22. July 2019

How to convert AVI to MP4 by MEncoder

Here is a simple command which allows conversion of AVI format to MP4 format by MEncoder.

mencoder input.avi -o output.mp4 -oac copy -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg1video -of mpeg

The conversion is useful e.g. for Smart TV like Samsung which are often not able to play AVI.

8. September 2018

How to disable autocorrection in Outlook on macOS

Outlook on macOS sometimes performs autocorrection when user types the text.

For an example when user write “Traban the best”. Then the text is corrected to “Trabant he best”.

The problem is caused by two features working together: Automatic detection of language and Check spelling as you type.

When Outlook encountered an email written in English which contained special characters (e.g. names in Recipient field) it decides to switch the language of the document to other language even though user writes in English.

There are two ways how to get rid of this annoying behavior. The first will work for just one email, the second will work for any email.

1. How to turn off autocorrection in one email.

When composing message switch the Options tab, click Language icon.

Check the first checkbox “Do not check spelling or grammar” and click Ok.

This will affect currently opened email.

2. How to turn off autocorrection in all emails.

Select menu Outlook, click Preferences.

Click Spelling & Grammar.

Uncheck checkbox “Check spelling as you type

Quit Outlook and start it again.

25. August 2018

How to switch between keyboard layouts on macOS by using keyboard shortcut

When you have two or more keyboard layouts on macOS (e.g. US, Dvorak) then the only way how to switch between them is to click the menu in the upper right corner. It’s not very convenient. On Windows you can use Alt + Shift to switch the layout.

The keyboard shortcut to switch between layouts is by default disabled. You have to enable it.

Go to System Preferences, click Keyboard, click tab Shortcuts, click item Input Sources, check Select next source in Input menu.

Now you can switch keyboard layout by Control + Option + Space

You can also edit the shortcut and use your own.

14. July 2018

How to install Brother DCP-1610W on Linux Mint

Brother DCP-1610W and DCP-1610WE are laser printers with WiFi support. The problem is that configuration files for printing are not part of common distributions like Linux Mint.

You can try to use Foomatic driver for DCP-1200, but the result won’t be great. It’s necessary to install drivers from Brother.

There is one gotcha. If you install just a CUPS Wrapper from Brother, it won’t work. You need to install LPR and CUPS packages.

Download two deb files:

LPR printer driver (deb package)

CUPSwrapper printer driver (deb package)

Install them:

dpkg -i dcp1610wlpr-3.0.1-1.i386.deb
dpkg -i dcp1610wcupswrapper-3.0.1-1.i386.deb

The last command should add a printer to your system. CUPS should be also able to discover the printer on WiFi using mDNS. The important part of the configuration is:

Maker and Model which is set to: Brother DCP-1610W for CUPS

2. July 2018

How to switch tabs in Xed

Xed is the default text editor in Linux Mint. Xed has some neat features. E.g. it has support for tabs.

How to switch between opened tabs?

Ctrl+Alt+PgUp - switch to the next left tab
Ctrl+Alt+PgDown - swith to the next right tab

The other option is to use the mouse wheel and switch between tabs by the scrolling.