Exciting tips

IntelliJ IDEA is an IDE for developing software. It supports many different languages, integrates version controls, supports many different frameworks, and more. It is created by JetBrains and comes with both a community and a paid edition. In this guide, we’ll show you how to get the free community release working on Linux.

Ubuntu installation instructions

On Ubuntu, you’ll be able to install IntelliJ IDEA Java IDE quite easily through an existing third-party PPA. As of now, it works with Bionic and Focal. Additionally, it is possible to install the app via Snap and Flatpak and a generic Linux binary.

To start the installation of IntelliJ on Ubuntu, use the apt install command to set up Curl. Curl is required to download the PPA key, which is required to access the software in Apt.

sudo apt install curl

After installing the Curl app on your Ubuntu system, use it to set up the PPA key on your system by entering the curl command below.

curl -s https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/jetbrains-ppa/0xA6E8698A.pub.asc | sudo apt-key add -

Now that the PPA key is set up on your system, make use of the following echo command in a terminal window to add the PPA URL to your Ubuntu PC.

echo "deb http://jetbrains-ppa.s3-website.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com bionic main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/jetbrains-ppa.list > /dev/null

The PPA URL is added to Ubuntu. However, the repo is not accessible yet, as your software sources are not up to date. To update them, run the following update command.

sudo apt update

Following the update command, you will be able to install the latest IntelliJ with the following apt install command in a terminal window.

sudo apt install intellij-idea-communiItty

Debian installation instructions

As Debian is based on Ubuntu, Debian users will be able to take full advantage of the community PPA to install IntelliJ. To start the setup of the PPA, run the apt install command below to get Curl working on your system.

sudo apt-get install curl

Now that Curl is set up on your Debian Linux PC, use the curl command to set up the PPA’s signing key. The signing key is very important, and the PPA will not be accessible without it.

curl -s https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/jetbrains-ppa/0xA6E8698A.pub.asc | sudo apt-key add -

The key is set up on Debian. The next thing to do is to set up the PPA URL in your Apt software sources. To do that, execute the following echo command in a terminal window.

echo "deb http://jetbrains-ppa.s3-website.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com bionic main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/jetbrains-ppa.list > /dev/null

Once the PPA URL is added to your Linux PC, run the update command to refresh Debian’s software sources so that the PPA.

sudo apt-get update

With the update command run, the PPA is ready to use. From here, you’ll be able to install Webstorm on Debian with the following command.

sudo apt-get install intellij-idea-community

Arch Linux installation instructions

To get IntelliJ working on Arch Linux, your best bet is the Arch Linux User Repository. The users there have configured a native package for Arch, so you don’t have to fiddle with snaps, flatpaks, or anything like that.

To start the installation, open up a terminal window. Then, use the pacman command below to install both the “Base-devel” and “Git”. These two packages are critical for interacting with the Arch Linux AUR.

sudo pacman -S base-devel git

After installing the “Git” and “Base-devel” packages on your Arch Linux PC, use the git clone command to download the latest snapshot of Trizen. Trizen is an AUR helper program that will make installing Intellij much easier, as it will automatically collect and install all dependencies, so you don’t have to.

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/trizen.git

Once Trizen is done downloading, move into the “trizen” folder with the CD command, and install the program with the makepkg command.

cd trizen
makepkg -sri

Once the Trizen application is up and running, use the trizen -S command to get the latest Intellij app working on your Arch Linux PC.

trizen -S intellij-idea-community-edition-git

Flatpak installation instructions

Intellij is available as a Flatpak, which is good news for Linux users who do not use Ubuntu, Arch Linux, or Debian. To start the installation of the app on your system, follow this guide to learn how to set up the Flatpak runtime.

After the Flatpak runtime is set up on your system, enter the following commands to get Intellij working on your computer.

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo flatpak install flathub com.jetbrains.IntelliJ-IDEA-Community

Snap package installation instructions

Love Snaps? You’ll be able to install Intellij as a snap package. Here’s how to do it. First, open up a terminal window and follow our guide to learn how to set up Snapd, the Snap package runtime on your system.

After Snapd is up and running, enter the snap install command below to get the Intellij app working via Snap.

sudo snap install intellij-idea-community --classic

Generic Linux

Intellij is available as a generic Linux package. To install it, download the Intellij TarGZ archive here, extract it and run the install script included in the file.

Minecraft is available on all popular platforms/devices from desktop computers to mobile phones. Some platforms even have more than one edition of the game but Windows 10 is the only app that has two versions that are different because they’re built on different technology; the Bedrock version and the Java version.

