Eva's Useful Guide to Ubuntu 9.10
Welcome to the third edition of Eva's Useful Guide to Ubuntu!
This guide contains many tips to enhance and customize a fresh Ubuntu 9.10
"Karmic Koala" installation.
I have been using various Linux distributions since 1998, and Ubuntu since its first release in 2004. During the last five years, I have accumulated some experience installing and maintaining Ubuntu systems.
This guide was first meant to be my own reference, but I think it can be useful to anyone wanting to get the best of his Ubuntu box.
Summary
A. Media codecs, DVD support and more
B. Use the Gnome Control Center
C. Set up Firefox & Thunderbird
D. Install useful software
E. System & administration
software
F. How to install fonts
G. Get more languages
H. How to force the package architecture
I. How to install Virtualbox
J. External monitor with NVidia
K. Hardware specific issues
L. Tips & tricks
M. Miscellaneous
N. Ubuntu branding
Final thoughts & comments
All the commands in orange should
be run in a terminal:
Applications → Accessories → Terminal
You don't have to type in the commands! You can paste a command in a terminal using the wheel click / middle click of your mouse.
A. Media codecs & DVD support
1. Enable the medibuntu repositories.
To be able to read any kind of media (movies, audio, DVD, ...), and to install software like Skype or Google Earth, you'll have to enable the medibuntu repositories.
This single long command line will enable the Medibuntu Repository AND the medibuntu keyring:
sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/`lsb_release -cs`.list --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list; sudo apt-get -q update; sudo apt-get --yes -q --allow-unauthenticated install medibuntu-keyring; sudo apt-get -q update
(It works on any Ubuntu release, you don't need to adapt it.)
2. Install non-free-codecs
The non-free-codecs meta-package will install a lot of very useful packages, and includes ubuntu-restricted-extras: support for MP3 and various other audio formats (GStreamer plugins), Microsoft fonts, Java runtime environment, Flash plugin, w64codecs or w32codecs depending on your architecture, and much more.
sudo apt-get install non-free-codecs
If you want to know what exactly will be installed, here is the list:
cabextract freepats gsfonts-x11 gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse java-common liba52-0.7.4 libamrnb3 libamrwb3 libass3 libavcodec52 libavformat52 libavutil49 libcdaudio1 libcelt0 libdc1394-22 libdca0 libdirac0c2a libdvdnav4 libdvdread4 libenca0 libfaac0 libfaad0 libffado1 libfftw3-3 libfreebob0 libgsm1 libid3tag0 libiptcdata0 libjack0 libkate1 libmad0 libmimic0 libmjpegtools-1.9 libmms0 libmodplug0c2 libmp3lame0 libmp4v2-0 libmpcdec3 libmpeg2-4 libofa0 libpostproc51 libquicktime1 libschroedinger-1.0-0 libsidplay1 libsoundtouch1c2 libswscale0 libtwolame0 libwildmidi0 libx264-67 libxml++2.6-2 libxvidcore4 non-free-codecs odbcinst1debian1 sun-java6-bin sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin ttf-liberation ttf-mscorefonts-installer ubuntu-restricted-extras unixodbc unrar w64codecs (Total about 170 MB)
3. Install more codecs, DVD support, VLC and mplayer:
The libdvdcss2 package is essential to play encrypted DVDs. VLC is probably the best media player around.
sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2 gxine libxine1-ffmpeg vlc mplayer mencoder
If you want to know what exactly will be installed, here is the list:
gxine libaudio2 libdvbpsi5 libdvdcss2 libebml0 libiso9660-5 liblua5.1-0 liblzo2-2 libmatroska0 libmozjs0d libopenal1 libqtcore4 libqtgui4 libsdl-image1.2 libsvga1 libtar libvcdinfo0 libvlc2 libvlccore2 libxcb-shape0 libxcb-shm0 libxcb-xv0 libxine1 libxine1-bin libxine1-console libxine1-ffmpeg libxine1-misc-plugins libxine1-x mencoder mplayer mplayer-nogui mplayer-skins vlc vlc-data vlc-nox vlc-plugin-pulse (Total about 80 MB)
B. Use the Gnome Control Center
In my opinion, the system settings menu in Gnome is a mess. No beginner is able to figure out which settings are in "Preferences" or rather in "Administration", and why.
The lists are ordered alphabetically: if you use Ubuntu in different languages, you'll have a hard time to find the item you're looking for. As I use Ubuntu in many different languages, it really is a problem for me. And it also surely is annoying for new users coming from the Windows world.
Here comes the solution: the Gnome Control Center.
1. Enable the Control Center
The control center is already installed by default. You just need to make
its shortcut "appear" in the menu. Go to:
System → Preferences → Main Menu
And check:
System → Control Center
You can also uncheck "Preferences" and "Administration", as all the items displayed under "Preferences" and "Administration" will be accessible through the control center:
Now you can easily access the Control Center from the main menu. Alternatively, launch gnome-control-center from the command line.
2. Start using it!
When you open the Control Center, just type the first letters of what you're looking for. If you want to change the power management settings, typing "pow" will filter out the right possibility:
3. Useful things to do using the Control Center
A. Adapt power management to your needs.
Look for "Power Management" in the Control Center.
If you prefer to use the menus, go for:
System → Preferences → Power Managment
B. Set your screensaver preferences.
Look for "Screensaver" in the Control Center.
Menu: System → Preferences →
Screensaver
C. Get rid of annoying system sounds:
Look for "Sound" in the Control Center.
Menu: System → Preferences → Sound
Select "No sounds" as the sound theme, and mute the alert sound.
D. Set up automatic updates:
Look for "Update Manager" in the Control Center.
Menu: System → Administration → Update
Manager
Click on the "Settings..." button in the lower left corner. You should set-up the settings according of your "target audience" (persons using the machine) and the security level needed.
