[Linux] Opinion: The End of the Affair

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The affair that began with Dapper Drake in 2007 is over. The big switch-over is complete. I no longer have a machine running Ubuntu. Everything is now running Debian 7 Wheezy.

The disillusion has been a while brewing, but the truth became apparent early this year: Ubuntu as a distro no longer has anything I need.

I can’t say it’s been any one thing. Lord knows (although I am an atheist - I don’t believe in Mark the Apostle) I tried to love Unity; I really did. The neat idea that began in Ubuntu Netbook remix as a cool small-screen interface just never matured in the way I wanted. Unity kept getting in the way. Unity kept making me type stuff. Unity was never as configurable as I wanted. It wasn’t finished or ready back then and now the quick menus and live icons have arrived too late for me.


I may be old-school, but I believe that a graphical user interface doesn’t make you leave the mouse and type something every five seconds. I certainly don’t want an icon-heavy interface that is easier to use if you learn an entire sheet of keyboard short cuts. In fact, the interface introduced in 11.04 was a major stumbling block I never got over. The global menu wasn’t where I wanted it, disappearing and reappearing like an Apple-Mac parody of Marley’s ghost; the notifications don’t quite behave as I like.

The HUD (Head Up Display) never really cut it for me, sitting atop Unity. Adding lenses to Unity’s dash, especially one that automatically searched Amazon for products to buy each time you try to open a program - that didn’t help. Particularly when disabling ‘Include online search results’ by default was verboten; Ubuntu has to make  money now, earn it’s upkeep. There’s nothing wrong with that, if that’s the environment you want to play in. I’d rather keep my shopping and my OS separate, thank you very much.

The convergence of desktop, TV and phone interfaces doesn’t cut it for me either; it may make sense to have a common code base, common tools, common use cases, but it seems that what we’re heading for is a ‘one size fits none’ approach where common sense is pushed behind the fanfares and the marketing videos a bit like the ginger kid in the school photos.

To be fair, Canonical is moving at a rapid rate; new products, new markets, new technologies; there is a drive to innovate and take Linux places; just not any of the places I want to go. It’s bold and it’s often cutting edge - but as someone who was involved in testing in Ubuntu-QA for a while, trying to nail the lid on it, those cutting edges keep drawing blood.

By the way, where is my Ubuntu TV?

It seems the Ubuntu stack has been a touch unstable since 11.04 - maybe it’s all that work on Unity and notifications, ripping out Gnome components and adding Canonical’s own code, but the net result has been a continual stream of program crashes these last four releases, just when the reliability record for a mature operating system should have been on the up. I kept expecting each release to get more stable but 12.04 and 12.10 maintained the procession of apport crash notifications and I won’t even mention 13.04.

I can tell you in my first month, on three laptops of different age, manufacture and processors, Debian hasn’t crashed.

There are things I am going to miss. Cloud storage service Ubuntu One: horribly buggy and breakable at launch, yet within three months, rock solid and an essential part of my backup regime. You can get Ubuntu One for Mac and Windows now. But any other Linux? That’s hard. And I dislike the lock-in. And the up-sell. And the cross-sell.

Then we come to the recent controversies; I’ve written about those on my blog (http://catlingmindswipe.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/opinion-respect-in-community.html) so I won’t go into the whole downgrading of community input, or the secret development of the Mir graphics stack in place of Wayland. All I will say is there are ways of doing things and communicating with people. There is such a thing as expectation management. You can’t blame the community for kicking off when Canonical tells everyone for eight years that this is a Community Distro, that everyone counts, the Circle of Friends is your emblem, and Ubuntu belongs to everyone: until this year we found it doesn’t.

That too is all fine, since we’re not paying the piper, we don’t get to call the tune. Who’s tune is is anyway? Let’s just say I’m less than happy since Canonical cut a deal with the Chinese state to deploy Ubuntu. China and software freedom are irreconcilable at present, no matter how you try to dress it up and keep singing your own song.

So I said stop the bus, I want to get off.

