Installing A.I. Text to Image FOOOCUS (runs locally)

Want to have your own Text to Image A.I.?  Let's get one up and running on Ubuntu 24.01.1 (I had it running on 22.04 too).  Let's install FOOOCUS (yes that is really three 'O's).  The Fooocus project is built entirely on the Stable Diffusion XL architecture and uses a local web front end.  Under the ADVANCED option on the web front end you can easily just tick a box to change the style and there are a lot of them.  You can also change the resolution of the generated images.  For more information about Fooocus or to find instructions to get it running on a Windows or Mac or different ways to install it on Linux check out their GIT page.

You should have a modern graphics card but you don't have to, it will run on CPU only but slowly.  According to the GIT Page you'll run about 17 times slower without a modern graphics card and you'll need a minimum of 32gb of ram.  I'm using a Nvidia RTX 3060, 32gb ram, AMD 5900X CPU and generate an image in about 30 to 45 seconds depending on settings.   

From their GIT Page here's a list of GPUs, GPU's minimum ram, minimum system ram needed and what you can expect performance wise.

Nvidia on Linux/Windows
GPU Card - GPU - System - Note
RTX 4XXX - 4GB - 8GB - fastest
RTX 3XXX - 4GB - 8GB - faster than RTX 2XXX
RTX 2XXX - 4GB - 8GB - faster than GTX 1XXX
GTX 1XXX - 8GB - 8GB - only marginally faster than CPU
GTX 9XXX - 8GB - 8GB - faster or slower than CPU

Linux AMD GPU
GPU Card - GPU - System - Note
AMD GPU - 8GB - 8GB - Via ROCm, about 1.5x slower than Nvidia RTX 3XXX

Windows/Linux/Mac
GPU Card - GPU - System - Note
CPU Only - 0GB - 32GB - About 17x slower than Nvidia RTX 3XXX

Windows AMD GPU
GPU Card - GPU - System - Note
AMD GPU - 8GB - 8GB - Via DirectML (* ROCm is on hold), about 3x slower RTX 3XXX

MAC 
GPU Card - GPU - System - Note
M1/M2 MPS - Shared - Shared - About 9x slower than Nvidia RTX 3XXX

SAMPLE IMAGE

Enough selling it, lets get it up and running.

We will be using the Linux (Using Python Venv) version.  Your Linux needs to have Python 3.10 or greater installed, and your Python can be called with the command python3 with your venv system working; 

Open a Terminal Window and enter the following command, waiting for each one to finish before executing the next one (some will take a few minutes to execute).

git clone https://github.com/lllyasviel/Fooocus.git

cd Fooocus

python3 -m venv fooocus_env

source fooocus_env/bin/activate

pip install -r requirements_versions.txt

Once that's done you launch the software with:

source fooocus_env/bin/activate

python entry_with_update.py


If you want to open a remote port;

source fooocus_env/bin/activate

python entry_with_update.py --listen

For additional information you should really read the GIT PAGE for FOOOCUS

Ubuntu 24.04.1 AppImages Not Working

I upgraded from 22.04 to 24.04.1 on my Ubuntu box and some of my AppImages stopped working. Not all of them just a few.  First to get AppImages working at all, you have to install libfuse2t64, which is different from what you need on 22.04.

To install libfuse2t64 open a Terminal Windows and run the following command:

 sudo apt install libfuse2t64

Even after this, some AppImages still won't work.  They give an error something like this:

[:FATAL:setuid_sandbox_host.cc(158)]

The SUID sandbox helper binary was found, but is not configured correctly. Rather than run without sandboxing I'm aborting now. You need to make sure that /tmp/.mount_ObsidiOpBPaM/chrome-sandbox is owned by root and has mode 4755.

This is a known issue with no time frame listed for a fix.  The only work around for this I could find is to run your AppImage with the  "--no-sandbox" option like this:

./Appimage_File_Name.AppImage --no-sandbox

This allows your appimages to run but they will NOT BE SANDBOXED.  Know that this could be a problem if you get a rouge appimage so only use this solution if you really need the app and are aware of the risks you are taking.

Fixing Virtualbox after upgrading to 24.04.1

 After I did an upgrade from Ubuntu 22.04 to 24.04.1 I received an Error when trying to run my Windows 10 install in Virtual Box.  The fix was easy:

1.  Open a Terminal Window.

2.  Navigate to \sbin\  (in the root directory)

3.  Run the command:

     sudo vboxconfig

After the command completes, you should be good to go now.

