So, now that you’ve finally gotten Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron installed, all the guides stop here. Well, now what? Most people won’t be happy forever with the default desktop settings, so here is my guide to customizing and setting up Ubuntu 8.04 the way I like it. Each of these tips can be done independently, or pick and choose the ones you like. I’ll be using a fresh installation of Ubuntu 8.04 x86_64, but everything should be the same for both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions. I’ll also be using a Lenovo x61 Tablet laptop, and a few of these customizations will be hardware specific, so don’t do them if you have different hardware from me, but they should work on the majority of Thinkpad laptops. (I will note where things should and shouldn’t work, and for whom)
I will start this off with a screenshot of the default desktop. Up at the top is the Applicatoins, Places, and the System menu, along with a few program shortcuts, the clock, power button, and the notification area. At the bottom is the “show desktop” button, the window list, virtual desktops list, and the trash. (yes, I still call it trash and not recycle bin. Nothing I put in there ever gets re-used. Ubuntu calls it trash too.)
Enabling Repositories and Installing Basic Codecs
The first thing I always do when I have a new installation of Ubuntu is to enable more repositories. Essentially, the repositories are servers where many Ubuntu software packages are held. However, when you have a fresh install, only a few of these are enabled, meaning that you can’t see all of the programs or software packages available to you. Change these settings by going to the System menu on the top, then Administration, then Software Sources. You will have to enter your account password here. (see note on “Sudo and the Administrator Password”) I go through all the tabs, and I check nearly every option. Check both under “Third Party Software”, under “Updates” it is your choice to check “Pre-released updates” and “Unsupported Updates” those are both repositories that will send programs that may have updated in the repositories since the distribution became available, but are not nearly beta updates, as they are generally just stable updates that have not yet been completely accepted by the Ubuntu community. And on the “Statistics” tab, it is nice to check the “submit statistical information” box just to help out find which programs are most popular. When you are through, select “Close” and an alert will pop up telling you that your information is out of date. Click reload, and then it should close. (if not, just click cancel the second time)
Now, to install the “Ubuntu Restricted Extras” package, go to Applications, then Add/Remove. At the top, under “Show:” change the option to “All Available Applications” then search for “Ubuntu Restricted Extras”. Check the box next to it, and click apply. This allows you to play MP3s, watch DVDs, view Microsoft Core Fonts, and a few other things. I would also suggest using the media player “VLC” instead of the default totem movie player, as VLC can handle many more formats than the other video players, and I believe it fetches codecies as you need them. More media compatibility is available by following this guide: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu
Note: This is only the first part of the guide, I decided to split it into smaller posts. I will be making a page with the consolidated guide though.
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