu and enable/disable what you need.

4. Enable 'Click to Minimize' on Ubuntu Dock

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock click-action 'minimize'

That's it. Now if you didn't find the 'click to minimize' feature useful, you can always revert Dock settings back to its original state, by copy-pasting the following command in Terminal app.

gsettings reset org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock click-action

5. Pin/Unpin Useful Stuff from Launcher

There are a bunch of apps that are pinned to your Ubuntu launcher by default.

6. Enable/Disable Two Finger Scrolling

As you must've noticed, two-finger scrolling is a system default now.

7. Nightlight Mode ON

OR as before, Hit superkey > search for 'night light'. It will take you straight to the submenu under Devices > Display. Guess you wouldn't need anymore examples on that.

8. Safe Eyes App for Ubuntu

A popup that will fill the entire screen and forces you to take your eyes off it.

Apart from enabling the nighlight mode, Safe Eyes is another app I strongly recommend to those who stare at their laptops for long periods of time. This nifty little app forces you to take your eyes off the computer screen and do some standard eye-exercises at regular intervals (which you can change).

Installation is pretty straight forward. Just these 3 commands on your Terminal.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:slgobinath/safeeyes
sudo apt update 
sudo apt install safeeyes

9. Privacy on Ubuntu 18.10

Guess I don't need to lecture you on the importance of privacy in the post-PRISM era.

10. Perhaps a New Look & Feel?

As you might have noticed, I'm not using the default Ubuntu theme here.

Right now I'm using System 76's Pop OS GTK theme and icon sets. They look pretty neat I think. Just three commands to install it in your Ubuntu 18.10.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:system76/pop
sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt install pop-icon-theme pop-gtk-theme pop-gnome-shell-theme 
sudo apt install pop-wallpapers

11. Disable Error Reporting

If you find the "application closed unexpectedly" popups annoying, and would like to disable error reporting altogether, this is what you need to do.

sudo gedit /etc/default/apport

This will open up a text editor window which has only one entry: "enabled=1". Change the value to '0' (zero) and you have Apport error reporting completely disabled.

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From the most consumer focused distros like Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint or elementary OS to the more obscure, minimal and enterprise focused ones such as Slackware, Arch, openSUSE or RHEL, I thought I've seen them all.

Linux eco-system is extremely diverse. There's one for everyone, for every use-case imaginable. And then there are those which are straight up nonsensical. Let's discuss the weird and wacky world of niche Linux distros that represents the true diversity of open platforms.

Puppy Linux: An operating system which is about 1/10th the size of an average DVD quality movie, that's Puppy Linux for you. The OS is just 100 MB in size! And it can run from RAM making it unusually fast even in older PCs.

You can even remove the boot medium after the operating system has started! Can it get any better than that? System requirements are bare minimum, most hardware are automatically detected, and it comes loaded with software catering to your basic needs. Experience Puppy Linux.

Suicide Linux: Did the name scare you? Well it should.

Any time - any time - you type anything remotely incorrect into your command-line, the interpreter creatively resolves it into rm -rf / and wipes your hard drive. Simple as that. I'm pretty sure no one here is stupid enough to risk their production machines with Suicide Linux. But here's the official warning anyway: DO NOT try this on production machines! The whole thing is available in a neat DEB package if you're interested.

PapyrOS: "Strange" in a good way.

PapyrOS is trying to adapt the material design language of Android into their brand new Linux distribution. Though the project is in early stages, it already looks very promising. The project page says the OS is 80% complete and one can expect the first Alpha release anytime soon. We did a small write up on PapyrOS when it was announced and by the looks of it, PapyrOS might even become a trend-setter of sorts. Follow the project on Google+ and contribute via BountySource if you're interested. 2019 Update: Project seems to have lost steam.

Qubes OS: Qubes is an open-source operating system designed to provide strong security using a Security by Compartmentalization approach.

The assumption is that there can be no perfect, bug-free desktop environment. And by implementing a 'Security by Isolation' approach, Qubes Linux intends to remedy that. Qubes is based on Xen, the X Window System, and Linux, and can run most Linux applications and supports most Linux drivers. Qubes was selected as a finalist of Access Innovation Prize 2014 for Endpoint Security Solution.

Ubuntu Satanic Edition: Ubuntu SE is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu.

"It brings together the best of free software and free metal music" in one comprehensive package consisting of themes, wallpapers, and even some heavy-metal music sourced from talented new artists. Project doesn't look actively developed anymore. Ubuntu SE (Slightly NSFW).

Tiny Core Linux: Puppy Linux not small enough? Look no further.

Tiny Core Linux is a 12 MB graphical Linux desktop! Yep, you read it right. One major caveat: It is not a complete desktop nor is all hardware completely supported. It represents only the core needed to boot into a very minimal X desktop typically with wired internet access. There is even a version without the GUI called Micro Core Linux which is just 9MB in size. Tiny Core Linux folks.

NixOS: A very experienced-user focused Linux distribution with a unique approach to package management.

In other distributions, actions such as upgrades can be dangerous. Upgrading a package can cause other packages to break, upgrading an entire system is much less reliable than reinstalling from scratch. And top of all that you can't safely test what the results of a configuration change will be, there's no "Undo" so to speak.