 

Error when using sudo apt-get update: N Skipping acquire of configured file 'main/binary-i386/Packages'

I upgraded from 22.04 to 24.04.1 and while fixing some of source files and running a "sudo apt-get update" to make sure my 24.04.1 system files were up to date I received the following "Error" (really not an "error" just a NOTE):

"N: Skipping acquire of configured file 'main/binary-i386/Packages' as repository 'https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge stable InRelease' doesn't support architecture 'i386'"

The "N" at the beginning means NOTE not ERROR (that would be an "E").  Anyway if you want to make this NOTE go away, do the following:

1.  Open a terminal window and type:

     sudo gedit

2.  Use the OPEN Button in Gedit and navigate to the following directory:

     \etc\apt\sources.list.d

3.  Once in that directory, find the .sources file you are getting the NOTE about:
     In my case it was these two .sources:

          google-chrome.sources
          microsoft-edge.sources

4.  Open the offending .sources file in Gedit and ADD the following line:

     Architectures: amd64

     Your .sources file will look like this when done:

         Types: deb
         Architectures: amd64
         URIs: https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge/
         Suites: stable
         Components: main
         Signed-By: -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
       
        (Your encoded PGP Key{looks like a block of random letters})

5.  Once you're done editing the .sources files in Gedit save it, run "sudo update" and you should be good to go, no more NOTEs (errors) when updating your system files.


What this NOTE is telling you is that there is no 32 bit version (i386) of the app you are trying to update so it's proving you with a NOTE to tell you this.  Adding the Architectures: amd64 tells update to only check for 64 bit versions of your app.

Solaar, Logitech Unified Mouse/Keyboard Configuration App

 I bought a new Logitech M720 Mouse.  It can connect via Bluetooth or a Logitech Unified USB Dongle.  In addition, it can connect to three different device.  Since I already have a Logitech keyboard that is using a unified USB dongle I wanted to pair the new mouse with the old unified USB dongle.  There was no way to do this through hardware and the instructions said you had to use the Logitech software on either a MS Windows Machine or and Apple.  After a little research I found a nice little app called Solaar.  It gives you a way to communicate with your Logitech hardware (mouse/keyboard/unified USB receiver) and pair your peripherals with the unified USB receiver.  It also lets you change some of those peripherals settings, basically giving you a Linux version of the Logitech software.

To install it on Ubuntu 22.04 simply open a Terminal Window and type:

sudo apt install solaar

When it's done simply run the solaar app by typing solaar into your terminal window or finding the app in your start menu.  You should see your Logitech Unified USB Dongle listed.  If not just unplug and plug the dongle back in.  Once you see the dongle simply highlight it and click on the "Pair New Device" button in the lower left corner and follow the onscreen instruction.

Clicking on the different devices you will get their configuration setting and see their battery levels.  Click on the Lock Icons to change the setting.  Lock them back when finished.  Notice in my screen shots my old mouse is grayed out because it is turned off.  My unified USB dongle said it can have 6 devices connected to it.  I currently have 3.

My Keyboard Settings

My M720 Mouse Settings

The Solaar App said it can communicate with a lot of Logitech devices so check it's GitHub page for more information https://github.com/pwr-Solaar/Solaar

Installing and Trouble Shooting CHIRP Radio Programming Software

I bought a Baofeng UV 21R and needed to program it.  After a little research I figured out I could use a piece of software called CHIRP.  Installing CHIRP on Ubuntu 22.04 is not straight forward as it should be and once it's installed you, may run into issues getting your programming cable to be recognized. I did.  

Let's start with installing CHIRP:

1.  Download CHIRP here.
https://archive.chirpmyradio.com/chirp_next/next-20240821/
(Click on the Download the latest CHIRP-next build here link on the download page)

2. Once on the download page, your want to download the chirp-20240821-py3-none-any.whl version by right clicking on it's link and selecting "SAVE LINK AS" option. Put it in your HOME directory root.

NOTE that the number in the middle of the file name will change as the software is updated over time.  Make a note of the name of the file you downloaded as you will need this file name in the following steps.

3.  Now we need to check to see if you have Python version 3 or greater installed on your system.  Open a Terminal Window and type the following followed by the ENTER key:

python3 --version

If you get an Error after this command then you don't have Python3 installed and you will need to do the following three command to get it installed before continuing:

sudo apt install
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install python3

4.  Once Python 3 or greater is installed you now need to install the Python3-wxgtku interface environment to your Python install. Open a Terminal Window and run the following command to install python3-wxgtk4.0:

sudo apt install python3-wxgtk4.0 pipx

5.  Now you will need to add your USER to the "dialout" group by typing the following in Terminal Window (replace <username> with your actual username):

sudo usermod -aG dialout <username>

6.  Now let's install the CHIRP software we downloaded in step 2 (remember the file name I'm using here my be different from the file name you downloaded).  Open a Terminal Window and navigate to the root of your Home directory where you saved the chirp-20240821-py3-none-any.whl file you downloaded in Step 2.  Run the following command

pipx install --system-site-packages ./chirp-20240821-py3-none-any.whl

 NOTE: your file will have a different name then the one I'm using here.  Use your file name, not mine.

7.  Run CHIRP from the Command Line Terminal by typing the following command into a Terminal Window:

~/.local/bin/chirplocal/bin/chirp

8.  Once the software starts connect your USB programming cable to your radio, turn your radio on, and connect your USB cable to your computer.  In CHIRP go to the menu Radio / Down From Radio. You should now see a popup window that looks like this image.  For Port you are looking for something like what I have here "ttyUSB0" the "0" part may be different than mine.  If you do not see something like this for PORT then you need to go to the Addition Steps / Trouble Shooting section below.  For Vendor I have baofeng radios so I picked it.  For Model I have a UV 21R but it is not in the list but the UV-17Pro works for my radio.  Once you click OK you should get an option to Download (read) your radio's memory.  If you get a list of Freqs. in a spreadsheet like layout, congratulation! your good to go and can make any changes you need to your radio and write those changes back to your radio and save your radios file for later recall.  If you don't get the spreadsheet then see the  Addition Steps / Trouble Shooting section below.

