In this tutorial of Learning Linux, we will be going over the top ten tips and tricks that helped me have a enjoyable experience with Ubuntu.

1. Install Gnome themes. If you haven’t heard of this you are really missing out. The themes provided with Ubuntu are fine for the normal user but for geeks like us you may want something more suited to your taste. To begin point your browser to http://www.gnome-look.org/. Here you can find complete themes, icons, login screens, etc… In the left sidebar look for the topic you want and then scroll down (or search) until you find something you like. To install something (for example a theme-which is what you will be doing most of the time,) download it, open System/ Preferences/ Appearance, go to the “Theme” tab and click “install”. Then locate and select the file to activate it. To install a login screen go to System/Administration>Login Window and it’s basically the same from there.

If you find yourself reinstalling a theme you may see a message saying, “can’t move directory over directory.” This happens when you delete a theme then try to reinstall it. This is however very easy to fix. Just go to your home folder, and push CTRL+H to show hidden files. Navigate to the folder named .themes and delete the folder with the name of the previously deleted theme. You should now be able to reinstall the theme without any problem.

My favorite themes packages are the Moomex desktop theme with the new “Breathe” icons. (The icons come separately.)

2. Install those essential packages. Another essential thing to do upon installing Ubuntu is to install some essential packages. Open the the “Add/Remove” window. Make sure that “show all available programs” is selected from the dropdown list. First do a search for “java”. The average user will need, “Sun Java Runtime,” OpenJDK Java Webstart and Runtime” and Sun Java Plugin.” Some more packages I find essential are, “Ubuntu Restricted Extras,” and the Gstreamer Plugins which lloqa you play restricted file types such as MP3’s and others.

3. Edit what runs at Startup. Go to System>Preferences>Startup Applications. From here you can add your own program to run at startup or disable the splash screen (which I do not recommend for beginner and intermediate Ubuntu users.) Ubuntu also lets you chose whether to remember open applications from the last shutdown.

4. Install some cool fonts. To install fonts in Ubuntu, just go to Computer/Filesystem/usr/share/fonts/truetype/. (Most fonts if not all fonts you will be installing in Ubuntu will be in the TrueType format.) Then create a folder for your fonts to go into. I created a folder named “Personal” so I can remember which fonts I installed in case I need to transfer them to another computer.

5. Install restricted drivers. One of the first things you need to do after installing Ubuntu is check out if you need any restricted drivers. Go to System>Administration>Hardware Drivers to see if you do. You may not need them or you may as in my case where I didn’t have the driver for my wireless card.

6. Edit root files. Every once in a while you will need to edit some files in a root directory such as the “folder” talked about above. If you try to copy and paste a file into those folders, you will be denied permission. Do bypass this open a terminal and type “gksu nautilus”. After entering your password a window will open with root permissions to the folder. Just copy and paste through that window and it will not deny you access.

7. Install Gnome Deskbar Applet. This handy application sits in your panel and acts as an instant file searcher and it can open web pages. You can also set it to be used as a Dictionary. To install it open the Terminal and type, “sudo apt-get install deskbar-applet”. Then right click a panel, click “add to panel” and scroll down to the Deskbar Applet. From there you can set your preferences to your heart’s delight.

8. Make use of Workspaces! This is one thing in Ubuntu that once you use it you will never know how you lived without it. Add to panel and scroll down to Workspaces. (You may already have it on a panel.) Workspaces are basically multiple desktops. You click the little boxes in the Workspace Switcher and the Desktop slides to a new desktop that has no applications in the taskbar (is that the right name for it?) The programs are still running, just in the other workspace. This is really helpful is you have a lot of programs open at one time.

9. Enable visual effects. Go to System/Preferences/Appearance, Visual Effects tab. From there you can change the level of eye candy Ubuntu uses.

10. Linux has an active community that wants to help you! Finally, remember there is a great community of Ubuntu users who are willing to help you with your problems. Go to http://www.ubuntuforums.org to get started.

~ Theo

Some of the first things you will notice upon starting up your computer is the new loading screen. I don’t know why they changed this part, personally I liked the old loading screen better. There are also some new skins for the log in screen including the new default screen, a slightly transparent dark theme. The desktop has also had some slight changes. The shut down options have been moved from the main menu to a little bar with your name at the top right of the screen. There are also several changes to the Administration and Preferences Menu’s.

In terms of programs, there is one notable addition. OpenOffice 3 is here! This is the latest update to this great program. The most obvious thing that this update includes is new fresh looking icons. Also included is the ability to open the new Microsoft Office .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc… format, new chart components and better PDF support.

– Theo

I pushed the power button and push F10 multiple times during startup to access the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). (The key differs with many computers.)

I told the computer to start off the CD drive. I then popped the Ubuntu install CD in and restarted the Ubuntu on the hard drive, run off the live CD and several other options, which we will not cover in this article.

I clicked install Ubuntu on the hard drive and it opened a window asking me the language I wanted to install it in. After selecting my region, I clicked forward. It then asked me what keyboard layout I wanted. I selected the default and clicked forward.

This time it asked me how I wanted to partition the hard drive. Since I was install this over the previous Operating System, I clicked “Guided-Use entire disk” and went to the next window.

I then waited while it set up the hard drive. (This can take some time so don’t worry if it takes a long time. It took about 25 minutes on my 80GB hard drive.)

It then asked me for my name, a password and what I wanted to name the computer. The next window presented me with some handy options. It asked me if I wanted to import accounts from my last installation of Ubuntu (I was reinstalling Ubuntu).

The next window gave me a summary of my selections. I then clicked install. I recommend getting a snack at this point as this will take quite a while. There is a handy progress bar that tells you what is going on and the percentage left if you are bored and have nothing to do. This installation is much simpler than any Windows installation you will do.

Also, it only requires you to reboot once, and that is after the installation is finished. When you restart your computer don’t forgot to go into the BIOS and set the computer to boot from the hard drive.

I forgot to do that and had a shock when upon starting the computer it said there was an error and couldn’t start!

from Guest Writer, Theo

That took much of my time, so now I have discovered the power and helpfulness of bookmarks. It helps considerably when I need to find an obscure article again (relevant to stuff I do/like), or if I need to go back to a great-looking site for inspiration in design or code.

Another thing, is that I am using x-Marks for bookmark synchronization between firefox and online, so when I’m using someone else’s computer, I can still  get all my bookmarks. I find the awesome bar in firefox very awesome, but I wish it had better integration with bookmarks.

Just speaking of organization, I really enjoy folders, drilling down right to what I need. It’s really hard for me to sort through fifty or so files in a folder, all unrelated, so I typically partion out what and where I need so I can find stuff again in the tree of my mind.

Using linux has been nice for this becuase Natilus is excellent, and one of my favorite features in it is the ability to quick-find and drill-down through folders using the first few letters of a file or folder, instead of one letter, which is hard if you have a lot of stuff in the folder.

My Screen-shot review of Nautilus, Gnome’s Desktop File Manager :

Gnome Filemanager Screenshot - Natilus Review