{"id":22650,"date":"2016-06-23T12:30:01","date_gmt":"2016-06-23T17:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scienceblogs.com\/gregladen\/?p=22650"},"modified":"2018-02-16T14:00:41","modified_gmt":"2018-02-16T20:00:41","slug":"things-to-do-after-installing-ubuntu-16-04-lts-how-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregladen.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/23\/things-to-do-after-installing-ubuntu-16-04-lts-how-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 16.04 LTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is one of four related posts:<\/H2><\/p>\n

Should You Install Ubuntu Linux?<\/a>
\nInstalling Ubuntu 16.04 LTS<\/a>
\nHow to use Ubuntu Unity<\/a>
\nThings To Do After Installing Ubuntu 16.04 LTS<\/a><\/p>\n

Some Linux\/Ubuntu related books:
\nUbuntu Unleashed 2016 Edition: Covering 15.10 and 16.04 (11th Edition)<\/a>\"\"
\nUbuntu 16.04 LTS Desktop: Applications and Administration<\/a>\"\"
\nThe Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

If you have already considered your options for installing Linux<\/a>, done the installation<\/a>, and learned your way around the Unity Desktop<\/a>, then you are ready to tweak your system. This will be easiest if you use the terminal for several of the steps. Just copy and paste the lines I give you here. Note that in Linux, unless you change it, to paste into a terminal you hit shift-control-v, not just control-v. <\/p>\n

Most of these commands start with the word \u201csudo.\u201d This is because these tweaks change the software or the operating system, and Linux needs to know that the person in charge of the computer is doing that. Start a command with \u201csudo\u201d and after you enter the command, you will be asked for your password. Enter the password, hit Enter, and you are good to go. If the next time you use \u201csudo\u201d is soon enough, you won\u2019t be asked for your password. <\/p>\n

There is one other thing you might want to know so the rest of this makes sense. <\/p>\n

Software, applications, apps (three words for the same thing) typically come in \u201cpackages.\u201d A package is a bunch of stuff that includes information on what needs to be installed to make a piece of software work, what needs to be done to let the system know it is there, etc. <\/p>\n

Packages live in repositories, and they live on the internet. (They can also live on a DVD but that is rarely done for the average user … there were in fact packages on your installation DVD but that\u2019s the last time you\u2019ll probably use DVD or USB stick based packages.) <\/p>\n

Your computer, after installation, is set up to know about certain repositories. This is the great advantage of using Ubuntu or many of the other major distributions. You get that distribution\u2019s repository, and the packages stored there are carefully maintained and secured. Installing off a major repository like this means no viruses, malware, \u201cfreeware\u201d or other junk will get onto your computer. It also means that when you issue a general update command, your computer visits the repository and updates all of your installed software based on whatever is new or changed in the repository. <\/p>\n

During the following process, you will likely add some new repositories to your computer\u2019s database of repositories. Just follow the instructions. But note, in order for an added repository to be known about, you add it, then you update the package system. Again, just follow the instructions.<\/p>\n

It is also possible to install software using a downloaded package. In the case of Ubuntu (or any debian based Linux distribution), these are files with the \u201cdeb\u201d extention. If you have the right software installed, you should be able to just double click on a deb file and pick an option to install it. I include an example or two of that process in with the tweaks below. <\/p>\n

Finally, as you will see, there are several different software interfaces to this installation system. For the most part, you can install anything from the available repositories using the Ubuntu software center. But the Ubuntu software center is one crappy piece of software, in my opinion. It looks slick, but is slow and clunky and frustrating. <\/p>\n

There is a system that works better (it is more responsive) but harder to use (because it does not hold your hand much) called synaptic. <\/p>\n

Check out:<\/p>\n

UBUNTU AND LINUX BOOKS<\/a><\/p>\n

BOOKS ON COMPUTER PROGRAMMING AND COMPUTERS<\/a><\/p>\n

But generally, the smoothest, quickest, easiest way to install most software from the repositories that your computer is aware of is with the command line, using the command \u201csudo apt-get install bla-bla-bla.\u201d As shown below many times.<\/p>\n

So, now, on to the tweaking. <\/p>\n

1. Make the terminal program handy<\/h4>\n

First, open a terminal. You may have already placed an icon for the terminal on the Task Panel; if so, click that. If not, hit the \u201csuper\u201d key (the Key Formerly Known as the Windows Key) to bring up the Unity dash. Then, type in \u201cterminal\u201d and choose the icon for the terminal program. <\/p>\n

Now that the terminal program is running, you\u2019ll see it in the Task Panel. If you\u2019ve not already locked the terminal icon to the Task Panel, right click on that icon, and opt to have the terminal icon always be in \u201cthe launcher\u201d even if it is not running. <\/p>\n

2. Update the software and operating system you just installed<\/h4>\n

Even if the system was updating while installing (that was an option you had during the install), there are probably still some things that need updating. If you have not done so yet, type or copy\/paste this into the terminal (shift-ctrl-v to paste in a terminal) and hit enter:<\/p>\n

sudo apt-get update<\/code><\/p>\n

You will be asked for your password. Type it in and hit \u201center.\u201d <\/p>\n

If you are asked a question with a \u201cY\/n\u201d answer, type in \u201cy\u201d and otherwise follow any obvious instructions. <\/p>\n

