How to setup the perfect 9.10 Karmic Koala Desktop
Now that you have Ubuntu 9.10 installed, we are going to add all the basic programs, codecs, and customizations that you may need on Ubuntu.
Startup Programs
Next lets disable the startup programs that you do not need by going to System > Preferences > Sessions.
Installing & Uninstalling Programs
Select Applications > Ubuntu Software Center to install any programs you may want, and uninstall any programs that you don’t.
System Updates
Now lets customize how your computer notifies you when there are updates. Select System > Administration > Software Sources.
Under the Ubuntu Software tab, you can enable or disable the main repositories for Ubuntu. One suggestion that I have is that you change which repository you are using. By default it will use the US Server (or possibly another countries server if you are located outside the US). We want our updates to be as fast as possible and Ubuntu provides a way for us to determine what the best repository server is for us. Where it says “Download from:” click the arrow. This will bring up a list; choose “Other.” A new window will pop up with a button on the right hand side that says “Select Best Server.” Click that button and Ubuntu will test the downloads from all the servers and determine which one is best for you. When it is done, the server that is best for you will be highlighted. Click Choose Server to close the window.
In the Third-Party Software tab you can enable or disable any repositories that are not official Ubuntu repositories.
The Updates tab allows you to choose which updates you want to be informed about, and how often you want Ubuntu to check for updates.
Medibuntu
To install all the “goodies” out there for Ubuntu, we need to make the Medibuntu repositories available. To do this, run the following two commands:
and
Install Restricted Codecs
Ubuntu does not ship with items such as flash, java, and some codecs due to licensing. Let’s enable the backports repository and install these items.
Locate the following lines and remove the # from the front of them:
# deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
Now lets update your system and install some codecs, including the restricted codecs.
Speed up your system
Even though Ubuntu is fast on its own, wouldn’t you like to make it even faster? Lets install an application called Preload which will monitor what applications you run and then predict what you will run and fetch the binaries and their dependencies into memory for faster startup times. Say that you run Firefox, VLC, and GIMP every day, Preload will keep the libraries in your RAM to load these programs for you faster. This is similar to Windows SuperFetch.
Other Programs
Now lets install Skype, Wine, VLC, Google Earth, Java, Flash Player 10, and Amarok.
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Acrobat Reader is no longer available in the Medibuntu repositories. It is now located in the Canonical Partner Repositories. To install Acrobat, we need to enable to Canonical Partner Repositories.
Look for the lines:
# deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu karmic partner
and uncomment them. Now we need to update our package list and install Acrobat.
Clean it all up
Now that we have finished installing everything, we need to go through and clean up the mess that was made. We do that by running:
sudo apt-get autoclean
The End
Now you have a fully customized full-featured Ubuntu 9.10 install. Enjoy!
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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Hi I think you should check the acroread as its not currently in the karmic repos
Great guide, thank you!!!
[...] base installation is missing just about every useful codec. This blog post is a nice guide to installing all of the media “goodies” in [...]
Hi thanks for a great how to and I c the acroread is working again. I use this for all my installs
Hey Chris .. another nice piece .. tx
BUT!!
having written a ridiculously substantial Karmic setup piece myself .. Karmic Koala Bible gives a hint
.. i gotta say, i think it’s out of place to recommend apt-get anymore.
aptitude is now installed for first time by default .. why you say apt-get?
(you say tomato .. !)
nonetheless .. thank you, some nice tips
Hi!
Great guide!
Selecting the best server was a bad choice for me as it effectively prevented me from getting all the stuff I was looking for ie java, flashplayer etc. Once I reset that back to default country (Canada for me) everything ran smoothly.
Thanks
Hi, thanks for a very good site. I would like to install Adobe Acrobat 7.0 besides Acrobat Reader, is that possible and how do I install it. (I have a win-version)
Thanks!
Nice guide, but what about evince, it takes less resources and does the same job as adobe reader
Nice guide.
Many of these setups are what I do post a fresh install.
The new software center in 9.10 has done a good job IMO of combining the update/upgrade options, but personally I find using the terminal the easiest method.
Thanks for the tutorial.
Hello,
Great guide, It was very useful to me as i am a beginner/noob w/ubuntu . I think everything did what it was supposed to but i dont see the Google earth icon or anything even relevant to it anywhere on my computer. I am currently running Ubuntu 9.10 on my playstation 3. But I really would like to get Google Earth up and running, thus far to no avail. I have tried numerous ways described on loads of different websites and i !!!NEED!!! major help. If anybody can help me, please e-mail me @ l_dub_ya@yahoo.com. Thanks a million
Thank you for the great guide, I am new to Linux and you made it easy and me proof. Thank you again.
Fantastic blog/addition to the UBUNTU system. You are a great resource!!! Clear accurate and concise. My Personal and professional thanks to you.
Thank you for a great how to. I always use it to setup my ubuntu. I also suggest it to my friends. I was wondering if you would maybe list some applications you remove as a preference. Just to help a noob like me get a idea what is good and what is crap.
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