Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Ubuntu 11.04

7/29/2019 Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Ubuntu 11.04

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Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Ubuntu 11.04

byRAMESH JHA on 2011/05/01Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal is out now!, After fresh installation ofUbuntu 11.04, you need to install some basic application and packages to makeyour system usable, although some nice Apps are installed by default. In this post, you will get some basic and cool tips and tricks, for Ubuntu11.04, and I assume that it will be helpful for beginner, who has just installed the Ubuntu and wondering what should I do now? how will I do thatin Ubuntu?, Relax.. everything is simple . if you have any problem/question or you want to recommend something then reply through comments.Ubuntu 11.04 is a free and open source Linux Based Distribution, developed for common desktop users. Ive more than two years of experiencewith Ubuntu (Since version 9.04). Few days before Id installed the fresh stable version of Ubuntu 11.04, and finally prepared a list of few tips n

tricks that may help you in understanding, exploring and customizingUbuntuas you wanted. Here is my favorite and probably the best Tips ntricks for a novice Ubuntu 11.04 users -Top 10 collection of cool Tips n Tricks for Ubuntu 11.04 users :#1 : Remove Hard Drive Partition/Volume Icons from DesktopOpen Configuration Editor hit ALT+F2 , then type gconf-editor and hit Enter. Then go to apps -> nautilus -> desktop and simply uncheck (select therow by double clicking on it) the box that says Volumes Visible. Thats all you will notice the instant effect, Then just close the window and Enjoy!Your Desktop looks much better now, due to removal of cluttered drive icons.

#2 : Mount Drives automatically when your computer startsIf you are using Ubuntu along with Windows in dual boot mode, then you may need to access NTFS partition frequently, so its not a bad idea toenable auto-mount of hard drive at system startup. PySDM is a simple storage device manager application (based on PyGTK) that allows fullcustomization of hard drive mount points. To install you can search for pysdm in synaptic package manager or Type the following command(s)given below at Terminal (CTRL+ALT+T) :

sudo apt-get install pysdm
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Then open it from Applications -> System -> Storage Device Manager or simply search for it. Now you are ready to customize it just select the driveor partitions and click on mount or any other options that you want to configure. Be careful, while tempering with your hard drive, a silly mistakemight piss you off.

#3 : Aero Glass Effect in Window Border

You just need to enable metacity opacity (by default opacity value is equal to one, Make it translucent by decreasing its value, less than .7 to geteffective level of translucency) settings from the configuration settings. Again, open gconf-editor (hit ALT+F2 , type gconf-editor and press Enter)and go to Apps ->gwd and double click on metacity_theme_opacity row, then change its value (1) to .7 or .5 (something less than 1).


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#4 : Try Gnome 3 / Gnome ShellGnome 3 (The Next Generation of Desktop) is available through PPA (Personal Package Archive), although if you willinstall Gnome 3 on Ubuntu11.04 Natty Narwhal, then your Unity would break and this process is irreversible , so think once! before you do that.

#5 : Switch to classic Gnome 2.3 desktopProbably, Many of us do not like Unity Desktop, dont worry, you can use your favorite classic desktop Gnome 2.3 on Ubuntu 11.04 without anyproblem, it is installed by default. You just need to select the classic desktop option at login prompt, to run Gnome Desktop.
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#6 : Install Cool Faenza Icons

Dont you like cool icons on your desktop, I think so (with the Assumption that you are a Human! ). Install Faenza icons from thecommand line Then select it from Theme customize options (Appearance -> Themes, then customize any theme to use Faenza Icons and save thetheme).

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tiheum/equinox

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install faenza-icon-theme

#7 : Unlock Root in GUI modeAlthough its not required because you can do the administrative task using sudo command, but just for fun! if you want to enjoy root power inGUI mode then there is asimple trick to unlock root in Ubuntu 11.04. But you have to be very careful while using Ubuntu as root, because a smallmistake may break the system.#8 : Tweak Ubuntu 11.04 settings as you wantUbuntu is a free and open source OS, so its 100% customizable. If you want to tweak ubuntu settings then use some tools/utility like Ubuntu Tweakfor customizing Ubuntu 11.04. Ubuntu Tweak (a free and open source application) will allow you to configure Ubuntu in easy way.

#9 : Configure Boot options GrubInstall a simple utility - StartUp Manager, to customize the GRUB and splash screens, in GUI mode. The command is -

sudo apt-get install startupmanager
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#10 : Move the Windows buttons to Right Corner

If you have the habit of using Maximize, Minimize and Close buttons in Right Corner, then you should change default windows button layout ofUbuntu 11.04. Open gconf-editor (hit ALT+F2 and enter gconf-editor) and go to apps -> Metacity -> General and select button layout field (Doubleclick on the row) and change the default value to -

menu:maximize,minimize,close

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Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Ubuntu 11.04