To minimize the nuisance of too frequent and obtrusive updates on friend & family computers, give these settings a try:
Make sure that "Show new distribution releases" is set to "Never" to prevent unwanted release upgrade on computers you administrate!
C. Set up Firefox & Thunderbird
Both Firefox and Thunderbird have the great ability to share the same “profile folder”, no matter if you boot Windows or Linux. When you (re)install a Linux or Windows system, you only have to configure your profile so the program knows where your “profile folder” is.
firefox -P
thunderbird -P
Now you've got your bookmarks, contacts & emails back!
1. Useful Firefox extensions
DownThemAll: one of
the best download managers
Flashblock: block
heavy animations and ads. Makes browsing a lot faster on older computers.
User Agent
Switcher: solves many compatibility problems! If a website appears not to
be fully compatible with Firefox (for example hotmail), you can make the
website "think" that you are using IE, Opera or any other browser in the
desired version.
Screengrab: saves a web page
(partial or complete) as an image, or to the clipboard
.png)
Session Manager: saves and
restores the state of all windows. Simply the best session manager around.
2. Useful Thunderbird extensions (add-ons)
Mozilla Lightning: The official calendar extension for
Thunderbird
(Project homepage)
Zindus: Sync Google and Zimbra contacts with Thunderbird
(Project Homepage)
Provider for Google Calendar: Allows bidirectional access to
Google Calendar. Requires Lightning.
Image Zoom: adds zoom functionality for images
(Project homepage)
D. Install useful software
1. Google Earth
Once you have installed the medibuntu repositories, Google Earth 5 can be installed from the Synaptic Package Manager (it doesn't appear in the Software Center.) Alternatively, use the command line:
sudo apt-get install googleearth
A detail: you can make Google Earth adapt to your desktop theme. Open the main menu editor and replace the googleearth %f command with googleearth -style GTK+ %f:
If a more recent version of Google Earth comes out, it can can be downloaded from the official website, as a .bin installer. Download and save the GoogleEarthLinux.bin package. To install it from the command line you need to make the file executable.
Open the Download folder, select the file and right-click to show the contextual menu. Select "Properties":
In the properties window, select the "Permissions" tab, and check the "Allow executing file as program" checkbox:
Now open a terminal, paste the following two commands:
cd Downloads
./GoogleEarthLinux.bin
2. Adobe (Acrobat) Reader
The default pdf reader, Evince, should be fine for almost everything. It is already
installed in your default Ubuntu. Evince is also much faster
than its closed source competitor.
However, Adobe Reader is also available. Download it from the official website, and
then follow the same procedure as Google Earth to make the .bin file
executable.
Finally open a terminal, paste the following two commands:
cd Downloads
sudo ./AdbeRdr9.2-1_i486linux_enu.bin (or name of the file you
downloaded)
Note that you don't need to type the whole name of the file. Type the first two or three letters, and then hit the Tab ↹ key - the name of the file will auto-complete.
When you'll be asked: "Enter installation directory for Adobe Reader 9.2 [/opt] ", just confirm with Enter.
3. More Free Open Source Software
Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0: E-Mail (Outlook replacement)
sudo apt-get install thunderbird thunderbird-gnome-support
You could also install Thunderbird from the Software Center, but it does not install the thunderbird-gnome-support package by default.
Filezilla: Full FTP utility
Install from the Software Center: search for "filezilla".
Or click here to install.
Audacity: Audio editor (≈ Samplitude / Cubase)
Install from the Software Center: search for "audacity".
Or click here to install.
How to record audio playing on your computer using Audacity
Sound Converter: converts audio file formats, WAV to MP3 or OGG, FLAC to MP3...
Install from the Software Center: search for "sound converter".
Or click here to install.
Shutter: A great program to make screenshots
Install from the Software Center: search for "shutter".
Or click here to install.
To rip DVDs, use the excellent cross-platform Handbrake (get the .deb installer from here) or the easy-to-use Thoggen (to be installed from the Software Center, or click here).
For more infos, read:
"The Ultimate Guide To Manage Your Audio/Video Files In
Linux"
Amaya is a free and open source WYSIWYG web authoring tool, which I use to edit this website. Though not being as stable and powerful as Dreamweaver, Amaya produces clean and standard HTML and XLM code. It releases often, and is maintained by W3C and INRIA. Install the .deb from here.
Skype 2.1: the new 2.1 beta version now supports PulseAudio!
sudo apt-get install skype
Dropbox is a great
cross-platform application to share, store and sync files online and between
computers. This software is amazing, and they offer 2 GB free software space,
without file size limitations.
Installations instructions here. (.deb or repositories)
E. System & administration software
1. Easy firewall set-up
You may want to install a firewall. ufw (Uncomplicated Firewall) is installed by default, but not active. Gufw is a nice graphical user interface for ufw.
Install from the Software Center: search for "gufw", or click here to install.
To launch Gufw, look for "Firewall configuration" in the Control Center.
Menu: System → Administration → Firewall
configuration
Make sure you apply predefined rules for ftp, pop3, smtp, ... if you want to be able to use these services.
2. (Don't) install an anti-virus!
Most people will be fine under Linux without any anti-virus software. By enabling the firewall and by updating regularly, your system should be safe. Really! Sometimes though, people will insist about having an antivirus on their computer, no matter how long you explain that it is not necessary.
Nowadays all major computer security companies (from Kasperky to Symantec and McAffee) offer commercial antivirus under Linux. There is not a single good reason to buy anything from them!
ClamAV is a free open source cross-platform anti-virus, which has a GUI named ClamTk. It would be my first choice.
Install from the Software Center: search for "Virus Scanner".
Or click here to install.
Access through Applications → System Tools → Virus Scanner
You may want to update to the last version of ClamTk, which is not provided through the Ubuntu repositories. Download it from here.
After the update, the shortcut for ClamTk will have moved to:
Applications → Accessories → Virus Scanner
My second choice would be Avira, which has a freeware version here. The third possible solution would be the "Linux Home Edition" antivirus solution from Avast!
