Linux Mint 19.3 XFCE is a refined and polished distro

Linux Mint 19.3 has been released. I find Linux Mint one of the most polished, refined, and stable linux distros. Below are the release notes from DistroWatch and my XFCE test run screen shots. I also tried the Mate and Cinamon desktops and they are also very polished variations which offer different menu structures. The grub boot loader has finally been given a facelift, now including a black stylish black background. The inclusion of Draw instead of Gimp, and the new System Reports are welcome additions. Gimp has a long learning curve and the average user can now be productive with Draw. Celluloid is the video player now, which reminds me of VLC. Also the Software Store seems to load faster. I added the Nemo and Caja file managers which offer bookmarking locations.

The Linux Mint team has published an update to the project's 19.x series, which is based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. The distribution's newest release is Linux Mint 19.3 which is available in three editions (Cinnamon, MATE, and Xfce). One of the big new features in this release is proactive System Reports which will notify the user of potential problems. "You'll notice something new in your system tray after you install Linux Mint 19.3. A little warning icon tries to catch your attention and indicates there are a few things for you to review. In the past, we worked on improving documentation (such as the installation guide) and the welcome you get when you first log in (the first steps section of the Welcome Screen for instance). In Linux Mint 19.3, we're going a step further and we're trying to detect potential issues in your computer. If you're missing a language package, a multimedia codec, if a hardware driver or a new version of Linux Mint is available, this little icon will let you know and provide solutions." Further details can be found in the release announcements (Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce). Download (pkglist): linuxmint-19.3-cinnamon-64bit.iso (1,942MB, SHA256, signature, torrent), linuxmint-19.3-mate-64bit.iso (2,004MB, SHA256, signature, torrent), linuxmint-19.3-xfce-64bit.iso (1,902MB, SHA256, signature, torrent).

Source: https://distrowatch.com/?newsid=10768

Display Linux Distribution Logo in ASCII Art in Terminal

See the picture above? You might have seen people sharing such desktop screenshot with terminal showing the logo of the Linux distribution used in ASCII art. Looking at those screenshots, you may wonder how to show the logo of Linux distribution in ASCII art in the terminal.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you two tools that will display Linux logo in the Linux terminal:
Neofetch
Screenfetch

Apart from the logo of the Linux distribution you are using, these tools also display the following system information:
Linux distribution version
System model
Linux kernel version
Uptime
Packages
Shell version
Screen resolution
Desktop Environment
Windows Manager
Theme and icons
Terminal tool in use
CPU, GPU and RAM information

Honestly, the main purpose of these tools is to be used in screenshots to show other users what distribution you’re running, what theme and icons you’re using etc.
1. Use Neofetch to display Linux distribution logo in ASCII art

Neofetch is a command line system information tool written in BASH that displays information about your system next to an image, generally your OS logo, or any ASCII file of your choice.

Neofetch is highly customizable through the use of command line flags or the user config file. There are over 50 config options to mess around with and there’s the print_info() function and friends which let you add your own custom info. You can read its wiki page for more information.

Neofetch can also be used in macOS and BSD systems.

Installing Neofetch
To install Neoftech in Debian, Ubuntu and other Ubuntu-based Linux distributions such as Linux Mint, elementary OS, Linux Lite, Zorin OS etc, use the command:sudo apt install neofetch


If you are using Ubuntu 16.04 or if the above command didn’t work, you can use this PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:dawidd0811/neofetch
sudo apt update
sudo apt install neofetch


For other Linux distributions, check the installation instructions on Neofetch GitHub page.

Using Neofetch is fairly simple. Just type neofetch in the terminal and it will display the Linux logo in ascii form:




2. Use screenFetch to display Linux distro logo in ASCII art

screenFetch is another way to display Linux distribution logo in the terminal. You don’t have to specify anything, it will auto-detect the Linux distribution. And not just logo, screenFetch also displays some basic hardware information alongside it.

Install screenFetch
To install screenFetch in Ubuntu based distributions such as Linux Mint, elementary OS, Linux Lite, Zorin OS etc, you can use the command below:

sudo apt-get install screenfetch


Note: For Ubuntu-based distributions, you’ll have to add a PPA (as suggested by Benjamin in the comments). Use the command below:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:djcj/screenfetch
sudo apt-get update
apt-get install screenfetch


To install screenFetch in Arch-based distributions such as Antergos, Manjaro, Chakra etc, use the command below:sudo pacman -S screenfetch


To install screenFetch in Fedora-based Linux distributions such as Korora etc, use the command below:
|
sudo dnf install screenfetch

