[HOW TO] Upgrade Xubuntu 12.10 to 13.04

In this article we'll see how to upgrade Xubuntu 12.10 to Xubuntu 13.04, using both a graphical method and a command line method.

But first there's a few thing to bear in mind:

• Backup your files.
• The upgrade might take some time, so be patient.
• If you added PPAs manually they'll be disabled. If they support 13.04 you can enable them again later.

Upgrade from Software Updater

Open "Update Manager" (Applications Menu > Settings Manager > Software Updater). On the dialog presented to you (similar to the image above) click the "Upgrade" button next to the message that is saying that a new Xubuntu version is available. Then follow the instructions presented to you.

Note: If during the installation you are given a list of services that should be stopped/restarted, for each service run this command (replace SERVICE_NAME with the service name from the list):

sudo service SERVICE_NAME restart

Upgrade from terminal

Open a terminal window and run the command below. Then follow the instructions presented by the command.

sudo do-release-upgrade

References

Ubuntu Manpage: do-release-upgrade

[HOW TO] Install Xubuntu on USB device

Xubuntu 13.04 image size is bigger than the size available on a CD. So, the image must now be burned on a DVD or installed on a USB device. This article teaches how to install a image file on USB device using UNetbootin.

Install ISO on USB

First we need to install UNetbootin. Open a terminal window and run:

sudo apt-get install unetbootin extlinux -y

Run UNetbootin using the command unetbootin or using the Applications Menu > System > UNetbootin launcher. Click on the "Select disk image" button.

Select the image file.

Make sure your USB drive is mounted and select it. Then press OK.

Be patient while UNetbootin installs the image on the device.

Finally, either restart your PC and start using the USB drive or continue working and restart later.

Important! you must change your boot settings so that your PC will boot on USB instead of hard disk drive.

[NEWS] Xubuntu 13.04 Released

Xubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail has been released!

The main changes are:

• Gnumeric and GIMP are reintroduced on the ISO
• New application versions: Catfish 0.6.3 and Parole 0.5.0 with many bug fixes
• Updates for the Greybird theme and a new wallpaper
• Duplicate partitions are no longer shown on desktop or Thunar
• Updated documentation

Xubuntu 13.04 can be downloaded here. You'll need a USB device or a DVD in order to install.

References

Xubuntu.org

[SOLVED] Network icon missing from Xfce's panel

Symptom

The network manager icon is missing from Xfce's panel.

Fix

First, we need to install the package network-manager-gnome; open a terminal window and run:

sudo apt-get install network-manager-gnome -y

Now, make sure you have in your startup a entry with "Network" as its name and "nm-applet" as its command. See this if you need assistance in adding applications to session's startup.

[NEWS] VLC reaches 2.0.6

VLC has received an important update. Here's the main changes of version 2.0.6 'Twoflower':

• Regressions of the 2.0.x branch of VLC fixed.
• Support for Matroska v4 files.
• Fixes for MKV, Ogg, AVI, WMV, HTTPS and subtitles support.
• Improvements of the D-Bus and MPRIS2 interfaces.

Upgrade

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:videolan/stable-daily -y && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y

References

VideoLan.org

[HOW TO] Get Fingerprint Authentication in Xubuntu

In this article we'll get authentication via fingerprint working in Xubuntu.

Install

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:fingerprint/fingerprint-gui -y && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install libbsapi policykit-1-fingerprint-gui fingerprint-gui -y

Usage

Fingerprint GUI can be accessed typing the following command: fingerprint-gui.

On the main interface select the Finger tab, choose a finger to scan and click Next; this step selects the Scan/Verify tab. Now swipe your finger on your reader. When the scan finishes you'll be asked if you wish to scan another finger.

Once you finish the finger scanning, restart the session by logging out. You'll be able to use your fingerprint to log back in.

Besides logging in, you'll be able to use your fingerprint in other authentications: sudo, su, gksu.

Uninstall

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo apt-get remove libbsapi policykit-1-fingerprint-gui fingerprint-gui -y && sudo apt-get install policykit-1-gnome -y

References

[How To] Get Your Fingerprint Reader Working in Ubuntu | OMG! Ubuntu!
Fingerprint readers integration

[NEWS] Xubuntu 13.04 Beta 2 Released

Xubuntu 13.04 Beta 2 has been released.

Xubuntu 13.04 is mostly a maintenance release, and there won’t be too many new features. In Beta 2, we’ve fixed the following bugs:

• Documentation is updated to 13.04
• New version of Catfish (0.6.1) is included and fixes a lot of bugs
• More updates for the Greybird theme

In addition, new features and bug fixes introduced in Beta 1 and earlier include:

• Gnumeric and GIMP are reintroduced
• New version of Parole (0.5.0) is included
• Duplicate partitions are no longer shown on desktop or Thunar
• Some updates for the Greybird theme

Beta 2 is not suitable for production machines because is still unstable and is available here.

References

Xubuntu Beta 2 is out! « Xubuntu