To Do List After installing Ubuntu 10.04

To Do List After installing Ubuntu 10.04

It has become a tradition with my to do lists. This time, it’s for “Lucid Lynx”, the new Ubuntu release from Canonical. And yep it’s better than the previous version “Karmic Koala”. There have been some drastic changes in the UI and under the hood. Lucid Lynx, out of box, is faster, more social, cloud integrated…basically it feels like an operating system you would want to use today.  So without wasting any more word let’s get on with the list  :

1 – Expand the Software Repository List

First of all, lets make Ubuntu “see” more packages. Go to the terminal and edit your sources.list with :

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Here is the content of my sources.list which I think is quite complete to have all the necessary applications you could ever need. So delete the whole content of your sources list and replace it with the content of mine

Save it. Now import the necessary repositories keys to avoid “aptitude” crying about some missing keys, go to the terminal and type:

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com DCF9F87B6DFBCBAE F9A2F76A9D1A0061 A040830F7FAC5991 2EBC26B60C5A2783

Get your system up to date with :

sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude full-upgrade

Now all your programs will run on the last version.

2 – Anti-Virus

Windows equivalent : AVG AntiVirus, NAV, TrendMicro, F-Prot, Kaspersky, …

Ubuntu equivalent : ClamAV, Avast

ClamAV

sudo aptitude install clamav clamtk

Access it through System Tools → Virus Scanner .

Avast

wget http://files.avast.com/files/linux/avast4workstation_1.3.0-2_i386.deb && sudo dpkg -i avast4workstation_1.3.0-2_i386.deb

Access it through Accessories → avast! Antivirus .

3 – Essential tools for compiling from sources

sudo aptitude install build-essential checkinstall cdbs devscripts dh-make fakeroot libxml-parser-perl check avahi-daemon

4 – Java runtime environment

Java is a very important thing to install, now that many programs like Azureus need it to run. So type:

sudo aptitude install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin equivs

6 – Multimedia

Windows equivalent : windows media player, real player, vlc, mplayer

Ubuntu equivalent : vlc, mplayer, helix player

To have Ubuntu playing all kinds of stuff, you need to install many codecs. So on the Terminal, type:

* Installing vlc and mplayer (plays almost everything):

sudo aptitude install vlc mplayer

* Common packs

sudo aptitude install non-free-codecs libxine1-ffmpeg gxine mencoder mpeg2dec vorbis-tools id3v2 mpg321 mpg123 libflac++6 ffmpeg libmp4v2-0 totem-mozilla icedax tagtool easytag id3tool lame nautilus-script-audio-convert libmad0 libjpeg-progs libmpcdec3 libquicktime1 flac faac faad sox ffmpeg2theora libmpeg2-4 uudeview flac libmpeg3-1 mpeg3-utils mpegdemux liba52-dev

* Gstreammer 0.10 

sudo aptitude install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3 gstreamer0.10-gnonlin gstreamer0.10-pitfdll gstreamer0.10-sdl gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-schroedinger gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse totem-gstreamer

* More programs

sudo aptitude install gstreamer-dbus-media-service gstreamer-tools ubuntu-restricted-extras

* Enable dvd support

sudo aptitude install libdvdcss2 && sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/./install-css.sh

* Flash

sudo aptitude install gsfonts gsfonts-x11 flashplugin-nonfree

7. Tweak your eyecandy

Ubuntu 10.04 comes with compiz fusion effects OOTB but doesn’t offer a way to customize them.

In a terminal copy/paste this:

sudo aptitude install simple-ccsm

Now navigate to System → Preferences → Simple CompizConfig Settings Manager .

8 – Missing Windows software?? Run Windows softwares in Linux!!!

Run Windows Applications such as 7zip, Google Sketchup, AutoCAD, Dreamwaver, Flash MX, Fireworks MX, IE6, IE7, Safari, Itunes, Windows Media Player and many more…

Play Windows Games in Linux like Age Of Empires, Call Of Duty, Diablo, Fear, Fallout, Far Cry, Grand Theft Auto, Half Life, Halo, Hitman, Max Payne, Need For Speed, Prince Of Persia, Sim City Star Wars, The Simsworld of warcraft , Tomb Raider, Warcraft, World Of Warcraft, Counterstrike and many other can be played.

Install Playonlinux. It’s based on wine. Wine is a compatibility layer for running Windows programs in Linux.

sudo aptitude install wine playonlinux

9 – Clipboard Management

By Default in ubuntu when u copy something from an application and closes the application u will not be able to access it from the clipboard. And also when u copy severals text in serial u only have the last on available to you in the clipboard. To solve that install either of the following but Glipper is better because it supports plugins.