The updated command is a quick and dirty way of making sure that the software you have installed is updated. Chances are that when you do this after install, almost nothing will happen because little or no software will be ready for an upgrade.<\/p>\n

When all the gobbledygook is done in the terminal, type in:<\/p>\n

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade<\/code><\/p>\n

The dist-upgrade command will, in short, do a more thorough job of updating the things that are installed on your sy stem (it does not upgrade you to a new distribution, it just updates the software with more awareness of what the distribution specifies in terms of packages and interrelations between packages). The details are not too important. What you need to know is that “apt-get update” is quick and useful, and “apt-get dist-upgrade” will take much longer to run, but do a much better job of updating things and cleaning up after itself, and should be done now and then. <\/p>\n

If you are asked a question with a \u201cY\/n\u201d answer, type in \u201cy\u201d and otherwise follow any obvious instructions. <\/p>\n

These steps can be fast or slow, depending. <\/p>\n

3. Make installing software easier<\/h4>\n

First, enable the Canonical Partners\u2019 Repository. This will allow you easier access to some software. A repository is where software lives, and your installation programs know about only certain repositories, and ignore others. <\/p>\n

\nOpen System Settings (on the Task Panel, the gear and wrench icon)
\nClick on “Software and Updates”
\nGo to Other Software tab.
\nClick the check box for “Canonical Partners”
\nYou may be asked for your password.
\nYou will be asked to “reload” the repository info. Do that.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There are a couple of applications for installing and updating software, and you can have fun with them, but two tools that are really helpful that Ubuntu mysteriously does not install by default should be installed now. One is called \u201csynaptic\u201d and it is a menu drive graphical interface to your repositories, the other is gdebi, which allows you to install software that comes to you via download in a \u201cdeb\u201d package. <\/p>\n

sudo apt install synaptic<\/code>
\nsudo apt install gdebi<\/code><\/p>\n

If asked to choose Y\/n at any point, choose Y<\/p>\n

4. Install Linux graphics drivers<\/h4>\n

This may not be important, or it may be, depending on your hardware. So just do it and see what happens!<\/p>\n

\nUnity Dash >>> Software & Updates >>> Additional Drivers\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Do whatever it says there to install any graphics drivers that may be available. <\/p>\n

5. Allow Workspaces To Work<\/h4>\n

I have no idea why a Linux distribution would not have work spaces right there in your face by default, but Unity seems not to. Workspaces is one of those desktop things that makes non-Linux users go \u201cwow, that\u2019s cool, now I want Linux!\u201d<\/p>\n

A workspace is a desktop, and multiple workspaces are multiple desktops, on which one or more applications are running. Macs have something like this now (stolen from Linux, but implemented poorly). The Linux implementation is better. You smoothly sail between desktops with Ctrl Alt Arrow Keys, and Linux does not randomly make new desktops for you like a Mac does. <\/p>\n

\nSystem Settings >>> Appearance >>> Behavior\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check the box to enable workspaces, and the box to Add show desktop icon to the launcher.<\/p>\n

6. Install Java<\/h4>\n

Java is required for running many application\u2019s on Linux platform, So should install java using these three commands in sequence (one at a time).<\/p>\n

sudo apt-get install default-jre<\/code><\/p>\n

7. Fix app menu problem<\/h4>\n

One of the bad things about Unity was to cause application menus to become invisible and to not be on the application. If you want to see the menus where they belong, you can fix that. <\/p>\n

\nSystem Settings >>> Appearance >>> Behavior tab >> \u2018Show the Menus for a Window\u2019\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check \u2018In the window\u2019s title bar\u2019
\nCheck \u2018Always displayed\u2019<\/p>\n

8. Classic Menu<\/h4>\n

One of the things I miss most from an old fashioned Gnome 2.0 style desktop is a simple menu, with submenus, that includes all the software installed on my system. To me, this is really important.<\/p>\n

And, solvable. We can add a Gnome 2.0 style menu thingie to the app panel in Unity. <\/p>\n

sudo apt-get update
\nsudo apt-get install classicmenu-indicator<\/code><\/p>\n

You will have to log out and back in again for the menu to show up. Use the gear icon in the far upper right of the screen to log out\/shut down, etc.<\/p>\n

9. Show Your User Name On The Top Menu Bar<\/h4>\n

It may be useful to show your user name on the Top Menu Bar (the strip along the top of your screen). Here is one way to do that, using the terminal. <\/p>\n

gsettings set com.canonical.indicator.session show-real-name-on-panel true<\/code><\/p>\n

If you want to turn this back off, do this:<\/p>\n

gsettings set com.canonical.indicator.session show-real-name-on-panel false<\/code><\/p>\n

10. What about Adobe Flash? And Therefore, Chrome?<\/h4>\n

This is complicated. Flash turns out to be something of a nightmare. Perhaps it was a good idea at the time, but increasingly developers and such are avoiding using it. But you probably need Flash now and then, but almost always in a browser window. So, the way to handle this is to use Google Chrome as your browser. Not Chromium. <\/p>\n

The Firefox browser is installed by default in most Linux distributions. This is cultural, maybe even political. Firefox as a piece of software, and an organization, has been central to the development of OpenSource software, so it is sort of worshiped. I recommend ignoring it. So, when you get to the part below about installing Chrome, do that. <\/p>\n

If you google \u201chow to install Google Chrome on Linux\u201d you get this:<\/p>\n