Tag: Linux

  • Plex – Video Optimization & Converted Files Permissions

    Plex – Video Optimization & Converted Files Permissions

    I was traveling with my wife and son, staying at an AirBnB a few states away from home, and wanted to watch some videos from my Plex server (server software version: 1.32.5.7349) using an Amazon Fire Stick on a Samsung TV. When I tried to play the videos using the Plex app on the Fire…

  • Kubuntu – KDE – adjusting screen brightness trick

    Kubuntu – KDE – adjusting screen brightness trick

    I just happened upon an interesting little bonus feature in Kubuntu 22.04 with KDE Plasma 5.24.7 that I thought I’d share since it’s so nifty. It’s possible to add a battery icon to a panel. This is done by right-clicking on the panel and selecting “Add Widgets.” Scroll down and find the battery and brightness…

  • Kubuntu/Linux – batch convert HEIF images

    Kubuntu/Linux – batch convert HEIF images

    My son recently went on a field trip. The teachers who went with him took hundreds of photos… on their iPhones. Since I want the photos of him, I downloaded all of them so I could skim through them and find the ones of my son. But I quickly realized that I was having issues…

  • Linux: Starting and Stopping Torrents from Crontab

    Linux: Starting and Stopping Torrents from Crontab

    I download my Kubuntu installation images via Bit Torrent and like to keep Bit Torrent running most of the time. However, there are occasionally times when I want to pause my torrents and then restart them (e.g., when I’m streaming videos or otherwise using lots of bandwidth). I can, of course, do this manually, but…

  • Kubuntu 22.04 – Pending update of “firefox” snap

    In the 22.04 version of Ubuntu/Kubuntu, Firefox was switched from a repository to a snap. I don’t know enough about the technical reasons for that, but it does mean that how Firefox is updated has changed. It also introduced a very annoying notification message that you’ve probably seen (and which is why you’re here: Switching…

  • Kubuntu 22.04 – How to Reset Plasma 5 Desktop

    Kubuntu 22.04 – How to Reset Plasma 5 Desktop

    Kubuntu is my distribution of choice. I really like the flexibility of the KDE Desktop. But, pretty much every time I install Kubuntu, something goes haywire with the desktop, typically it is panels behaving strangely. For instance, I have dual monitors. I like to have a panel on the far right side of my two…

  • Backing Up Files to Prevent Data Loss

    Backing Up Files to Prevent Data Loss

    It took years to figure this out and it’s not free, but I don’t ever lose files anymore. Not losing files is worth the $240 I pay for these services per year. Do note that I use Linux as my operating system, which is part of the reason why I chose the software that I…

  • LibreOffice Calc – Conditional Formatting

    LibreOffice Calc – Conditional Formatting

    I haven’t used this feature of spreadsheet software as much as I probably should, but I have a spreadsheet I have been working with a lot lately and conditional formatting has been key to helping me orient myself in the spreadsheet. However, in the process, I realized that I am really a noob when it…

  • How To Fix PDF Forms Not Showing Contents in Okular (Linux)

    How To Fix PDF Forms Not Showing Contents in Okular (Linux)

    I have had this problem happen twice now, and I don’t know exactly what is causing it, but I found a solution. Here’s the situation… I received a PDF that has forms. Typically, that isn’t a problem as Okular is able to open most PDFs with forms and show both the forms and what has…

  • LibreOffice – address label merge (from spreadsheet)

    LibreOffice – address label merge (from spreadsheet)

    I’ve been using LibreOffice for over a decade and have only had to do an address label merge twice in that time – both of which have been in the last month. The first time, I actually did a form letter and a label merge; the second time I just had to do an address…