Rhythmbox Fix: Restore Album Cover Art in Left Pane in Ubuntu 13.04

Up until Rhythmbox version 2.96 (the current version in Ubuntu 13.04 is 2.98), the bottom section of the left-hand pane where your devices and playlists are was reserved for the current album’s cover art. Since then, that has been removed and a much smaller version of the cover appears left of the song info in the top toolbar. While this is merely a cosmetic issue, and nothing to get too upset over, nonetheless it was pretty cool seeing a nice-sized picture of the cover appear at the bottom of the left pane.

But fret not, as there is a way to get this back, via the Cover art display plugin for Rhythmbox. And while it currently isn’t in the software repos for Raring Ringtail 13.04, I’ll show you how to get around that too, and install it easily.

First, you’ll need to add the plugins PPA to your software sources, which you can do by pasting the following command into the terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:fossfreedom/rhythmbox-plugins

Once that’s done, update your software sources list with:

sudo apt-get update

Now to install the plugin (if there is a current version of the plugin that can be installed):

sudo apt-get install rhythmbox-plugin-artdisplay

If you’re informed that the package could not be found, it means there is still no version ready for 13.04, but this is no real problem, as we can just install the 12.10 version. To fix this, you’ll need to edit the Rhythmbox plugins sources list:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list.d/fossfreedom-rhythmbox-plugins-raring.list

… then copy the line that should be at the top of the file deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/fossfreedom/rhythmbox-plugins/ubuntu raring main and paste it at the bottom of the file, then replace “raring” with “quantal“. Once you’ve saved and closed the file, the sources list for plugins will specify to look for both 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) and 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal) versions, and when you sudo apt-get update again, all the available plugins will be listed in your package manager. You can then install this plugin and others via Ubuntu Software Center or Synaptic Package Manager, or just run the install command again (sudo apt-get install rhythmbox-plugin-artdisplay).

Once it’s installed, all you have to do is enable it. Go to Edit > Plugins and enable the Cover art display plugin. Your cover art should now be in the left pane, with the smaller one still in the toolbar near the song title.

If for some reason you don’t want the smaller cover in the toolbar any more (I say have both, but that’s up to your tastes), you can disable that by going to the View menu and un-checking Album Art.

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Note: If you’re reading this in Ubuntu 13.10 or above, and there is no current version after adding the PPA, edit the sources file accordingly, meaning substitute the word relating to your current version with that of the previous one. In other words, in Raring Ringtail 13.04 we had to replace “raring” with “quantal” for Quantal Quetzal 12.10, in Saucy Salamander 13.10 you would replace “saucy” with “raring“, and so forth (and if all fails, just replace that with “quantal“, which definitely has a version of the plugin).

How to Install GnomeBaker CD/DVD Burning Suite in Ubuntu 12.10

If you want to try the GnomeBaker disc writer as an alternative to Brasero, or already had it only to find it uninstalled when you upgraded Ubuntu to 12.10, there is no version for Quantal Quetzal, but you can nonetheless get it to install. Unfortunately, it isn’t as easy as just getting Synaptic Package Manager or Ubuntu Software Center to install it, as it won’t be found in the official repositories.

First, you need to add the PPA, which you can do by running the following command in the terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnomebaker/stable

Now you need to edit that source list:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list.d/gnomebaker.list

… and replace both instances of quantal with oneiric, then save/exit the file.

Next, run the following to update your software sources:

sudo apt-get update

… and then install GnomeBaker:

sudo apt-get install gnomebaker

You’ll now have GnomeBaker back on your system, or have a great alternative to Brasero if you’ve never used it before!

Ubuntu USB Storage: How to Safely Remove Drive When Eject and Unmount Are Only Options

A couple of years or so ago, Ubuntu‘s file manager, Nautilus, gave you the ability to “Safely Remove Drive” when right-clicking an attached USB hard drive (or flash drive), rather than just simply “Unmount” it. The difference between the two is that when you simply unmount a drive, it is still listed as attached (but not mounted) in Nautilus‘s left-pane. For many, seeing the drive completely removed was reassuring, since it could then be unplugged safe in the knowledge there would be no data loss, or physical damage to the device.

However, in the Ubuntu 12.10 upgrade, we lost this option, and now only have “Unmount” and “Eject” (which is exactly the same as “Unmount“, except in the case of CD/DVD drives where it will eject the disc tray).

While “Safely Remove Drive” may yet make a return (it has caused a flood of complaints about this backward move), for now you can do it via the command-line if you really prefer this to simply unmounting.

First, if you’re unsure what the drive’s address is, run the following in the terminal:

mount|grep ^'/dev'

If you only have one internal hard drive, and no other storage devices attached, it should be something like /dev/sdb. To safely unmount and totally remove the drive, enter the following command, replacing /dev/sdb with your own drive’s designation if need be:

udisks --unmount /dev/sdb1 && udisks --detach /dev/sdb

You should now see your drive disappear from the file manager’s left-pane.

