What else to do after installing Ubuntu Lucid ...

These are the things I did when I finished installing Lucid on my machine. I figured they could be of use to several of you so I decided it was interesting to share them. Here's how to install Ubuntu Tweak, change fonts, keyboard settings, optimize startup, improve Nautilus, delete Mono, install a dock, and an application launcher, download the Ubuntu manual, etc.

Run the update manager

Even though you just installed Lucid, thanks to the magic of Linux and free and collaborative software, there are probably updates to some of your favorite applications already.

For that reason, it is not a bad idea to run the Update Manager to stay up to date. You can also open a terminal and run:

sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade

Install Ubuntu Tweak

If you still do not know Ubuntu Tweak, I can assure you that you have been wasting your time. This application allows you to adjust all those "difficult" things to do in Ubuntu. They are not really difficult, but UT makes them re-easy for you.

Things you can do with Ubuntu Tweak:

  • Install some of your favorite applications and necessary codecs and plugins. Among others, I recommend installing Gimp, flash plugins, community themes, restricted extras (to play mp3s and other multimedia files), cairo-dock (the best dock ... much better than Docky), Kupfer (the replacement for Gnome -Do), Chromium (the "free" Google Chrome), VLC (the famous video player), Wine (to run Windows applications) ... well, there are many more. Each one will install the ones they need according to their needs.
  • Package Cleaner. It allows you to clean your system and erase temporary files, cache, program settings, old kernels, etc.
  • Login preferences. Ubuntu 0.5.4 allows you to change the logo and the background of the home screen or login screen.
  • Compiz and GNOME settings. Setting up Compiz and GNOME is no longer a difficult task. 🙂
  • Window manager settings. You don't like the layout of the window buttons in Lucid? Well, from here you will be able to change them as you please.
  • Script Manager. Always wanted to have a script to convert multiple images from file explorer? well, the script manager comes with a long list of ready-to-use scripts. You just have to activate them!
  • Set up your personal folders. Do you have your videos, images, documents, etc. saved in another route and not in your HOME? Well, setting Nautilus to recognize this is bullshit using UT.

In short, describing one by one the characteristics of Ubuntu Tweak would be an endless task. In addition, it is a super simple program to use. Installing UT is one of the first things every Ubuntu user should do.

Fonts

The fonts used in Ubuntu are not the best. Many users choose install the Droid Fonts y the Microsoft Fonts. Especially the first ones are very good, especially to use as fonts for your desktop.

To do this, go to your desktop, right-click, Change the fonts desktop background. I chose the Droid equivalent for each of the sources ... and voila! Especially if you have a notebook or netbook, you are going to notice an incredible improvement on your desktop. Some users also recommend lowering the size of the fonts used, but that depends on the taste of each one.

Keyboard preferences

Are you writing in several languages ​​and you need to change the keyboard all the time? Well, enabling this possibility is re-easy. Go to System, Preferences, Keyboard. In the Distributions tab, press the Add button. Finally, choose the different keyboards you want to add.

To make it easier to change the keyboard in any application, by pressing Alt + Shift (which is the key combination used in Windows), click the Options button. Go where it says Key to change the layout and select Alt + Shift and deselect Both Alt keys together.

Optimize Ubuntu startup

As in Windows, it always helps to disable some applications that run when Ubuntu starts. This can also be done from Ubuntu Tweak, or you can go to System, Preferences, Startup Applications.
Once there, it is a matter of choosing the programs that you do not want to run at startup. In my case, I deselected: Personal File Sharing, Remote Desktop, Bluetooth Manager, Gnome Login Sound, Evolution Alarm Notifier, Ubuntu One.
It is very difficult to recommend which applications to deactivate, that depends on the needs and tastes of each one of you, but I mention them so that you take it into account.

Upgrade Nautilus

Nautilus is the GNOME file explorer. It is an excellent program but many users have been complaining about the poor distribution of some of its elements. If you want to optimize the visual appearance of your Nautilus so that it looks like the image below, follow the instructions below.

First, we have to install Nautilus Elementary from repositories. To do this, we open a terminal and write:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa: am-monkeyd / nautilus-elementary-ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade pkill nautilus

Finally, it remains to install the "Breadcrumbs" so that, following the example in the previous screenshot, the current path looks like Home> Earendil> Desktop. The visual design used to show that is what we have to install.

We open a terminal and, making sure that we are in our user's directory (HOME), we write:

wget http://gnaag.k2city.eu/nautilus-breadcrumbs-hack.tar.gz tar -xvf nautilus-breadcrumbs-hack.tar.gz

When you reopen Nautilus it may not look quite right. All you have to do is go to Edit, Preferences, Tweaks. Once there, select the option Show like breadcrumbs.

Delete Mono and replace applications based on it

Don't you know what Mono is? Still haven't found out why does it suck? Well, I'll keep it short, it opens the door to possible Microsoft lawsuits for all those who use Mono-based software; that is, it gets you into a licensing quilombo from which, I imagine that as a former Windows user, you want to get out.