Addition Steps / Trouble Shooting

If something went wrong then here are a few things your can try.  

First add permissions for your USER to use the ttyUSBO port by typing the following into a Terminal Window:

sudo usermod -a -G $(stat -c %G /dev/ttyUSB0) $USER

NOTE: Your ttyUSB0 maybe have a different end number, mine here is "0".  If your number is different replace the ttyUSB0 part of the above command with your port name.  The $USER part does NOT need changed unless you are logged on as a different user than the one that needs to use CHIRP.



If that doesn't fix your problem try the following:

In a Terminal Window type the following Command:

lsusb

you should see something that looks like this image

Notice the line:

Bus 005 Device 005: ID 1a86:7523 QinHeng Electronics CH340 serial converter

That is your Programming cable and means that your computer can see it.  This is a good thing but something is interfering with it.

Now run the the following command in a Terminal Window:

sudo dmesg

It will return a long response but the end will look something like this image:

Notice that "brltty" is overriding our ttyUSB0 port (both are trying to claim channel 341) brltty is used by Linux's Virtual Keyboard on my system and I don't need it so I just uninstalled  brltty with the following command from a Terminal Windows

sudo apt remove brltty 


After that everything worked as expected in CHIRP. 

XZ Utils - Checking the Installed Version

XZ Utils has been affected by a backdoor malware. Versions 5.6.0 and/or 5.6.1 are the affected versions. Want to see what version of the XZ Utils you are running? Open a Terminal Window and type the following:

xz --version

Mine returned the following (I'm running Ubuntu 22.04):

xz (XZ Utils) 5.2.5
liblzma 5.2.5

So I'm running version 5.2.5.  If your's returns versions 5.6.0 or 5.6.1, you have the version that has the backdoor malware in it and you need to take action to downgrade your XZ Utils to an older version that does not contain the backdoor.

I am not a security experts and you should research this issue yourself if your affect, Use this solution at your own risk.  If you're running Ubuntu you can update XZ Utils by typing the following in a Terminal Window:

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade xz-utils

In this case the Update with actually downgrade you to a non backdoor version. 

NEMO, Change It's Default Start Directory

I want Nemo (File Manager) to open the Downloads directory by default instead of my Home directory.  Let's change it now 

Step 1.  Right-click on the menu button (bottom left of your desktop).

Step 2.  Left Click on "Configure" from the popup.

Step 3.  Left Click on the "Menu" tab. 

Step 4.  Left Click on "Open the menu editor". 

Step 5.  Left Click on "Accessories", then Left Click on "Files"

Step 6.  Left Click on "Properties" and type "Downloads" to the end of the 'Command' section. 

NOTE: There is a SPACE separating "nemo %U" and "Downloads".  The "Command" section should read:

nemo %U Downloads

If you want Nemo to default to a different directory just replace "Downloads" with the directory name you want to see when Nemo launches. 

ALT key not working on Windows 10 running in Virtualbox

I run Microsoft's Windows 10 as a Virtualbox Guest Machine from my Ubuntu 22.04 HOST.  I switched my Ubuntu 22.04 desktop to Cinnamon from Gnome.  The main reason I use the Windows 10 Virtual is to use Photoshop. 

Photoshop uses several shortcut keys, however when you run Windows 10 virtually, with Virtualbox, it honors some system keyboard shortcuts from your HOST system even when your using the virtual.  In my case Photoshop in Windows 10 uses the "ALT - Mouse (Left Click)"  keyboard shortcut for a lot of its functions.  Unfortunately Cinnamon also uses "ALT - Mouse (Left Click)" as a system keyboard shortcut for "Moving and Resizing Windows" and this Host System Keyboard Shortcut overrides your Virtual Guest making it impossible to use "ALT - Mouse (Left Click)" in Photoshop.

To fix this you need to change the HOST (Ubuntu's) "ALT - Mouse (Left Click)" keyboard shortcut to some other key/mouse combination.  The "ALT - Mouse (Left Click)" keyboard shortcut is assigned to  "Special key to move and resize windows option" by default in Ubuntu with Cinnamon Desktop (and on the Gnome desktop too).  To change the default keyboard/mouse shortcut do the following:

1. Click on your menu button and navigate to:
      MENU --> PREFERENCES --> SYSTEM SETTINGS 

2. Select the WINDOWS settings option.

3. Now select the BEHAVIOR tab.

4.  Finally under the "Moving and Resizing Windows" section;
     a. Select "Special key to move and resize windows option".
     b. Change the shortcut key to  <SUPER>. 

This will change your HOST's shortcut key from ALT Left-Click to SUPER Left-Click.  This mean that when you are in your virtual GUEST (Windows 10) the HOST (Ubuntu) setting will no longer over ride the "ALT - Mouse (Left Click)" keyboard shortcut and your ALT will now function as expected in your Guest OS. 

