So you just installed Ubuntu 10.10 and want to know what to do next

This is not an Install Guide, but more a post-Install Guide.

Ubuntu 10.10 has been out for a while now, and as I’ve been using Ubuntu as my operating system of choice for years. I figured I’d give a quick review and list some of the applications I personally can’t live without. I’ve tried Gentoo, Slackware, OpenSuSE, CentOS and I have to say for a simple, easy to use desktop, Ubuntu wins, hands-down! Everything is very easy to work with, it’s the ideal OS for a Programmer or a Web Developer. My first Install of Ubuntu was Feisty Fawn, which was released back around 2004. I’ve upgraded my computers as needed, and I’ve probably tried every Ubuntu Release since then.

I have to say, when I first started using Ubuntu it was hard to install and to get the correct Video Card Drivers, but with the 10.04 and 10.10 releases,
installing was a breeze. Everything was pretty much plug-n-play, no scary xorg edits, no special wireless driver, everything pretty much just worked.

For this install I used a Toshiba A665 model which has the i7 core, 8gigs of ram, Nvidia 310 GForce graphics card.
I purchased this computer back in Aug 2010 and honestly I don’t suggest anyone buying one. The model I bought was fairly expensive and they basically just stuck a semi-decent motherboard and processor inside of a case that’s on their $300 models.
The first thing that I did was format the hard drive to get rid of Windows 7 that came with it. If you want to setup a Dual boot and keep Windows for whatever evil reason, you can do that very easily. Just login Windows, and Right Click on My Computer in the Start Bar, then Goto Management, Resize your windows partion, free up at the least 30Gs for the Ubuntu OS and free up whatever you can spare for your home folder. If anyone needs help, just ask and I’ll make an install guide for it.

After that, I just popped the Ubuntu 10.10 Live CD in and installed it, everything works perfectly as soon as you run the update manager to get the latest Kernel and all the updates. Now that I have Ubuntu Installed and up-to-date, it’s time to add the Applications to make your life easier. Since Ubuntu uses the Debian package management system, everything is precompiled and ready to go, you just have to add the new Sources and grab what you want. Personally, I’m a Command Line Person, so I’ll just list out some commands for you to run in the Terminal.
Even though I use Gnome as my desktop manager, I used to use KDE and there’s afew KDE Applications that I can’t live without, so we’ll be installing some KDE Applications also.

First we Need to Add Some Ubuntu Reposotories

The first thing I always add is Ubuntu Tweak, Medibuntu Repositories and The Compiz Settings Manager, so let’s start by adding those. Basically, Ubuntu Tweak allows you to install Software that is not in your Software Center. Also, this allows you to change all kinds of settings on your system, like your Login Screen, your Window Settings, Nautilis Scripts, etc..

The Medibuntu Repo allows you to install tons of software that can’t be released with Ubuntu, and The Compiz Setting Manager allows you to edit how things look on your desktop, adding eye candy, which some of it can make your life so much easier by stream-lining things. I personally can’t work on a computer that does not have a Desktop Cube. I’ve used it for so long that it’s impossible for me to work with just one Desktop.

Anyway, let’s get to work! Open a Terminal of your choice, and let’s get started with the basics.

Ubuntu-Tweak, Medaubuntu and Compiz Settings Manager

  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tualatrix/ppa
 
  echo deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ karmic free non-free | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list  
 
  wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -
 
  sudo apt-get update
 
  sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak compizconfig-settings-manager

Install the Basic Restricted Software

Ok now that installed, Ubuntu-Tweak, and the MediBuntu Repo which has many packages that can not be released with Ubuntu due to licensing problems. Next, let’s go ahead and add the basics that I always Install. First we’ll Install Adobe Flash, Java, Fonts, Codecs, and other restricted materials.

  sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-pitfdll gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse
  sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-plugins-base gstreamer0.10-plugins-good libdvdnav4 libdvdread4 libmp4v2-0 libxine1-ffmpeg
  sudo apt-get install ffmpeg flashplugin-nonfree sun-java6-fonts rar unrar p7zip-full p7zip-rar unace unp zip unzip ttf-mscorefonts-installer ttf-liberation mencoder mplayer sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-jre

Next Install Stuff That Should Come With Ubuntu

This will install VLC Media Player, Firefox Plugin for VLC, Openshot Photo Mananger, Gimp, GThumb, Pidgin IM Client, Skype, Aptitude and Google’s Chromium Browser which is a open source version of google chrome.

sudo apt-get install vlc mozilla-plugin-vlc openshot gimp gthumb pidgin skype adobeair wine aptitude chromium-browser

KDE Applications That I Love

Ok, I’m sorry, but Konqueror is insane. Its a swiss army knife for your whole system. It’s a Web Browser, File Explorer, FTP Client and with Plugins, many more things. It beats Nautlis hands-down, so I always install Konqueror. My other must-have KDE Application is Yakuake, it’s a DropDown Terminal. There is a gnome application very similar, but I like YaKuake better so I always install them. If you want to add them, just Copy/Paste the following in terminal. I set Yakuake to open on Start so that no matter what Desktop I’m on, I just press F-12 and my Terminal appears, I set the opacity
so that I can read behind it. Also, it’s a excellent application.

sudo apt-get install konqueror yakuake

This is a short write up of the basics I put on my system

I will be updating this article with pictures and more applications very soon.

Please look for my next article on Ubuntu that will cover installing many more applications to make your life easier.