Minecraft Bedrock vs Java

We’ve discussed the difference between the Bedrock and the Java version of Minecraft before. While they both offer the same type of gameplay, the underlying technology that the apps are built on is different. This is why resources that work in the Java version won’t work in the Bedrock version, and vice-versa.

There are some exceptions though; seed values.

Minecraft seeds

A Minecraft seed is basically a bit of code that is used to generate a world in the game. The code is a number and different numbers generate different worlds. A Minecraft seed for a Java-based world generally cannot be used directly in a Bedrock-based world to generate the same world and vice-versa. Instead, the seed needs to be converted before you can get identical worlds.

Minecraft world seed conversion

Before you can convert seeds, remember the following;

• All Bedrock sees can be converted to Java seeds.
• There will be some differences in the world that is generated and spawn points will likely be different.
• Structures such as the Dessert temples, Jungle Temples, Mineshafts, Strongholds will not be in the same place.
• The Biomes and the map will be a close match to the original world seed.
• Java seeds can be converted to Bedrock seeds but the success rate is about half which means you won’t be able to convert all Java seeds to Bedrock seeds.

Convert Bedrock seed value to Java

To start conversion, you need to find the seed value for a world created in Bedrock.

1. Open Minecraft Bedrock version.
2. On the home screen, click Play.
3. On the list of worlds, click the Edit button next to the world you want to get the seed value for.
4. Scroll down to the seed field, and note down the numerical value. Take note if the seed value has a negative (minus) sign before it).
5. If the seed value is positive (there is no minus sign), it can be used AS IS. It does not need to be changed and will be read by the Java version. The Bedrock seed value will range between 0 to 2147483648
6. If the seed value is negative, you have to add 4294967296 to it, to convert it to a Java seed value (do not remove the minus sign when adding it to the Java version).

Convert Java seed value to Bedrock

In order to convert a Java world’s seed value to Bedrock, follow the steps below;

1. Open Minecraft and click Play.
2. Select the world that you want to get the seed value for, and go to its settings.
3. Take note of the seed value in the respective field.
4. If the seed value is negative (has a minus sign), you CANNOT convert it to a Bedrock seed value.
5. If the seed value is positive, and it lies between the range 0 to 2147483648, you can use it AS IS in Bedrock.
6. If the seed value is positive and it lies between the range 2147483649 to 4294967296, you must subtract 4294967296 from the value and use the resulting value as the seed value in Bedrock.

Use Seed values

The process for using a seed value is the same in both the Java and Minecraft version. When you create a new world, you have the option to enter a seed value instead of letting the game pick a random one. Create a new world, and in the seed field, enter the value that you have.

Conclusion

Minecraft Bedrock is the newer version of the game. That’s not to say it has a lot of features that the Java version does not. The Java version is still in active development and gets new biomes, mobs, and structures all the time but making it work with the Bedrock version is trickier.

Minecraft is a simple game that doesn’t need the latest hardware to run. It’s also over ten years old which means it’s become quite stable. New updates for the game arrive several times a year and these updates almost always add new blocks, mobs, and biomes to the game but it remains stable. You won’t often hear that the game is crashing. That said, the game can run into trouble. It’s stable but not invincible and sometimes, problems on your system might be such that they impact the most stable of apps/games.

Note: If you’re playing the beta version of Minecraft, you can run through the fixes below but beta versions do have stability issues that you have to work with. Switch to stable version if they’re making it impossible to play.

Minecraft system requirements

Minecraft has evolved over time and the new features that have been added have changed its minimum system requirements. The game still doesn’t require having the latest GPU on the market, or extraordinary RAM but it won’t run smoothly on a system that is ten years old. To that end, make sure you have the following on your system before you try and troubleshoot the Minecraft crash on your PC. Please note that these are the absolute minimum requirements and the game recommends higher specs for smooth gaming.

• Core i3-3210 and equivalent, or later
• Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Ivy Bridge) and equivalent, or later. No GPU necessary. The game can run with the onboard graphics card though it will run better if there is a GPU.
• 2GB RAM.
• 1GB disk space
• Windows 7, or later.

Some of the components on the above list are now obsolete i.e., the processor and the OS. The game will still run on them but it is always a good idea to use hardware and an OS that is currently supported.

Minecraft Keeps Crashing [FIX]

If you have a newish CPU, a reasonable amount of RAM (around 4-8GB), a dedicated or newish GPU/graphics card, and you’re running Windows 10, the game should not be crashing on your PC. Try the steps below to fix it.

Note: If you’re on Windows 7, consider updating to Windows 10. Windows 7 reached the end of its life cycle early this year and it can cause problems that won’t be fixed by either Microsoft or Mojang.