Using screenFetch

Using screenFetch is utterly simple. Open a terminal and use the command below:

screenfetch


That’s it. You’ll see the logo of your Linux distribution displayed in ASCII art along with some information about your system:


Taking screenshot with screenFetch [Optional]

Now, this is optional because you can use the Screenshot tools to take the screenshot of the displayed ASCII art in the terminal. But if you install command line screenshot utility, scrot (it is available in the default repository of several Linux distributions), you can automatically take a screenshot of the displayed Linux logo along with your desktop with the command below:

screenfetch -s


If I combine screenFetch with vintage looking cool-retro-term, the result is even more awesome:

Source: https://itsfoss.com/display-linux-logo-in-ascii/

Linux Mint Tweak: How to change Firefox to use Google search as the default

Issue: Linux Mint locks down the Firefox browser with a few sponsored search engines. My favorite Google is not even available. See below.

As a Linux Mint user, it is frustrating to use the supplied Firefox search engines of DuckDuckGo,, LinuxMint, Startpage, Twitter, and Wikipedia. There is a work around available right from the Linux Mint website. Select the Google Icon. The link is below. After applying the fix, select Google as your default search engine.

https://www.linuxmint.com/searchengines/anse.php?sen=Google&c=y

And after applying the update, you can select Google.

It's Official: Chromium-Based Microsoft Edge Web Browser Is Coming to Linux

Microsoft has confirmed during its Ignite 2019 conference that the forthcoming Chromium-Based Microsoft Edge web browser will also be available on the Linux platform.



Initially designed only as a replacement for the existing Microsoft Edge web browser that ships with the latest Windows 10 operating system, the new Chromium-based build aims to be cross-platform, allowing users to use it on their Windows PCs, Macs, and even Linux PCs, as well as on mobile devices.

During the Microsoft Ignite 2019 conference, an annual gathering of technology leaders and practitioners, the tech giant revealed all the platforms on which is upcoming Edge browser will be compatible with, such as Android, iOS, and macOS, and, to our surprise, a Linux version will be coming in the near future as well.

Chromium-based Microsoft Edge launches on January 15th, 2020
At the moment, Microsoft's Chromium-based Edge web browser is still in development with an RC (Release Candidate) build already available for download on Windows and Mac platforms. The company confirmed the general availability on January 15th, 2020, but don't expect it to be available on Linux at that time.

Microsoft hasn't detailed its plans for the Chromium-based Edge browser on the Linux platform, so we'll just have to trust them and wait for the first pre-release version to hit the streets to believe Microsoft really does care for Linux users and it's not just showing off to be cool again.
While the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge web browser promises numerous interesting features, most of them will be useful only to Windows users, of course, so for Linux users the upcoming web browser might be yet another Chromium clone, so you better stick with the original, which is open source and free to download on all GNU/Linux distributions.

Here are all the platforms the new Microsoft Edge is compatible with. Linux coming later. pic.twitter.com/k5k0slsfAK — Zac Bowden (@zacbowden) November 4, 2019

Source: https://news.softpedia.com/news/it-s-official-chromium-based-microsoft-edge-web-browser-is-coming-to-linux-528111.shtml

How to Mount and Use an exFAT Drive on Ubuntu Linux

Problem mounting exFAT disk on Ubuntu

The other day, I tried to use an external USB key formatted in exFAT format that contained a file of around 10 GB in size. As soon as I plugged the USB key, my Ubuntu 16.04 throw an error complaining that it cannot mount unknown filesystem type ‘exfat’.

The reason behind this exFAT mount error

Microsoft’s favorite FAT file system is limited to files up to 4GB in size. You cannot transfer a file bigger than 4 GB in size to a FAT drive. To overcome the limitations of the FAT filesystem, Microsoft introduced exFAT file system in 2006.
As most of the Microsoft related stuff are proprietary, exFAT file format was no exception to that. Microsoft has been open sourcing few of its technologies and exFAT is one of them. The newly open sources exFAT file system will be supported in the upcoming Linux Kernel 5.4 release. You may check your Linux kernel version to make things sure.
But for Linux Kernel 5.3 and lower versions, it remains a proprietary software. Ubuntu and many other Linux distributions don’t provide the proprietary exFAT file support by default. This is the reason why you see the mount error with exFAT files.