On the other hand, by deleting Mono you will save a lot of space that its dependencies occupy and that, in the case of Ubuntu, are only there to "support" 3 applications installed by default: Gbrainy, F-Spot and Tomboy. If you don't use either of these two, you can delete them from Synaptic as well as all the packages that say Mono or CLI.

To uninstall Mono, you can also open the terminal and type:

sudo apt-get remove --purge mono-runtime libgdiplus sudo rm -rf / usr / lib / mono

Don't panic: a lot of additional packages will be deleted. These are the libraries that all mono-based programs need to run. All of them are included, as I mentioned before, to support three applications in Lucid: GBrainy, Tomboy and F-Spot. All three, in my humble opinion, are very little used. In addition, there are completely free replacements.

Some replacements for Mono-based programs

  • Muine, Banshee >> Amarok, Rhythmbox, Songbird, Audacious, QuodLibet, Exaile, BMP, Sonata, XMMS, etc.
  • F-Spot >> GThumb
  • Gnome-do >> Kupfer
  • Docky >> Avant Window Manager (AWN), Cairo Dock
  • Tombtoy >> Gnote

In the case of having done this after a Lucid installation, we can install the replacement programs for Tomboy and F-Spot, opening a terminal and typing:

sudo apt-get install gnote gthumb

Install a dock and an application launcher

Have you ever seen a Mac and died of envy for not having a bottom bar with incredible animations to run your favorite applications? Well that's called a However, and in Linux there are several of excellent quality. Among the best stand out docky, Cairo Dock y awn.

In my opinion, Docky has the problem of being based on Mono and Awn is an excellent dock but it takes a lot of memory. If you are like me and you have a laptop that requires a fast, light dock, that does not take up much memory and that also does its job perfectly, then install Cairo Dock. You'll be surprised.

El app launcher It is another one of those things that cannot be missing. It is a mini application that when pressing a strange key combination, in my case Super + Spacebar, appears. All that remains is to write the name of the file, application, favorite, etc. that we want to open and press enter. Yes, it is that easy. You can even configure it to play a particular disc with Rhythmbox or your favorite audio application, to run a command in the terminal, to handle open windows, etc., etc., etc. The best application launchers available for Linux are Gnome Do and Kupfer. Gnome-Do, as I mentioned before, is based on Mono; the best option is install Kupfer. It works like a charm for me!

Remember: if you plan to install Docky or Gnome-Do, the applications in fashion today, first try with Cairo Dock y Copper. By clicking on the links, the above programs will be installed. Don't forget to add both to the list of applications that run at startup. For that, go to System, Preferences, Startup Applications and add cairo-dock and kupfer as commands. In the name and description of each one ... well, you put just that.

And they say that Linux is hard again! LOL…

Tour the Ubuntu Software Center

The Ubuntu Software Center is something you won't find in other Linux distros. That is why it is worth visiting. In addition, it is very well structured and interesting applications are easy to find.

To run it, go to Applications, Ubuntu Software Center.

Download the Ubuntu Manual.

The Ubuntu manual is a super comprehensive and easy to understand reference guide, especially for those just starting to dive into the Linux world.

For more information about the manual, I recommend you read this post.


4 comments, leave yours

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  1.   cute said

    Hi, how did I like your comment and very well explained why the monkey sucks, I also include that it stinks of mocosoft hahaha

    I only have a strange problem, it is with the nautilus everything is perfect ... but the arrow at the end does not appear, that is, if you look at the screenshot you put of the arrows you will see that at the very beginning there is a small square with the tip of an arrow in the opposite direction to the address because at the end of that direction with arrows should appear one as at the beginning but it does not appear

    And seeing that in fofinho there is a .nautilus folder (this empty) and another folder created when the images were downloaded, one with the name .theme was created, will something influence? What could be the solution because only here I have seen this

  2.   Let's use Linux said

    No, no ... this is precisely the problem I was referring to when I said in the post:

    When you reopen Nautilus it may not look quite right. All you have to do is go to Edit, Preferences, Tweaks. Once there, select the option Show like breadcrumbs.

    I think it was already fixed that way. In case it is not fixed, I opened a terminal puts pkill nautilus and reopened Nautilus.

  3.   Martín said

    Without a doubt one of the most complete and best entries that I have seen on this topic! Big!!!

  4.   Really said

    Muine, Banshee >> Amarok, Rhythmbox, Songbird, Audacious, QuodLibet, Exaile, BMP, Sonata, XMMS, etc.
    F-Spot >> GThumb
    Gnome-do >> Kupfer
    Docky >> Avant Window Manager (AWN), Cairo Dock
    Tombtoy >> Gnote

    You wrote them using the correct symbol, greater than. Banshee is hundreds of times superior to Rhythmbox, Docky to AWN and Tomboy to Gnote. However, if you care more that your machine is how Richard Stallman wants it to work well for you, go ahead and make it partially usable or totally useless.