1. Use the official Launcher

Minecraft is an open-world game and gamers love to modify it with shaders, texture packs, skins, and more. There are countless resources available for modifying the game. For more hardcore modifications, there are also third-party launchers for Minecraft.

Third-party launchers for Minecraft are for the Java edition of the app. You may, or may not have installed additional apps that the launcher uses. Regardless, try running the game with the official launcher.

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Enter the following address in the location bar and tap Enter.

%appdata%\.minecraft\versions\

3. In the Versions folder, look for a folder that corresponds to the version of Minecraft you’re running.
4. Inside, you will find the official launcher for the game. Double-click it to run the game and play it.

2. Update Java

This is again for the Java version of the app. Since Minecraft uses Java, it will need the latest version of the runtime to be able to run. Update Java on your system.

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Sort the items on the Control Panel by Large Icons.
3. Look for Java and click it. The Java Control Panel will open.
4. Go to the Update tab.
5. Click the Update Now button at the bottom right.

If you do not have Java installed on your PC but you’ve been playing Minecraft, you’re probably using the UWP version of the game.

3. Remove modifiers, shaders, skins, texture packs

This solution works for both the Java version and the UWP version of Minecraft. Modifications to the game might make it unstable. Try removing them and running the app in its original, vanilla state. You can disable them first, and if the game starts running smoothly, get rid of the files for the modifications you’ve made.

1. Open Minecraft.
2. On the home screen, click Settings.
3. Scroll down and click ‘Global resources‘ on the Settings screen.
4. Expand the packs’ sections and deactivate all third-party packs. You should be left with just the official Minecraft Texture pack.
5. Next, run the game and select the world you want to play in. Go to its settings.
6. Scroll down to the Add-ons section.
7. Expand Resource Packs and Behavior packs. Remove/deactivate anything that you’ve added.
8. Restart the game.

4. Reduce system load

We’ve given you a list of minimum system requirements for Minecraft. If you have a far better set-up, the game shouldn’t be crashing however, if you’re running a complex machine in Minecraft, anything that requires extended computing, the game can freeze and crash. Try to free up system resources before you play the game and limit what you’re doing to avoid the crash. The only alternative is to upgrade your hardware.

5. Update the game

Minecraft releases non-feature updates from time to time. Make sure you install them and that you’re running the latest version of the game. Some users like to stick to an older version of the game because newer ones modify game behavior that they liked but in the long run, this can cause problems.

To update Minecraft Java version;

1. Open the game and click Settings.
2. Scroll to the bottom, and click Update.

To update Minecraft UWP;

1. Open the Microsoft Store app.
2. Click the more options button next to your user profile at the top right.
3. Select My Library.
4. Go to the Downloads tab.
5. Click Get Updates.
6. If there is an update available for Minecraft, click the Update button. Make sure you close and open the game again after an update.

6. Update graphics driver

Minecraft may not need the best GPU on the market to run but it does need a good, stable drive for the job. If your GPU or graphics card driver is not up to date, it can cause the game to crash. This fix is for both the Java and UWP/PE/Bedrock version.

1. Open the Device Manager.
2. Expand the Display adapters group of devices.
3. You will see one or two devices listed here, one if you do not have a GPU, and two if you do have one. Select a device, right-click it, and select Update driver.
4. Install any updates that Windows 10 finds.
5. Restart your PC.
6. Repeat the other steps for the other device.

7. Overclocked CPU/GPU

An overclocked CPU might be causing the game to crash. Overclocking hardware is always tricky; it might help some games run better but other games might suffer. If you’ve overclocked your CPU and/or GPU, consider reducing its performance back to its factory-set levels.

8. Reinstall the game

It might be a bit tedious but reinstalling the game is a good way to fix crashes with it. First, back up your worlds.

Back up Minecraft worlds

• For Minecraft Java edition, the worlds are located in the following folder. Paste it in the location bar in File Explorer and tap Enter.

%appdata%\.minecraft

• For Minecraft Bedrock/PE/UWP version, the worlds are located in the following folder. Back them up.

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds

Uninstall the game, and install it again. For the Java version, download the launcher fresh from Mojang’s website. For the UWP version, you can get the game from the Microsoft Store app.

Conclusion

Minecraft isn’t just a very stable game/app, it’s also built to accommodate lots of modifications. In fact, it might not be as popular as it is if it didn’t support resource packs, shaders, and the like. Because the game is so much fun to modify, players tend to push the boundaries of what they can do and the game has its limits, as does a PC. Make sure you’re not pushing either one too far and you will be able to play without any problems.

