Today i installed Linux Mint 18 "Sarah" with Cinnamon Desktop Environment, which at first glance, behaves very well and without any problem with my hardware, for those who want to try this distro I leave the guide of What to do after installing Linux Mint 18 "Sarah".
The guide is based on my experience with Linux Mint 17 (which I used a long time ago), in addition to the guide on let's use linux and the Ultimate Linux Mint 18 de Erik dubois (from which I took several scripts and customized them to my liking).
After completing the guide, your desktop will probably be this way, as well as updated, stable and with a good amount of essential software, all this quickly and safely.
Linux Mint 18
Some considerations to take into account before starting the guide
- Unlike Ubuntu, Mint comes by default with most of the multimedia audio and video codecs, so updating them is not a priority.
- Another important component that is installed by default is Synaptic, the well-known package manager.
- If you have the Ubuntu-based version, many programs and packages are highly compatible between both distributions.
- Linux Mint 18 comes with several development environments, most of the steps performed in this guide (if not all) are compatible with each of the desktops.
Steps to take after installing Linux Mint 18 "Sarah"
It is important to note that each of these steps have been tested and their correct result has been verified, in the same way, this is my personal step by step, so probably some things you do not need to do according to your tastes, this guide will save you a lot of time and above all it will help you to have your distro stable and beautiful.
Run the Update Manager
It is possible that new updates have come out since you downloaded the image, so you can check if there are updates available from the update manager (Menu> Administration> Update Manager) or with the following command:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
Install the proprietary drivers (video card, wireless, etc.)
In the Preferences Menu> Additional Drivers we can update and change (if we wish) the proprietary driver of the graphics card or other device that is causing problems.
Install the language pack
Although by default Linux Mint installs the Spanish language pack (or any other that we have indicated during the installation) it does not do so completely. To reverse this situation we can go to Menu> Preferences> Language support or also by typing the following command in a terminal:
sudo apt-get install language-pack-gnome-en language-pack-en language-pack-kde-en libreoffice-l10n-en thunderbird-locale-en thunderbird-locale-en-en thunderbird-locale-en-ar
Install battery manager
In case you have installed Linux Mint 18 on your laptop, I recommend that you install a battery manager that will allow you to manage the charging and discharging of your battery for them, we must follow the following steps:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linrunner/tlp
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install tlp tlp-rdwThe default configuration of this application guarantees proper use of your battery, so just install it and that's it.
Install git
Without a doubt, this is a mandatory step, to install git in Linux Mint 18, we must write the following command:
sudo apt-get install git-all
Customize appearance
There are many ways to customize your Linux Mint 18, many of them are free, I particularly don't have much time to install things one by one, go testing and so on, so I take advantage of 3 scripts that will allow us to install various themes, icons and settings for conky.
To access the script to download and install the best themes and icons, we must clone the repository that contains both, in addition to the scripts to install each theme separately. For this we must execute the following command:
git clone https://github.com/erikdubois/themes-icons-pack.git
Script to install the best themes for Linux Mint 18
To run the all-in-once-installation_deb_themes.sh script, found in the repository themes-icons-pack.git that we cloned, we must from the cloned directory, execute the following script in this way:
./all-in-once-installation_deb_themes.shThis script will automatically install the following themes for Linux Mint 18.
Arc breeze
Arc Evopop
Arc Faba
Arc luv
arcnumix
ArcPaper
Arc Pole
Arc Red
Arc Sun
Arc tomato
Mint-Y-Alu
Mint-Y-Arc
Mint-Y-Arch
Mint-And-Dark-Faba
mint-and-fire
Mint-And-Lightning
Mint-Y-Paper
Mint-And-Polo
mint-and-sun
Ambiance Theme and Radiance colors
arc-theme
Arch Frost GTK
Arch Frost GTK Dark
Ceti 2 Theme
Flatabulous theme
Numix Daily theme
Vertex theme (dark and light)
Script to install the best icons for Linux Mint 18
As we did with the themes, to install the icons we must locate ourselves in the directory of themes-icons-pack.git and run the following script like this:
all-in-once-installation_deb_icons.shThis script will automatically install the following icons for Linux Mint 18.
