Every time a new Linux distro is released, there are a series of blog articles on "10 things to do after installing Flavor xx.xx."
Here is what I did after installing Lubuntu 14.04.
YMMV, as they say.
Warning: These steps worked for me, but I spent a lot of time making mistakes to get the right settings for my hardware. Do not install Linux on a box you need for other things. If you have no choice, install Linux as dual operating system. Your Windows files won't be touched, but do a backup first. I recommend you blow the the dust off an old Pentium and have fun.
Computer
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Processor : 4x AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 645 Processor
Memory : 6209MB (1118MB used)
Operating System : Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
Display
Resolution : 1360x768 pixels
OpenGL Renderer : Unknown
X11 Vendor : The X.Org Foundation
Multimedia
Audio Adapter : HDA-Intel - HDA ATI SB
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01 Do you have an older NVIDIA video Card?
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If you have an older NVIDIA card (mine is a GeForce 7600 GS), install additional drivers:
Preferences > Software Sources > Additional Drivers
You probably want to start with “nvidia binary x.org driver ('current' driver)”, but you can try them all.
After each install, launch the new NVIDIA app that shows up in your menu (System Tools > NVIDIA X Server Settings), and if you matched the right driver with your card, you’ll get the additional resolutions you were missing without it.
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02 Install Screensaver
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This will fix and and test the screensaver, which is needed to lock the screen (#04 below).
In LXTerminal:
sudo apt-get install xscreensaver
To test:
xscreensaver –demo
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03 Turn off IBus Daemon
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IBus Daemon autostarts and sits in the system tray. Problem: Can mess with Chrome and prevent you from typing into fields.
Turn it off with:
Preferences > Language Support > Keyboard input method system: none |
04 Power Management
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Computer and monitor sleep settings are handled by different dialogs.
What I did:
Turn on Power Management
Preferences > Power Manager > AutoStart
(make sure "Power Manager" and "Screen Locker' are checked)
Computer
Preferences > Power Manager
Monitor
Preferences > Screensaver
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05 Run Windows Apps
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Install Wine. Installs and runs many (not all) Windows apps with no trouble.
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06 Video
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I’m still experimenting with this one. My DVD player understands DivX and WMV9, and I can play movies off a thumb drive.
DivX Converter 2 is an older debian package that doesn’t exist in Lubuntu 14’s software center, but it's easy to install from the console:
I'm not having much luck with it, however, and am trying a few Windows apps under Wine.
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07 I added these apps…
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(All available in Lubuntu Software Center)
Kate (text editor)
Gimp (image editing)
Chromium (browser)
Opera (browser)
OpenOffice (MS Office-compatible alternative; Lubuntu 14 ships with Libreoffice; both are great.)
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08 Nook and Sansa Clip+
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I made sure I could plug in my Nook and Sansa Clip+ mp3 player and see and navigate them as removable media.
The Nook works great, better than in Windows. Mounts and unmounts fast and easy. (However, there is no Nook for PC for Linux, and Nook for PC won't run under Wine, at least I couldn't get it to.)
The Sansa Clip+ was a bit of a learning experience. You must reformat (via the Sansa unit), and change USB mode to MSC (not MPT).
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09 Finally, Network Linux to Windows
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The steps here worked perfectly for me and only took a couple minutes (even though I was connecting from Lubuntu 14.04 to Vista): 10.04 to windows 7 through ethernet cable >
Just read d1zzy's two replies and do what he says.
If all you want to do is browse your Windows machine from Linux, all you'll need is a piece of ethernet cable.
(Networking in the days of DOS and Windows 3.1 sometimes took hours or days and required hubs, crossover cables, and some real sleuthing. I'm still amazed.)
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Notes
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Apps that work great and come with Lubuntu:
* EasyTAG (an mp3 tag editor; works just as good as Mp3tag on Windows).
Helpful Links
Helpful Knowledge
* How to install a .deb package from terminal:
sudo dpkg -i package.deb
Still to Do
* Video tuner front end and engine (I'm looking at MythTV).
iOS?
* iOS and Linux don't play well together. You won't be able to plug in your iPhone and navigate it like removable media, for example. Given my opinion of iOS, that is no loss, but if that's a consideration for you, then it's important.
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