E5150 is a dark, monochromatic theme pack for the Linux desktop. The theme comes in 6 styles: cyan, green, blue, orange, purple, and red. Follow along with this guide to learn how to set up E5150 on your Linux PC.

Downloading E5150

To download E5150, you must visit Gnome-look.org. Click on this link to head to the Simply Circle Icons Pling page. Then, find the “Files” button and click on it with the mouse.

After selecting the “Files” button, you will be presented with various files available for download. Find an E5150 TarXZ archive to download, and click on the blue button in the “DL” column. There are six different choices.

By selecting the blue “DL” button, you will see a pop-up window. In this pop-up window, a download link will appear. Select it to download your E5150 TarXZ archive of choice.

Extracting E5150

You must extract the E5150 TarXZ archive that you’ve downloaded from the internet before you can install the theme files on your system. To start the extraction process, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, follow the command-line instructions below that match the theme TarXZ archive you’ve downloaded.

E5150-Blue.tar.xz

To extract the E5150-Blue.tar.xz file, move into the “Downloads” directory, and execute the following tar command.

cd ~/Downloads tar xvf E5150-Blue.tar.xz

E5150-Cyan.tar.xz

Need to extract E5150-Cyan.tar.xz? Move into the “Downloads” directory and extract it with the tar command.

cd ~/Downloads tar xvf E5150-Cyan.tar.xz

E5150-Green.tar.xz

To extract the E5150-Green.tar.xz move into the “Downloads” directory using CD and run the tar command.

cd ~/Downloads tar xvf E5150-Green.tar.xz

E5150-Orange.tar.xz

To extract the E5150-Orange.tar.xz theme onto your Linux PC, move into the “Downloads” directory with CD, and run the tar command.

cd ~/Downloads
tar xvf E5150-Orange.tar.xz

E5150-Purple.tar.xz

Need to access the E5150-Purple.tar.xz theme files? Move into the “Downloads” folder and extract it with the command below.

cd ~/Downloads
tar xvf E5150-Purple.tar.xz

E5150-Red.tar.xz

To extract E5150-Red.tar.xz, move into “Downloads” with CD and extract with tar.

cd ~/Downloads
tar xvf E5150-Red.tar.xz

Installing E5150

The E5150 GTK theme can be installed on any GTK-based Linux desktop environment in two ways. The first way to install the theme is known as “single-user.” This type of installation makes it so that only the user that installs the theme has access to it. The second type of installation is “system-wide.” This type of installation makes it possible for any user on the system to have access to it, regardless of if they have installed it or not. In this guide, we will cover both methods.

Single-user

Installing the E5150 GTK theme as a single user means that you need to create a “.themes” directory in the home folder. Why? As you are installing the theme for just one person, you need to place the theme files in this directory, rather than the system-wide one where everyone can have access to it. To create a new “.themes” folder, open up a terminal and use the mkdir command below.

mkdir -p ~/.themes

Once the new “.themes” directory is created in the home folder, the installation of the E5150 GTK theme in single-user mode can begin. To start, move into the “Downloads” directory with the CD command.

cd ~/Downloads

With the terminal session inside of the “Downloads” directory, you’ll be able to install the theme to the newly created “.themes” folder using the mv command.

mv E5150-*/ ~/.themes

When the installation of the theme is complete, run the ls command to confirm that the files are indeed there.

ls ~/.themes | grep E5150

System-wide

To install the E5150 GTK theme as a system-wide theme, do the following. First, open up a terminal window on the desktop. Then, with the terminal window open, use the CD command to move into the “Downloads” directory. This folder should have all of the theme files you extracted earlier.

cd ~/Downloads

Once inside of the “Downloads” folder, you will need to elevate the permissions of the terminal from your traditional Linux user to the root account. Why? Themes installed system-wide must be placed into folders that traditional users do not have access to, as they do not have the correct permissions. To elevate your terminal session to the root user, make use of the sudo -s command. It will allow you to log in as root without leaving the “Downloads” directory.

sudo -s

With the terminal session logged in as root, use the mv command to install E5150 GTK themes to the /usr/share/themes/ directory.

mv E5150-*/ /usr/share/themes/

Verify that the theme files are installed with the ls command.

ls /usr/share/themes/ | grep E5150

Enabling E5150

The E5150 GTK theme is installed on your Linux desktop. However, installing it is not enough, as your Linux desktop environment will not use it unless it is set as the default GTK theme.

