Deepin Software Center (DSC) is the Software Center of the Deepin Linux distribution. It allows Installing new applications in just one click, supports parallel downloading, resuming downloads, update notification and cache cleaning. DSC also comes with colorful skins that can be swapped as your mood changes.
Déjà Dup is a simple backup tool. It hides the complexity of backing up the Right Way (encrypted, off-site, and regular) and uses duplicity as the backend.
Install
Open a terminal window and run:
sudo apt-get install deja-dup -y
Usage
Déjà Dup can be accessed via Applications Menu > System > Backup or typing the following command: deja-dup-preferences.
On the Overview tab a summary of your backup settings is displayed and have options to enable automatic backups, restore a backup or perform a backup.
On the Storage tab you can choose a location for your backups. It can be a remote location.
On the Folders tab you can choose what folders to backup and what folders to ignore.
On the Schedule tab you can choose the backup frequency (Daily, Weekly, Every 2 Week, Monthly) and the old backups removal policy (keep backups at least a month, two months, three month, six months, a year or forever).
Backup
Once you choose the backup option a progress dialog will be shown to you.
A system notification is displayed upon backup completion.
Restore
Start the restore process by choosing the backed up files location.
Next you must choose a backup version using a backup date.
Select where the backup files should be restored to.
Confirm your selections.
A progress dialog will be displayed while the files are being restored.
When the process is completed a new dialog will be shown. You're files are now restored. Please note that your modified files will be replaced by your backed up files, the removed files will be restored and new files (that haven't being backed up yet) will remain untouched.
Note
I find Déjà Dup most useful for backing up personal files. But lets say you want to backup your root partition as is, so you can easily restore a fresh copy with all your favorite programs already installed. In this situation you can boot a live distribution and use Déjà Dup to backup your root partition, however unwanted files might remain in the system. I'll explore this subject on following posts.
Here's the instructions for adding the Linux Mint Menu to Xubuntu.
Linux Mint Menu running on Xubuntu 12.04
Install Mint Menu
NOTE: Before proceeding please confirm that you have Xfce 4.10 installed (Applications Menu > About Xfce), because xfce4-xfapplet-plugin depends on libxfce4util6 >= 4.9.0 and xfce4-panel >= 4.9.2 and those versions are available in the Xfce 4.10 Dev PPA. You can learn on how to install Xfce 4.10 here.
Copy and paste the line below on a terminal window. This line adds the Linux Mint repository and its key and then installs mintmenu and xfce4-xfapplet-plugin packages.
Updated 26/10/12: These instructions are also valid for Quantal (12.10).
On a previous article I wrote about installing HandBrake in Xubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin, however, at that moment there weren't packages built for Precise, so we had to install the packages for Oneiric manually. Now packages for Precise are available. Bellow instructions are provided for adding the PPA and install HandBrake.
Install
Open a terminal window and run (you can choose to install command line HandBrake and/or HandBrake with GUI):
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases -y
sudo apt-get update
# Run to install HandBrake with command line interface
sudo apt-get install handbrake-cli -y
# Run to install HandBrake with graphical interface
sudo apt-get install handbrake-gtk -y
Usage
HandBrake can be accessed via Applications Menu > Multimedia > HandBrake or typing the command HandBrakeCli for command line HandBrake and typing the command ghb for HandBrake with GUI.
Usually the color picker tool from graphics applications don't allow color picking outside the program. So Gcolor2 becomes useful because it allow to pick a color anywhere within the desktop.
Gcolor2 running on Xubuntu 12.04
Install
Open a terminal window and run:
sudo apt-get install gcolor2 -y
Usage
Gcolor2 can be accessed via Applications Menu > Graphics > Gcolor2 or typing the following command: gcolor2.
Update 07/01/2015
Synapse is no longer officially maintained (it's not even available on Ubuntu repositories since version 14.04) so its stability is not assured.
Synapse is a semantic launcher written in Vala that you can use to start applications as well as find and access relevant documents and files by making use of the Zeitgeist engine.
Synapse running on Xubuntu 12.04. Start typing the name of the application you want to run and Synapse will try to auto-complete and will launch it when you hit return.
Install
Open a terminal window and run:
sudo apt-get install synapse -y
Usage
Synapse can be accessed via Applications Menu > Accessories > Synapse or typing the following command: synapse.