Glipper

sudo aptitude install glipper

Then right click ur panel → Add to Panel then drag Clipboard Manager to ur panel

Parcellite

sudo aptitude install parcellite

10 – Archiver/ Packing software

Windows equivalent : winrar, zip, 7zip

Ubuntu equivalent : tar, unrar, p7zip, arj, unace

It’s bad when you don’t have Internet on your computer/notebook, but you have to pack/unpack something but the file format isn’t recognized by the system. To prevent from this bad situation, you can install a bunch of packing software by typing this on the terminal:

sudo aptitude install unace rar unrar zip unzip p7zip-full p7zip-rar sharutils uudeview mpack lha arj cabextract file-roller

11 – Graphical web browser

Windows equivalent : Internet explorer, firefox, opera

Ubuntu equivalent : Firefox, opera, chromium

Opera

sudo aptitude install opera

Firefox (installed by default intrepid)

sudo aptitude install firefox

Chromium (open source equivalent of Google Chrome)

sudo aptitude install chromium-browser chromium-browser-l10n

12 – Download Manager

Windows equivalent : Free download manager

Ubuntu equivalent : Multiget

MultiGet is a http/ftp downloader with a nice GUI for linux desktop users. It can run on almost all desktops without any configuration. It has many powerful functions comparing to others.

sudo aptitude install multiget

Access it through Applications → Internet → MultiGet .

13 – Graphical Email client

Windows equivalent : Outlook

Ubuntu equivalent : Evolution, Thunderbird

Evolution (installed by default in lucid)

sudo aptitude install evolution

Access it through Applications → Internet → Evolution Mail .

Thunderbird

sudo aptitude install thunderbird

Access it through Applications → Internet → Mozilla Thunderbird Mail/News .

14 – Instant Messanging protocal clients

Windows equivalent : MSN messenger, Yahoo messenger, QQ, AIM, Gtalk, ICQ,IRC

Ubuntu equivalent : Empathy, Pidgin, emesene

Empathy IM Client (installed by default)

Add the related launchpad repository :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:telepathy/ppa && sudo aptitude update

Then install it by running the following :

sudo aptitude install empathy telepathy-mission-control-5 telepathy-gabble telepathy-butterfly telepathy-haze telepathy-idle telepathy-salut telepathy-sofiasip libtelepathy-farsight0 python-tpfarsight galago-eds-feed python-galago python-galago-gtk msn-pecan

Access it through Applications → Internet → Empathy IM Client .

Pidgin

Pidgin is an easy to use and free chat client used by millions. Connect to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and more chat networks all at once. Supported chat networks: AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, Groupwise, ICQ, IRC, MSN, MySpaceIM, QQ, SILC, SIMPLE, Sametime, XMPP, Yahoo!, Zephyr

Add the launchpad repository :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pidgin-developers/ppa && sudo aptitude update

Then install it :

sudo aptitude install pidgin pidgin-data pidgin-lastfm pidgin-guifications msn-pecan pidgin-musictracker pidgin-plugin-pack pidgin-themes

Access it through Applications → Internet → Pidgin Internet Messenger .

Emesene only for MSN Messenger.

Add the launchpad repository :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bjfs/ppa && sudo aptitude update

Then install it :

sudo aptitude install emesene

Access it through Applications → Internet → Emesene .

15 – VOIP

Windows equivalent : skype

Ubuntu equivalent : skype

Skype

sudo aptitude install skype

Access it through Applications → Internet → Skype.

16 – Viewing PDF files

Windows equivalent : Adobe Reader

Ubuntu equivalent : Adobe Reader

Adobe Reader

sudo aptitude install acroread acroread-fonts

Access it through Applications → Office → Adobe Reader.

17– Adobe Air

wget http://airdownload.adobe.com/air/lin/download/latest/AdobeAIRInstaller.bin
chmod +x ./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin

sudo ./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin

Access it through Applications → Accessories → Adobe Air Application Installer.

18 – Music / MP3 / OGG Players

Windows equivalent : iTunes, Winamp

Ubuntu equivalent : Rhythmbox, Banshee, Amarok

Rhythmbox

sudo aptitude install rhythmbox

Access it through Applications → Sound & Video → Rhythmbox Music Player.

Banshee

sudo aptitude install banshee banshee-extension-ubuntuonemusicstore libappindicator0-cil banshee-extension-appindicator banshee-extension-lyrics banshee-extension-mirage

Access it through Applications → Sound & Video → Banshee Media Player.

Amarok

sudo aptitude install amarok amarok-common

Access it through Applications → Sound & Video → Amarok.

19– Hard Disk Partitions Manager

Windows equivalent : Symanted Partition Magic

Ubuntu equivalent : GParted

GParted

sudo aptitude install gparted ntfsprogs menu ntfs-config

Access it through System → Administration → Partition Editor.