3. Disable some services and startup programs
1. Manage services with Boot-up Manager
In previous Ubuntu versions, there was a dialog where you could (de)activate system services. I can't find it anymore under System → Administration → Services, I supposed it disappeared.
Nevertheless, it is possible to install an application called "Boot-Up Manager" (graphical runlevel editor) from the software Center, or by clicking here . With this app you can manage services, and for example deactivate Bluetooth:
2. Disable non-needed startup programs
If you don't need some of the default startup programs, you can remove them from the startup. For example: buetooth manager, evolution alarm notifier, remote desktop server, visual assistance, ...
Look for "Startup Applications" in the Control Center.
Menu: System → Administration → Startup
Applications
4. A few more useful tools
1. Gparted, a powerful partition editor
GParted is a partition editor similar to the defunct Partition Magic
sudo apt-get install ntfsprogs gparted
2. Start-Up Manager
Start-Up Manager is a graphical tool to change the settings of the boot loader and splash screen.
Install from the Software Center: search for "startup manager".
Start-Up Manager is the easiest way to change the GRUB menu timeout in Ubuntu. I usually reduce the bootloader menu timeout from 10 to 3 seconds. If you set timeout to 0 seconds, GRUB will boot the "default operating system" immediately.
3. Ubuntu Tweak
Personaly I'm not fond of Ubuntu Tweak, but a lot of readers asked me to add it to this guide, so here it is!
Ubuntu Tweak indeed can be useful, for example to manage file associations, or easily install third party repositories. Most of the times though, it duplicates things that are already present in the System menu. Use it wisely!
Download and Installation instructions here.
4. Encryption
Truecrypt is an
encryption software application. It has a nice GUI, and the source code is
available. Some licence concerns though.
Download .deb from here.
4. Uninstall unused software & cleanup
Uninstalling unused packages helps to to reduce the number of updates and to
keep a less-cluttered system.
Personaly, I don't use Evolution, F-spot, Rhythmbox, Tomboy and gnome-games
(about 145MB disk space will be freed):
sudo apt-get remove evolution evolution-common evolution-couchdb evolution-exchange evolution-indicator evolution-plugins evolution-webcal f-spot gnome-games gnome-games-common rhythmbox tomboy
If you don't own any Palm smartphone or organizer, you can remove the Palm Pilot sync tools and libraries:
sudo apt-get remove gnome-pilot gnome-pilot-conduits libgnome-pilot2 libpisync1 libpisock9
Remove mono (or not)
F-spot and Tomboy are the only two applications using mono in a default karmic koala install. If you don't use them, there is the possibility to remove mono. It will free 30 to 50MB.
For many, removing mono is a political/ideological thing. It's not my case, but Free Software is about choice isn't it? You have the choice to remove mono... or not.
sudo apt-get purge libmono* libgdiplus cli-common
(The purge switch is designed to remove configuration data too. You could use remove instead)
Don't remove mono if you're not sure about what what you are doing!
Remove orphaned packages and cleanup
At this point, your system may be full of unused libraries. The package deborphan helps finding and removing orphaned libraries. It has a Gtk frontend called gtkorphan.
sudo apt-get install deborphan gtkorphan
To launch GtkOrphan, look for "Remove orphaned packages" in the Control
Center.
Menu: System → Administration → Remove orphaned
packages
Don't use GtkOrphan if you're not sure about what what you are doing!
Finally, a little cleanup (may not be needed, but not dangerous):
sudo apt-get autoremove
sudo apt-get clean
F. How to install fonts in Ubuntu
1. Red Hat Liberation Fonts
The Liberation Fonts are a great "GPL+exception" replacements
offered by 
Red Hat for the three most
common Microsoft fonts: Times New Roman, Arial, and Courier New.
2. Microsoft Fonts
The Liberation Fonts are intended to be a full replacement for the Microsoft Fonts. If you want to install the Microsoft Fonts anyway, here is the procedure:
sudo apt-get install ttf-mscorefonts-installer
The ttf-mscorefonts-installer package was named msttcorefonts in previous ubuntu versions.
If you have already installed the ubuntu-restricted-extras or the non-free-codecs meta-packages, ttf-mscorefonts-installer will already be installed on your system.
3. How to install any font in Ubuntu
a) Open your home folder in Nautilus
b) Enable "Show Hidden Files" option from Nautilus View menu:
c) Create a new folder named ".fonts" (with a dot!)
d) Copy all the needed fonts in the newly created folder.
Your Windows fonts can be copied from C:\Windows\Fonts
e) For some applications, a restart may be needed.
G. Get more Languages
One of the positive aspects of Linux is its ability to let you choose the language of your applications and desktop. It is also possible to use as many spelling correctors as you like.
In my case I need spelling correctors in French, German, Spanish and English, and my default desktop should be in Spanish.
Look for "Language Support" in the Control Center.
Menu: System → Administration → Language
Support
Software like Firefox, Openoffice.org, Thunderbird will be updated with new locales, dictionaries, and UI language packs.
International keyboard stickers
I had a very good experience ordering Hindi ($1,80) and Russian ($0.93) keyboard stickers from this website.
The Hindi stickers are outstanding, the Russian are good. The prices are really fair compared to other offers, shipping took 10 days to Europe and was relatively inexpensive.
H. How to force the package architecture
Problem: you are running Ubuntu 64 bit, and the software package you want to install is 32 bit.
Gdebi-gtk will give you the following error message:
Error: Wrong architecture 'i386'
This could happen with Skype, Eclipse, IBM Lotus Symphony or the excellent game World of Goo.
Solution: install the package from the command line with
the --force-architecture option:
sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture
NameOfPackage.deb
For example:
sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture skype-debian_2.0.0.72-1_i386.deb
I. How to install Virtualbox
It is possible to install the OSS version of Virtualbox directly from Synaptic. However, the Open Source Version does not include USB support, so that I recommend installing VirtualBox by downloading the latest version from the official website.