In NixOS, the entire operating system is built by the Nix package manager from a description in a purely functional build language. This means that building a new configuration cannot overwrite previous configurations. Most of the other features follow this pattern. Nix stores all packages in isolation from each other. More about NixOS.

GoboLinux: This one has a unique file system hierarachy.

What makes GoboLinux so different from the rest is its unique re-arrangement of traditional Linux filesystem. It has its own subdirectory tree, where all of its files and programs are stored. GoboLinux does not have a package database because the filesystem is its database.

In some ways, this sort of arrangement is similar to that seen in OS X. Get GoboLinux.

Hannah Montana Linux: lol WUT?

Exactly. This is a Linux distro based on Kubuntu with a Hannah Montana themed boot screen, KDM, icon set, ksplash, plasma, color scheme, and wallpapers (I'm so sorry). Link. Project not active anymore.

RLSD Linux: An extremely minimalistic, small, lightweight and security-hardened, text-based operating system built on Linux. "It's a unique distribution that provides a selection of console applications and home-grown security features which might appeal to hackers," developers claim. RLSD Linux.

Did we miss anything even stranger? Let us know in the comments.

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus" is released. As with all LTS (long-term support) releases, this one is expected to be the most stable and reliable of them all. But we will find more about that in the review later. Let's discuss the top apps you could install after downloading and installing the latest Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

10 Ubuntu Apps You Must Try after installing 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus"

The apps you use in your desktop vary from user to user. So take this list with a pinch of salt. I have tried to make it as broad based as possible, but they are still very much based on my use-case and might be biased. Let's take a look at the apps that I use the most, my personal favourites for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

My Favourite Ubuntu Apps for 16.04 LTS

Unity Tweak Tool, in my opinion, is an absolute must-have for new and experienced users alike. The new updated Unity Tweak Tool brings in a lot of new features including the ability to move the Unity launcher to the bottom. You can read more on that here. The latest version is downloadable from Ubuntu Software Center.

MPV Media Player is brilliant. Ever since I discovered MPV, I've completely stopped using VLC, SMPlayer and the likes for my multimedia needs. MPV keeps its light-weight profile without compromising much on functionality. Still no match for VLC in terms of features though, half of which you will never use anyway.

GPMDP for Ubuntu: Since I use Google Play Music a lot, GPMDP has become my go-to music streaming app for Ubuntu for a while now. For users looking for a more generic music streamer, try Nuvola. GPMDP can be downloaded from here. See also, our review of GPMDP with installation instructions.

Chrome/Chromium: Who wants Chrome when you have Firefox right? Wrong. I believe Chrome has its advantages too. After all, Chrome is now regarded as the most popular web browser across platforms. Firefox, in my opinion, still lags Chrome in some areas. Inbuilt language translation, for example, has proved very useful to me at least on several occasions. But of course Firefox has all the extensions you'll would ever need. For those still interested in Chrome, the only choice you have to make is between Chromium (the one without Google branding, available in Software Center) and the official Google Chrome for Linux (64-bit only).

Steam: Do you know that the number of Steam titles for Linux is now more than 1500 and counting? The list include major titles such as Left 4 Dead 2, Half Life 1 & 2, Counter Strike, Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, Witcher 2, Football Manager, Shank 2, Dota 2, Don't Starve, among others. The biggest complaint people had for Linux was the non-availability of good quality games. Steam's support for Linux platform is surely helping. Download Steam.

Youtube-dl: This one is a personal favourite of mine. Youtube-dl is a small commandline based tool that lets you download your favorite videos from the web (supports YouTube and many other popular video streaming sites). If all you require is to download the best quality version of a particular video, open up the Terminal and type "youtube-dl<space><link to the video>". The app is downloadable from Ubuntu Software Center. And if you don't like CLI much, these 5 apps with fancier looks and features might help.

Synergy lets you share your keyboard and mouse across multiple devices and platforms. And it works like magic. More about Synergy here. Unlike earlier though, Synergy is a paid app now, costing $10 for a lifetime license. Strongly recommend Synergy for those running multiple machines simultaneously. BUY.

Synapse: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and its default Unity launcher is impressive, but Synapse is just faster. I mostly use Synapse nowadays, but Unity launcher has improved quite a bit over the years. The difference in responsiveness is not as much pronounced as it used to be. It's a matter of personal preference now.

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:synapse-core/testing
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install synapse

After executing the above commands in the Terminal, launch Synapse from the default Ubuntu launcher and it will reside in your system-tray afterwards. Just hit CTRL+Space to launch Synapse.

Shutter: A clever little screenshot tool that can handle some light editing as well. Has proved very useful over the years. Shutter is available within the default repositories. CLICK HERE.

Skype: Doesn't require much introduction, one of the most popular Internet based video and voice call service provider which was acquired by Microsoft in 2011 for quite a lot of money. Even though it works okay, their support for Linux platform has remained poor ever since the acquisition. Updates are too few when compared to other supported platforms. So stay away if you have a choice. Download Skype for Linux.

For more task-specific, professional-grade apps, see our following lists:

Top 5 video editors for Ubuntu/Linux
6 most good-looking music players for Linux (see the user-recommendations too)
8 best CAD Apps for Linux [Updated]
Professional grade music productions tools for Ubuntu

[Ubuntu App Store image via FS Icons Ubuntu, and thanks for reading!]