With the release of Ubuntu 21.04, official support for fractional scaling was announced. I decided to do a fresh install on my desktop system to check out solely this feature. To speed up the post-install configuration phase and to score an easy blog post, I made a list of the software I use every day.
CloudReady – The easy way to set up Chrome OS on your computer
After publishing my last article about my experience with Chrome OS, the first reaction I got was why I didn't just install CloudReady instead of dealing with such a complicated installation method. The answer is simply that I had no idea that CloudReady even existed. It seems I'm pretty new to the Chrome OS game...
Using Barrier to control multiple computers regardless of operating system
I don't often use multiple monitors at once, but when I do, I'm using multiple computers too. I'm mainly doing this to test websites on multiple operating systems as my desktop machine runs Linux Mint and my work laptop has Windows 10 on it. Of course I could use Virtualbox to run any number of operating systems, but having a separate device makes things a bit more simple for me. What I despise is using the laptop keyboard and the trackpad. Wouldn't it be nice if I could use the desktop keyboard and mouse on the laptop too?
Revive an old laptop with Chrome OS
If you have been using computers for a few decades, there is a good chance that you too have a few old desktop and laptop computers collecting dust in your house. They are too old to use and have little value, so selling them is not a worthwile endevour. You can't even give them to family members as even they find them lacking in power. Have you tried to use a 10 year old laptop with Windows 10? Not fun... Wouldn't it be nice if you could magically make the old hardware more powerful?
How to fix media keys not working for Spotify in Ubuntu/Linux Mint
Spotify is not a terrible service if you disregard the slow and buggy user interface. Using it is way better than hunting for all the music you like to organize them on your computer and as a plus, you can download your playlist for offline play on your mobile phone with the Premium plan.
Setting up your AMD video card in Ubuntu 20.04
Ubuntu 20.04 just arrived with fractional scaling of the desktop available from the settings. Yes, you have to turn it on first to be able to choose fractional scaling of 125% or 150%, but finally you don't have to edit gnome settings to do this. Also, this time it might work as intended too...
How a tiny USB Soundcard solved 3 separate problems
By now, the sound coming out from a computer should be a trivial issue. Ever since soundcards integrated on PC motherboards appeared, all you had to do was to plug in your speakers or headphone in the green stereo audio-out port and everything worked like magic. At least that is how it should work.
Pop! OS – Where are the minimize and maximize buttons on my windows?
I really love the clean and minimal aesthetics of Pop! OS, but sometimes it seems they (or should I say the Gnome 3 UX team?) have gone too far. My windows are missing the minimize and maximize buttons, I can only close them? What can I do?
Have a soundcard, but no sound in Ubuntu? Alsamixer to the rescue!
Generally Ubuntu and derivatives are really good at detecting your hardware. Just my bad luck that the 18.10 release didn't like my Xonar DG soundcard and my machine produced no sound at all. Frustrating as this all worked with 18.04 :(
Nemo, a better file manager for Ubuntu
If you find the latest version of Nautilus now called Files of Gnome a bit lacking in features, you are not alone. Enter Nemo, a fork of Nautilus by the Linux Mint guys. It knows a few tricks that Nautilus forgot but a power user could really appreciate, like 2 panel navigation.