NOTE: This system shortcut key will also cause the same problem if your running GNOME Desktop too and the fix is the same but finding the shortcut assignments in Gnome will require a little google searching 

Enable AppImages and FlatPaks on Ubuntu 22.04 +

 Enabling APPIMAGES on Ubuntu 22.04 +

Ubuntu 22.04 does not included the libfuse2 package by default. The AppImage distribution and most AppImage Apps need the libfuse2 package to function.  So AppImage will not work on Ubuntu 22.04 out of the box.  We need to install the libfuse2 package through a Terminal Window to fix this problem. Just open a Terminal Window and type the following:

sudo apt install libfuse2*

That's it, your AppImage's should now work.  Short and easy! To use your AppImage files just Right Click on your AppImage File and enabled ‘allow executing file as program’.  After that double click on your AppImage File to run it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Enabling FLATPAK on Ubuntu 22.04 

All you need to do is install FlatPak by running the following command in a Terminal Window.

sudo apt install flatpak

You can visit https://flathub.org to browse FlatPak Apps.  Once you find the App you want to install just click on it to go to that Apps webpage.  At the bottom of that App's page is a flatpak install command.  Just copy and paste that command into a terminal window and execute it to install that App. 

Or

If you have downloaded a .flatpak install file to your Downloads directory you can run the following command in a terminal window (replace XXX with the install files name) 

flatpak install ~/Downloads/XXX.flatpak

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

There you go, now you can use .deb, snap, appimage or flatpak Apps on you Ubuntu 22.04 + system. 

"The following packages have been kept back" Error

You're getting the error "The following packages have been kept back: <list of packages>" after you run the sudo apt-get update && apt-get upgrade commands.

Here are three solutions to getting the "kept back" packages upgraded.  Open a Terminal Window and try one of the following three solutions

1. This may install the "kept back" packages with little risk.

sudo apt-get --with-new-pkgs upgrade

2. This will install each of the "kept back" packages specifically.  Replace <list of packages kept back> with the exact names of the packages listed as "kept back" (this solution usually works for me). 

sudo apt-get install <list of packages kept back>

3.  If the first two solutions didn't work you can try dist-upgrade.  dist-upgrade can be dangerous as it forces the installation of the new dependencies. It may remove packages to resolve complex dependency issues. Use this at your own risk. 

apt-get dist-upgrade 

That's it.  Hope this helps.  I've ran into this problem a few times and solution number two usually works for me.  Once I used solution three without issue.  When using solution two you can copy and paste the list of kept back packages from the Terminal Window.

Cinnamon Desktop / Gnome Desktop Nvidia Graphic Driver Fix

I switched to Cinnamon Desktop a few days ago and did my first update today.  After the update I started getting an error when I logged on saying  "Your system is currently running without video hardware acceleration, you may experience poor performance and high CPU usage".  I noticed a Kernel Update during the update which was a clue to what happened.  I also booted to Gnome Desktop and noticed my Nvidia drivers were not working nor would they reinstall. In both Cinnamon and Gnome Desktop in Additional Drivers, section it showed Nvidia drivers active but system info showed X.ORG X or Nouveau drivers were in use.  In Steam all my games were running at 1 or 2 frames a second.  In addition I noticed that my option to logon to Gnome Wayland Desktop was missing as an option too.

To fix your Nvidia drivers if they broke after a kernel update it may be caused by missing headers. To fix the missing headers open a Terminal Window and type the following command:

sudo apt install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

After rebooting, the above command fixed all my Nvidia driver problems.  Below, in the Trouble Shooting Section, are some of the commands and tools I used trying to solve this problem.

Trouble Shooting Section:

If missing headers are not your troubles here are a few thing to help you diagnose the problem.  Open a Terminal Window and type:

inxi -Fxxxz

This will display a very useful and long list of things about your system.  For our purpose we are only interested the GRAPHICS: section (see screen shot below for what a correct Nvidia install looks like)

This command will let you know if your system sees your video card.  If it doesn't it may be a problem in BIOS:

sudo lshw -C display

This command will display more information from the NVIDIA System Management Interface program.  It can do a lot more than display info so read it's manual here: Link to nvidia-smi PDF manual:  Note: that this command may not run if your Nvidia driver installation is broken.

nvidia-smi

Output of nvidia-smi on a working machine

This command will use nvidia-smi to display your Nvidia driver version:

 

nvidia-smi --query-gpu=driver_version --format=csv

To make changes to your Nvidia driver settings (launch Nvidia X Server Setting GUI) using the following command.  Leave out the SUDO if you just want to view setting in the GUI.

 sudo nvidia-settings

Sometimes you need to completely remove the Nvidia drivers to fix them.  To completely remove your Nvidia Drivers from your system with Terminal Commands type the following: 

sudo apt-get purge nvidia*

sudo apt --purge autoremove

After you removed your Nvidia drivers you will need to reinstall them.  To do this you will need to figure out what Nvidia drivers are available.  To do this use the following command to a list all Nvidia driver's names: 

apt-cache search 'nvidia-driver-' | grep '^nvidia-driver-[[:digit:]]*'

