Install HandBrake in [X]Ubuntu 12.04 (deb)

As I mentioned on the previous post, HandBrake is a GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, and it can be installed in Xubuntu 11.10 via ppa. However packages for Precise are yet to be released. Luckily, if you manually download the deb files you'll be able to install them correctly.

Install

First, open http://goo.gl/zIohH in your web browser and download the version you're interested in (handbrake-gtk is the version with graphical interface and handbrake-cli is the version for command line interface), also make sure you download the correct version (i386 or amd64) for your Xubuntu installation (type uname -m on terminal, if you're unsure).

Once downloaded, click the deb files to open and installed them via "Ubuntu Software Center" or open a terminal window and run:

sudo dpkg -i handbrake-*.deb

References

official HandBrake releases for Ubuntu

Install HandBrake in [X]Ubuntu 11.10 (ppa)

HandBrake is a GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder.

Personally I use it to transcode some videos so that I can see them on my Android smartphone. It has already some presets with enconding settings specific for iPhone, iPad and Android.

It includes one with a graphical interface and one with command line interface. I find them both very useful. For instance, even though we can create a queue of jobs with the graphical interface I use the version with the command line interface when I want to automate some other things with a shell script.

Install

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases -y && sudo apt-get update

If you only want to install the version with graphical interface, type:

sudo apt-get install handbrake-gtk

If you want to install the version with command line interface, type:

sudo apt-get install handbrake-cli

If you want to install both versions, type:

sudo apt-get install handbrake-*

References

official HandBrake releases for Ubuntu

[FIX] Multimedia keys, Clementine and Xubuntu 12.04

Clementine is my preference for listening and manage my music collection, and one thing that I like about clementine is that it integrates well with my Xubuntu desktop. However the version in the precise repository (1.0.1+dfsg-1ubuntu2) doesn't work with keyboard multimedia keys.

I've tried the development version (1.0.1-362-gd34c6e6~precise) and the problem is fixed.

Install

Open a terminal window and run:

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

References

Clementine Development ppa

[FIX] gnome-open/gvfs-open open nautilus instead of actual file

When using gnome-open/gvfs-open to open a file when nautilus is set as the default file manager, the file is not opened with the preferred application, instead nautilus is opens highlighting the file.

After some research I found this to be a bug yet to be fixed. But knowing that exo-open behaves properly, I came out a solution that's a little a hack: replace gnome-open and gvfs-open for exo-open.

Fix for YOUR USER only

As a prerequisite you should have a "bin" directory on your $HOME and it should be added to your $PATH. Them open a terminal window and run:

ln -s `which exo-open` ~/bin/gnome-open && ln -s `which exo-open` ~/bin/gvfs-open

Fix for ALL USERS

Open a terminal window and run:

# backup sudo mv /usr/bin/gnome-open /usr/bin/gnome-open-bak sudo mv /usr/bin/gvfs-open /usr/bin/gvfs-open-bak # create symbolic link to exo-open sudo ln -s /usr/bin/exo-open /usr/bin/gnome-open && sudo ln -s /usr/bin/exo-open /usr/bin/gvfs-open

References

http://askubuntu.com/questions/35602/using-gnome-open-to-open-pdf-files

[HOW TO] Create cbz file from command line

Open a terminal window, change current directory to the directory where the jpeg files are located and run:

zip filename.cbz *.jpg

References

http://en.flossmanuals.net/e-book-enlightenment/making-cbzs/

Map graphics tablet to a output

The general command form to map the tablet's input area to the given output is:

xsetwacom --set $DEVICE MapToOutput $OUTPUT

Where $DEVICE is the name of the tablet's device as given by the xsetwacom --list command, and $OUTPUT is the name of the output as given by the xrandr command.

Once this command is issued, the desktop cursor will remain within the boundaries of the selected output when the tablet's pen is moved.

Example:

First, find out the name of the device:

$ xsetwacom --list
Wacom Bamboo1 stylus id: 20 type: STYLUS
Wacom Bamboo1 eraser id: 21 type: ERASER
Wacom Bamboo1 cursor id: 22 type: CURSOR

In this example the graphics tablet has 3 devices, so we'll map them all to a specific output:

$ xsetwacom --set "Wacom Bamboo1 stylus" MapToOutput "VGA1"
$ xsetwacom --set "Wacom Bamboo1 eraser" MapToOutput "VGA1"
$ xsetwacom --set "Wacom Bamboo1 cursor" MapToOutput "VGA1"

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_tablet
Ubuntu Manpage: xsetwacom

View and Edit *.epub files in Xubuntu

I use two programs to view ePub files: FBReader and calibre. Bellow you'll find a brief description of each one of them and instructions to installed them. If you're just looking for a simple and light program to view ePub files, my suggestion is to choose FBReader.

None of the announced applications support editing of ePub files, so I also suggest a third application, sigil.

View

FBReader

FBReader is an e-book reader for Linux/Windows XP PDA/UMPC/desktop computer. It not only supports ePub file format, but for instance it can also be used to open chm and rtf files.

A file can be opened in FBReader using the file manager. An other way of opening files is using the built-in library management system; FBReader looks for supported files in directories listed in the Book Path option.

Install FBReader

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo apt-get install fbreader

Once installed you can find it in the Applications Menu's Office group, as "E-book reader".

Calibre

Calibre is a free and open source e-book library management application.

Besides providing an e-book reader, calibre also offers a library management system, e-book conversion, e-book syncing to devices, download news and convert it into e-book format and a content server to access you e-book collection online.

Install Calibre

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo apt-get install calibre

Edit

Sigil

Sigil is a multi-platform EPUB WYSIWYG ebook editor.

Install Sigil

Go to http://code.google.com/p/sigil/downloads/list and download the appropriate (x86/x64) *.bin.

Open a terminal window, change current directory to the above download's destination and then run:

chmod +x Sigil-*Setup.bin
sudo ./Sigil-*Setup.bin

Next the setup dialog will open, just click OK/Next/Yes to install accepting the defaults (sigil will be installed in /opt/sigil).

Uninstall Sigil

Open a terminal window and run:

cd /opt/sigil
sudo ./uninstall

References

http://www.fbreader.org
http://calibre-ebook.com
http://code.google.com/p/sigil