Pages

Change PHPMyAdmin port number from 80 to another


Add a new port number to Apache

Port 80 is the default number of PHPMyAdmin. On certain occasions, we need to change the port number to another. Here are the steps to accommodate PHPMyAdmin to a new port number. 

Open ports.conf file, 

sudo mousepad /etc/apache2/ports.conf

Add a new port number (e.g. 8001). Add the following line, save and close the file.

Listen 8001

Open a new Apache virtual host. Open the following file,

sudo mousepad /etc/apache2/sites-available/phpmyadmin.conf

Copy the following piece of code into the file,

<VirtualHost *:8001>
        ServerName localhost
        <Directory /usr/share/phpmyadmin>
                AllowOverride None
                Require all granted
        </Directory>
        DocumentRoot /usr/share/phpmyadmin
        Include /etc/phpmyadmin/apache.conf
        ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/phpmyadmin.error.log
        CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/phpmyadmin.access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file. Apply the following commands one by one.

sudo a2disconf phpmyadmin
sudo a2ensite phpmyadmin
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service
sudo service apache2 restart

Open PHPMyAdmin in the browser, localhost:8001

Reference

https://askubuntu.com/questions/896988/change-phpmyadmin-port-from-80-to-another-number

Install startup disk creator on Ubuntu

Startup disk creator helpful to burning operating system ISO files to flash drive (pen drive). Earlier versions of Ubuntu were preloaded with a Startup disk creator. Startup disk creator is not available with the latest versions of Ubuntu Linux. To install the tool, apply the following command on the terminal,

sudo apt-get install usb-creator-gtk

Startup disk creator icon visible at Application launcher after the installation.

Installation of LAMP stack on Debian/Ubuntu

Popular enterprises applications run on the LAMP stack; Linux, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, and PHP. WordPress, Drupal, Moodle, and similar application software run on LAMP. Installation of a LAMP stack on Linux-based operating systems like Debian/Ubuntu is comparatively easier than before.

Install the latest stable version of Debian/Ubuntu first. I prefer to use lightweight Ubuntu flavour Xubuntu for this purpose. Here are the steps and commands to install LAMP infrastructure.

Update the Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade


Install complete collection of Google fonts on Debian/Ubuntu

Google Fonts is an extensive collection of Free and Open Source fonts. The collection includes more than one thousand fonts and releases under Open licenses (SIL Open Font License and Apache License). Google fonts can make use with word processors (LibreOffice, Abiword) after the installation on Linux based operating systems.

Users have to visit the Google Fonts website to download and install the font one by one, and it's a time-consuming process. The font collection maintains through the GitHub repository, where all font files can be download directly. Users can download the entire font collection and put it in the font directory of Linux based operating systems. Then the fonts become available for the entire system.

Download font collection

Visit https://github.com/google/fonts and download the fonts package.


Installation of fonts

A compressed file with the name fonts-main.zip download to the Download folder. Extract the zip file. A folder will appear with the name fonts-main. Rename the fonts-main folder to gfonts and copy the folder to home.

Move the gfonts folder to /usr/share/fonts, where fonts are located in Ubuntu. Apply the following command to move the fonts to the Ubuntu font folder.

sudo mv gfonts /usr/share/fonts

Refresh the cache of the font directory to take effect the changes.

sudo fc-cache -f -v

Check the new fonts available.

Open LibreOffice Writer and check the font, EB Garamond available.

Install Brave browser on Ubuntu and Debian


Brave is a free and open-source web browser based on the Chromium web browser. Brave is a privacy-focused browser and automatically blocking online advertisements and website trackers in its default settings. The extensions of the Chrome browser also works with Brave. Bookmarks and extensions from Chrome import after the installation of Brave browser. Brave browser has its own search engine for web search.