Note that in the unlikely event you have a partition other than the first partition on the drive mounting, you will need to change the “1″ (ie: sdb1) in the command to reflect that.

Ubuntu Fix: Add Program to List of Applications in “Open With” When Right-Clicking Files in Nautilus

If you’ve installed a program for working with specific file types, you might find that Ubuntu‘s file manager Nautilus has no idea about it when you right-click a file and go to Open With, where a list of alternative programs to the default are presented. While in most cases that new app will be found when you choose Other Application… from the context menu, sometimes this isn’t the case.

Back in Gnome 2.x, if the program wasn’t listed, you could choose to add a custom application, which let you specify the command manually. However, this is no longer the case, but there should be another way to rectify this (see also the command-line interface method at the bottom).

In this example, we’ll look at getting Nautilus to recognise PDF Editor (pdfedit) as a viable program when right-clicking PDF documents, since the file manager doesn’t know it exists, and one can no longer just specify pdfedit as a custom command (at least via the GUI).

While you could be forgiven for thinking you’d need to hack a list of applications (for example, ~/.local/share/applications/mimeapps.list), the answer in fact lies in editing the .desktop file of the newly-installed program, and simply inserting three characters into it. Basically, this will allow Nautilus to add it to its context menu (actually, it specifies that the application can be passed a filename, which is what is missing).

All you need is the actual command that runs the program (e.g. pdfedit for PDF Editor), and you should be able to guess the .desktop file’s name (e.g. pdfedit.desktop), and open it for editing with the following command (replacing pdfedit with the appropriate name in your case):

gksudo gedit /usr/share/applications/pdfedit.desktop

(Note that the .desktop files should be in /usr/share/applications, but if not will be in ~/.local/share/applications, so change the path accordingly if you need to. Also, if you cannot correctly guess the .desktop file’s name, you can get the correct name by going to the folder and browsing for it).

[Desktop Entry]
Name=PDF Editor
Comment=PDF Editor
Exec=pdfedit
Icon=/usr/share/pdfedit/icon/pdfedit_logo.png
Type=Application
StartupNotify=false
Terminal=false
Categories=TextTools;Viewer;Graphics;Qt;

Find the Exec= line and you will see the command listed after it. Simply go to the end of the line, hit the spacebar, and add %f, so the line looks like:

Exec=pdfedit %f

(Once again, substitute your command’s name for pdfedit).

Simply save the file when exiting, and you shouldn’t even need to restart Nautilus, let alone log out or totally reboot. You should immediately see the desired program in the list of apps presented in Other Application…, and once you open a file with it, the app should be easily accessible in the list of secondary programs found in Open With.

If you want to make that program the new default for opening the particular filetype, you can now right-click one, choose Properties, go to the Open With tab, click on the app under Recommended Applications, and click the Set as default button.

CLI Method to Change Application & Set Default:

You can easily open a file with another application using the mimeopen command in the terminal. However, if the program isn’t already in the list of recommended applications, you’ll need to make it the default for that filetype first. Simply open a terminal in the folder where the file is and run a command like the following (substituting Recipes.pdf with the appropriate filename and filetype):

mimeopen -d Recipes.pdf

Please choose a default application for files of type application/pdf

    1) GIMP Image Editor  (gimp)
    2) Adobe Reader 9  (AdobeReader)
    3) Document Viewer  (evince)
    4) Other…

use application #4
use command: pdfedit

Simply choose the number that corresponds to Other… (in this case it’s 4), then type the command of the program after use command: (you probably won’t need to specify the path, but if it doesn’t work without it, it should be something like /usr/bin/pdfedit).

After that, you can switch default applications quite easily with the above command, or use the --ask option to just open the file in the desired app without changing the default (note there is no option to choose Other…, which is why you have to use the -d switch first):

mimeopen --ask Recipes.pdf

Please choose an application

1) pdfedit  (pdfedit-usercreated-2)
2) GIMP Image Editor  (gimp)
3) Adobe Reader 9  (AdobeReader)
4) Document Viewer  (evince)

use application #

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That’s it – hopefully with either of the methods you’re not cursing Nautilus any more, and have more control of your filetypes than your file manager currently provides.

Ubuntu Hardware Permissions: How to Set Ownership of Drive or Partition (Internal & External Hard Disks)

If you’ve attached an external hard drive for backing up your files, or created a new partition for storage, only to find you don’t have the permissions to use it, you’d be understandably frustrated. But it’s actually quite easy to remedy by simply running a command in the terminal in the form of:

sudo chown -R username:username /partition/mount-point

Note that the above isn’t the actual command you’ll be using, as you’ll need to replace each instance of username with your actual username, and also determine your mount-point, which is not the device name (eg: /dev/sdb1).

