Luke's Ubuntu and Linux Hacks

OS: Ubuntu 25.10 App: Files (Nautilus) Issue: For eternity (I've been using Ubuntu Linux exclusively for 12 years) I was able to right-click on a folder in Files and select "Open in Terminal." And then suddenly, I was not able to do that. Not being able to pinpoint anything that I had done to cause the problem, I turned to Gemini for an answer.  Diagnosis:  After a considerable amount of back and forth with Gemini (which is unusual), I THOUGHT narrowed the cause down to my having downloaded the New "Console" terminal, but kept the old term terminal as my default. Thus, I had a problem of the two terminals competing for default. As it turns out, something had changed in Nautilus, it seems. Don't ask me what. The Fix: NOT! (but in include this step here, because you probably should do this, too.) I uninstalled my old Terminal, which, among other things, was blocking my switching from the old Terminal to Console Terminal, using the Console settings Preference f...

I have been using Linux, exclusively, for 12 years. I have never installed it on any Microsoft computer that is newer than ten years old (using today's date) , and probably never will. Well, okay, maybe five years old using the date of this post, but that's the limit. Observation and Theory Here's my theory and point. Microsoft has, over the past ten years, increasingly considered Linux a legitimate threat. So MS has increasingly made it as difficult as possible for you to wipe their system and install a Linux OS. And they have made it even more difficult for you to dual boot or to run Linux as a subsystem, because they hate Linux and they want your Linux experience on "their" computers to be as painful and difficult as possible. Microsoft effectively has declared war, albeit a cold and silent war, against Linux. And since PC manufacturer's are completely beholden to MS, they just go along with the war like the good little MS soldiers they are. Let me be clear...

The following was taken directly from a page at zorin.com . We like the info below not only because Zorin is a great distro; the article also applies well to Ubuntu Apps installations, and explains a wide variety of ways to find and install Apps in the Linux environment at large, especially as it applies to debian-based distros such as Zorin OS and Ubuntu OS. We also like the inclusion of Synaptic Package Manager. Install Apps How to install additional apps and software from the Software store, .deb files, and other sources. Installing a video game? View how to play games in Zorin OS › Software store  You can discover a world of apps for Zorin OS from the built-in Software store. This is the recommended way to install apps in Zorin OS. The Software store allows you to install apps from the Zorin OS & Ubuntu APT repositories,  Flathub , and the  Snap Store  out of the box. Open the Zorin Menu and click on “Software”.  You can explore recommended apps from the...

After I upgraded my Linux Ubuntu computer to version 25.10 , I kept getting the message " Firmware available for KEK CA ". I searched Gemini AI for an explanation and, possibly, for a fix, and this was the answer I got: Click here for answer. So I opened the Terminal and typed in " sudo fwupdmgr update " (no quotes); (Gemini did not include "sudo" but you might have to include it to make things work correctly.)  After I ran the command in the Terminal I received the message: " WARNING: UEFI capsule updates not available or enabled in firmware setup See https://github.com/fwupd/fwupd/wiki/PluginFlag:capsules-unsupported for more information. Devices with the latest available firmware version:  • UEFI CA Devices with no available firmware updates:   • Fujitsu BIOS DB Certificate  • Fujitsu BIOS KEK Certificate  • DB  • KEK  • KEK CA  • MQ01ABD100  • Option ROM UEFI CA  • Phoenix Kek Example  • SBAT  • WD20SDRW-11VUU...

(We recommend you bookmark this blog. Trying to find helpful information in forums usually just ends in making you frustrated and angry. This blog does not speculate or guess. If we post it, we've tried it and it works. As with all our posts, if you don't care about the background info, you can head straight to the y ellow highlighted sections for the problem and the fix.) Some time in the past 3 years I started having problems with my dialog boxes being "attached" to their background applications in such a way that I could not move or resize the dialog box without dragging the background application along side it. That was a huge problem for me, as much of my work involved the need to see the work I was doing at the same time as having a dialog box open (I will spare you the details).  I searched every Linux forum I could to find a  solution. Not only did I not find a solution, it appeared that I might be the only person on the face of the earth with the problem. (...

(We recommend you bookmark this blog. Trying to find helpful information in forums usually just ends in making you frustrated and angry. This blog does not speculate or guess. If we post it, we've tried it and it works. As with all our posts, if you don't care about the background info, you can head straight to the yellow highlighted sections for the problem and the fix.) The Issue I asked this question of Google Gemini 2.5 Pro Flash: "When I open Chrome browser in Ubuntu 25.04, I get the message "Can't Update Chrome," with an offer to reinstall Chrome. Is that message generated by Chrome or by Ubuntu?" The Answer (Click for the entire answer) (I found the entire answer to be soothing to my soul and my psyche (a) to know that this wasn't some phishing or spam that infected Chrome or my Linux machine; (b) to understand the problem and why it occurs (which makes me think that surely other Ubuntu users have the same problem)). What I Did (How I Fixed ...