After installing VirtualBox, you may need to restart your computer. After
restarting, the 
menu entry should appear in the 
menu. Alternatively, run VirtualBox in a terminal.
For Virtualbox to work properly, you have to be in the group "vboxusers". Add yourself in this group using the following command:
sudo adduser your_user_name vboxusers
To share any folder as a network drive, just enter following command at the MSDOS prompt:
net use x: \\vboxsvr\your_shared_folder
DKMS takes care of compiling virtualbox kernel modules when the kernel gets upgrated. It should be installed by default. If not, install DKMS with:
sudo apt-get install dkms
J. External monitor with NVidia
If you try to set up an external monitor with the "NVidia X Server Settings" utility (via VGA, HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort), you may get the following error message when saving your configuration:
Error: Failed to parse existing X config file '/etc/X11/xorg.conf'!
This bug gets easily fixed with this commands:
sudo nvidia-xconfig
Than you can re-run nvidia-settings as root, and hopefully you'll be able to save:
sudo nvidia-settings
Refer to this post for more help, or this bug report on Launchpad.
K. Hardware specific issues
1. Dell XPS M1330 – 13" Laptop
Processor: Core 2
Duo 2.5 Ghz
Graphics: NVidia GeForce 8400M GS
Wireless: Intel WiFi Link 4965AGN a/b/g/n
Sound Card: SigmaTel STAC9228
External Monitor: Dell 2709W
Everything works perfectly by default, which includes the graphic & network cards. Suspend to RAM is extremely fast. Hibernate works without a glitch. All the hotkeys work. Both line out jacks are functional, and even the IR remote control is supported!
2. Toshiba SA50-412 – 15" Laptop
Processor: Celeron
M 330 1.4 GHz
Graphics: Intel 855 GME (integrated)
Wireless: TP-Link 54 M Wireless USB Adapter TL-WN321G (USB stick)
Sound Card: Motorola Si3054 HD Audio
Works almost perfectly by
default.
The hotkeys for contrast are not working! (They were ok in previous releases.)
The notebook is fast and responsive, thanks to a 1GB (instead of 256MB) RAM
upgrade.
The TP-Link 54M wireless adapter works great! In previous releases, it made the
laptop unresponsive/laggy.
3. Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pa 2510 – 15" Laptop
Processor: AMD
Turion 64 X2 TL-50 1.6 GHz
Graphics: ATI Radeon X1200 - 128 MB
Wireless: Atheros AR5007EG 802.11 b/g
Sound Card: Motorola Si3054 HD Audio
Modem: 56K V.92
Everything seems to work perfectly by
default, which includes the graphic & network cards. The
"Hardware Drivers" utility suggests proprietary drivers for the modem.
I had no time to test this laptop thoroughly, though.
4. Acer TravelMate 7730-844G50BN – 17" Laptop
Processor: Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26GHz
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS 256MB
Wireless: WLAN 802.11abgn/Bluetooth
Display: 17" WXGA+ glare TFT (1440x900)
Everything works perfectly by default. Contrast hotkeys, which were defect in some previous Ubuntu versions, are fine now. Wireless LAN works out of the box, and NVidia graphics work very well (proprietary drivers available).
Printers
1. Canon PIXMA MP 450 
The Canon PIXMA MP450 won't find the appropriate drivers automatically. However, the printer works fine with the PIXMA MP150 drivers - select them from the list.
Canon PIXMA MP450 at the OpenPrinting database.
2. Canon PIXMA MP 210 
The Canon PIXMA MP210 won't find the appropriate drivers automatically. However, the printer works fine with the PIXMA MP220 drivers - select them from the list.
Canon PIXMA MP210 at the OpenPrinting database: here (Gutenprint) and here (Canon official drivers).
3. HP Photosmart C5200 Series
In progress...
4. HP 1000 Series
To be tested soon.
L. Tips & tricks
1. Save "real estate" / space on the desktop
1. Install the compact human theme to save space in all applications. (Though it is not specified, it works well with Ubuntu 9.10)
2. Merge the upper and lower gnome panels (taskbars) in one.
3. In Firefox, you can save vertical space by making sure that the tab bar
is only displayed when you actually use more than one tab. In Firefox, go to
Edit → Preferences → Tabs
and uncheck "Always show the tab bar":
2. Add default document templates
By default, there are no document templates in Ubuntu! If you try a right-click to create a new document, you will end up with this:
There is an easy solution to this problem.
In your home folder, there is a folder called "Templates".
Just add any files you want as templates. Give the files a descriptive name because the file extension is not displayed in the menu.
Here is an example of what you can get:
Be careful: don't rely on UbuntuTweak to manage your templates! You will end up with files with wrong locales, and wrong meta data (author’s name, date created, etc).
3. Set up the Windows/Super/Meta key
This paragraph is about the Windows/Super/Meta/Command key.
In the Windows world, is best known as Windows or Win key, looks like this:
.
In the Apple World, it is Command, Cmd or Apple key, and looks like this: ⌘.
The Meta key, which historically comes from the MIT and is used on Sun keyboards, looks like this: ◆ .
The Super key is generally used as a generic, brand-neutral term for the Windows/Command/Meta key. Therefore I'll use the term Super key in this paragraph.
Super = or ⌘.
The Super key has many names, but one problem in Ubuntu: by default it doesn't open the Gnome main menu. It will be fixed instantaneously by running this command:
gconftool-2 --set /apps/metacity/global_keybindings/panel_main_menu --type string "Super_L"
Source: intipadi.com. Thanks to Brian for submitting the fix!
4. Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
It's still not easy to set up OCR on a Linux box. However, there are several online services that offer free OCR:
Free Online OCR: unlimited uploads, no registration, and a lot of languages. Recognizes layout but doesn't save it in the results. Good text results, very usable service.