Following are the commands to install, apply the commands one by one.

sudo apt install apt-transport-https curl

sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/brave-browser-archive-keyring.gpg https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/brave-browser-archive-keyring.gpg

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/brave-browser-archive-keyring.gpg arch=amd64] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ stable main"|sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list

sudo apt update

sudo apt install brave-browser

Install Teamviewer on Debian/Ubuntu from DEB repository

Teamviewer is a popular remote desktop access software. Often, Linux users install Teamviewer from .deb package. Users need to upgrade the software manually whenever new version arrives. Now Linux users can install Teamviewer by adding software repository. This method is convenient to keep the software new all time. Teamviewer update along with updating Linux operating system. This method can apply to install Teamviewer on Ubuntu and Debian. Following are the steps to add and install Teamviewer from DEB repository. Open a Terminal and apply the following commands for each purpose.

Add the repository address to the system (change editor name, here I am using Mousepad)

sudo mousepad /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teamviewer.list

Add software repository address in the file,

deb https://linux.teamviewer.com/deb stable main

Save and close the file.

Add the repository key,

sudo su

wget -O - https://download.teamviewer.com/download/linux/signature/TeamViewer2017.asc | apt-key add -

sudo apt update

sudo apt install teamviewer

The software will appear on Applications > Internet after the successful installation.

Reference

https://community.teamviewer.com/English/kb/articles/30666-how-to-update-teamviewer-on-linux-via-repository

Install Anydesk from DEB repository

Anydesk is a remote desktop access software and offers a user-friendly interface. Traditionally Anydesk installs from the .deb package. Users need to upgrade the software manually whenever a new version arrives. Now Linux users can install Anydesk by adding a software repository. This method is convenient to keep the software new all time. Anydesk update along with updating Linux operating system. Following are the steps to add and install Anydesk from the DEB repository.

Ubuntu 22.04 users need to download and install the following package before the installation of Anydesk.

cd

wget http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/p/pangox-compat/libpangox-1.0-0_0.0.2-5+b2_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i libpangox-1.0-0_0.0.2-5+b2_amd64.deb

Become a Root user,

sudo su

Add the repository key,

wget -qO - https://keys.anydesk.com/repos/DEB-GPG-KEY | apt-key add -

Add the repository

echo "deb http://deb.anydesk.com/ all main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/anydesk-stable.list

Update the software index.

apt update

Install Anydesk

apt install anydesk

The software will appear on Applications > Internet after the successful installation.

Reference

http://deb.anydesk.com/howto.html?_ga=2.12911607.170071280.1612773999-782358492.1612773999

Find a Dell Vostro laptop with Ubuntu Linux

Image courtesy: Dell.com

Dell Vostro is a product segment of business-oriented laptop computers. I love the Vostro series because of its durability and good performance compared with other brands. Hard core Linux lovers would like to buy laptops without Windows operating system. They prefer to get laptop with either pre-loaded Linux operating system or to install the favourite Linux. Often computer shops and online stores stocked with laptops with pre-loaded Windows operating system. Windows operating system with laptop computer cost you extra Rs. 8000. If you buy from Dell website, customers can select either Windows/Linux as operating system and help to save money. Visit the Dell website and there you can choose laptop computer with Linux operating system.

Speed up updates in Linux Mint

Software repositories are computers located in various places. Indian Linux users can select servers located in India to download and install packages to keep the system new. Linux Mint allow the users to select fastest software repository and speed up the update process. This feature facilitates the packages download speedy manner. Otherwise, need to stick on with slow software repository and wait more for downloading the package updates.

Open Application Launcher > Administration > Software Sources.

The Software Sources will open up. Two sources available, one for Linux Mint and another for Ubuntu. We need to select fast sources for our computer.
 Click on Mirrors and find the fastest mirror accessible from your place.
Select the software repositories for both Linux Mint and Ubuntu. Open Terminal and apply following commands to update the system.

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Hypnotix: a live TV app for Linux

Here is a Live TV streaming application for Linux based operating systems. Nowadays, people depend on YouTube for watching Live TV. Commercial streaming services display advertisements while managing channels, and it disturbs the watching experience. 

Hypnotix is a Free Software and licensed under GPLv3. It is a stand-alone application and free from advertisements. 

