VLC configuration for Ubuntu

For various reasons, subtitles might not work in VLC, or it can lag or stutter. How to Fix VLC Lagging/Stuttering/Buffering Issues describes a few solutions.

The solutions proposed might not help in Ubuntu, though ...

Paused Counter-Strike bot game

You can pause a local offline Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) bots game from the console.

Press "C" to open the console, and enter these commands:

  • Enable pause with sv_pausable 1
  • Pause or unpause the game with pause

To create a custom shortcut with "P" for pause or unpause, run this command from console:

Debian in Boxes

Gnome Boxes is an easy way to quickly try out other Linux distributions, for example the current or next release of Debian (Unofficial non-free images including firmware packages).

Cancel print job

If you see a message during a slow or hanging shutdown (press ESC to see messages) about a stop job is running for CUPS, wait 90 seconds ... it might be due to an old print job in the system.

Normalize MP3 files with Audacity

There are many ways to make quiet MP3 files louder ("Normalize"), but the easiest is by far using Audacity, since you can process multiple files at once (also known as batch processing) with the Macro tool:

Save paper by printing on both sides of the paper (duplex). If your printer is able to print on both sides and is installed to support CUPS, you can define default setting such as changing paper size from Letter to A4 and duplex printing at http://localhost:631/.

QGIS logo

QGIS is an open source program which allows you to: "edit, visualise, analyse and publish geospatial information on Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and mobile devices. For your desktop, server, in your web browser and as developer libraries."

node.js logo

Normally, it is recommended to install the latest even-numbered LTS of Node.js, which from 2020-10-27 is 14.14.0 and includes npm 6.14.8.

https://github.com/nodesource/distributions/blob/master/README.md#debinstall

Default font in LibreOffice Writer, Liberation Sans

If for some reason the default font looks like Times New Roman, even thought the default fron is set to Liberation Sans, you might have to re-set the default font:

Ubuntu 18.04 partitions Gparted

Setting up a Linux installation can be done in many different ways, but preserving your settings and bookmarks is nice, so you don't have to redo them after a re-installation. This set-up uses another partition (in the example, called "documents") to store your photos, documents, settings for installed programs and your mail program, and connecting to them via symlinks.