To set the E5150 GTK theme as default, open up “Settings” and locate “Appearance” or “Themes.” Then, change the default GTK theme to the E5150 GTK theme. Or, if you’re having trouble changing themes, check out the links below! They go over in-depth on how to change the default themes on Linux!

If you want to play games on a PC, you will need one that has a GPU. The newer the GPU model, the better your games will run. Some games can run without a GPU but they’re either very old, very basic, or you get an extremely low FPS when you play them.

On-board Graphics vs Dedicated GPU

Minecraft is an app that can run with just the on-board graphics card. You don’t necessarily need a GPU to play the game but as stated earlier, you’ll get a lesser experience. Common problems you’ll face, aside from a low FPS, is that the game will take longer to render new blocks, your FOV will be much lower, the animations will either be choppy or they won’t work at all. Modding the game will be out of the question.

If you have a GPU, it will help exponentially with the game; it will render better, and run more smoothly. Movement in the game will be more fluid and the look of it will be more real though the level or realism depends on how power the GPU is.

Sometimes, even when a system has a GPU, Minecraft tends to use the on-board graphics instead. In doing so, it basically renders the GPU useless and you may as well not have one at all as far as the game is concerned. Fortunately, on Windows 10, it is really easy to get Minecraft to use the GPU.

Minecraft Not Using GPU [FIX]

This fix works for the Minecraft Java version, and for the UWP/Bedrock/Windows 10 version. It will work regardless if you have an NVIDIA GPU or an AMD GPU.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to the System group of settings.
3. Select the Display tab.
4. Scroll to the bottom, and click Graphics settings.
5. On the Graphics Settings window, open the ‘Choose an app to set preference‘ dropdown.
   • If you have the Java version of Minecraft, select Classic app.
   • If you have the Bedrock version of the app, select Univeral app.
6. Open the ‘Select App’ dropdown (for UWP apps), or click the Browse button (for Classic apps).
7. Select Minecraft and click Add.
8. Once Minecraft has been added, select it, and click Options.
9. A new window will open within the Settings app with three different options that you can select. Select High Performance.
10. Click Save.
11. If you have Minecraft open, close it and then open it again. When you run the game, it will now use the dedicated GPU instead of the on-board graphics card.

Check: Is Minecraft using the GPU?

To check if Minecraft is using the GPU or not, use Task Manager.

1. Open Minecraft, select a world, and allow it to load. Minimize the game.
2. Right-click the Taskbar and select Task Manager from the context menu.
3. On the Processes tab, look for Minecraft.
4. Select it and check the GPU Engine column. It should read GPU 1 to indicate it is using the GPU and not the on-board graphics card.

What does a GPU do?

GPU or graphics processing unit handles how a game looks. This is a basic explanation but when we’re talking games, we’re not just talking about colors. Instead, we’re dealing with moving images and the images aren’t like those in a video where an app simply has to play through a sequence of them.

In a game, the image that is rendered is changing constantly e.g., when you’re in active combat in an FPS. Not only is the game-world changing as you play, but it is also adapting to the changes that are a result of how you interact with other elements in the game. In a nutshell, there are a lot of moving parts and each part plays a role in how or what is rendered on the screen.

If this rendering takes too long e.g., you shoot an arrow from a bow at a target, then the effect this has e.g., it releases a trap or presses a switch, won’t happen for a while. In some cases, you might not see it happen and will only see the after-effect. Take the example of sand in Minecraft. It’s rather satisfying to allow a chunk of sand suspended in the air to just drop but without a GPU, the drop might be slow or it might just bring the game to a standstill.

Minecraft started out as a basic game but today, it had changed so much that playing it without a GPU is a bad idea. The devs continue to make improvements to it, some of which will only be usable on systems with a GPU or a powerful GPU.

Were you able to fix your problem?

There is an on-going joke in the PC-gamers community where gamers buy or build rigs that cost $2000, and they end up playing Minecraft on it. It’s a harmless joke that console-lovers might enjoy but Minecraft has become quite a powerful game.

Users are able to create complex machines and even computers in it, while still being able to play on their own. It’s an open-world game that features infinite worlds so regardless of how you see it, it does need a GPU to run well.

The Kotatogram Desktop messenger is a fork of the Telegram Desktop app. It is an app that intends on giving users useful features that the official Telegram client for Linux lacks.

This app is very new to Linux, so many users are not aware of how to install it on their systems, or how it works. So, here’s how to install and use the Kotatogram Desktop messenger on Linux!

Installing Kotatogram Desktop on Linux

The Kotatogram app is relatively new to the Linux platform. Despite this, the developers have managed to make the app available in various formats, such as Ubuntu’s Snap package format, an AppImage standalone executable, and a downloadable Linux generic binary. It is also possible to get Kotatogram Desktop from the Flathub Flatpak app store.