How to mount exFAT drive on Ubuntu Linux

The solution to this problem is simple. All you need to do is to enable exFAT support.
I am going to show the commands for Ubuntu but this should be applicable to other Ubuntu-based distributions such as Linux Mint, elementary OS etc.
Open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut in Ubuntu) and use the following command to enable the universe repository because this repo contains your packages. Chances are that you already have the Universe repository enabled but no harm in double checking.

sudo add-apt-repository universe

Update the repository information:

sudo apt update

Now, you can install the required packages.

sudo apt install exfat-fuse exfat-utils

Once you have installed these packages, go to file manager and click on the USB disk again to mount it. There is no need to replug the USB. It should be mounted straightaway.

Source: https://itsfoss.com/mount-exfat/

Linux Mint 19.2 XFCE with Conky Drex Theme

I had been running ChalletOS 16.04 LTS (based on Xubuntu 16.04 LTS) on all my linux desktop builds. The Screenlets Info Manager widget has been an anchor for me staying with this older distro. Not many system monitors were appealing with a minimum of trouble setting them up. This weekend I decided to give Conky Manager a try. After trying some Conky Themes, found one I liked, and tweaked it for my i7-2600 quad core 8 thread PCs. It is called Conky Drex. The great thing is you can run Conky on pretty much any distro. So my preferred distro is Linux Mint XFCE 19.20. I have written about this stable distro before. It is polished and fast and has a large user community and based on Xubuntu. Below are my results and a link where to get the Conky theme. I am now a happy Conky user ! Enjoy.

.
.

You can get Linux Mint here:
https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mint

You can find Conky Drex here:
https://www.deviantart.com/ilnanny/art/Conky-DREX64-650318284

How to install the Conky Manager:
Install Conky Manager in Ubuntu 18.04+

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mark-pcnetspec/conky-manager-pm9
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install conky-manager

to launch Conky Manager

conky-manager

Ubuntu 19.10 Flavours Released, Now Available to Download

New versions of Ubuntu MATE, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Kubuntu and other official Ubuntu spins are now available to download.

Ubuntu’s family of flavours issue their latest iterations alongside today’s main attraction, the release of Ubuntu 19.10.

And, like regular Ubuntu, all of the flavours mentioned in this post are supported with critical bug fixes, security patches and app updates for 9 months.
So keep reading for a quick look at what’s new and notable in each release, plus the download links you need should you want to grab a freshly spun ISO and go hands on for yourself!

Ubuntu 19.10 Official Flavours

 

Ubuntu MATE 19.10

If any flavour knows how to deliver, it’s Ubuntu MATE. Always sporting a sizeable change log — I do wonder how there’s anything left to improve! — Ubuntu MATE 19.10 features a wealth of changes, including:

• Mate desktop 1.22.2
• Evolution email client replaces Thunderbird
• GNOME MPV replaces VLC
• Updated Brisk menu with various new layouts

There’s also a new ‘notification centre’ applet (complete with ‘do not disturb’ mode) to help ensure you never miss an alert, plus a new screen magnifier, assorted theme tweaks, and improvements to the Marco compositor.
Does all of that sound good to you? If so, grab an ISO and go explore:

Download Ubuntu MATE 19.10 (64-bit .iso)

Note: there are separate builds of Ubuntu MATE 19.10 tailored to small form-factor PCs including the GPD MicroPC, GPD Pocket 2 and TopJoy Falcon.

 

Xubuntu 19.10

Image credit: @bluesabredavis

As expected, Xubuntu 19.10 comes toting the recent (and well received) Xfce 4.14 release. This uplift helps give the flavour a little extra oomph throughout its core.

• Xfce 4.14
• Xfcewm improvements, including Vsync, HiDPI support
• Xfce Screensaver replaces Light Locker
• Two new keyboard shortcuts:
  • ctrl + d – show/hide desktop
  • ctrl + l – locks screen
• New wallpaper

If all of that doesn’t sound as exciting as other releases on this page well …That’s kinda the point! Xubuntu’s core appeal is that it offers a functional, yet reliable, user experience.
The lightest on this list, the Ubuntu 19.10 ISO is a relatively svelte 1.65GB:

Download Xubuntu 19.10 (64-bit .iso)

 

Ubuntu Budgie 19.10

 

Ubuntu Budgie 19.10 feathers its nest with some welcome, if iterative, changes. These include an improved alt + tab switcher, a clutch of new wallpapers, and several other enhancements:

• Budgie desktop 10.5
• Nemo file manager v4
• New options in Budgie desktop settings
• New accessibility options 

All of the core benefits of Ubuntu 19.10 are present here too, including Linux 5.3, NVIDIA drivers on the ISO, experimental ZFS install support, etc.

Download Ubuntu Budgie 19.10 (64-bit .iso)

 

Kubuntu 19.10

Kubuntu 19.10 ships with the KDE Plasma 5.16 desktop and associated technologies (the most recent Plasma release, KDE Plasma 5.17, is available via the back ports PPA).