I thought about the officially recognized variants; I almost went to Linux Mint. Then I considered the dependency on the down-stream derivatives of Ubuntu, itself a down-stream derivative of Debian and none of those made sufficient sense. Why not go back upstream to where the community work happens?

I admit Debian isn’t perfect. Gnome-3 (Gnome-Shell) remains a hideous, unusable abomination, but you know what, it took about three minutes to revert to a simple set of Gnome-2 panels and menus. I can point, click, and customise as much as I want. I am a simple soul, I need a simple interface.

It’s also true that Debian isn’t as GUI as Ubuntu, or KDE or Mint, and yes, I have to dive into a terminal session to get things done a little more often than under those others. But I know enough now, I’m no novice, I can take that pain. There’s an active community behind Debian and the answers can be found.

I am still happy to use Linux, but I am exercising my freedom of choice. I don’t need to be riding anyone’s band wagon along someone else’s highway. RC

Author: Robin Catling
Source: catlingmindswipe.blogspot.com

Synapse Indicator: New Search AppIndicator Based On Synapse Launcher

Synapse Indicator in elementary OS Luna

Install Synapse Indicator

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gotwig/weekly
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-synapse

Once installed, you need to restart the panel or log out and log back in.

In elementary OS, this should restart the panel:

killall wingpanel

Author: Andrew
Source: www.webupd8.org

How To Set Up A Wireless Hotspot (Access Point Mode) That Supports Android In Ubuntu

Install AP-Hotspot in Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/test
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ap-hotspot

Usage

To start AP-Hotspot, use the following command:

sudo ap-hotspot start

Then, you’ll have to enter the desired hotspot Access Point name and password:


If later on you want to run the configuration again, use the following command:

sudo ap-hotspot configure

To stop the wireless hotspot, use:

sudo ap-hotspot stop

Or, if you want to restart it, use:

sudo ap-hotspot restart

To see all the supported commands, simply type the following in a terminal:

ap-hotspot

Author: Andrew
Source: www.webupd8.org

SimpleScreenRecorder: Powerful Screen Recording Software For Linux

• records the entire screen or part of it, or records OpenGL applications directly (similar to Fraps on Windows);
• synchronizes audio and video properly (a common issue with VLC and ffmpeg/avconv);
• faster than VLC and ffmpeg/avconv;
• reduces the video frame rate if your computer is too slow (rather than using up all your RAM like VLC does);
• fully multithreaded: small delays in any of the components will never block the other components, resulting is smoother video and better performance on computers with multiple processors;
• pause and resume recording at any time (either by clicking a button or by pressing a hotkey);
• shows statistics during recording (file size, bit rate, total recording time, actual frame rate, …);
• can show a preview during recording, so you don’t waste time recording something only to figure out afterwards that some setting was wrong;
• more.

(direct video link)

Install SimpleScreenRecorder

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:maarten-baert/simplescreenrecorder
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install simplescreenrecorder

Ubuntu 64bit: if you want to record 32bit games, make sure you also install simplescreenrecorder-lib:i386:

sudo apt-get install simplescreenrecorder-lib:i386

For other Linux distributions, get the source code via GitHub.
Author: Andrew
Source: www.webupd8.org

Install OpenJDK Patched With Font Fixes [Ubuntu PPA]

Before installing the patched OpenJDK

After installing the patched OpenJDK

Before

After

Install OpenJDK7 with font fixes in Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:no1wantdthisname/openjdk-fontfix
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Arch Linux users can install this via AUR.




Author: Andrew
Source: www.webupd8.org

Better Font Rendering In Linux With Infinality

On the left: Infinality (using the Linux style); on the right: the default Ubuntu font configuration

Click HERE to zoom in so you can better see the details.

The screenshot above uses the Linux Infinality style, but there are many other style you can choose from, as I was saying above.




Here’s how to install Infinality in Ubuntu and Debian (with links to installation instructions for other Linux distributions) and set it up.

