How to customize Ubuntu 15.04 Desktop & Unity – Things to do after installing Ubuntu 15.04. Tips and Tricks for Ubuntu 15.04 after Installation.
Also Read:
Customize Ubuntu 15.04 – Unity Tweak Tool Customizations Tricks
Customize Ubuntu 15.04 – Top 20 Awesome Tips to Customize Ubuntu 15.04
Install These Essential Softwares After Fresh Install of Ubuntu 15.04
Change Software Sources & System Update
The first thing to do after installing Ubuntu 15.04 is to change the software sources and add update settings. This will add Canonical Partners to System Update list and will configure the sources for installable software and update.
Here’s how to change software sources and update your system:
- Open Unity Dash (press Super/Windows key) and search for Software & Updates:
- Open it and in Other Software tab, make sure that Canonical Partners is checked.
- Once you’re done, run the following command in Terminal to fresh-update the System:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
Download and Install Popular Third-Party Applications
You can install various popular applications via Software Center. Please note that most of these apps are available for Ubuntu to download directly from their respective websites.
Download Google Chrome for Linux
Install Graphics Card Drivers
Enable the latest Linux graphics drivers available for Ubuntu 15.04:
Click Unity Dash and open up the Software & Updates tool.
Click the ‘Additional Drivers‘ tab.
Follow on-screen instructions to install.
Install Ubuntu Restricted Extras (Media Codecs)
Install Ubuntu Restricted Extras for media codecs on Ubuntu 15.04. The Ubuntu Restricted Extras is a package consisting several codecs that are not installed by default in Ubuntu 15.04 System. Once these codecs are installed, you can play different media formats such as MP3, MP4, AVI without any trouble. Run the following command in Terminal to install Ubuntu Restricted Extras:
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras
Please note that when you see EULA screen, press TAB to switch between options and use Enter to confirm. You can also install “Ubuntu restricted extras” package available in Ubuntu Software Center.
Enable DVD Playback in Ubuntu 15.04
By default, when you install multimedia restricted codes package, you will be able to play normal DVDs. But for playing encrypted DVDs, you will need libdvdread4 and libdvdcss2. Here’s how to install Multimedia Codecs and enable DVD Playback in Ubuntu 15.04. Type the following command in the Terminal to enable DVD playback:
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh
If the above process doesn’t works for you, try the method given below. To install these, open the terminal and run the following command to install libdvdread4:
sudo apt-get install libdvdread4
To install libdvdcss2, open the terminal and run the following command:
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh
Please note that if you are unable to get the libdvdcss2 package from the script, then download & install it form the VLC (videolan.org) page.
Install Ubuntu Tweak Tools – Gnome Tool and Unity Tweak Tool
To to customize Ubuntu 15.04 Desktop & Unity, install Ubuntu Tweak and Configuration Tools such as GNONME Tool and UNITY Tweak Tool. With Unity and Gnome tool you can customize your Ubuntu’s look and feel. It helps you to customize the appearance of Ubuntu desktop.
To install Unity and Gnome, type the following command (one after another):
sudo apt-get install unity-tweak-tool
sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool
If you don’t want to write tow separate commands to install Unity and Gnome one by one, you can type the following single command:
sudo apt-get install unity-tweak-tool gnome-tweak-tool
You may be asked your system password, input you password to install. To open Unity Tweak Tool or GNOME Tool, open Dash and search for them.
How to Enable Edge/Horizontal Scrolling on Ubuntu 15.04
Since Ubuntu 13.10, two finger scroll is enabled by default and the normal edge scrolling doesn’t work automatically. You will have to enable Edge or Horizontal Scrolling on Ubuntu 15.04. To enable edge scrolling, go to System Settings > Mouse & Touchpad. Now uncheck the option of Two Finger Scroll.
You can also enable this setting by using UNITY Tweak Tool. Open UNITY Tweak Tool and under Scrolling options (System Tab-Unity Tweak Tool), select “Horizontal Scrolling.” It’s done. Now you should be able to scroll using the old method – horizontal scrolling.
LightDM Tweaks – Remove White Dots & Guest Accounts
With LightDM Tweak you can remove white dots from login screen of Ubuntu 15.04. You can also disable Guest accounts login for your Ubuntu PC.