Free OCR: a little bit more limited that the previous service, but this one had even better text results in my test. Definitely worth a try - no registration needed.
OCRTerminal: aka "OCRT". Requires registration, but seems to be efficient. Up to 20 pages free every month. I didn't test this one.
5. Immediate shutdown or reboot
You don't like this?
To remove this useless dialog, enter following command in a terminal:
gconftool-2 -s '/apps/indicator-session/suppress_logout_restart_shutdown' --type bool true
M. Miscellaneous / Pot-pourri
A. Use CheckGmail or Gmail Notifier as Linux alternatives to the notifier program released by Google (MacOS and Windows only).
B. Traditionally the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Backspace kills and restarts the X Server. To activate this in Ubuntu, go to System → Preferences → Keyboard. Select the "Layouts" tab and click on the "Layout Options" button. Finally select "Key sequence to kill the X server" and enable "Control + Alt + Backspace".
C. Look here if you want more free fonts:
"300+ Easily Installed Free Fonts for Ubuntu"
D. Do you miss "Aero Snap"? Take a look at this.
E. Do you want to do a screencast (video screen capture)? Have a look at this review. On my computer gtk-recordMyDesktop worked best (no sound though), while Istambul was unusable.
F. To mount .iso files without having to burn them, use Gnome ISO Mounter (Gmount-ISO) from the package manager.
G. My favorite tool to batch rename files is Métamorphose. Download .deb packages from the website.
H. Recover lost pictures from a SD-Card or lost files from a hard disk drive with PhotoRec or Foremost.
I. Tag your music files with Ex Falso, Easytag or MusicBrainz Picard. More about these applications here.
J. XSane looks like a software monster from the 90's. To
avoid scaring out people trying out Ubuntu / Linux, install Gnome
Scan (aka Flegita):
sudo apt-get install gnomescan
If you want to uninstall XSane:
sudo apt-get remove xsane
K. To rip DVDs, use dvd::rip or the easy-to-use Thoggen, both to be
installed from the package manager. For more infos, read:
"The Ultimate Guide To Manage Your Audio/Video Files In
Linux"
L. If you have an HP printer, install the hplip-gui package. It is a great Qt4
frontend to hplip.
sudo apt-get install hplip-gui
N. Ubuntu branding
1. Shipit
If you are installing Ubuntu on a friend's computer, it can be useful to have branded material. People may be more confident if they see you installing Ubuntu from an "official" CD than from a CD burned by yourself.
Get one Ubuntu CD shipped for free with the Shipit program. Order more at the Canonical store.
2. Get rid of your Windows Vista Sticker!
You can get 4 "Powered by Ubuntu" stickers at System76 for free. You'll
also get 4 mini-stickers for your keyboard's Super key, to replace the or ⌘ logo:
However, if you want really good-looking and great quality stickers /
case badges, you can get ten of them for $5 at Zareason.
Shipping seems to be free, even to Europe.
Zareason and System76 sell laptops, desktops and servers running Ubuntu.
If you want to stay distribution neutral, you can order Linux / Tux Stickers from many places on the Web. If you find really good-looking Linux case badges, I will be happy to link them here.
Final thoughts
Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" is Ubuntu's 11th release.
I have used and tested all of them, and I have to say that this one even better
that 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope", which was already amazing.
"Karmic Koala" is definitely faster on older and newer machines, very stable, and in my opinion it beats any other Linux distribution I have tested so far. Enjoy!
By Johannes Eva, November 2009
About the author:I have been using Free Software since 1998. Back then, my Linux distribution of choice was Red Hat Linux 5.1 “Manhattan”, and OpenOffice.org was still called StarOffice 4.0. I soon became a strong partisan of Free Software. Nevertheless, and despite using a Linux environment as my main platform, I am preoccupied by the slow progress of the FOSS movement, and its lack of unity.
Read also: A new application background in OpenOffice.org
This article has been linked on Tuxmachines, LXer, Ubuntu News and some more...
If you found this article useful, please share it!
Comment from Matt Donovan (09-11-15 04:25:40 )
Hi. Thanks again for this great info. Go ahead and include me in the mailing list for updates. One thing on ZAReason... I did pay shipping to the UK. Also, strangely, I received two lots of stickers but I think I was only billed once. But they do look good !!
Comment from Laurie (09-11-15 07:53:46)
This is brilliant!!
I hope you continue to do it each new Ubuntu
Laurie
Comment from dwasifar (09-11-16 05:32:00)
Thanks for updating this for 9.10! I'll send my readers.
Now please don't commit suicide. :)
Comment from Almindor (09-11-16 08:16:24)
Great guide, much appreciated. I'm using various linux distroes (and some unix too) for about 10 years now but I still found something new here :)
Comment from Pavlos (09-11-16 09:54:23)
Very good
Comment from DT (09-11-16 05:18:36)
This is a really good article.
1. You mention in section D1 that Google Earth can be installed from the Software Center. The version 1.0.2 of Ubuntu Software Center that I have does not have Google Earth for downloading.
2. Have you tried Ubuntu Tweak which has a package cleaner that removes unwanted software and that can also install programs?
Comment from dwasifar (09-11-16 06:15:26)
@DT: "2. Have you tried Ubuntu Tweak which has a package cleaner that removes unwanted software and that can also install programs?"
I'm pretty sure he has, since he includes instructions on how to install it. Section E, System & administration software; part 4, A few more useful tools; item 3, Ubuntu Tweak.
I used to use it but I find that I can do most of what it does manually using gconf-editor, apt-get, and other already-included apps.
Comment from Johannes
DT, you're right, I made a mistake concerning the availability of Google Earth in the Software Center. I corrected it.
Concerning Ubuntu Tweak: it can be a useful tool indeed, and Tualatrix did a great work. But it is neither officially supported by Canonical, nor a reliable long-term community project, at least for now.