Install and configure Infinality for better font rendering in Linux

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:no1wantdthisname/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install fontconfig-infinality

Once installed, log out and log back in.

echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/no1wantdthisname/ppa/ubuntu raring main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/infinality.list
echo "deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/no1wantdthisname/ppa/ubuntu raring main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/infinality.list
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys E985B27B

Installing Infinality in other Linux distributions:

• Fedora (official Infinality repository) and generic installation instructions
• Arch Linux: the easy way | the generic way (AUR)
• openSUSE repository
• Debian installation instructions (build instructions and pre-built binaries)

sudo bash /etc/fonts/infinality/infctl.sh setstyle

Optional: next, open /etc/profile.d/infinality-settings.sh with a text editor as root - I’ll use Gedit below:

sudo -H gedit /etc/profile.d/infinality-settings.sh

And in this file, search for USE_STYLE (it should be USE_STYLE=”DEFAULT” by default) and change it to one of the following styles (I recommend using “UBUNTU” here but you should also try the default to see which one you like better):

• DEFAULT - A compromise that should please most people;
• OSX - Simulate OSX rendering;
• IPAD - Simulate iPad rendering;
• UBUNTU - Simulate Ubuntu rendering;
• LINUX - Generic “Linux” style - no snapping or certain other tweaks;
• WINDOWS - Simulate Windows rendering;
• WINDOWS7 - Simulate Windows rendering with normal glyphs;
• WINDOWS7LIGHT- Simulate Windows 7 rendering with lighter glyphs;
• WINDOWS - Simulate Windows rendering;
• VANILLA - Just subpixel hinting;
• CUSTOM - Your own choice;
• Infinality styles:
• CLASSIC - Infinality rendering circa 2010. No snapping;
• NUDGE - CLASSIC with lightly stem snapping and tweaks;
• PUSH - CLASSIC with medium stem snapping and tweaks;
• SHOVE - Full stem snapping and tweaks without sharpening;
• SHARPENED - Full stem snapping, tweaks, and Windows-style sharpening;
• INFINALITY - Settings used by the Infinality developer;
• DISABLED - Act as though running without the extra infinality enhancements (just subpixel hinting).

Reverting the changes

sudo apt-get purge fontconfig-infinality
sudo apt-get install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge ppa:no1wantdthisname/ppa

Once the PPA is purge, log out and log back in.

sudo apt-get purge fontconfig-infinality
sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/infinality.list
sudo apt-get update

- 32bit:

sudo apt-get install libfreetype6/stable

- 64bit:

sudo apt-get install libfreetype6/stable libfreetype6:i386/stable

Note: you also need to downgrade libfreetype6-dev if it’s installed and also, libfreetype6:i386 may not be installed. You may want to check if those packages are installed by using “apt-cache policy” (example: “apt-cache policy libfreetype6-dev”).



Author: Andrew
Source: www.webupd8.org

How To Automatically Mute Music When Receiving VoIP Calls [PulseAudio]

• for some applications that have this feature built-in, the music player (Rhythmbox, Banshee) will pause the music when answering a call on Skype, SFLphone, etc.;
• some applications that have this feature build-in will mute the sound when answering a call on a VoIP applications. Example of such an app: Totem (Videos);
• for applications that don’t support this by default, like Audacious and Linphone for instance, the music will be muted when answering a phone call.

PulseAudio: automatically mute music when answering calls in Skype, other VoIP apps

- for Ubuntu 12.10, 13.04 and newer:

pactl load-module module-role-cork

- for Ubuntu 12.04 or older:

pactl load-module module-cork-music-on-phone

This will only load the module for this session and the changes will be lost after a system restart so let’s make this permanent. To do this, open /etc/pulse/default.pa as root with a text editor - I’ll use Gedit below:

sudo gedit /etc/pulse/default.pa

and:
- for Ubuntu 12.10, 13.04 or newer, search for “load-module module-role-cork” and uncomment that line (to “uncomment” means to remove the “#” from the beginning of the line);
- for Ubuntu 12.04 or older, the module name is different so search for “load-module module-cork-music-on-phone” and uncomment this line (to “uncomment” means to remove the “#” from the beginning of the line).

Then save the file.