Synapse runs on the background and can be activated using the keyboard combination Ctrl+Space. This combination and other settings (like add to startup) and be altered accessing the preferences dialog:
Whats is "Deep Freeze"? Deep Freeze, by Faronic, is an application for Microsoft Windows and MAC OS X which restores the computer back to its original configuration each time the system is restarted.
In Xubuntu the same can be accomplished using Ofris. Ofris is a command line tool, easy to use and offers options to lock the system for a specific user or for all users. Please be aware that Ofris only freezes the users' home directory; applications installed while the system is locked with remain installed after unlocking.
There's also an AppIndicator available that goes by the name of Gofris, which makes all the Offris options available with a couple of clicks.
Even though Ofris and Gofris work on recent Xubuntu distributions, there's no package available on the PPA, so instructions for both older and newer Xubuntu releases are provided. Instructions should work for 32 and 64 bits machines.
Please note that Ofris and Gofris are conflicting packages. This means that you have to choose one to install, can't install both.
Ofris can be accessed typing the following command in the command line: ofris-en. After running this command a option menu is displayed on the terminal. The options description is quite clear and to select one just type the corresponding number.
$ ofris-en
===================================================
Dafturn Ofris Erdana - Locking your Systems
By : Muhammad Faruq Nuruddinsyah
===================================================
Your choice :
1. Freeze the system for this User only
2. Freeze the system for specified User
3. Freeze the system for all Users
4. Unfreeze the system
5. View status
6. Exit
Please insert your choice number :
If you want to see Ofris in action, here's a video created by gotbletu:
Gofris Usage
Grofris can be accessed via Applications Menu > System > GOFRIS or typing the following command: gofris-en. Gofris will make all Ofris options available on Xfce's panel. Just click on the indicator icon an choose a option from the popup menu.
Gofris running on Xubuntu 12.04
Gofris uses system notifications to give user feedback.
Gofris informing the user that the system has been locked
Grub Customizer is a graphical grub2 settings manager. It allows the configuration of the boot entry list, default entry, visibility timeout, foreground/background colors, resolution and some other boot parameters.
Grub Customizer can be accessed via Applications Menu > System > Grub Customizer or typing the following command: grub-customizer. It'll prompt for authentication before running.
First, let's install the libreoffice-gtk that will provide desktop integration (the office applications will has the system look-and-feel) and will automatically install the core functionality.
sudo apt-get install libreoffice-gtk
Then run the commands that install the components you need:
Alternatively, LibreOffice can be installed using Ubuntu Software Center (Applications Menu > Ubuntu Software Center). Type libreoffice in the search box, then the office components (Base, Calc, Draw, Impress, Math and Writer) can be installed by selecting each one and clicking install.
Installation process for LO Base using USC
Usage
LibreOffice and its components will be installed under the Office section in the "Application Menu".
On the command line this commands are available: libreoffice, lobase, localc, lodraw, lofromtemplate, loimpress, lomath, loweb, lowriter.
key-mon is utility to show live keyboard and mouse status for teaching and screencasts.
Install
Navigate to keymon download page and download the deb file with the highest version number (1.13-1 at the time of this writing), then open a terminal window, change current directory (cd) to the download directory and run:
key-mon can be accessed via Applications Menu > Graphics > KeyMon or by typing key-mon on a terminal.
When key-mon is running, it'll show the keyboard and mouse events. If you right click inside the key-mon window you can access its settings and enable window decoration, which is useful for moving the window around.
Every package in Ubuntu has a set required packages, a set of recommended packages and a set of suggested packages. The required packages are dependencies, so their installation is mandatory, but the installation of other two sets can be skipped. The recommended and suggested packages are not essential to the functioning of the package being installed. Disabling the installation of recommendations allows to save a lot of disk space.
Example 1: recommendations enabled
$ sudo apt-get install texworks
...
The following extra packages will be installed:
lmodern luatex texlive-base texlive-binaries texlive-common texlive-doc-base
texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-base-doc texlive-luatex texworks-help-en
Suggested packages:
perl-tk texlive-xetex texworks-scripting-lua texworks-scripting-python
The following NEW packages will be installed:
lmodern luatex texlive-base texlive-binaries texlive-common texlive-doc-base
texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-base-doc texlive-luatex texworks
texworks-help-en
0 upgraded, 11 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 91.6 MB of archives.
After this operation, 174 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?
Example 2: recommendations disabled
$ sudo apt-get install texworks
...
Suggested packages:
texlive-xetex texworks-scripting-lua texworks-scripting-python
Recommended packages:
texlive-latex-base texworks-help-en
The following NEW packages will be installed:
texworks
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 2,360 kB of archives.