To remove white dots, enter following commands in Terminal:
sudo xhost +SI:localuser:lightdm
sudo su lightdm -s /bin/bash
gsettings set com.canonical.unity-greeter draw-grid false;exit
To remove guest account open Terminal and enter following command:
echo allow-guest=false | sudo tee -a /usr/share/lightdm/lightdm.conf.d/50-ubuntu.conf
Install Oracle Java 9 Build 59 on Ubuntu 15.04
Install Java 9 Build 59 on Ubuntu 15.04 System. Run the following commands in Terminal to install Java 9 on Ubuntu System:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install oracle-java9-installer oracle-java9-set-default
Install Oracle Java 8 on Ubuntu
Run the following commands in Terminal to install Oracle Java 8 on Ubuntu 15.04 System:
sudo apt-get purge openjdk*
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install oracle-java8-installer
Run the following commands to set Oracle Java 8 by default:
sudo apt-get install oracle-java8-set-default
Improve Battery Life & Reduce Laptop Overheating
Save battery power of Ubuntu laptops. Install TLP (Battery Power Management) in Linux Ubuntu and reduce battery overheating on Ubuntu laptops and increase battery life of Linux Ubuntu laptops. TLP is an advanced power management tool for Linux. It comes with a default configuration optimized for battery life. TLP applies various settings and battery tweaks that help to save laptop battery power and reduce overheating. TLP packages are available for Arch, Debian, Fedora, Gentoo and Ubuntu. Please note that TLP runs on every laptop brand. Before installing TLP, make sure “laptop-mode-tools” is not installed. If installed, you must remove “laptop-mode-tools” as it conflicts with TLP.
To uninstall the laptop mode-tools, open the Terminal and run the following command:
sudo apt-get remove laptop-mode-tools
Now run the following commands to install TLP by using its official PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linrunner/tlp
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install tlp tlp-rdw
sudo tlp start
There are also some optional packages you can install to improve battery life in Linux Ubuntu with TLP. You can install the optional packages via package management tools (Ubuntu Software Center, Synaptic, …) or terminal command. Run the following command to install the optional TLP packages:
sudo apt-get install tlp tlp-rdw
Disable Online Search & Shopping Suggestions
When you search an application in Dash, it show few online suggestions – shopping and search options. This is really annoying and looks bad, when suggestions crop up into the Dash interface. Here’s how to disable Online Search and Shopping Suggestions from Ubuntu 15.04 Dash. Open the Terminal and type the following commands:
To disable online search:
wget -q -O – https://fixubuntu.com/fixubuntu.sh | bash
To disable shopping suggestions:
gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Lenses disabled-scopes “[‘more_suggestions-amazon.scope’, ‘more_suggestions-u1ms.scope’, ‘more_suggestions-populartracks.scope’, ‘music-musicstore.scope’, ‘more_suggestions-ebay.scope’, ‘more_suggestions-ubuntushop.scope’, ‘more_suggestions-skimlinks.scope’]“
Please write/copy the second line of the command in a single sentence.
Install Apt 1.0.9.7 Advance Package Tool
Install Apt 1.0.9.7 on Ubuntu 15.04. APT (Advanced Package Tool) is the default package manager of Debian, Ubuntu and their derivative systems.
Install APT 1.0.9.7 on 32 Bit Ubuntu 15.04:
sudo apt-get install gdebi
wget ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/main/a/apt/libapt-pkg4.12_1.0.9.7_i386.deb
sudo gdebi libapt-pkg4.12_1.0.9.7_i386.deb
wget ftp.debian.org/debian/pool/main/a/apt/apt_1.0.9.7_i386.deb
sudo gdebi apt_1.0.9.7_i386.deb
Install APT 1.0.9.7 on 64 Bit Ubuntu 15.04:
wget ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/main/a/apt/libapt-pkg4.12_1.0.9.7_amd64.deb
sudo gdebi libapt-pkg4.12_1.0.9.7_amd64.deb
wget ftp.debian.org/debian/pool/main/a/apt/apt_1.0.9.7_amd64.deb
sudo gdebi apt_1.0.9.7_amd64.deb
Install Multiple Essential Software At Once On Ubuntu 15.04
Selecting and Installing all the extra software on a new Ubuntu computer can be time consuming. To automate the installation process on new Ubuntu machines, simply install Ubuntu After Install. Install Ubuntu After Install on Ubuntu 15.04. Ubuntu After Install Tool installs a collection of some of the best Ubuntu softwares. It helps automated installation a lot of useful extra software on Ubuntu after the initial desktop install. This program installs a collection of some of the best Ubuntu software and can be considered to be one of the top things to do after installing Ubuntu.
Install Ubuntu After Install on Ubuntu Systems
Run the following commands in Terminal to add the Ubuntu After Install PPA and install Ubuntu After Install:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:thefanclub/ubuntu-after-install
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-after-install
Once installed search Ubuntu Dash for Ubuntu After install and start the application. Once installed, start the application from the dash by searching for Ubuntu After Install. Select the software you would like to install and click Install Now to begin.