Ubuntu Desktop Computing Made Easy (Xenial 16.04 LTS)
Kubuntu Desktop http://www.kubuntu.org/getkubuntu
Ubuntu Gnome Desktop http://ubuntugnome.org/download
Ubuntu Desktop http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop
It's been a good while since my last forum post and there have been some interesting developments...let's get started.
First, download your chosen flavor of Ubuntu, burn the .iso file to a blank disk, and install it on a designated computer. If you check the box to include 3rd party software during the installation this will give you some of the multimedia codecs available but you'll most likely need more (listed below). Please keep in mind that if you intend to dual boot with Windows you will encounter some challenges. I've had the best results simply installing Ubuntu and only the software needed for daily use (including security software and browser Add-ons). The more physical RAM the better and graphics memory is a plus as well...hard drive size can be whatever is available but I suggest starting with at least 20Gb.
The official installation recommendation can be found here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In...m_Requirements
Next, update the operating system by searching for Software & Updates and launching the application. Under the Other Software tab check the first box for Canonical Partners, click close, and reload when prompted. Once the changes have been made launch the Software Updater and install all available updates. After rebooting, in Software & Updates under the Additional Drivers tab, enable the appropriate one(s) for your system (if desired). Some of the available drivers can produce unwanted results when installing them (if in doubt ask or search on the Ubuntu Forum). Note: If you're installing Ubuntu within a virtual machine 3D Acceleration can cause application issues.
The majority of these applications are referenced being installed from a terminal window so that the overall process can be seen. Keep in mind, even though applications are installed with sudo, launching them with sudo can have unintended consequences. It's typically advised to launch them from the application icon or by typing the application name only from a command line prompt in a terminal window...enjoy!
Gnome Users
Visit https://extensions.gnome.org and install the browser extension referenced at the top of the page and the extensions repository:
sudo apt-get install chrome-gnome-shell
The following Gnome Shell extensions I find extremely helpful...
Applications Menu, Places Status Indicator, User Themes, Window List, Workspace Indicator, OpenWeather, and Extentions
Email Clients
Geary
sudo apt-get install geary
Thunderbird
sudo apt-get install thunderbird
Claws
sudo apt install claws-mail claws-mail-tools
Tools and Utilities
Gdebi Package Installer
sudo apt-get install gdebi
Synaptic Package Manager
sudo apt-get install synaptic
Cups-PDF for printing to PDF files
sudo apt-get install cups-pdf
Manage Users and Groups
sudo apt-get install gnome-system-tools
Parcellite lightweight GTK+ clipboard manager
sudo apt-get install parcellite
Smb4K Advanced Network Neighborhood Browser
sudo apt-get install smb4k
Gufw the GUI interface for Uncomplicated Firewall
sudo apt-get install gufw
Unity Tweak Tool is a settings manager for the Unity desktop
sudo apt-get install unity-tweak-tool
AceoneISO2 is a CD/DVD image manipulator (use with .iso files
sudo apt-get install acetoneiso
Adaptive Readahead Daemon for faster application startup times
sudo apt-get install preload
Htop, SysInfo and HardInfo for system information and benchmarking
sudo apt-get install htop sysinfo hardinfo
RecordMyDesktop to record programs and games
sudo apt-get install recordmydesktop
File Compression and Extraction
sudo apt-get install ark unace rar unrar p7zip-rar p7zip zip unzip sharutils uudeview mpack arj cabextract file-roller
Note: Use Archive Manager or Ark for manipulating these file types
HP Linux Imaging and Printing http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web...ard/index.html
Protect your privacy, defend yourself against network surveillance and traffic analysis https://www.torproject.org
VPN One Click offers a secure connection to the internet away from the prying eyes of your provider https://www.vpnoneclick.com
TeamViewer is one of the best remote support tools available (get the 32/64bit Multiarch version) https://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/linux
Graphics Editors
Pinta is a lot like MS Paint
sudo apt-get install pinta
Inkscape vector graphics editor
sudo apt-get install inkscape
Krita is a powerful painting and image editing program
sudo apt-get install krita
Pixlr Editor offers a host of powerful image editing features from any computer with an internet connection https://pixlr.com/editor
Gimp for photo editing and graphics manipulation
sudo apt-get install gimp gimp-data gimp-data-extras gimp-gap gimp-plugin-registry libtiff-tools gimp-help-en icc-profiles glew-utils gimp-help-common gmic gimp-gmic gmic-zart libtiff-opengl
Multimedia Tools
Openshot for video editing
sudo apt-get install openshot
PhotoFilmStrip
sudo apt-get install photofilmstrip
Flowblade is also a nice movie editor
sudo apt-get install flowblade
Darktable photo workflow application
sudo apt-get install darktable
Kdenlive KDE Non-Linear Video Editor
sudo apt-get install kdenlive
Blender is a versatile 3D creation application
sudo apt-get install blender
Audacity is an Awesome Multi-track Audio Editor
sudo apt-get install audacity lame libmp3lame0
digiKam manages your photos like a professional
sudo apt-get install digikam
Transmageddon converts most multimedia formats
sudo apt-get install transmageddon
Commonly used media codecs and fonts for Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras
Note: Choose "Yes" to the EULA
WinFF will convert most any video file that FFmpeg will convert
sudo apt-get install winff
K3b is a full-featured CD/DVD/Blu-ray burning and ripping application
sudo apt-get install k3b
Shutter for screen captures (VirtualBox users disable 3D Acceleration or your captures could be all in black)
sudo apt-get install shutter
XnView MP cross-platform media browser, viewer and converter http://www.xnview.com/en/xnviewmp/#downloads
Antivirus
ClamAV
sudo apt-get install clamav clamtk
Operations available from a terminal session...