20 – Vector Graphics Editor

Windows equivalent : Adobe Illustrator

Ubuntu equivalent : Inkscape

Inkscape

sudo aptitude install inkscape

Access it through Applications → Graphics → Inkscape Vector Graphics Editor.

21 – Image Editor

Windows equivalent : Adobe Photoshop, Paint.Net

Ubuntu equivalent : GIMP

GIMP

Add the launchpad repository :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:matthaeus123/mrw-gimp-svn && sudo aptitude update

Then install it with the following command :

sudo aptitude install gimp gimp-data gimp-plugin-registry gimp-data-extras

Access it through Applications → Graphics → GIMP Image Editor.

PINTA

Add the launchpad repository :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:moonlight-team/pinta && sudo aptitude update

Then install it with the following command :

sudo aptitude install pinta

Access it through Applications → Graphics → Pinta Image Editor.

22 – 3D Graphics Applications

Windows equivalent : 3D Studio MAX

Ubuntu equivalent : Blender

Blender

sudo aptitude install blender

Access it through Applications → Graphics → Blender (windowed).

23 – Simple Yet Advanced Text Editor

Windows equivalent : Notepad ++

Ubuntu equivalent : GEdit

GEdit

sudo aptitude install gedit gedit-plugins

Access it through Applications → Accessories → Text Editor.

24 – Office Applications

Windows equivalent : Microsoft Office

Ubuntu equivalent : OpenOffice

OpenOffice

sudo aptitude install openoffice.org

Access it through Applications → Office

25 – Microsoft Visio

Windows equivalent : Microsoft Visio

Ubuntu equivalent : Dia

Dia

sudo aptitude install dia

Access it through Applications → Graphics → Dia Diagram Editor

26 – Microsoft Project

Windows equivalent : Microsoft Project

Ubuntu equivalent : OpenProj

OpenProj

wget http://nchc.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/openproj/openproj_1.4-2.deb && sudo dpkg -i openproj_1.4-2.deb

Access it through Applications → Office → OpenProj

27 – Development IDE

Windows equivalent : Dreamweaver

Ubuntu equivalent : Quanta, Kompozer, NetBeans

Quanta

sudo aptitude install quanta

Access it through Applications → Programming → Quanta Plus

Komposer

sudo aptitude install kompozer nvu

Access it through Applications → Internet → Kompozer

NetBeans

sudo aptitude install netbeans

Access it through Applications → Programming → NetBeans IDE

28 – Source Control Management

Windows equivalent : TortoiseSVN

Ubuntu equivalent : RabbitVCS

RabbitVCS

Add the launchpad repository :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rabbitvcs/ppa && sudo aptitude update

Then install it :

sudo aptitude install rabbitvcs-nautilus
killall nautilus

Right Click on any folder or file and access the RabbitVCS submenu

29 – Graphical FTP clients

Windows equivalent : CuteFTP, SmartFTP

Ubuntu equivalent : FileZilla

FileZilla

This is great FTP program, very complete, in my opinion, the best one for linux.

On the terminal type:

sudo aptitude install filezilla filezilla-common

Access it through Applications → Internet → FileZilla FTP Client.

30 – P2P Clients / Servers, File Sharing

Windows equivalent : utorrent, azureus, emule

Ubuntu equivalent : Deluge, azureus, amule

Bittorent clients

Deluge (written in python)

Add the launchpad repository :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deluge-team/ppa && sudo aptitude update

Then install it :

sudo aptitude install deluge-torrent

Access it through Applications → Internet → Deluge Torrent.

Azureus: Uses Java to run, very complete but a bit heavy

sudo aptitude install azureus

Access it through Applications → Internet → Azureus.

Emule Donkey Clients

Amule

Add the launchpad repository :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:happyaron/amule-dlp && sudo aptitude update

Then install it with the following command :

sudo aptitude install amule-dlp amule-dlp-gnome-support amule-dlp-utils-gui amule-dlp-daemon

Access it through Applications → Internet → aMule.

31 – Programs for CD burning with GUI

Windows equivalent : Nero, Roxio Easy CD Creator

Ubuntu equivalent : K3b, Brasero

K3b

Nero is available for linux,but its not free.A trial is available for 1 month usage and later it asks or activation code.But K3B is as good as Nero.Have a good feature set as Nero.

sudo aptitude install k3b k3b-data libk3b6

Access it through Applications → Sound & Video → K3B.

Brasero (installed by default in Lucid)

sudo aptitude install brasero

Access it through Applications → Sound & Video → Brasero Disc Burning .

