Tag: Using Software

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Download an OS with GNOME Boxes

Boxes is the GNOME application for running virtual machines. Recently Boxes added a new feature that makes it easier to run different Linux distributions. You can now automatically install these distros in Boxes, as well as operating systems like FreeBSD and FreeDOS. The list even includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The Red Hat Developer Program includes a no-cost subscription to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. With a Red Hat Developer account, Boxes can automatically set up a RHEL virtual machine entitled to the Developer Suite subscription. Here’s how it works.

 

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

To create a Red Hat Enterprise Linux virtual machine, launch Boxes and click New. Select Download an OS from the source selection list. At the top, pick Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This opens a web form at developers.redhat.com. Sign in with an existing Red Hat Developer Account, or create a new one.

If this is a new account, Boxes requires some additional information before continuing. This step is required to enable the Developer Subscription on the account. Be sure to accept the Terms & Conditions now too. This saves a step later during registration.

 

Click Submit and the installation disk image starts to download. The download can take a while, depending on your Internet connection. This is a great time to go fix a cup of tea or coffee!

Once the media has downloaded (conveniently to ~/Downloads), Boxes offers to perform an Express Install. Fill in the account and password information and click Continue. Click Create after you verify the virtual machine details. The Express Install  automatically performs the entire installation! (Now is a great time to enjoy a second cup of tea or coffee, if so inclined.)

Once the installation is done, the virtual machine reboots and logs directly into the desktop. Inside the virtual machine, launch the Red Hat Subscription Manager via the Applications menu, under System Tools. Enter the root password to launch the utility.

Click the Register button and follow the steps through the registration assistant. Log in with your Red Hat Developers account when prompted.

Now you can download and install updates through any normal update method, such as yum or GNOME Software.

FreeDOS anyone?

Boxes can install a lot more than just Red Hat Enterprise Linux, too. As a front end to KVM and qemu, Boxes supports a wide variety of operating systems. Using libosinfo, Boxes can automatically download (and in some cases, install) quite a few different ones.

To install an OS from the list, select it and finish creating the new virtual machine. Some OSes, like FreeDOS, do not support an Express Install. In those cases the virtual machine boots from the installation media. You can then manually install.

Popular operating systems on Boxes

These are just a few of the popular choices available in Boxes today.

Ubuntu 17.10

Pop!_OS 17.10

EndlessOS 3

Fedora 28

openSUSE Tumbleweed

Debian 9

Fedora updates its osinfo-db package regularly. Be sure to check back frequently for new OS options.

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Set up zsh on your Fedora system

For some people, the terminal can be scary. But a terminal is more than just a black screen to type in. It usually runs a shell, so called because it wraps around the kernel. The shell is a text-based interface that lets you run commands on the system. It’s also sometimes called a command line interpreter or CLI. Fedora, like most Linux distributions, comes with bash as the default shell.  However, it isn’t the only shell available; several other shells can be installed. This article focuses on the Z Shell, or zsh.

Bash is a rewrite of the old Bourne shell (sh) that shipped in UNIX. Zsh is intended to be friendlier than bash, through better interaction. Some of its useful features are:

  • Programmable command line completion
  • Shared command history between running shell sessions
  • Spelling correction
  • Loadable modules
  • Interactive selection of files and folders

Zsh is available in the Fedora repositories. To install, run this command:

$ sudo dnf install zsh

Using zsh

To start using it, just type zsh and the new shell prompts you with a first run wizard. This wizard helps you configure initial features, like history behavior and auto-completion. Or you can opt to keep the rc file empty:

zsh First Run Wizzard

First-run wizard

If you type 1 the configuration wizard starts. The other options launch the shell immediately.

Note that the user prompt is % and not $ as with bash. A significant feature here is the auto-completion that allows you to move among files and directories with the Tab key, much like a menu:

zsh cd Feature

Using the auto-completion feature with the cd command

Another interesting feature is spelling correction, which helps when writing filenames with mixed cases:

zsh Auto Completion

Auto completion performing spelling correction

Making zsh your default shell

Zsh offers a lot of plugins, like zsh-syntax-highlighting, and the famous “Oh my zsh” (check out its page here). You might want to make it the default, so it runs whenever you start a session or open a terminal. To do this, use the chsh (“change shell”) command:

$ chsh -s $(which zsh)

This command tells your system that you want to set (-s) your default shell to the correct location of the shell (which zsh).

Photo by Kate Ter Haar from Flickr (CC BY-SA).

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Audacity quick tip: quickly remove background noise

When recording sounds on a laptop — say for a simple first screencast — many users typically use the built-in microphone. However, these small microphones also capture a lot of background noise. In this quick tip, learn how to use Audacity in Fedora to quickly remove the background noise from audio files.

Installing Audacity

Audacity is an application in Fedora for mixing, cutting, and editing audio files. It supports a wide range of formats out of the box on Fedora — including MP3 and OGG. Install Audacity from the Software application.

If the terminal is more your speed, use the command:

sudo dnf install audacity

Import your Audio, sample background noise

After installing Audacity, open the application, and import your sound using the File > Import menu item. This example uses a sound bite from freesound.org to which noise was added:


Next, take a sample of the background noise to be filtered out. With the tracks imported, select an area of the track that contains only the background noise. Then choose Effect >  Noise Reduction from the menu, and press the Get Noise Profile button.

Filter the Noise

Next, select the area of the track you want to filter the noise from. Do this either by selecting with the mouse, or Ctrl + a to select the entire track. Finally, open the Effect > Noise Reduction dialog again, and click OK to apply the filter.

Additionally, play around with the settings until your tracks sound better. Here is the original file again, followed by the noise reduced track for comparison (using the default settings):