After you've found the driver version you want to install use the following three (3) commands to reinstall your Nvidia Drivers.  NOTE: Change the "nvidia-driver-525" part to the name of the driver you want to install ( the apt-cache search 'nvidia-driver-' | grep '^nvidia-driver-[[:digit:]]*' command above will provide you with the needed driver name)

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade

sudo apt install --reinstall nvidia-driver-525

Another, more complete, install command you can use in place of sudo apt install --reinstall nvidia-driver-525 is: (again replace the 525 with your desired version number) :

sudo apt install nvidia-driver-525 nvidia-dkms-525

Once you've installed/re-installed your desired driver version reboot your system with

sudo reboot

After the reboot, verify your driver install using the nvidia-smi command (above) to verify the installation.

Well that's it, that's everything I went through trying to fix the "Your system is currently running without video hardware acceleration, you may experience poor performance and high CPU usage" .  I had just switched to Cinnamon Desktop a couple of days ago and thought I'd ruined my system on it's first update.  I was getting ready to reinstall my complete operating system when I stumbled onto a solution to someone else's problem.  The "missing headers" was a suggestion to fix their problem.  It didn't work for them, but it did for me.

Dumped Gnome Desktop for Cinnamon Desktop

I have become sick of trying to track down a memory leak in Gnome Desktop on my Ubuntu 22.04.  It eats up 12gb of ram over a 4 day period.  logging off and back on fixes it but I shouldn't have to do this.  I tried logging on using Wayland and Classic Gnome, neither of which fixed the problem.  I was using the Ubuntu desktop at logon but it had the same issue.  I also disabled all the Extensions which slowed it down but didn't stop it.  

In addition to the memory leak, I have become annoyed at the Gnome Desktop Development Team for removing features and "dumbing down" the desktop to the point to where it is just a picture display machine.  Oh, they will tell you that you can add the missing features back in with Extensions but then the memory leaks start and since they don't have or change their Extensions API, the Extensions rarely work from one version to the next.  When you are releasing a new version of your desktop and the most exciting new feature is a new theme then it's time to move on.

What I want in my desktop is a functional file manage with more features than just copy, cut and paste (Yes I'm talking about you Nautilus), I want desktop shortcuts built in, and the ability to customize my desktop more than just changing the background image.  What I don't want is an Apple IOS Tablet ripoff like Gnome 3.x has become.  I've tried Gnome 3 vanilla, Ubuntu Gnome 3, KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, Xfce, and Mate. Of all those, Cinnamon, comes the closest to what I want.  KDE Plasma was good but was a bit too "busy" for me, Xfce and Mate were alright too just a little too "lite" for what I was looking for.  The sad thing is, all these other desktops were better than Gnome 3.x in my opinion, why Ubuntu keeps it as their main build is beyond me. 

The Cinnamon Desktop

Enough ranting lets install the Cinnamon Desktop.  I figured it would be harder than it was to change your desktop or I would have done this months ago.  Okay, open a Terminal Window and type the following two command.  Wait until the first command finishes before starting the second one.

sudo apt update

sudo apt install cinnamon-desktop-environment

Once the commands are finished all you need to do is reboot your computer.  Then on the logon screen, click on the little gear cog in the lower right corner which will bring up a menu that will let you select your Desktop.  Once you've clicked on your desktop choice, just type in your password like normal and your done.  You should now see your new Desktop.  If you don't like the new Desktop just log out and select the desktop you want.

Sorry for the bad picture but it's your logon screen.

Gnome Desktop Extensions I Use.

Here is a list and link to all the Gnome Desktop (Shell) Extension I use.  I've been trying to find a memory leak in Gnome Shell (or one of it's Extensions) so I've been looking at this list for days.  I figured that maybe someone else would be interested in some of these.

AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support - Adds AppIndicator, KStatusNotifierItem and legacy Tray icons support to the Gnome Shell allowing short cut icons on the "Application Bar".

ArcMenu - Replacement Application Menu for GNOME Shell.  Features include: various menu layouts, built in GNOME search, quick access to system shortcuts, and much more.

Desktop Icons: Neo - This adds desktop icons to GNOME. A fork of Desktop Icons NG with a massive amount of customizations (like icon shapes and curved corners), features, bug fixes, and overall polish.

Battery Indicator (upower) - Display battery level indicators for connected devices in GNOME Shell on the "Application Bar".  It displays battery levels for items such as mouse, keyboard, game controller, touchpad ... as reported by upower.

Clipboard Indicator - Clipboard Manager extension for Gnome-Shell - Adds a clipboard Icon Shortcut  to the top panel "Application Bar", and caches clipboard history.  This allows you to retrieve your CUT/COPY history and select those older items for PASTING.  

GSConnect - GSConnect is a complete implementation of KDE Connect especially for GNOME Shell with Nautilus, Chrome and Firefox integration.  KDE Connect allows devices (i.e. Cellphones) to securely share content like notifications or files and other features like SMS messaging and remote control. It allows for wireless file sharing between computer and cellphone, send SMS message from your computer and you will see incoming cellphone events on your computer (incoming call, texts, other cellphone notifications). It does not rely on the KDE Connect desktop application and will not work with it installed.