Sardi icon theme
surfn
Numix circle icons
evopop icons
flattr icons
Superflat remix icons
ultra flat icons
flatwoken icons
Moka and Faba
dalisha
Compass
Vertex
Papyrus icons
Papyrus Dark Gtk
The Captain
oranchelo
paper
Selecting the Theme and Icons
Once you have installed the icon and theme pack, we proceed to select the most appropriate one, to do this from the menu we access «Topics», we choose the combination of Window Borders, Icons, Controls, Mouse Pointer and Desktop.
If you want your desktop to be like mine, you must choose the following configuration:
linux mint themes 18
It is worth noting that if you want to uninstall the icons and themes in the future, you can do so by executing the following script found in the cloned repository:
./uninstall-all-icons-and-themes.shScript to install the best conky configuration for Linux Mint 18
Conky, is a system monitor that displays information on various components, such as RAM memory, CPU usage, system time, etc. The great advantage is that there are many "skins" of this application.
In this case I use Aura a collection of excellent conky configurations, which we will access by cloning the official repository:
git clone https://github.com/erikdubois/AureolaOpen the folder and run the following script
./get-aureola-from-github-to-local-drive.sh
This script will download a series of configurations from github and create the .aura folder (hidden folder). Where later each conky configuration can be selected, we go to the created folder
cd ~/.aureola
Once in this directory we execute:
./get-aureola-from-github-to-local-drive.sh
which will update conky to the latest version. If we access the .aureola directory we will be able to view various folders which correspond to various conky configuration, to choose the one we want, we enter the corresponding folder and execute the following command: ./install-conky.sh which will make all the necessary settings automatically.
The conky configurations available in halo are as follows:
Halo - Poku
Halo - Gambodekdue
Halo - Gambodekuno
Halo - Netsense
Halo - Asura
Halo - Acros
Halo - Salis
Halo - Lazuli
Halo - Spark
Halo - Alva
Install restrictive fonts
If it is necessary to install them, we must write the following commands in a terminal:
sudo apt-get install ttf-mscorefonts-installer
We accept the license terms by managing with TAB and ENTER.
Install essential programs automatically
These for me are indispensable programs that I always install, so I took the script from Erik dubois and I modified it to my liking, with it you can install the following applications:
Spotify
Sublime Text
Variety
Inkscape
Plank
Screenfetch
Google Chromea
adobe-flashplugin
catfish
clementine
curl
dconf-cli
dropbox
evolution
focuswriter
frei0r-plugins
geary
gpick
glances
gparted
grsync
hardinfo
inkscape
kazam
nemo-dropbox
radiotray
screenruler
screenfetch
scrot
shutter
slurm
terminator
thunar
vlc
vnstat
winbind
gedit
npmIf you want to download it automatically, you must execute the following command (which downloads the script from our paste, gives it execution permission and executes the script)
wget http://paste.desdelinux.net/?dl=5254 && chmod +x install-all-soft.sh && ./install-all-soft.sh
Install software to play
For me this is not essential, but for those who like games, in addition to the large library of games that the repositories have, we also have http://www.playdeb.net/welcome/, another page that specializes in collecting games for Linux systems in .deb packages. If we also want to enjoy our Windows games, not to despair, since we have some alternatives:
1. Wine (http://www.winehq.org/) provides us with the compatibility layer to run not only games, but also all kinds of compiled software for Windows systems
2. PlayOnLinux (http://www.playonlinux.com/en/) another resource that provides us with a library capable of installing and using software designed for Windows
3. Lutris (http://lutris.net/) a gaming platform developed for GNU / Linux, a great resource despite being in development stages.
4. Wine tricks (http://wiki.winehq.org/winetricks) works as a script that helps to download libraries needed to run games on Linux, such as .NET Frameworks, DirectX, etc.