As mentionned by dwasifar (thank you :-) it duplicates a lot of already existing functions. Maybe it will get more focus in the next guide, if I have enought time to write one!
Comment from Seth (09-11-18 02:49:27)
This guide is absolutely wonderful. I just started using Ubuntu 9.04 and switched over to 9.10 last month. I have told all of my friends and family that the computer doesn't have to be a feared device as long as they are set up properly with the right OS and programs. You guide will help me win over a few stubborn friends. Thank you!
Comment from Feras (09-11-19 10:51:18)
This is very important and useful information.
Thank you
Comment from pmorton (09-11-20 07:25:44)
Brilliant, just plain brilliant.
Comment from Anne Brach (09-11-20 08:52:47)
Google Earth should have been placed in the "huge, bloated, resource-hogging feces" section rather than the "useful software" section. Otherwise, this is an excellent article.
Comment from barrieluv (09-11-20 09:25:13)
Fantastic work! A page that's sure to bandied about on a great many forums when new users want to know how to get Ubuntu working as well as they've been told it can.
I wish I'd written it...
Comment from Dustin (09-11-20 09:44:28)
Might want to say something about using aptitude instead of apt-get since aptitude keeps better track of packages and removes unused dependencies when removing the parent package. cheers
Comment from Stephen Moss (09-11-21 06:08:54)
I love this article. A form of this should be included in Help for beginners just starting out. This info is a lot of help.
Thanks
Comment from Emile Peek (09-11-21 08:35:16)
The line of code installing medibuntu doesn't install the public key. The public key has to be downloaded here:
https://launchpad.net/medibuntu
Comment from alex (09-11-22 07:52:44)
In article:
System → Administration → Power Managment
Correct is:
System → Preferences → Power Managment
Comment from alex (09-11-22 08:17:28)
In article:
Google Earth 5 can be installed from the Synaptic Package Manager
You are using commands in article, why not just use:
sudo apt-get install googleearth
Comment from ALEX (09-11-22 02:53:40)
Article:
After each kernel actualization, you may have to recompile the VirtualBox kernel module with the following command...
No really needed if DKMS is installed. It is recommend to install DMKS also when installing VirtualBox. DKMS takes care of compiling virtualbox modules when kernel gets upgrated.
sudo apt-get install dkms
Comment from Johannes Eva
@Alex: Thank you for the correction of the power management shortcut, it's updated now.
Good idea for Google Earth via apt-get.
And I'll try to update the dkms stuff for Ubuntu 10.4
Comment from Malcolm Dean (09-11-24 02:19:31)
What we really need is a guide to detecting if your 9.04 system is capable of running 9.10. I read that some users have tried out the CD, which worked, but when they did a full install, the system no longer worked.
Comment from Rajasun (09-11-24 07:59:18)
Excellent guide Johannes. I particularly like the instructions on how to trim down the bloat. While I understand that Ubuntu's target market is mainly newbies and thus the almost 'everything including the kitchen sink' approach to providing releases that are as jam packed, full of the 'best software and libraries' for every task imaginable (especially if one is to install via the dvd method), while I ain't no geek, I don't much coding other some bash scripts let alone develop or package apps or libs, etc, I do find Ubuntu can be quite bloated. Hence any means to cut down on the fat is most welcome to me. ;) HD capacity and relative dirt cheapness regardless, always a good thing to keep as little programs and libraries installed so as to maximize security and thus reduce risks of breaches e.g. remote exploits, rootkits, etc.
The purging of of the entire mono stack plus that of evolution as well as other stuff you may not need e.g. f-spot, toshset, wvdial will consequenced in a total saving of some 150 - 200 MB of HD space. Just think about it guys! While like Johannes I have no fundamental objections to folks placing their trust in Microsoft by endorsing .NET via embracing an open source implementation of the platform i.e. Mono, I am sympathetic to some of the arguments brought up by the anti-Mono/.NET/Microsoft/Novell camp e.g. that while Mono is an open source effort where Microsoft has little effective control over, Mono developers are subject to the whims and fancies of Richmond as being the giant that they are, Microsoft in effect controls the overall direction of .NET as they can make decisions on what features they want, how i.e. in which direction .NET, at least their implementation of it should head. Thus other implementations of .NET including Mono will always be playing catching up, following suit by coming up with their own workarounds/implementations of the new features Microsoft has decided is good for .NET. Question here is WHY be led by Richmond's literally by the nose especially now that we have already chosen Free/Libre/Open software and Ubuntu? Why can't the Free/Libre/Open software movements come up with something altogether new and revolutionary in e.g. the content rich internet apps realm? I vaguely recall there indeed used just such an endeavour some years back. Think it goes by the name OpenLazslo or something. Anyone any ideas?
Whatever it is, even if one doesn't care about being dictated to by Richmond or using their works albeit via the backdoor ala Mono, one surely cannot deny the cost savings in terms of HD space. Also for what it is worth, some links below may make many here think again at the usefulness/efficiency of Mono Vs non-Mono apps e.g. see the GNote Vs Tomboy comparisons in those links provided for below. Look at how Tomboy is such a resource hog and don't forget the relative starup times for both apps.
http://www.kabatology.com/06/17/gnote-a-mono-free-alternative-to-tomboy-notes/
http://boycottnovell.com/2009/04/21/tomboy-is-afraid-of-gnote/
http://trmanco.com/2009/05/01/gnote-vs-tomboy-and-complete-mono-removal.trm
Last but not least, while Johannes has recommended gtkorphan as a newbie-friendly means to removing orphaned libs lying around, I suggest a CLI way.
Once you are done uninstalling, purging Mono, and other bits like perhaps Evolution, etc., fire up GNOME Terminal or any terminal emulators that you please and type this:
sudo deborphan | xargs sudo apt-get -y remove --purge && sudo deborphan --guess-data | xargs sudo apt-get -y remove --purge; sudo apt-get autoremove && sudo aptitude purge '~c'; sudo apt-get autoclean
The above command string removes, purges all redundant apps and libs as well as their config files along with flushing your system of unused but downloaded packages, etc. You can and should issue the above command chain every week or so especially after a few massive rounds of installing and removal of apps.