Launch New Instance - Always launch a new instance when clicking in the dash or the application view.

This extension is part of Classic Mode and is officially supported by GNOME.

OpenWeather - Display weather information for any location on Earth in GNOME Shell on the "Application Bar"

Printers - Manage Jobs and Printers from a shortcut icon on the "Application Bar". Required package: cups-bsd

Sound Input & Output Device Chooser - Shows a list of sound output and input devices (similar to gnome sound settings) in the status menu below the volume slider. Various active ports like HDMI , Speakers etc. of the same device are also displayed for selection.

Ubuntu Dock - A dock for the Gnome Shell, default Ubuntu experience. This extension is a modified version of Dash To Dock with different defaults. Dash To Dock can be installed to replace it and give more (but unsupported) configuration options.

Windows List - Display a list of running applications at the bottom of the screen like MS Windows. This extension is part of Classic Mode and is officially supported by GNOME. 

Here you can see many of the Extensions running on my desktop and my Power Off Menu.  ArcMenu has too many features to show so you'll have to visit their extension page to get an idea of it's power.

NOTE:  The descriptions are mostly copied and pasted directly from the Extensions install pages.

Mouse/Keyboard Battery Levels Displayed in Panel

 A Gnome Shell Extension for Ubuntu 22.04 that displays the battery level of your wireless mouse and /or keyboard in your upper panel;  Battery Indicator (upower).  You can get it by visiting  https://extensions.gnome.org with the Chrome Browser then clicking on the “Click here to install browser extension” link.  Once installed, you can search for Battery Indicator (upower) at https://extensions.gnome.org and simply turn it on for your system.  

If you do not want the Chrome Browser extension or don't use Chrome Browser you can open Ubuntu Software Center and search for the Extension Manager tool.  Install the Extension Manager App on your Ubuntu 22.04 system and use it to search for and install Battery Indicator (upower).  

Once installed and running, you will see your mouse and/or keyboard battery level on your upper panel.

Install Dropbox on Ubuntu 22.04

Step 1.  Get the Ubuntu Dropbox installer.

Navigate to Dropbox's Linux software download site at https://www.dropbox.com/install-linux. We want to get the "Ubuntu 14.04 or higher (.deb) 64-bit" Installer (.deb) file. As of this writing the version is 20.03.04.

Step 2: Run the Dropbox Installer
Once your .deb file has downloaded, navigate to the folder where it was stored and Right Click on the dropbox_2020.03.04_amd64.deb file (or whatever your .deb file was called) and select OPEN WITH ---> SOFTWARE INSTALLER from the right click menu.  This launchs the Ubuntu Software Installer and begin installing the Dropbox Installer.  It will ask for your Ubuntu password just like all other software you install on Ubuntu.

Step 3: Run Dropbox Installation
Once the Dropbox Installer finishes installing you will find an icon for it in your applications menu called DROPBOX.  Click on it's icon to launch it.  Once it starts it will ask for your Dropbox user name and password.  After you enter them, Dropbox will send you a code to finish the process (mine was sent to my email address).  

NOTE:  Dropbox has a three devices linked limit I think.  If you have this problem (more than 3 devices attached to your account), just go to Dropbox's website, log onto your account and mange your linked devices dropping devices that no longer need access.

You are Done.
You should now see the Dropbox icon in the system tray area of  your Ubuntu 22.04 system. If you clicking on it you can manage your Dropbox Account and syncing settings. In addition you'll find a Dropbox folder in your Home Directory and any files you copy into this fold will get synced to your online Dropbox.

Ubuntu 22.04 Stuttering Video Chrome/Firefox/Totem

I was having trouble with YouTube videos stuttering.  They were NOT dropping frames, but about every 5 seconds they would freezing for 1/2 a second, then playing normally for another 5 seconds, then stutter again.  This was not affecting audio, just the video.  In addition I noticed that this was occurring in Firefox, Chrome, and local videos played with Ubuntu's Totem video player. All were having the same stuttering video issue.

I tried several internet suggestions, from turning off hardware decoding support to turning off all browse extensions, nothing worked.  I then remembered that GNOME DESKTOP also had Extensions and that I had recently added one, Clipboard Indicator by Tudmotu.  I went to my Gnome Extensions and disabled Clipboard Indicator and like magic all the stuttering disappeared.  

I like having the ability to add Extension but Gnome Desktop has a very poor track record of supporting Extensions consistently from version to version.  Without exception most Gnome Desktop Extensions require some kind of update every time Gnome updates the Desktop.  

So if you're having weird, hard to figure out problems, and you've recently added any Gnome Desktop Extensions or Gnome has update Desktop, then you should disable your Extensions and see if the problems goes away.  If it does, just turn your Extensions back on, one at a time, until you find the one causing the problem.  

UPDATE:  I noticed that I was still having a stutter just not as pronounced (maybe a tenth of a second) I check to see which Nvidia Driver I was using and saw that it was Nvidia Propriety Version 510. I noticed that Version 515 and 525 were in my list of choices (as of 12-12-2022).  I went with the newest 525 driver and it seems to have fixed it.  I re-enabled Clipboard Indicator by Tudmotu and no issues. 

