diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 14acf20..e15296d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -22,12 +22,16 @@ Powerline for Bash in pure Bash script.
 
 Download the Bash script
 
-    curl https://raw.github.com/riobard/bash-powerline/master/bash-powerline.sh > ~/.bash-powerline.sh
+    curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ingoha/bash-powerline/master/bash-powerline.sh > ~/.bash-powerline.sh
 
 And source it in your `.bashrc`
 
     source ~/.bash-powerline.sh
 
+You need a terminal capable of displaying at least 16 colors. By default, this is not the case in Ubuntu and Mint. Therefore add this to your `.bashrc`:
+
+    export TERM=xterm-256color
+
 For best result, use [Solarized
 colorscheme](https://github.com/altercation/solarized) for your terminal
 emulator. Or hack your own colorscheme by modifying the script. It's really
diff --git a/bash-powerline.sh b/bash-powerline.sh
index 6b11e3f..ea4fd72 100644
--- a/bash-powerline.sh
+++ b/bash-powerline.sh
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ __powerline() {
         [ -x "$(which git)" ] || return    # git not found
 
         # get current branch name or short SHA1 hash for detached head
-        local branch="$(git symbolic-ref --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || git describe --tags --always 2>/dev/null)"
+        local branch="$(git symbolic-ref HEAD 2>/dev/null | sed -e s#refs/heads/## || git describe --tags --always 2>/dev/null)"
         [ -n "$branch" ] || return  # git branch not found
 
         local marks
@@ -78,9 +78,8 @@ __powerline() {
         [ -n "$(git status --porcelain)" ] && marks+=" $GIT_BRANCH_CHANGED_SYMBOL"
 
         # how many commits local branch is ahead/behind of remote?
-        local stat="$(git status --porcelain --branch | grep '^##' | grep -o '\[.\+\]$')"
-        local aheadN="$(echo $stat | grep -o 'ahead \d\+' | grep -o '\d\+')"
-        local behindN="$(echo $stat | grep -o 'behind \d\+' | grep -o '\d\+')"
+        local aheadN="$(LC_ALL=C git status | grep 'ahead' | grep -P -o '\d+')"
+        local behindN="$(LC_ALL=C git status | grep 'behind' | grep -P -o '\d+')"
         [ -n "$aheadN" ] && marks+=" $GIT_NEED_PUSH_SYMBOL$aheadN"
         [ -n "$behindN" ] && marks+=" $GIT_NEED_PULL_SYMBOL$behindN"