To start the installation of Kotatogram Desktop on your Linux PC, begin by opening up a terminal window on the desktop. To open up a terminal window, press Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, once the terminal window is open, follow the in-depth command-line instructions outlined below that correspond with the Linux OS you use.

Snap package

The Snap release of Kotatogram Desktop is not yet in the Ubuntu Snap Store for regular users to search and install. However, there is a Snap release of the app on the developer’s GitHub page in the “Releases” section. Any user can install it.

Since the Snap release of Kotatogram Desktop is not in the Snap Store, you must sideload the app. Here’s how to do it. First, download the Snap file from GitHub using the wget downloader tool.

wget https://github.com/kotatogram/kotatogram-desktop/releases/download/k1.2.2/kotatogram-desktop_1.2.2_amd64.snap

Once the Snap file is done downloading onto your Snap-enabled Linux PC, the installation can begin. However, unlike other Snaps from the app store, you must make use of the “dangerous” flag, or the installation will fail.

sudo snap install --dangerous kotatogram-desktop_1.2.2_amd64.snap

AppImage

Kotatogram Desktop has a standalone AppImage release. To get your hands on it, do the following. First, use the wget download command to grab the latest AppImage of the app.

wget https://github.com/kotatogram/kotatogram-desktop/releases/download/k1.2.2/Kotatogram_Desktop-x86_64.AppImage

Once the app is done downloading, simply run it with:

chmod +x Kotatogram_Desktop-x86_64.AppImage

./Kotatogram_Desktop-x86_64.AppImage

You can also double-click on “Kotatogram_Desktop-x86_64.AppImage” with the mouse in the Linux file manager to open up the app.

Flatpak

Kotatogram Desktop is on the Flathub app store. To install it, do the following.

First, ensure that you have the Flatpak runtime installed and enabled on your Linux PC. Then, enter the two commands below.

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo flatpak install flathub io.github.kotatogram

Generic binary

The generic binary for Kotatogram Desktop works exactly like the generic binary for the official Telegram app, and it runs in the same way. A binary is downloaded, extracted, and executed. No installation required.

To get the generic Kotatogram Desktop binary, start by using the wget download command below.

wget https://github.com/kotatogram/kotatogram-desktop/releases/download/k1.2.2/1.2.2.tar.xz

After downloading the Kotatogram Desktop generic binary release, it must be extracted. To extract it, make use of the tar command below.

tar xvf 1.2.2.tar.xz

Once the extraction is complete, a folder by the name of Kotatogram will appear in your home directory. Using the CD command, move into the folder.

cd Kotatogram

Finally, execute the binary with:

./Kotatogram

Setting up Kotatogram Desktop

Now that the Kotatogram Desktop application is installed on your Linux PC, we must go over how to set it up so that you can use it. To get it set up, follow the step-by-step instructions below.

Step 1: Launch the Kotatogram Desktop chat application on your Linux PC by searching for it in the application menu or, by executing its run command as outlined in the instruction section.

Step 2: Select the blue “Start Messaging” command with the mouse to access the login page for your Telegram account. Enter the phone number associated with your Telegram account, and press the Enter key to submit the number to the app.

Keep in mind that this login page will not work in Kotatogram if you do not already have a Telegram account. Click here to create a new account.

Step 3: Upon entering your phone number, you will be texted a login code. Or, if you have Telegram installed on your smartphone, a notification will appear there with the login code.

Enter the login code into the login box to access your account in Kotatogram.

Access unique features

The point of Kotatogram Desktop is that it offers Linux users the ability to have custom features that the stock Telegram app does not. To access these features, open up “Settings,” and click on “Kotatogram Settings.”

Snow is a light theme for Linux that follows a Mac-like design spec with greyish color gradients. While fans of popular Material Design themes like Adapta or Arc may not like it, Snow fills a void for people who love Mac, use Linux, and want something modern.

Downloading Snow

The Snow GTK theme is available to download for all Linux users via the Gnome-look theme website. To get your hands on this theme, follow the step-by-step instructions outlined below.

Step 1: Head over to Gnome-look.org and locate the “Files” tab, and click on it to access the download options available on the site for the themes.

Step 2: In the Snow download area (Files), there are two download options. The first option is Snow.tar.xz, the main snow theme. The second one is Snow-alien.tar.xz.

Pick one of the options (Snow or Snow alien) by selecting the blue button next to the file.

Step 3: Upon clicking on the blue button, a download message will appear on the screen. Click on the “Downloads” option to instantly download either Snow or Snow alien to the “Downloads” folder on your Linux PC.