1.b. For other Linux distributions: make sure both “module-role-cork” and “module-augment-properties” PulseAudio modules are loaded:

pactl load-module module-role-cork
pactl load-module module-augment-properties

Then, open /etc/pulse/default.pa as root with a text editor - I’ll use Gedit for the command below:

sudo gedit /etc/pulse/default.pa

Then search for “load-module module-role-cork” (if you can’t find it, search for “load-module module-cork-music-on-phone” instead) and “load-module module-augment-properties” and uncomment both lines (to “uncomment” means to remove the “#” from the beginning of the line). And finally, save the file.




- for music apps (example: Audacious):

X-PulseAudio-Properties=media.role=music

- for VoIP / SIP apps (example: Linphone):

X-PulseAudio-Properties=media.role=phone

After making the changes, close the application and start it again from the menu / Dash.

Example: for Audacious, you need to edit the /usr/share/applications/audacious.desktop file so open that file as root with a text editor - I’ll use Gedit below:

sudo gedit /usr/share/applications/audacious.desktop

and at the bottom of this file, add “X-PulseAudio-Properties=media.role=music” (without the quotes), save the file, close Audacious and start it from the menu / Dash. Now, if Audacious is playing when receiving a call on Skype for instance, the music will be muted when answering the call.


Author: Andrew
Source: www.webupd8.org

Y PPA Manager 0.9.9 Released With Support For Linux Mint 15 And Ubuntu 13.10 [Quick Update]

• list the packages available in a PPA added on your system;
• download packages from PPAs without adding them;
• PPAs backup / restore, along with all the PPA keys;
• update single repositories using a command line tool (by the way, when you add a PPA using Y PPA Manager, it’s updated without updating all the software sources) called “update-ppa” - usage example: “sudo update-ppa ppa:webupd8team/java”;
• some options that should help you re-enable the working PPAs when upgrading to a newer Ubuntu / Linux Mint version;
• remove duplicate PPAs;
• Unity quicklists / optional AppIndicator;
• more.

A complete list of features can be found on Launchpad.


You can submit feature requests or report bugs @ Launchpad.

Install Y PPA Manager in Ubuntu or Linux Mint

To add the Y PPA Manager PPA and install the application in Ubuntu or Linux Mint, use the following commands:

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

Author: Andrew
Source: www.webupd8.org

Y PPA Manager 0.9.9 Released With Support For Linux Mint 15 And Ubuntu 13.10

• list the packages available in a PPA added on your system;
• download packages from PPAs without adding them;
• PPAs backup / restore, along with all the PPA keys;
• update single repositories using a command line tool (by the way, when you add a PPA using Y PPA Manager, it’s updated without updating all the software sources) called “update-ppa” - usage example: “sudo update-ppa ppa:webupd8team/java”;
• some options that should help you re-enable the working PPAs when upgrading to a newer Ubuntu / Linux Mint version;
• remove duplicate PPAs;
• Unity quicklists / optional AppIndicator;
• more.

A complete list of features can be found on Launchpad.


You can submit feature requests or report bugs @ Launchpad.

Install Y PPA Manager in Ubuntu or Linux Mint

To add the Y PPA Manager PPA and install the application in Ubuntu or Linux Mint, use the following commands:

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

Author: Andrew
Source: www.webupd8.org

Highly Configurable GNOME Shell Theme `Elegance Colors` Sees New Release

• supports GNOME Shell 3.6 and 3.8;
• major UI changes with better organized options in the GNOME Tweak Tool style;
• undo/redo abilities;
• many new options to customize the theme;
• the text color of highlighted elements is now automatically adjusted
• 5 new presets (there are 10 presets now);
• you can now use symbolic colors and add custom CSS and images in the configuration file/preset (this isn’t available via GUI);
• performance improvements.

Here are a few more Elegance Colors screenshots:

Install Elegance Colors in Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-extensions

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:satyajit-happy/themes
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-theme-elegance-colors

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.user-theme name 'elegance-colors'

elegance-colors

Author: Andrew
Source: www.webupd8.org