UPDATE #2:  12-26-2022.  I'm still getting stuttering during all video playback but only after letting the my system run for a few hours.  After a reset or restart video plays just fine for a few hours, then starts the stuttering again.  Maybe some kind of memory leaking program? Not sure now.

UPDATE #3:  1-2-2023.  I noticed that Gnome Shell was using 10GB of memory, so yes it's a memory leak and it's Gnome Shell. You can reset your computer daily or you can use ALT - F2, then type "r" and hit ENTER, which will restart Gnome Shell, which is quicker than a full computer reset.  This problem could still being caused by an Extension for Gnome Desktop but I've turned them all off with no effect on the issue.  Another solution I found was that you can use Wayland instead of X11/xorg. (Change on your login screen). I'm not sure Wayland is ready for daily use yet so I guess I'll be using the ALT-F2  r  ENTER workaround for now.  

If you want you can run this command in a Terminal window or created a Bash Script with this command in it, which also resets Gnome Shell;

killall -3 gnome-shell

UPDATE #4:  1-5-2023.  I've turned off all extension and the memory leak slows but doesn't stop.  I've made a Bash Script that executes the "killall -3 gnome-shell" command and created a desktop shortcut to it.  Now if I notice the stuttering I just click on the desktop shortcut and Gnome Shell restarts.  When It restarts it shows about 270 mb in System Monitor.  After about 12 hours of up-time it gets up to over a one Gb.  With all the Extension disabled it show about 185 mb and creeps up to 700 mb in 12 hours.     

Just after resetting Gnome Shell

Installing Wine 7.01 on Ubuntu 22.04

I used Wine to run Photoshop CS2 on my Ubuntu 20.04 box (Intel Core I5).  It worked without issue. I've upgraded that box to 22.04 LTS and Photoshop still works without issues.  I've now retired that box to the garage and I've build a new system using an AMD 5900x 12 core CPU which is running a clean install of Ubuntu 22.04 (no upgrade, fresh install).  I've installed Wine 7.01 Stable on the new box and it works good with a few test programs I've installed....BUT......

Photoshop CS2 will not run stably on the new box. It either won't start or crash on closing.  Here is a sample of the crash screen:

  

When You Click on the CANCEL Button you get this:

Click on the SHOW DETAILS Button give you the following long list of information which I don't under stand (three pictures need to show all the long screens of information):

This information means very little to me and I haven't been able to fix this on my New AMD box.  If anyone knows how to fix this issue please reply to this post, I get notified when someone replies.

Anyway Wine has worked great for me for years and I only really need it for Photoshop CS2 but I've installed it on the new box anyway.  Here's how to install Wine 7.01 on your Ubuntu 22.04 System. (This info is compiled from Wine's Install page for Ubuntu.  I've followed them and know they work.  If you need more information or are installing Wine on another version of OS visit their Download page for information on what you need to change to get this working for you).

Open a Terminal Window and type in the following six commands (in red) one at a time, letting each one finish before moving to the next:

If your system is 64 bit, enable 32 bit architecture:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 

Download and add the repository key:

sudo mkdir -pm755 /etc/apt/keyrings

sudo wget -O /etc/apt/keyrings/winehq-archive.key https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key

Set the WineHQ sources file for your version of Ubuntu (this is 22.04):

sudo wget -NP /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/dists/jammy/winehq-jammy.sources

Update your package info:

sudo apt update

Now only do one of the following based on weather you need the Stable (recommend) Wine version or want a newer but not as tested Development Branch (use if there is some feature you need and it's only in the Development branch), and if your you like life on the edge go for the Staging Branch (should only be done on non-production machine).

ONLY PICK ONE OF THESE 3 COMMANDS, DO NOT RUN MORE THAN ONE!

Stable branch (recommended)

sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable

Development branch (think beta but if you need a certain feature go for it)

sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-devel

Staging branch (think alpha, testing only, not on production machine)

sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-staging

Hope this helps you get Wine working on your Ubuntu 22.05 box.  Remember if you know what is causing my error's please comment any suggestions. 

Openshot AppImage is not working on Ubuntu 22.04

Openshot AppImage version 2.6.1 is NOT working on Ubuntu 22.04.1.  The app starts and allows you to import video/audio/image file into your project but will NOT allow you to add those imports to your video timeline.  As a mater of fact the entire video time line section looks like it's missing stuff.

APPIMAGE Version

A few quick searches and I found out that there is a Flatpak version out there, so I removed the AppImage version and installed the Flatpak version which works just fine.

FLATPAK Version

Here is how to install Flatpak support on Ubuntu 22.04 and then install OpenShot using Flatpak.  Open a Terminal window and type the following six commands, let each one finish before run the next one;

1. Update your System
sudo apt update && sudo apt update

2. Install stuff Flatpak needs to run on your system
sudo apt install flatpak

3. Add the Flathub repository (lets you find Flatpak Apps)
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

4. Reboot your system
reboot

5. Install Openshot using Flatpak
flatpak install flathub org.openshot.OpenShot

6. Run Openshot using Flatpak
flatpak run org.openshot.OpenShot

If you want you can just look in your applications menu, there should be a short cut icon for Openshot there too (you do not need to always launch Openshot from a Terminal Window you can just click on the icon).

