Initial Ubuntu Configurations
Additional Installations
After installing Ubuntu Desktop on a new computer it is a good idea to install some extra packages. Below I give a list of Ubuntu packages that I have installed to my new Ubuntu Desktop computer:
netcat socat traceroute whois nmap vnstat curl links htop hardinfo thunar thunar-archive-plugin xarchiver searchmonkey nautilus-gtkhash trash-cli boomaga printer-driver-cups-pdf simple-scan vlc sox pavucontrol alsamixergui openssh-server mtp-tools go-mtpfs p7zip-full pixz acpitool fwts mailutils gnome-calculator gnome-clocks gnome-tweaks xserver-xorg-input-synaptics xsel wmctrl dconf-editor downtimed apache2 php8.0-mbstring sqlite3 php-sqlite3 jq wapua iftop ifstat sysstat fail2ban s3cmd brasero xfburn k3b mp3info wine64 dos2unix rhash unifont ubuntu-restricted-extras font-manager rclone dar cryptsetup-bin ecryptfs-utils exfat-utils dosbox gimp imagemagick gpick clamav groff tnef convmv subtitleeditor testdisk gddrescue gparted baobab hexer ghex mc ntpdate sysbench rename tree ncal debsums photoflare mtools geany geany-plugin-miniscript geany-plugin-addons mkvtoolnix-gui kinit konsole gnome-sushi libimage-exiftool-perl remmina
You can install these packages from a terminal using the following command:
$ sudo apt install package_name
Besides the standard Ubuntu packages, you can install some other add-ons and third-party software tools, like:
- Python programs using the command:
# pip3 install -U youtube-dl speedtest-cli
- Video and audio drivers (proprietary, tested) that matches your hardware, from Software & Updates > Additional Drivers.
- The following Gnome Extensions: Auto Move Windows, Dash to Panel, Desktop Icons NG (DING), GSConnect, Harddisk LED, Lock Keys, Places Status Indicator, Removable Drive Menu.
- Google Chrome
- VeraCrypt disk encryption software
- VirtualBox
- Synaptic Package Manager from Ubuntu Software.
- Dropbox and pCloud
- Kleopatra (GnuPG) from Ubuntu Software.
- etc.
Please note that the above list is only a sample. A more extensive list is given in the next section.
Configurations
Detailed explanation of how to configure an Ubuntu Desktop is beyond the scope of this section and it depends on how an experienced computer user (and administrator) you are. In this section only some hints about some typical configurations that need to be done on an Ubuntu Desktop are given.
Most initial desktop configuration will be done using
the Settings or Gnome Control Center application.
This can be accessed by clicking the gear (⚙) icon
from the Gnome menu (typically at the far top right of the screen)
or from command line using gnome-control-center
. Spend some
time by navigating and checking all sections.
Gnome Tweaks (command line using gnome-tweaks
) is also
an important tool for changing the look and feel of your Gnome Desktop.
For a general initial Ubuntu Desktop configuration a good checklist can be found here. Please, do not follow it very closely and if there is something that you do not understand or like, do not do it!
Operating system configuration is a never ending process. So, you will
continuously make changes to your desktop configuration as you use it,
install new applications, and gain more experience. For example, the
Dconf Editor (command line using dconf-editor
)
is a tool to make modifications to hidden options.
If you are in trouble, you can ask for help from Ubuntu community in places like Ask Ubuntu or Ubuntu Forums. See also Ubuntu Web Site.
The next section lists some of the most important applications I have been using in my Ubuntu Desktop.