For all these programs, we can consult in their respective official pages, the Linux Mint Programs manager or the terminal. Likewise, we highly recommend reading this mini-tutor which explains how to install and configure each of them.
Steam for Linux (http://store.steampowered.com/search/?os=linux)
For some time now, the Steam gaming platform can be used natively. This means that there are a growing number of games available on Steam that are natively developed to run on Linux.
To install Steam, just download the .deb file from the Steam page.
Then they will use the following command:
sudo dpkg -i steam_latest.deb
Possibly some dependency errors. If so, just enter the following command to repair them:
sudo apt-get install -f
Then when you open Steam, it will update. Here You will find a complete list of Linux games available on Steam.
Install audio plugins and an equalizer
Some of them, like Gstreamer or Timidity, will help us to expand our catalog of supported formats; both are found in the Programs manager or can be installed using the command sudo apt-get install. It is also recommended to install pulseaudio-equalizer, capable of providing advanced Pulse Audio configuration and improving sound quality. To install it we will use 3 commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa: nilarimogard / webupd8 sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install pulseaudio-equalizer
Install other programs
The rest is to get the software you want for each need. There are many ways to do it:
1. In the Program Manager, which we enter from Menu> Administration, we have a very generous number of programs for any function that occurs to us. The manager is arranged by categories, which facilitates the search for what we want. Once the program we need is located, it is only a matter of pressing the install button and typing the Administrator password; We can even create an installation queue that the same manager will execute sequentially.
2. With the Package Manager we do know exactly which packages we want to install. Not recommended to install programs from scratch if we do not know all the packages we will need.
3. Through a terminal (Menu> Accessories) and typing usually sudo apt-get install + program name. Sometimes we will have to previously add the repository with the commands sudo apt-get ppa: + repository name; to search for a program with the console we can type apt search.
4. In the page http://www.getdeb.net/welcome/ (Playdeb's sister) we also have a good catalog of software compiled in .deb packages
5. From the official page of the project if you have any other installation steps.
Some software recommendations:
- Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera: Internet browsers
- Mozilla Thunderbird: email and calendar manager
- Libre Office, Open Office, K-Office: office suites
- Mcomix: comics reader
- Okular: multiple file reader (including pdf)
- Inkscape: vector graphics editor
- Blender: 3D Modeler
- Gimp: creating and editing images
- VLC, Mplayer: sound and video players
- Rythmbox, Audacious, Songbird, Amarok - Audio Players
- Boxee: multimedia center
- Caliber: e-book management
- Picasa - Image Management
- Audacity, LMMS: audio editing platforms
- Pidgin, Emesené, Empathy: multiprotocol chat clients
- Google Earth: Google's well-known virtual globe
- Transmission, Vuze: P2P clients
- Bluefish: HTML editor
- Geany, Eclipse, Emacs, Gambas: development environments for different languages
- Gwibber, Tweetdeck: clients for social networks
- K3B, Brasero: disc recorders
- Furious ISO Mount: to mount ISO images on our system
- Unetbootin: allows you to “mount” operating systems on a pendrive
- ManDVD, Devede: DVD Authoring and Creation
- Bleachbit: remove unnecessary files from the system
- VirtualBox, Wine, Dosemu, Vmware, Bochs, PearPC, ARPS, Win4Linux: emulation of operating systems and software
- Games there are thousands and for all tastes !!
To see a more extensive list, you can visit the Programs section of this blog.
Read the official documentation
La Official User Guide Linux Mint is not only translated into Spanish but is a highly recommended reference for the installation and daily use of the system.
Explore our new system
We already have a complete operating system ready for our daily use. As always, it is recommended to explore the managers, options, configurations and other tools of the system to familiarize ourselves with all the virtues of our system.
It is also advisable to have your system constantly updated, start enjoying your favorite distribution, also share with the world what you have learned.
Finally, we await your comments on the guide: What to do after installing Linux Mint 18 "Sarah"