I like the AppImage applications because they have everything they need in a single file (mostly).  Yes they are bigger files, yes they start slowly but you just download their file and set it to allow execution and your done, no installations and you update when you want (of course that just bit me in the ass with Openshot lol).

Hope this helps someone else who was wondering why Openshot stopped on Ubuntu 22.04.

Replace GNOME's Next to Useless File Manager

The default Gnome File Manager is next to useless for anything other than basic file moving.  Over the last few years the entire Gnome Desktop seems like it is being made for a tablet/touch screen not a true desktop computer.  It feels like they have removed more features than they've added.  When the most exciting thing about your new desktop release is the new theme you may want to reevaluate your work and ask your users what they need/want. Okay, enough "soap boxing" let's fix what we can.

In my opinion one of the best File Managers out there is Nemo.  Nemo is part of the Cinnamon Desktop which Linux Mint uses by default.

Nemo has too many features to list them all out here but a few highlights are; Add your most used favorite folder/places to the left side bar, right click context menu, duel panel split window option, open a terminal window in the current fold location, Clam virus scanner integration (if Clam is installed), Icon, List, and Compact views (list view is customizable), plugins and much more.  Enough of the "about section" let's install it.

I'm running Ubuntu 22.04 so these instructions are for it.  There are two levels of installation for Nemo, one is just adding it as an extra File Manager without making it the default; two, install it and make it the default File Manager for your OS (this does not remove Gnomes file manager just changes which one is default). Both start with the same command so open a Terminal Window and type the following:

sudo apt install nemo

If you just want to try Nemo or are looking for option one (adding it as an extra, non-default, File Manager) you are done!  Go try it and see if you like it.

If you do like it and want to make it your Default File Manager open a Terminal Window and type the following three commands one at a time:

xdg-mime default nemo.desktop inode/directory application/x-gnome-saved-search

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons false

gsettings set org.nemo.desktop show-desktop-icons true

You are now completely done.  You have installed Nemo and made it your Default File Manager.  I reset my system after completing this but I don't know if that is totally necessary but couldn't hurt.

To completely undo the changes and remove Nemo from your system, type the following four commands into a Terminal Window one at a time letting each one finish before executing the next one:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons true

gsettings set org.nemo.desktop show-desktop-icons false

xdg-mime default nautilus.desktop inode/directory application/x-gnome-saved-search

sudo apt purge nemo nemo*

Installing psensor Graphical Temperature Monitoring App

psensor is a GUI (Graphical User Interface) temperature and hardware monitoring software for Linux.  Since I just build this Linux box a few months ago I wanted to make sure I got the air flow right and everything inside is running cool since this box stays on 24/7. I tried a few command line apps along with with a few other GUI monitors but psensor picked up all my hardware temperature sensors, my CPU, NVME drive, SSD drive, spinning hard drive and video card along with it's fan's RPMs.

Screen shot so you can see if psensor will be useful for you

Let's install it.  Open a Terminal window as we will be doing most of our work from there.

psensor needs a helper app, lm-sensors, so in your Terminal window type:

sudo apt install lm-sensors

Once lm-semsors installs we need to detect the sensors on your system. In your Terminal window type:

sudo sensors-detect

During the detect phase you will be asked about each sensor check before it's done.  Follow the on-screen instructions and enter your answers after carefully reading each question (I just answered YES to all of them). When you are asked to “automatically add lines”, answer YES. Once the wizard is done, reboot your system.

Now let's make sure we are getting readings that psensor will need. In your Terminal window type:

sensors

You should see some output in your Terminal window that looks like this:

Once you're getting some readings we can install psensor so we'll have a nice graphical window display with our temperature sensors listed and we'll be able to change their names so that we know what we're looking at.

In your Terminal windows type:

sudo apt install psensor

This will install psensor.  Once it finishes, you should be able to find a shortcut to it in your SHOW APPLICALTIONS MENU.  Click on the psensor application icon and you should see something like the following:

If you want to name or rename your sensors (right side list) you simple go to MENU-->PSENSOR-->SENSOR PREFERENCE.  This will launch a pop up screen, like the following, which allows you to change the sensor's name.

Just select the sensor that you want to change the name of by clicking on it and then type what you want to called it in the NAME section under the DETAIL tab.  When finished just click OK and your changes will be saved.

When you are done looking at your systems sensors and you click the CLOSE "X" on the psensor window you need to know that it does NOT stop the program.  psensor stays running in the background and puts an icon of a thermometer in your "system tray" area?  (panel? ).  (I couldn't find it's official name in 30 seconds or less so here's a screen shot).

To close psensor completely you have to click on the little thermometer icon and select QUIT.  The reason it stays running is so you can graph your hardware temperature/fan/stress during different operations. 

  

Over all psensor is a nice monitor program that allows you to set the sensor's names to something that will be meaningful to you.