• KDE Applications 19.04.3
• Qt 5.12.4
• Latte dock available in the archive
• KDE4 support removed

I’m really keen to explore KDE Plasma and Kubuntu 19.10 — should autocorrect ever let me type it without changing it back to ‘Ubuntu’ — looks like a pretty good place for me to start.

Download Kubuntu 19.10 (64-bit .iso)

 

Ubuntu Studio 19.10

Ahh, Ubuntu Studio. The creative workshop of Linux distributions, this. Ubuntu Studio 19.10 has the following changes (amongst others):

• Xfce 4.14 desktop
• OBS Studio included by default
• Ubuntu Studio Controls 1.11.3
• Updated apps, including Kdenlive, Audacity, et al

Ubuntu Studio ships with a lot of awesome open source software by default. As a result it’s the “fattest” of all Ubuntu flavours, with its live image weighing in at a whipping 3.2GB!

Download Ubuntu Studio 19.10 (64-bit .iso)

Which Ubuntu spin is your flavourite? Let me know below!

Source: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/10/ubuntu-19-10-flavours-released?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+d0od+%28OMG%21+Ubuntu%21%29

The Complete Guide to Theming Your Linux XFCE Desktop!

Unix vs. Linux: The Differences Between and Why It Matters

Linux is everywhere these days. For the ultimate proof, look no further than Windows. With the release of the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2, Microsoft is shipping a Linux kernel with its operating system. Not that long ago, that would have seemed like an April Fools’ joke.

While Linux may provide the backbone for a large part of the internet, it wasn’t created from nothing. Before Linux, there was Unix, and the newer operating system owes much of the credit for its current popularity to ideas born in the 1970s and even the 1960s.
What Is Unix?

While Unix itself strives for simplicity, describing exactly what it is isn’t easy. The original Unix was an operating system from AT&T, but these days, the UNIX trademark belongs to the Open Group. Unix is also used as a category to describe an entire family of operating systems.

Then there is the Unix philosophy. This serves as a general guideline for Unix programs to follow, with the core being that each program should do one thing well. Instead of aiming to pack in every feature imaginable, a Unix tool should simply do its job, ideally producing output that can feed directly into the input of another program.


These days, there are many Unix variants available, in both free and commercial varieties.

What Is Linux?

Linux is another term that is more difficult to describe than you may imagine. Technically, a complete Linux distribution is a “Unix-like” operating system, but this is just the beginning.

Many people use Linux as a shorthand term for what would be more accurately described as GNU/Linux. Linux itself is just the kernel, the part of the operating system that does the core computing and interfaces with the hardware. The core utilities that run on top of this kernel are just as important.



GNU is a recursive acronym that stands for “GNU’s Not Unix.” The GNU project doesn’t contain any original Unix code, but provides all the utilities you would expect to find in a Unix operating system. This is a key difference between Unix and Linux.

Unix vs. Linux: A Brief History

Even the creators of Unix didn’t create it whole cloth. Instead, Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie took inspiration from an earlier operating system, Multics. At Bell Labs, these two took concepts from that operating system and rewrote their own in C, which Ritchie designed and helped develop.

Unix was not open-source software. Instead AT&T sold commercial licenses, but it wasn’t the only company working on Unix. Academics at Berkeley initially developed an add-on called the Berkeley Software Distribution, or BSD. Eventually BSD became its own complete Unix.



In 1980s and into the 1990s, various companies began selling their own Unix offerings. These included IBM’s AIX, Sun’s Solaris, and Xenix, which later became SCO UNIX.

Linux Takes the World by Storm

In addition to the various Unix offerings, several Unix-like variants were available too. One of these was MINIX, which was intended for academic use. A software developer from Helsinki named Linus Torvalds was frustrated with the limitations of MINIX and aimed to create a similar kernel that could take advantage of the new PC he had bought.

At the same time, Richard Stallman was searching for a kernel. He had begun the GNU project in 1983, building free drop-in replacements for various Unix utilities. What he didn’t have at the time was a free, open-source kernel. Torvalds was already using GNU utilities with his kernel, and eventually so were others.

Linux quickly saw widespread interest. By the mid 1990s, the project had exploded in popularity due to the free-by-design nature of both the kernel and GNU toolset. Even as various other free Unix operating systems became available, the commercial nature of the first 20 years of Unix loomed over them. This still affects the Unix vs. Linux battle to this day.
How and Where Is Unix Used These Days?