Once the download for Snow is complete, move on to the next section of the guide.

Extracting Snow

The Snow GTK theme, as well as Snow alien, must be fully extracted from their TarXZ archives before attempting to use them as system themes on the Linux desktop.

Extracting TarXZ archives on Linux is best done with the tar command in the Linux command-line. Why? The command-line is very fast, efficient and will allow users to manipulate and deal with files with a single command, rather than dealing with the tediousness of Linux file managers.

To start the extraction process, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, follow the step-by-step extraction instructions below.

Step 1: The Snow and Snow alien files, when downloaded, are stored in the “Downloads” folder. However, when the terminal window is open, it is not in this folder. So, you must move the terminal session there with the CD command below.

cd ~/Downloads

Step 2: Once inside of the “Downloads” directory, run the ls command in combination with the grep tool to verify that you’ve indeed downloaded Snow or Snow alien.

ls | grep Snow.tar.xz ls | grep Snow-alien.tar.xz

Assuming the command outputs a printout that shows Snow.tar.xz or Snow-alien.tar.xz, you’ll be able to move on to the next step. If not, re-download it.

Step 3: Fully extract the contents of the Snow or Snow alien TarXZ files by executing the tar xvf command below.

tar xvf Snow.tar.xz

or, for Snow alien:

tar xvf Snow-alien.tar.xz

When the extraction process is complete, you will see a Snow or Snow-alien folder in the “Downloads” directory. Confirm it with the ls command below.

ls | grep Snow

or, for Snow alien

ls | grep Snow-alien

After confirming the new folders, move on to the next section of the guide.

Installing Snow on Linux

Installing the Snow GTK theme on the Linux desktop, much like extracting it from the TarXZ archive, requires the terminal. To start the installation, open up a terminal window. Then, follow the instructions outlined below that correspond with the method of installation you prefer.

Single-user

Installing the Snow GTK theme on Linux in single-user mode means that only one user has access to the theme (the user that installs it). This method is perfect if only one person has access to your Linux PC, and you do not plan on adding any other users.

To install the Snow GTK theme on your Linux PC as a single-user, start by opening a terminal window and moving it to the “Downloads” folder with the CD command.

cd ~/Downloads

Once inside of the “Downloads” directory, use the mkdir command to create a new folder called ~/.themes in your home directory (~).

mkdir -p ~/.themes

Finally, move the Snow GTK theme folder from the “Downloads” directory to the newly created ~/.themes folder using the mv command.

mv Snow/ ~/.themes

Alternatively, to move the Snow alien theme, enter these commands instead.

mv Snow-alien/ ~/.themes

System-wide

Installing the Snow GTK theme system-wide, do the following. First, open up a terminal window and move the terminal session to the “Downloads” directory with the CD command.

cd ~/Downloads

Once in the “Downloads” directory, move the terminal from a standard user to the root user using sudo -s.

sudo -s

Finally, install the Snow GTK theme to the /usr/share/themes/ directory with the mv command.

mv Snow/ /usr/share/themes/

And, for Snow alien, do the following:

mv Snow-alien/ /usr/share/themes/

Enabling Snow on Linux

The Snow GTK theme is installed on your Linux PC. However, just installing the theme isn’t enough to make your Linux desktop start using it. You must modify the appearance settings so that the default theme is changed to Snow or Snow alien.

To enable Snow or Snow alien as the default GTK theme on your Linux desktop, start by opening up the “Settings” app. Then from there, look for “Appearance” or “Themes” and change the default look to Snow or Snow alien.

Having some issues changing the default look of your favorite Linux desktop environment? Check out the links listed below. They’ll walk you through how to customize your favorite desktop environments.

Homebrew is a package managing tool. It’s more popular on Linux but is also used extensively on macOS. In fact, for apps that install as packages, Homebrew is the easiest way to remove them. Here’s how you can install Homebrew on macOS Catalina.

Xcode

In order to install Homebrew on macOS Catalina, you must have Xcode installed. You can get it from the Mac App Store. The app is large and for some reason, it downloads really slow when you get it from the Mac App store so you’re in for a little wait.

Once it’s installed, you also need to install Command Line tools for it. To install Command Line tools, open Terminal and enter the following command.

xcode-select --install

You will see a prompt asking you to confirm that you want to install the tools, and you will also see an EULA that you have to agree to.

The Command Line tools don’t take too long to install. Once it’s finished you can install Homebrew.

Install Homebrew

Open Terminal and run the following command.