Oh by the way, almost forgot, for GUI lovers, there are two further apps you may want to consider having. They are computer-janitor and bleachbit. The former is particularly helpful to those who have dist-upgraded your Ubuntu from Jaunty to Karmic, when installed and opened, this little proggie goes about scanning your Ubuntu install for packages installed from untrusted 3rd party sources as well as residual packages and libs leftover from previous releases (e.g. libeel2-2), present you a listing of them, prompt you for what you want to do with them e.g. removal. Computer-janitor can also be used to optimize software installed on your system.
Bleachbit on the hand, helps to recover diskspace by deleting unnecessary files. It is a most handy tool to have around for housekeeping purposes.
Both computer-janitor and bleachbit are in the repos. So if you want to install them, all you need is just type 'sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude install computer-janitor bleachbit'
Regards,
Rajasun
Comment from Rajasun (09-11-24 08:10:33)
Forgot to add earlier that for those who want a human readable output of every package installed on your Ubuntu install you can do the following at the commandline:
'dpkg --get-selections > ~/some-folder-of-your-choosing/dpkg-get-selections-master.txt'
Also for those seeking replacements to Mono apps like F-Spot and Tomboy, there are gthumb, solang and fotoxx for photo organizing and editing and for note taking equally good if not better gnote, xournal and the lovely cherrytree (Debian package here: http://open.vitaminap.it/software/cherrytree_0.5.1-1_all.deb)
Regards,
Rajasun
Comment from Mukeshh Agarwal (09-11-25 03:05:48)
I am new to Ubuntu 9.10. I really enjoyed the freedom working in it. I appreciate the stuff shared here by you which is of great help to new users like me and many others. Good work.Please keep it coming.
Comment from israel karpas (09-11-25 03:13:54)
I recently started using ubuntu9.04, and inspite of all my initial fears it has worked out very well.
The only problem I ran into was switching from English->Hebrew and back but with some help it was finally solved.
I have also installed many of u'r suggestions, u have been a great help
Thank u
Israel
Comment from aap (09-11-26 03:42:32)
Great stuff. By the way, Adobe Reader should be visible in the software manager... I guess it's in the partner channel. No need to download and install manually, at least on 32-bit Ubuntu. (Haven't tried 64 in a while.)
Comment from Shaun (09-11-26 05:55:02)
A couple of multimedia apps including media centers, streaming tv software, DVD authoring, non-linear video editing and audio and video formats conversion programs to further enhance your Ubuntu Karmic experience. For more information on each of these apps, please do visit their their respective websites i.e.
http://www.kabatology.com/11/08/install-sopcast-player-in-ubuntu-9-10-from-repository/
http://www.moovida.com/
http://xbmc.org/
http://www.rastersoft.com/programas/devede.html
http://www.pitivi.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.winff.org/
http://www.linuxrising.org/transmageddon/
And of course before you can install any of the above, you need to add the repos (most aren't in the official Ubuntu repos but are in the comminity PPAs insteads). In GNOME Terminal, type the following to add them to your sources.list:
echo "deb http://www.sourceslist.eu/repository/karmic/ binary/" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list; echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/janvitus/ppa/ubuntu karmic main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list; echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc/karmic-ppa/ubuntu" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list; echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/paul-climbing/ppa/ubuntu karmic main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list; echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/moovida-packagers/ppa/ubuntu karmic main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
Then add their gnupgp keys like this:
sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com F96FD737; sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 91E7EE5E; sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 3703EBD6; sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 26C2E075
You will also need to update/sync your sources:
sudo aptitude update
Once that is done, you can go ahead and install the apps:
sudo aptitude install moovida xbmc sopcast-player sp-auth devede pitivi transmageddon winff
Welcome to Ubuntu! :)
Comment from John (09-11-29 06:36:10)
So I've fixed the Windows/Super/Meta key and turned off the cluttered desktop - except the Ubuntu icon will bring it back. So what I really want to do is apply the main menu to the Ubuntu icon at the left end of the top panel (Ubuntu 9.10, Acer Aspire One D250)
Comment from Rajasun (09-11-30 08:50:29)
John not sure if I'm reading you right but if what you want is the removal of Places and System from the top panel, go ahead and remove them.
I have done so on each and every time machine that I have put a GNOME-based distro on. Take a look at some screenies of my desktop below.
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/8495/41228gnome30nov2009b.jpg
http://www.imgplace.com/viewimg412/9342/98228gnome30nov2009.jpg
In case you are wondering, that bar you see at the bottom is one of the many available in *Nixes like Linux. If you want to install it, do the following:
1.
echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/awn-testing/ppa/ubuntu karmic main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
2.
sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 0x7d2c7a23bf810cd5
3.
sudo aptitude install avant-window-navigator-trunk awn-settings-trunk awn-applets-python-extras-trunk awn-applets-c-extras-trunk
Rgds,
Rajasun
Comment from Rajasun (09-11-30 08:58:36)
What I'm really looking for is some kind of a drawer app for my systray where unless I click on them (which should then expand to reveal all), the volume, networkmanager, parcelite, accessibility applets stay hidden. Anyone any ideas?
Comment from Johannes
Thank you everybody for your very interesting and detailed comments.
I hope I'll have time to integrate elements from the comments to the guide to Ubuntu 10.04 :-)
@Rajasun: sorry, I don't know any drawer app program for the systray... but thanks for all the interesting stuff!
Comment from John (09-12-01 06:58:08)
Re Comment from Rajasun (09-11-30 08:50:29)
I'm using the 9.10 UNR on an Acer Aspire One. At the left end of the top panel is the Ubuntu logo icon which, if you click it, the "cluttered" desktop covers everything that was open. I would like to replace that icon action with an action that would bring up the main-menu, same as using the Super/Windows key to popup the main-menu.The Windows key gives me exactly what I want, except I'd like to assign the same action to the Ubuntu icon at the left end of the top panel. (The picture on your desktop is super cool. Where'd you find it?)