Install LibreOffice 7 on Debian 10 (Buster)

LibreOffice 7 is now out and Debian 10 users can try it. Follow the steps mentioned below,

Update the Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Install Gnome icons

sudo apt install libreoffice-gnome

Add LibreOffice 7 software repository

sudo mousepad /etc/apt/sources.list
Add the following line at the bottom
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster-backports main
Save and close the file and apply the following commands,
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -t buster-backports libreoffice

Install Zotero using Snap package management tool

Image courtesy: https://snapcraft.io

Zotero reference management tool has no Debian/Redhat package for installation. Users had to install from source. Installation from source is not easy for Linux newbies. Now Zotero snaps packaging available.

Snap is a software package management and deployment system developed by Canonical (Mother organisation of Ubuntu Linux). It's easy to deploy applications using the Snap tool. Snap package management system can work with most Linux distributions (e.g. Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch). Packages are called 'snaps' and the package management tool called 'snapd'. Linux users have to install the snapd tool in Linux to install applications in the snap repository.

Install Snap 

sudo apt update
sudo apt install snapd

Restart the computer after the installation of snapd.

Install Zotero using snap

Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organise, cite, and share your research sources.
Apply the following command to install Zotero snap package,

sudo snap install zotero-snap

Zotero icon will appear in application launcher (Zotero icon appeared in Office > Zotero in my Ubuntu 20.04 LTS).

If Zotero icon not appeared on the application launcher, apply following command to run manually,

sudo cp /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications/* /usr/share/applications/

A Snap store is available; users can search and find apps from here, https://snapcraft.io/store. 

Reference

Snap getting started

How to Install and Use Snap on Ubuntu 18.04

Introduction to Ubuntu Linux

Introduction to Ubuntu Linux is a user guide that suits newbies. This book based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. It includes information on the evolution of Linux-based operating systems, Ubuntu flavours, Ubuntu basics, installation of Ubuntu, and basic commands. This book gives the step-by-step instructions with clear explanations that demystify Ubuntu Linux.

This book is for persons with little or no knowledge of Ubuntu. It takes you, step by step, through what you need to know to work with Ubuntu. 
  • Gives an idea on how to install Ubuntu.
  • Selection of Ubuntu flavours.
  • Introduction to Ubuntu desktop.
  • Basics of Linux commands.
  • How to enable regional languages with Ubuntu.
  • How to keep in touch with the changes in Ubuntu Linux.

Introduction to Ubuntu Linux is the learning companion you need. It assists in hands-on learning that lets you dive into Ubuntu Linux. 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International.

Download the book from here

Install GNOME Classic desktop on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

GNOME Classic desktop.
The default desktop of Ubuntu is Gnome 3. Its new interface is different from the older version of GNOME 2. Those who are reluctant to use GNOME 3 can switch to the old fashioned desktop. Install the gnome-shell-extensions package to give the classic desktop look for GNOME 3. GNOME Classic is an old-fashioned desktop compared to the GNOME 3. GNOME Classic Desktop can work faster than GNOME 3 Desktop.

Apply the following command to install GNOME Classic desktop,

sudo apt update
sudo apt install gnome-shell-extensions

Once the installation complete, log out from the Gnome desktop to enter into the classic desktop. Select the Log Out option from the System Menu on the top right of the Gnome desktop.


Pressing the button at the bottom of the login screen will pop up the list of desktops. Select the GNOME Classic from the list. Enter the password and log in.

Autocrat for bulk certificate generation

Autocrat is a multi-purpose document merge tool works with Google Drive. It allows you to take data from a spreadsheet and merge it into a document via a template.  Tell Autocrat which fields to merge via <<merge tags>> and then let Autocrat mass-generate personalized documents.  Users can also send the documents as email attachments. Autocrat is useful to generate certificates when conducting, seminar, webinar, competitions, quiz etc. It's possible to reuse the template for further use.

Here I am going to discuss how to create and send event certificates in large numbers using Google Drive and Autocrat.

Prepare a certificate template

First, create a folder for the certificate making purpose inside Google Drive. All files regarding the certificate save here.
Prepare a certificate from Google Slide available at Google Drive. Select a good template from there. Here First Name and Last Name put inside <<merge tags>>. Here values will load from the user's details from a spreadsheet.