32 – Mountings ISO files

Windows equivalent : Alcohol

Ubuntu equivalent : acetoneiso

Acetoneiso

The best one for linux ACETONEISO, which is similar to ALCOHOL in windows

its supports almost all formats. AcetoneISO is CD/DVD image manipulator for Linux.Using this tool it is very easy to Mount and Unmount ISO,MDF,NRG Images . I dont think its available in ubuntu repository.

sudo aptitude install libksba8 libenca0 libtwolame0 fuseiso kommander p7zip-full gnupg-agent gnupg2 pinentry-qt mencoder cdrdao && wget http://darkstar.ist.utl.pt/getdeb/ubuntu/jaunty/ac/acetoneiso_2.1.1-1~getdeb1_i386.deb && sudo dpkg -i acetoneiso_2.1.1-1~getdeb1_i386.deb

33 – Install Vista like gadgets.

Windows equivalent : Vista Sidebar

Ubuntu equivalent : google-gadgets

Google gadgets

sudo aptitude install google-gadgets-gtk

This will complete the installation.

Now press Alt+F2, and type “ggl-gtk” to start them. You should see a small icon show up in your system tray, and a sidebar. Right click on any of them and select ‘Add Gadgets’ to show a menu. If you’d like to have Google Gadgets start automatically, go to System – Preferences – Session, click ‘Add’, paste ‘Google Gadgets’ for the name and ‘ggl-gtk’ for the command. Click OK and Close, and you’re good to go.

34 – Google Desktop

Google Desktop allows one to full text search of a user’s e-mail, computer files, music, photos, chat, and Web pages viewed,OpenOffice documents , PDF files and more .

Now similar tools already existed on Linux like beagle (supported by novell ) , meta tracker etc . However Google Desktop search is not based on any of these tools and uses its proprietary algorithms to search for files on the computer ,also being 1.0 release and more stable then these products it could be preferred over tools like beagle .

To install Google Desktop Search type the following command in the terminal window : -

sudo aptitude install google-desktop-linux

Access it through Applications → Google Desktop → Google Desktop

Now after choosing appropriate option through Applications → Google Desktop → Google Desktop Preferences, you would find Google Desktop icon in the bar at the top of the screen , now it would automatically scan and index files on computer and store it in local database which could be searched using web browser .

35 – Photo Management

Google Picasa

Google Picasa is an extremely professional good looking photo management application available on Windows ,Linux and Mac OS. Now Google Picasa has a number of features that many photo management software on Linux dont have further Google Picasa looks very user friendly as compared to similar open source application available on linux . Now Google Picasa for Linux is not a native linux application but runs on Linux thru application layer called wine which allows many windows application to run flawlessly on Linux.

Now to install Google – Picasa type the following command in the terminal window

wget http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/pool/non-free/p/picasa/picasa_3.0-current_i386.deb && sudo dpkg -i picasa_3.0-current_i386.deb

Access it through Applications → Graphics → Picasa → Picasa

36 – Map Viewing and Management

Google Earth

To install Google Earth type the following command in the Terminal Window.

sudo aptitude install googleearth

After downloading is over you will get a screen like this press ¨Yes¨ to accept the license agreement and complete software installation.

Now you can launch Google Earth from Application → Internet → Google Earth

37 – Gmail Notification

Checkgmail

If you would like to get notified when you have a new mail in your google mail account, checkgmail is for you. To install Checkgmail type the following command in the Terminal Window.

sudo aptitude install checkgmail

Now you can launch it from Application → Internet → CheckGmail

38 – Configure Firewall
If you are concern about your security, then it is pertinent that you activate the firewall and prevent any unauthorized access to your computer.

UFW is installed by default, but if you need a graphical interface, install GUFW.

sudo aptitude install gufw

39– Gnome Do

Gnome Do is a small application that allows you to search and do things faster and more efficiently in your Ubuntu machine. It is similar to QuickSilver in Mac and Launchy in Windows. For those who have not tried Gnome Do before, it might take some time for you to get used to it. But once you’re hooked to it, there will be no turning back for you.Gnome Do also comes with a dock interface that you can use it like any other docks.

sudo aptitude install gnome-do

Now you can launch it from Application → Accessories → Gnome Do

40 – Ubuntu Tweak

Ubuntu Tweak allows you to tweak your system settings, all in one place. You can install new applications, customize your desktop settings, configure your startup applications, changing the system filetype association and many more tweaks in this single application.

Add the launchpad repository :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-tweak-testing/ppa && sudo aptitude update

Then install it with the following command :

sudo aptitude install ubuntu-tweak

Then access it through Applications → System Tools → Ubuntu Tweak

App Runner

App Runner is a small open source utility that makes it very easy to run any type of program/executable/script on any distro/OS that uses the nautilus file manager: Debian/Ubuntu/Super OS/Fedora/etc

wget http://hacktolive.org/files/app_runner/App_Runner_0.2.deb && sudo dpkg -i App_Runner_0.2.deb

Then right-click the file -> Scripts -> Run This App or Run This App (root)