How to Update Chrome OS

Your Chromebook should automatically checks for and downloads updates when connected to Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

Finish an Update

  1. When your Chromebook downloads a software update, look for the “Update available” notification.
  2. Select Restart to Update.
  3. Your Chromebook will restart and update.

Check for Updates Yourself

  1. Turn on your Chromebook.
  2. Connect your Chromebook to Wi-Fi.
  3. At the bottom right, select the time.
  4. Select Settings .
  5. At the bottom of the left panel, select About Chrome OS.
  6. Under “Google Chrome OS,” you’ll find which version of the Chrome operating system your Chromebook uses.
  7. Select Check for updates.
  8. If your Chromebook finds a software update, it will start to download automatically.

Connect to Wi-Fi

Step 1: Turn on Wi-Fi

  1. At the bottom right, select the time.
  2. Select Not Connected .
    Note: If you see your Wi-Fi network name and a signal strength, your Chromebook is already connected to Wi-Fi.
  3. Turn on Wi-Fi.
  4. Your Chromebook will automatically look for available networks and show them to you in a list.

Step 2: Pick a network and connect

Step 3: Sign in

Simple Productivity app

“Go For It! is a simple and stylish productivity app, featuring a to-do list, merged with a timer that keeps your focus on the current task.” 

But that is not why I downloaded and installed it. I am using is as a countdown timer for recording my podcast. Not perfect, but it works and looks nice.

http://manuel-kehl.de/projects/go-for-it/

Snap and Linux Mint

Here is just another reason I recommend Linux Mint and not Ubuntu. Taked from: https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=3906

Snap

We also heard your queries on the topic of snapd. This is a topic which is important to us and we already explained our position last year:

[…] as you install APT updates, Snap becomes a requirement for you to continue to use Chromium and installs itself behind your back. This breaks one of the major worries many people had when Snap was announced and a promise from its developers that it would never replace APT.

A self-installing Snap Store which overwrites part of our APT package base is a complete NO NO. It’s something we have to stop and it could mean the end of Chromium updates and access to the snap store in Linux Mint.

A year later, in the Ubuntu 20.04 package base, the Chromium package is indeed empty and acting, without your consent, as a backdoor by connecting your computer to the Ubuntu Store. Applications in this store cannot be patched, or pinned. You can’t audit them, hold them, modify them or even point snap to a different store. You’ve as much empowerment with this as if you were using proprietary software, i.e. none. This is in effect similar to a commercial proprietary solution, but with two major differences: It runs as root, and it installs itself without asking you.

First, I’m happy to confirm that Linux Mint 20, like previous Mint releases will not ship with any snaps or snapd installed. Second, to address this situation we’ll do exactly what we said we would:

  • In Linux Mint 20, Chromium won’t be an empty package which installs snapd behind your back. It will be an empty package which tells you why it’s empty and tells you where to look to get Chromium yourself.
  • In Linux Mint 20, APT will forbid snapd from getting installed.

You’ll still be able to install it yourself and we’ll document this in the release notes, but by default APT won’t allow repository packages from doing this on your behalf.

SOURCE: https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=3906

Open Source 2019

So I am still using Linux Mint 18.3 and loving it.

I switched back to Google Chrome. Firefox does not download very fast and it glitches on some websites.

Thunderbird is still my email client. Rhythmbox is my music player. I am still using Audacity for my podcast, and WordPress for my blogs.

The only non-open source program I use is Paint Shop Pro 7. I use it in Linux using Wine.

Hoping for good things for Linux and Open Source in 2019.

Switching Back to Firefox

I have been using Google Chrome for a couple of years now. But I am tired of being tracked by Google, and pushed with advertising.

But switching to Firefox is not easy. I have two factor authorization on most of my accounts. So I have to reauthorize all my accounts.

But Firefox does seem quicker now. And their commitment to privacy is important to me.

Installing Linux Mint 8.3 on Dell Inspiron 11

Linux Mint 8.3 will not load on the Dell Inspiron 11 because of UEFI, which stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. This is a Microsoft pushed standard and is very unfriendly to anything but Windows. If you can avoid getting it on your computer, do so. It will block installing smaller Linux Distributions. Even Linux Mint 8.3 will not install on it. Even switching to Legacy in the bios doesn’t help.

The only thing that worked was leaving the defaults as they are in the bios and installing Linux 8.2. Then upgrade to Linux Mint 8.3.

Links

15 Places To Buy A Laptop With Linux Preloaded
7 Places You Can Buy a Dedicated Linux PC or Laptop Online

Linux Music Player for Large Media Collections

Recently I upgraded to the latest Linux Mint. Afterword, I had continual trouble with the Banshee Music Player freezing when I went to re-scan my music collection. I began an Internet search to try to solve this. I did all the suggestions, but nothing worked.

I refuse to use Rhythmbox because it does not have an equalizer built it. You have to install a third-party EQ. And good luck finding a Ubuntu deb file.

It was then that I decided to try the Clementine Music Player. After selecting my music folder under Preferences > Music Library, I went to tools and clicked “Do a full library rescan.” It scanned all my music file and was done fairly quickly. I was impressed.

The other thing I like about the Clementine Music Player is that it comes with a 10 band equalizer built it. You will find it under tools. I still like the interface in Banshee better, but too many music files make it unworkable. It literally takes up to two minutes just to appear. And then freezes when I navigate around.

So if you have problems with Banshee, try the Clementine Music Player, it is in the Linux Mint repositories.

https://www.clementine-player.org

Linux Blocked from Checking Gmail

I am a Linux Mint user. I have set up Thunderbird to check my Gmail account and download new messages via POP.

Then I made a mistake. I changed my setting is Google and “Turned Off” access for less secure apps. Well guess what, Google considers Thunderbird on Linux a “less secure app.”

When I fired up Thunderbird, it couldn’t login to my Gmail account. When I went and checked Gmail in Chrome I had gotten an mail saying “Sign-in attempt prevented.” The email explained that “Someone”, which was me, “just tried to sign in to your Google Account… from an app that doesn’t meet modern security standards.” I am sure it is just the Linux version of Thunderbird that “doesn’t meet modern security standards.”

Anyway, the way to fix it is to go back into your security settings and “Turn On” access for less secure apps. Below is the link to do that.

Link
https://www.google.com/settings/security/lesssecureapps

WordPress Visual Editor Not Working – FIXED

I noticed a lot of people reporting that the visual editor in WordPress is not working. It happened to me when I upgraded to 4.4.2. I search high and low and could not find an answer.

So I messed around and discovered that if I went into screen options, unchecked “Enable full-height editor and distraction-free functionality” my visual editor returned. Try it and see if it works for you.