To find the mount-point, run mount in the terminal, and locate the line that corresponds to the drive or partition in question. If you have never named (or set the label for) it, it will probably look something like:

/dev/sdb1 on /media/bf9a2c45-491a-4778-9d76-47832fe38820

If you have set the label with something descriptive, it should like similar to:

/dev/sdb1 on /media/1Tb Pocket Drive

As you can see, your mount-point will look something like /media/bf9a2c45-491a-4778-9d76-47832fe38820 or /media/1Tb Pocket Drive, so all you need to do now is run a command like one of the following, replacing the relevant info with what is appropriate to you:

sudo chown -R billgates:billgates /media/bf9a2c45-491a-4778-9d76-47832fe38820

sudo chown -R billgates:billgates ‘/media/1Tb Pocket Drive’

Note that if your custom label contains spaces (e.g. 1Tb Pocket Drive) , you will need to enclose the entire mount-point path in single quotes, but won’t need them if it’s a single word or multiple words joined by hyphens or underscores.

That’s it – you should now be able to do whatever you want with the drive or partition in question, as you’re now the owner.

Ubuntu Fix: Restore Blue Faces to Normal in YouTube Movies & other Adobe Flash Videos

If you’ve been getting blue faces when watching YouTube clips, or any other Adobe Flash videos, the cause can be hard to pinpoint. When faces and flames, and other red/orange elements, turn varying shades of blue, it can be due to a buggy Flash update (especially for 64-bit users), or it can be due to video card driver issues (currently it seems to be affects a few Nvidia users after upgrading to Ubuntu 12.04 – read more at the bottom). Whatever the cause, this issue usually drives people to uninstall Flash, then reinstall an earlier version.

But hopefully the following fix will correct the colours in the movies you watch in Firefox or Chrome (and any other web browsers) without having to resort to such drastic measures. All you need to do is create a text file and paste a line of text into it, but since saving it will fail unless you create the folder first, do so by running the following in the terminal:

sudo mkdir /etc/adobe/

Now to create the file and open it for editing:

gksu gedit /etc/adobe/mms.cfg

When it opens, paste in the following:

EnableLinuxHWVideoDecode=1

Close the file, and confirm you want to save the changes. Now, all you need to do is restart your browser and your clips should look fine. If not, you may need to reboot, and hopefully all is fine when you return.

The EASY WAY: Now that you understand what’s needed, you could cheat and just do the whole process with one command:

sudo mkdir /etc/adobe/ && echo -e "EnableLinuxHWVideoDecode=1" | sudo tee /etc/adobe/mms.cfg > /dev/null

If you also want to force the Flash player to bypass its GPU validity checks (GPU validation – see below), then the command would be:

sudo mkdir /etc/adobe/ && echo -e "OverrideGPUValidation=1\nEnableLinuxHWVideoDecode=1" | sudo tee /etc/adobe/mms.cfg > /dev/null

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That Didn’t Work, or Caused Problems? In some cases, you might find you need to disable GPU validation in addition to, or instead of, telling Flash to use vdpau hardware acceleration. If you’re experiencing trouble at some sites but not others (like YouTube videos are now fine, but at Vimeo the Flash plugin crashes), you may want to play around with the settings. For example, to enable the acceleration but bypass GPU validation, the text in mms.cfg would be:

OverrideGPUValidation=1
EnableLinuxHWVideoDecode=1

… or the following to just bypass GPU validation:

OverrideGPUValidation=1
EnableLinuxHWVideoDecode=0

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To Revert Back: If these tweaks have caused you more headache than it was worth, just delete the entire folder you created with:

sudo rm -r /etc/adobe

Or you can just edit the file with:

gksu gedit /etc/adobe/mms.cfg

… and set EnableLinuxHWVideoDecode= to 0 if you prefer to keep it.

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Nvidia users: Apparently the issue (which Adobe reportedly won’t be fixing) is caused by having hardware acceleration enabled, so right-clicking a Flash video, choosing Settings… and disabling “Enable hardware acceleration” can often fix this. However, the above fix is perhaps more elegant since you’re allowing Flash to use vdpau hardware acceleration, rather than just disabling it altogether.

Ubuntu 12.04 Upgrade Fix: Access Missing Startup Applications in Gnome 3 “Classic”/Fallback Desktop

If you’re a Gnome 3 Classic (“Fallback“) desktop user, you may have noted that there’s no longer any visible way to get to your Startup Applications. This is made even more frustrating by the fact that after the upgrade to 12.04, Unity users get easy access to it via the system menu at the end of the panel.

While this oversight could do with correcting, you can still access Startup Applications by entering the following command in Run Application via Alt+F2, or in the terminal:

gnome-session-properties

While running this via the user menu would be ideal, you could make a desktop launcher for it, or even one for your panel which would mean one-click access.