Comment from Rajasun (09-12-01 11:03:02)
@Johannes
No probs. Do keep up the excellent work! As can be seen, users new and old find your advise and tips Ubuntu release after Ubuntu release to be most helpful. Let's all spread Ubuntu and Linux as much as we can.
@ John
Ah the Netbook Remix version. Sorry I don't use it. You can try the ubuntuforum or #ubuntu on irc.freenode.net and see if they can be of assistance. For all you know, there may or should be a ubuntu netbook remix channel on that same network too.
As for the desktop wallpaper I'm using, I couldn't remember from which site I got it from. What I do remember is it must be from one of the various planetarium and NASA space observatories homepages.
You can check their respective multimedia galleries at these urls below:
Spitzer Space Telescope
http://gallery.spitzer.caltech.edu/Imagegallery/chron.php?cat=Astronomical_Images
Chandra X-ray Telescope
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/
Hubble Space Telescope
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/wallpaper/
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/
GEMINI Telescope
http://www.gemini.edu/gallery/main.php
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
http://www.eso.org/gallery/v/ESOPIA
Clark Planetarium
http://www.clarkplanetarium.com/distribution/index.php?page=extremeplanets⊂=stills
Palomar Observatory
http://www.astro.caltech.edu/palomar/astrophotos.html
You may have to edit some of the images somewhat though i.e. at least have some of them resized with an image editor of your choice e.g. gthumb, fotoxx or gimp.
Best of luck!
Comment from Rajasun (09-12-01 11:37:40)
Hmmm John found a link that maybe of some interest to you. It's about customizing UNR. Check it out here http://www.webupd8.org/2009/11/ubuntu-netbook-remix-optimization-guide.html
Comment from alex (09-12-05 12:00:31)
This guide is excellent, I'm new to Ubuntu decided to ditch windows 7 and i will never go back. I really appreciate these easy to carry out tips. Finding 9.10 on my mini 1011 so smooth, fast and intelligent my hat goes off to everyone involved.
Comment from Basilio Colligris (09-12-09 02:32:02)
Please continue your amazing work and if it is possible add and correct, according to the comments send. It is the best Ubuntu guidance I've seen so far!
Comment from lyle (09-12-15 08:16:33)
Nice writeup took me a while to read it all. Thanks for this "For Virtualbox to work properly, you have to be in the group "vboxusers". Add yourself in this group using the following command:
sudo adduser user_name vboxusers"
Comment from Rajasun (09-12-17 07:21:04)
For those who let curiosity have the better of them and actually installed KDE on you Ubuntu, but now wants to be completely rid of it, you can do so but be warned it ain't as easy a task as a mere sudo apt-get --purge remove kde-desktop.
Firstly before we begin, I assume you have already an alternative to fall back on e.g. GNOME, Xfce, LXDE or a WM such as fluxbox, openbox, etc. Ok assuming you have one or more, the steps are as follow:
1.
Make a listing of all kde and qt-related packages installed
dpkg --get-selections | grep kde
dpkg --get-selections | grep qt
2.
Remove all the kde and qt packages identified using dpkg --get-selections in 1., proceed to purge remove them all with sudo aptitude --purge remove. You may need to keep some of the kde/qt apps and libs if you use things like amarok, smplayer, kmplayer, minitube, xbmc, etc. E.g. for those with smplayer installed, do a aptitude why libqtcore4 and you'll see soon enough the dependency relationship between smplayer and libqtcore4. So you need to know what is it that you actually want (i.e. a KDE-free system or a pure GNOME/GTK install without a single kde/qt app)? Aptitude is your best friend. For more on what aptitude is capable of issue aptitude -h at the commandline for more.
Beware that certain indiscreet, stealthy but still kde/qt packages such as soprano-daemon and soprano-daemon-sesame may still remain. Purge them too (with sudo aptitude --purge remove soprano-daemon soprano-daemon-sesame) for a truly KDE/QT-free desktop.
3. Purging residual configs, verifying that KDE/QT have been totally purge and housekeeping
Type these commands to remove residual configs as well as performing badly needed housekeeping:
sudo deborphan | xargs sudo apt-get -y remove --purge && sudo deborphan --guess-data | xargs sudo apt-get -y remove --purge; sudo apt-get autoremove && sudo aptitude purge '~c'; sudo apt-get autoclean
and then re-issue these commands to make triply sure.
dpkg --get-selections | grep kde
dpkg --get-selections | grep qt
For what it is worth, the above steps can also be repeated for any other DEs and even stuff like Mono. Dummy and transitional packages i.e. those whose only purpose is to facilitate the upgrade from a an earlier version and are of no use or where apt-cache show packagename shows that it is stated by the package maintainers that it can be safely removed from your system can also be purged using the above mentioned steps.
That's all. All the best guys!
Comment from ch (09-12-25 04:15:58)
It's guides like these that makes me love Ubuntu and its users even more.
Comment from chris (09-12-31 06:23:12)
Just installed ubuntu and found your guide. It was really helpful. Thanks!
Comment from artoflinux (10-01-02 06:47:08)
this is what i need, thank's
Comment from idham (10-01-24 05:06:17)
thanks for the guide...great work n u make the ubuntu spirit seem easy to use. keep doing good for human n let god do the rest
Comment from Roempfelstoss (10-02-03 11:36:34)
Excellent guide ! Thank you very much - still looking for a way to write a script that runs zope/silva automatically in karmic, via rc.d ??
Comment from r0cketman (10-02-04 05:57:28)
As usual, you never fail to impress. Even for advanced users, your guides are an excellent repository for those oft-forgotten utilities and information. Thanks!
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