Ubuntu Tutorials

for headless distros, ‘vim’ rather than ‘vim-full’ though almost anything would be better than ‘vim-tiny’ that gets included…

correction ‘servers’ rather than ‘distros’ above…

Other then the restricted extras, I setup Adobe AIR, wine and picasa3 right off the bat.

preload

it makes applications start faster by loading their files into the disk cache in RAM.

add medibuntu and install non-free-codecs, which depends on ubuntu-restricted-extras or kubuntu-restricted-extras or xubuntu-restricted-extras (depending on which desktop you’ve installed) and w32codecs or ppc-codecs or w64codecs (depending on kernel, to my understanding) and dvd-support.

first things I do:

get rid of some services such as tracker, bluetooth etc …

also install emacs, inkscape, xfig, git, subversion, build-essential, latex, awesome, mplayer … and so on

then set up web configuration with firefox modules and bookmarks

finally set up multimedia content to be sure noting is wrong with totem and rythmbox

and when I have to print or use any device, I configure drivers …

I install Ubuntu Tweak ( http://ubuntu-tweak.com/ ) which enables all the useful additional repos like Medibuntu (but does not mess up the system like Automatix did), then the Mac4Lin and Nimbus theme in order to get rid of the brown standard theme (sorry, neither me nor anybody in my family likes the default theme/brown colors).

I run command you recommended above, and now terminal is stuck with sun-java6-bin configuration window. Here is license agreement window with on the bottom, but it is not clickable, so configuration can not proceed. Any advice?

@happ – use the tab key

build-essential and compizconfig-settings-manager are the only two packages left out of my standard list for Ubuntu.

Here’s the first command that I run:

sudo aptitude install openssh-server amarok frozen-bubble vlc mozilla-thunderbird sun-java6-jdk sun-java5-jdk eclipse eclipse-jdt xchat

I put banshee instead of rhythmbox

I always install openssh-server. Remote administration. Of course then you must take the important security precautions etc etc.

other packages: xchat-gnome (for my IRC), googlizer, preload, meld (for diff), mozilla-thunderbird (for my wife), gparted

That’s a great start, although I also install:

Filezilla
KeePassX
Thunderbird
Subversion
RapidSVN
last.fm
Compiz Fusion Icon
Simple Backup

First things I do when installing Kubuntu:

sudo mkdir /etc/master_copies
sudo cp /boot/grub/menu.lst /etc/master_copies
sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/master_copies
sudo cp /etc/hdparm.conf /etc/master_copies
sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/master_copies
sudo cp /etc/ssh/ssh_config /etc/master_copies
sudo cp /etc/sudoers /etc/master_copies
sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/master_copies
sudo cp /etc/X11/Xsession.options /etc/master_copies

sudo aptitude purge dolphin strigi-applet strigi-daemon openoffice.org-core openoffice.org-calc openoffice.org-common openoffice.org-draw openoffice.org-impress openoffice.org-kde openoffice.org-writer python-uno openoffice.org-style-crystal openoffice.org-style-human

sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude dist-upgrade

sudo aptitude install build-essential htop rkhunter chkrootkit imagemagick mjpegtools mkisofs

sudo rkhunter –update
sudo rkhunter –propupd
sudo rkhunter -c -sk
sudo chkrootkit

sudo aptitude clean

Add Medibuntu repo
Remove Mono
Add OpenSSH

And Since Intrepid, remove Firefox and install abrowser

One of the earlier commenters mentioned Adobe Air, and I’d love to see more details on the installation. I’ve seen a couple of different methods for installing, but I’ve never been able to get apps to work (on 8.04).

installing video drivers with envyng
setting up ssh server

The first thing that I do is change the fonts and make them smaller. At the moment I am using Droid Sans size 8, (from the new Google Android kit), it’s narrower and looks sooo much better both as a system font and for reading webpages.

Also I enable LCD font smoothing

these all look like great suggestions but i’d appreciate some explanation as to what does what – what’s the best place for a newbie Kubuntu user to pick up on which packages are most useful to load and/or remove?

installing video and wifi driver. when applicable, next compiz:)

The first thing that I do is change it so that it looks the way that I want it to. I change the theme, the wallpaper, add transparency to the menu bar and add the applications that I use most frequently. After that I begin to update and get multimedia working.
For me the most important thing is for it to look (and work) the way I like it, otherwise it just does not feel like my desktop.
BTW, in KDE I work the same way, except I move the menu bar to the top first.

i also have to add sshfs and get my vmwareserver working

First thing I do is go hunting for pages like this one.

I actually don’t use “Ubuntu” per se… I love Ubuntu, but I hated having to reconfigure everything, download a decent theme, etc (please PLEASE get rid of the brown…I would probably run it native if it wasn’t so Ugly!). I digress. I use Linux Mint, which comes with nice selection of packages, the medibuntu, restriced extras etc, pre installed. I then install Vmware, nmap, metasploit, hping2, tcpdump, p0f, amap, john, etc. I do…security testing…anyway…moving on…. Thanks for the wonderful site, and thank you even more for helping the community!

What is the purpose of Gnome-do?
Is there an instruction book?

The first thing I do is enable root logon so that I can operate the system like someone who knows what they're doing.