Update virus definitions: sudo freshclam
Scan files in your home directory: sudo clamscan
Scan files in an entire directory: sudo clamscan -r /<directory name>
Scan on the entire drive: sudo clamscan -r /
Update Clamtk and get Addons https://dave-theunsub.github.io/clamtk
Sourceforge https://sourceforge.net/projects/clamtk
Telnet, FTP, SSH, and SFTP
gFTP basic FTP client
sudo apt-get install gftp
FileZilla for FTP/SSH/SFTP
sudo apt-get install filezilla
PuTTY telnet and SSH
sudo apt-get install putty
Multimedia Players
Kaffeine KDE Media Player
sudo apt-get install kaffeine
Audacious for streaming audio
sudo apt-get install audacious
Gnome MPlayer
sudo apt-get install gnome-mplayer
VLC plays a wide variety of multimedia files
sudo apt-get install vlc
Amarok is a powerful music player with an intuitive interface
sudo apt-get install amarok
The full install of Adobe Flash Player can be acquired at https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer
Note: Choose "Yes" when prompted to allow the additional resources
SMPlayer (excellent replacement for mplayer-gui) http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/first-steps.php
sudo apt-get install smplayer
Spotify for Linux
Add the Spotify repository signing key to be able to verify downloaded packages
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv-keys BBEBDCB318AD50EC6865090613B00F1FD2C19886
Add the Spotify Repository
echo deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install spotify-client
Chat Clients
Sky Linux (Lync and Skype for Business) https://tel.red/linux.php
Kopete is an instant messenger client supporting AIM, ICQ, Live Messenger, Yahoo, Jabber, and more
sudo apt-get install kopete
XChat Gnome is an IRC chat program that allows for multiple IRC channels (chat rooms) at the same time
sudo apt-get install xchat-gnome
Pidgin is an easy to use and free chat client to connect to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and more chat networks all at once
sudo apt-get install pidgin
Office and Productivity
Okular PDF Viewer
sudo apt-get install okular
Dia is similar to Microsoft® Visio
sudo apt-get install dia
Scribus is a desktop publishing application
sudo apt-get install scribus
Gnome Planner for Gantt charts and project plans
sudo apt-get install planner
LibreOffice
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get install libreoffice libreoffice-java-common libreoffice-math libreoffice-gnome libreoffice-java-common libreoffice-pdfimport
OpenProj is a desktop alternative to Microsoft Project® http://sourceforge.net/projects/openproj/files
Development Applications
Meld is a visual diff and merge tool
sudo apt-get install meld
Alternative shells for Linux...
C, K, T, Z & Fish shells
sudo apt-get install csh ksh tcsh zsh fish
GEdit
sudo apt-get install gedit gedit-plugins gedit-developer-plugins
Note: GEdit Wiki https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Gedit
Eclipse
https://howto-ubuntunew.blogspot.com...on-ubuntu.html
GNU Emacs text editor
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cassou/emacs
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install emacs24 emacs24-el emacs24-common-non-dfsg
jEdit is a java based full featured editor (make sure you have Sun JRE installed)
sudo apt-get install jedit
Essentials for Compiling from Source
sudo apt-get install build-essential checkinstall cdbs devscripts dh-make fakeroot libxml-parser-perl check
Geany is a fast and lightweight IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for programming in various languages
sudo apt-get install geany
Vim, Gvim, and Cream may come in handy for file editing
sudo apt-get install vim-gnome vim-doc vim-scripts vim-gui-common vim-runtime cscope tclreadline cream
BlueGriffon WYSIWYG Editor from the GetDeb repository http://www.getdeb.net/updates/Ubuntu...?q=bluegriffon
sudo apt-get install bluegriffon
Bluefish is an editor for experienced web designers and programmers supporting many programming and markup languages
sudo apt-get install bluefish
Ubuntu Wallpaper
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-wallpapers-xenial ubuntu-wallpapers-wily ubuntu-wallpapers-vivid ubuntu-wallpapers-utopic ubuntu-wallpapers-trusty ubuntu-wallpapers-saucy ubuntu-wallpapers-raring ubuntu-wallpapers-quantal ubuntu-wallpapers-precise ubuntu-wallpapers-oneiric ubuntu-wallpapers-natty ubuntu-wallpapers-maverick ubuntu-wallpapers-lucid ubuntu-wallpapers-karmic gutsy-wallpapers feisty-wallpapers edgy-wallpapers
Known Issues
Disable Apport at Boot to turn off error reporting
sudo gedit /etc/default/apport
Change enabled=1 to enabled=0 save the file and close.