After this operation, 3,617 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?
This is a great example of the amount of disk space that can be saved: 4MB against 174MB.
Disable automatic recommendations
Disable recommendations temporally (for single package installation), adding the --no-install-recommends option:
Disable recommendations permanently, using apt.conf file:
echo -e 'APT::Install-Recommends "0";\nAPT::Install-Suggests "0";' | sudo tee /etc/apt/apt.conf
Alternatively, Synaptic (available at Applications Menu > Settings > Synaptic Package Manager) can be used to disable automatic installation of recommend packages. Just access Settings > Preferences > General and uncheck "Consider recommended packages as dependencies".
A QR code is a type of barcode that consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. It's a compact way of providing information and a smartphone can be used for reading that information.
Qreator is an application that can create QR codes for URL, Text, Location and Wifi Settings. The QR code can be saved as a PNG image file or copied to the clipboard.
Qreator is available at Applications Menu > Accessories > Qreator.
It can also be accessed with the command /opt/extras.ubuntu.com/qreator/bin/qreator, supplying it one of the following options:
Usage: qreator [options]
Options:
--version show program's version number and exit
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-v, --verbose Show debug messages (-vv debugs qreator_lib also)
-u, --url Create a QR code for a URL
-t, --text Create a QR code from text
-l, --location Create a QR code for a location
-w, --wifi Create a QR code for WiFi settings
Tip: this website can be used to read information from QR code images (and create codes as well).
Here's a nice video (from ubuntued.info) that exemplifies Qreator usage:
Inkscape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.
Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It is very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more. We also aim to maintain a thriving user and developer community by using open, community-oriented development.
Some great Inkscape tutorials can be found: here. At FlossManuals there's a Inkscape manual that introduces the program basics. And there's also a "Getting Started Guide" available here, written by Bethany Hiitola.
JDownloader simplifies downloading files from One-Click-Hosters like Rapidshare.com or Megaupload.com - not only for users with a premium account but also for users who don't pay. It offers downloading in multiple paralell streams, captcha recognition, automatical file extraction and much more. Of course, JDownloader is absolutely free of charge. Additionally, many "link encryption" sites are supported - so you just paste the "encrypted" links and JD does the rest. JDownloader can import CCF, RSDF and the new DLC files.
Actually, this package performs a pseudo-installation. When JDownloader is run for the first time (Applications Menu > Internet > JDownloader), it'll be installed in your $HOME, under ~/.jdownloader.
After downloading and installing, JDownloader will ask you to select your language, choose a destination for your downloads and whether you'd like to install the FlashGot Firefox extension.
Krita (Swedish word that means chalk or crayon) is a KDE program for sketching and painting which provides a start-to-finish solution for creating digital art. Krita explicitly supports the following fields of painting: concept art, creation of comics and textures for rendering.
I've been using Krita for some time (see here what I've done with Krita) and my experience is very good: it has a "easy to paint" interface; lots of useful resources (brush engines, brush presets, gradients, textures...); tools for drawing (including geometric shapes), selection tools, tools for transforming selections, etc. It also has some image manipulation features like image scaling/cropping and effect filters, so I don't have to use another program (like GIMP) to perform this adjustments.
Even though it's a KDE application it works very well on Xubuntu. Its installation will use some disk space (about 300MB for the version available in the Ubuntu repository and 500MB for the version available in the Project Neon repository). But that's not a reason for not trying Krita.
Bellow you'll find instructions for installing Krita 2.4 (stable release) or Krita 2.5 (unstable release).
Install Krita 2.4 (stable)
Krita 2.4 is available in the Ubuntu Precise Pangolin (12.04) repository, so, to install it just open a terminal window and run:
sudo apt-get install krita -y
Install Krita 2.5 (unstable)
Krita 2.5 will be released sometime in July 2012 and at the time of this writing Krita 2.5 is still alpha, but I've been trying it out and it feels very stable (I haven't lot any of my work yet).
If you want to install Krita 2.5 from source you can find here easy step-by-step instructions , but it's a lot easier to use Project Neon's PPA (daily builds) and you'll also get automatic updates. Open a terminal window and run:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:neon/ppa -y
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install project-neon-calligra -y
# Important! add the following two lines to your ~/.profile file and then log out and log in
export KDEDIRS=$KDEDIRS:/opt/project-neon
export PATH=$PATH:/opt/project-neon/bin