Right now, popularity might be the main difference between Linux and Unix. That said, there are freely available Unix distributions that run many of the same software as Linux. The two most popular are FreeBSD and OpenBSD, both BSD variants, as the names imply.

Then, of course, there is Apple. Any Apple device you buy these days, be it a MacBook, iPhone, or even Apple Watch is running a Unix-like operating system. On an iPhone or Apple Watch, you would never know this from using them. That isn’t the case on a Mac computer though.








Simply launch the Mac Terminal app, and you’ll have access to standard Unix utilities like ls, pwd, and even editors like vim. These tools can be quite powerful. For an introduction, see our beginner’s guide to the Mac terminal.


Linux Is Everywhere

Linux might be everywhere, but that doesn’t mean you see it. Android, the most popular mobile operating system in the world, is a fork of Linux. You wouldn’t know that from running it, but behind the scenes is a version of the Linux kernel modified for use in mobile devices.





Much of the internet runs on Linux. While Windows and Unix variants power some servers, the vast majority of servers run a Linux distribution. Much of this has to do with the free nature of the operating system, but also how robust it is, which means less downtime. Unix isn’t less robust by any means, but the popularity of Linux means that most people will choose it in a Unix vs. Linux shootout.

One of the most high-profile appearances of Linux in the past few years is the Windows Subsystem for Linux. This lets you run Linux utilities on Windows, which is a major boon for web developers and software engineers. We have a guide on how to get started with the Windows Subsystem for Linux.


Are You New to Unix or Linux?

Running a computer with either Unix or Linux is easier than ever before. Windows doesn’t run Linux at its core, but it’s still possible to at least run Linux on top of Windows. Any Apple device you buy has a variant of Unix at its core as well.

If you’re looking to run a “true” Linux on your computer, that’s easy as well. You could always install one of the countless Linux distributions on your computer yourself. Would you prefer a computer with Linux pre-installed? Look no further than our list of awesome Linux laptops.

Source: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/linux-vs-unix-crucial-differences-matter-linux-professionals/

15 Best Linux Applications that You MUST HAVE in 2019

OnlyOffice, an Open Source Office Suite for Windows, MacOS & Linux, Gets Updated

A veritable surfeit of office suites have seen updates this past month, includingWPS Office, SoftMaker Office 2018 and FreeOffice. Clearly not wanting to be left out, OnlyOffice has issued a new update too.

OnlyOffice – which is supposed to be styled ONLYOFFICE, but I find that a bit too shouty – is a free, open-source office suite for Windows, macOS and (of course) Linux.

Weirdly, for a suite with a fair bit of momentum gusto behind it, it’s not an app I’d heard of until now.

OnlyOffice 5.3 Released

OnlyOffice Desktop Editors are fully compatible with Office Open XML formats

The ‘OnlyOffice Desktop Editors’ is a set of three productivity apps moulded in the guise of their Microsoft Office analogs: Word, Excel and PowerPoint.


This mimicking is not inherently a bad thing; looking like the most popular office apps in the world means those who are used to them (i.e. many) can switch to a free alternative with less friction, and less re-learning.


The apps “[allow you] to create, view and edit documents stored on your Windows/Linux PC or Mac without an internet connection”, says the official website, adding that the suite is “fully compatible with Office Open XML formats: .docx, .xlsx, .pptx”.

If the line about editing documents ‘without an internet connection’ sticks out it’s because is is; OnlyOffice is also available as a deployable set of online office apps for enterprise, cloud and business users.

The online versions even work with NextCloud.

Offering both an online version (‘OnlyOffice Editors’) and a desktop version (‘OnlyOffice Desktop Editors’) means the distinction between the two is often blurred.

To be clear, this post is about an update to the version of OnlyOffice for the desktop.
New features in OnlyOffice 5.3

OnlyOffice Desktop Editors 5.3 brings a raft of recent improvements in the online editors to the desktop equivalents.


Features including:
Edit pictures (flip, rotate, etc) without plugins
Connect the desktop apps to cloud (OwnCloud, NextCloud, etc)
Save documents as
MS Office Open XML templates (DOTX, XLTX, and POTX),
OpenDocument templates (OTT, OTS, and OTP)
ISO-standardized PDF
Support for audio and video files in presentations
“Send” plugin to send documents via default mail client
Support for Chinese language
Toolbar button placement tweaks


A full list of features and fixes is available on GitHub.

Download OnlyOffice for Linux

OnlyOffice Desktop Editors is free, open source software, with packages available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

Source: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/07/onlyoffice-desktop-editors-5-3-update
Linux users have a choice of package formats in both 32-bit and 64-bit including native installers and an AppImage:

Download OnlyOffice Desktop Editors