If Firefox windows open off screen or are too large to use, you may need to reset Firefox's controls and toolbars.
1. Close down Firefox completely: On the Firefox window, click the File menu then select Exit.
2. From a terminal window type: firefox -safe-mode
3. Firefox should start up with a Firefox Safe Mode dialog with options.
4. Check mark Reset toolbars and controls.
5. Click Make Changes and Restart to restart Firefox
Add Missing Privacy Settings in Ubuntu Gnome Desktop
sudo apt-get install activity-log-manager-control-center
Note: Activity Log Manager will show up under Accessories or by doing a search for the application.
All Startup Applications are not visible
cd /etc/xdg/autostart
sudo sed --in-place 's/NoDisplay=true/NoDisplay=false/g' *.desktop
Reverse changes...
sudo sed --in-place 's/NoDisplay=false/NoDisplay=true/g' *.desktop
If you installed the Kubuntu Desktop (sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop) and the cursor in Gnome won't change back to the default.
sudo update-alternatives --config x-cursor-theme
Note: There will be several choices (/usr/share/icons/default/index.theme). Selecting one with a manual mode worked for me.
nVidia graphics drivers can cause a (black screen) problem after installing the Kubuntu desktop as well. Removing them and restarting will help you troubleshoot.
sudo apt-get remove --purge nvidia-*
Browser Security
I recommend installing the following Add-ons to Firefox or Chromium and setting your default search engine to DuckDuckGo.
Disconnect, Adblock Plus and HTTPS Everywhere
Reference
NoobsLab http://www.noobslab.com
Gnome-Look.org http://gnome-look.org
Deb-Multimedia www.deb-multimedia.org
OMG! Ubuntu http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk
Linux Compatible http://www.linuxcompatible.org
Samba https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Samba
Trusty Wiki http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Trusty
Wordnet http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Ubuntu Manpage Repository http://manpages.ubuntu.com
GetDeb.net V2 http://www.getdeb.net/updates/Ubuntu/16.04
Ubuntu PPA Search https://edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+ppas
UbuntuFree.com https://www.ubuntufree.com/apps-for-ubuntu/
Linux Command Directory http://www.oreillynet.com/linux/cmd
Chmod Calculator http://www.javascriptkit.com/script/...chmodcal.shtml
Ubuntu Release Notes https://wiki.ubuntu.com/XenialXerus/ReleaseNotes
Linux Commands - Practical Reference http://www.pixelbeat.org/cmdline.html
Bash Reference Manual http://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/bashref.html
Ultimate guide to Linux http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/u...ows-users.html
Gnome / KDE Keyboard Shortcuts http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/tip/2289.html
Useful Commands
Searching for Packages: sudo apt-cache search some_string
Show Package Info: sudo apt-cache showpkg xxx
Show Package Dependencies: sudo apt-cache depends xxx
Install: sudo apt-get install xxx
Re-Install: sudo apt-get --reinstall install xxx
Remove: sudo apt-get remove xxx
Remove All (configs too): sudo apt-get remove --purge xxx
Upgrade: sudo apt-get -u upgrade
Show Upgrades: sudo apt-show-versions -u
Show All Installed Packages: dpkg --list
Find Package by File Name: sudo apt-file search /bin/ping
Find filenames in a Package: sudo apt-file list xxx
Updating the apt-file Cache: sudo apt-file update
Info on Installed Package: aptitude show xxx
System Hardware Info: sudo lshw > hardware.txt
Clear bash history cat /dev/null > ~/.bash_history && history -c && exit
Clean up your system and free up space with sudo apt-get clean && sudo apt-get autoremove
If you're curious (like me) or have the need to know uname -a && cat /etc/*release in a terminal window will tell you the kernel version and release date, the distro id/release/codename/description.
If you were already running Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and have installed all available security patches, bug fixes, and app updates then you’re now running Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS or higher. However, in some cases, for the hardware support improvements of the Linux Kernel 4.8 and the associated benefits you’ll need the following update to receive them. You’ll also be able to upgrade to newer versions of the stack as they’re released (every 6 months until Ubuntu 16.04.5).
sudo apt install --install-recommends xserver-xorg-hwe-16.04
More to come...
Friends,
I'm more than willing to include your favorite applications and programs (this is your post as much as mine). I do ask that you keep the description brief and on a general level with the degree of difficulty at a minimum when making recommendations (mainly for new users). I started posting "Ubuntu Desktop Computing Made Easy" a while back (mostly out of frustration) while trying to get my computer to perform as expected without hours of setup, search and configuration. The primary goal of this post is to "make it easy" for anyone to setup an Ubuntu Desktop Computer with everything they need within a short period of time ensuring their overall experience is an enjoyable one.
Note: This post can be found on Google by searching for Ubuntu Desktop Computing Made Easy. If you would like to link to this post or publish it elsewhere please give credit where credit is due.
Kind regards,
TrakerJon
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