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

You will have to confirm that you want to install Homebrew. The Terminal will show you all the changes it will be making i.e., new directories it will make when it is installed. Confirm that you want to install it.

After that, you only have to wait for the installation to complete. Once it is complete, you will see a message in Terminal confirming that installation was successful. You can now close Terminal.

If at any point you want to verify the Homebrew installation, you can run the following command in Terminal.

brew -v

The command will return which version of Homebrew is installed on your Mac.

If you want to uninstall Homebrew, you can run the following command in Terminal.

ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/uninstall)"

Homebrew has tons of documentation available so if you’re not sure how to use it, go through the documentation. Apps that you can install via Homebrew often provide the command that you need to run to install them. They basically come with a script that can be run via Homebrew and the script takes care of the installation. If there’s an uninstall script available, you can run it to remove the app.

You should know that apps you install via Homebrew still have to be 64-bit if you’re installing them on Catalina. Homebrew doesn’t let users by-pass the 64-bit condition that Catalina has. There is no getting around that. On that note, Homebrew had to update to a Catalina compatible version so it’s unlikely that you will be able to install older versions of it.

Netflix sorts its content into various categories but by default, you don’t see all the categories on the home page. You will see common categories even though Netflix has quite a few of them. These categories can be browsed if you know the code for one, and if you watch Netflix in your browser. If you use the Netflix app for Windows 10 or you use the Android or iOS Netflix apps, there’s no way to enter the code since there is no URL to edit. Here’s how you can use the category codes in Netflix apps.

Category codes in Netflix

You can use any category code of your choice but we’re going to use code 3719 which is for Zombies. There are two ways to use category codes in the Netflix app. In both cases, you will use the search bar but what differs is what you put in the search bar.

To start, enter the category code in the search bar and see what shows up. If the content is relevant, the code is working and you’re good to go. If the content isn’t relevant though, it means the app build you have doesn’t recognize the category by its number. In that case, you need to use the name. In the search bar, enter the full name of the category e.g., Zombies.

The search results will display related content. If you see the category name displayed somewhere under ‘Suggestions’ tap/click it to view content for it.

You can try comparing the content you get in the app with what you get in the browser and there will be overlapping titles. The results won’t ever be the same since there is an algorithm at work here which chooses what to show you.

The search is also going to be subject to geographical restrictions. What this means is that while you’re able to explore content categories that are hidden, you won’t see content that isn’t available in your region. If you want to expand your search to include content from other regions, you’re going to have to use a VPN for Netflix.

The Netflix apps and its web interface show only a small fraction of its content categories and in most cases, it’s only popular ones. Rarely are the categories tailored towards the user’s viewing habits e.g, you might see a Documentary category if you’ve watched a few documentaries on Netflix but that really is as niche as it generally gets which is why the category codes are so popular.

Working with multiple monitors has its own set of problems, most of which a modern desktop will be able to cater to. Multiple monitor set-ups have been around for a long time but it’s only recently that support for them has improved on Windows. Windows 10 by far offers the best multi-monitor support of its predecessors but there are still gaps left for third-party tools to fill. If you have a multi-monitor setup, you might have occasionally lost your mouse. There are ways to find it but it might help if your mouse was able to wrap around the monitors.

A mouse that wraps around the corners or more precisely the edges will exit from one edge of the screen and reappear on the next even if the screen isn’t next to it. This makes it so that if your mouse is sitting at the edge, you can move it and it will eventually find its way back to the middle of the screen.

Wrap mouse across monitors

In order to wrap the mouse across monitors, you need a free and open-source app called LittleBigMouse. Download it from Github and install it. The app has an interface that suggests it’s going to manage the colors and orientation of your monitors but if you look at the bottom, you will see two options for looping it.

The horizontal loop is what you should use if your monitors sit next to each other in a traditional landscape layout. The vertical loop is what you should use if you have monitors sitting on top of each other in a portrait layout. You can use both too if you have a combination of the two layouts e.g., an L layout. Click the red play button to apply the change and your mouse will wrap around the edge of the screen.

What will happen is, if you move the mouse to the left edge of screen 1 in the above screenshot, it will reappear from the right edge of screen 2.

As for the app, you can minimize it to the system tray but the control for it is hiding really well. To send the app to the system tray, right-click its taskbar icon and select the ‘Close window’ option. The app will continue to run and your mouse will wrap as it should.

LittleBigMouse works but it seems to be a bit buggy so if the mouse doesn’t wrap, quit the app and run it again until it starts working. It took three tries to get it going but once it starts working, you hardly know the app is there. You can suspend the app without quitting it which can be useful if the wrapping feature interferes with gaming or something else.