First steps with Ubuntu Gutsy

This is my OLD blog. I've copied this post over to my NEW blog at:

http://www.saltycrane.com/blog/2007/10/first-steps-with-ubuntu-gutsy/

You should be redirected in 2 seconds.

I recently installed Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibson on my Dell E1405 laptop dual booting with Windows Vista. Here are my first steps at configuration. Note, I tried Kubuntu (KDE) for a while, but ended up going with the Gnome version because it seemed stabler, a little faster, is more popular (i.e. more support articles aimed at regular Ubuntu), and also the Compbiz Fusion / Beryl stuff looked cool. I'll probably add some KDE apps as I discover them in the future.

1. Get internet working with Verizon wireless EVDO express card (Novatel V640)
   http://www.savvyadmin.com/2007/06/03/ubuntu-dell-5700-evdo/
   This actually works with no problems. And it seems to be faster under Ubuntu than under Vista.


2. Select package manager repositories
   • From the Gnome desktop's System menu, Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager
   • Settings -> Repositories
   • in the Ubuntu Software tab, check:
     main, universe, and restricted
   • in the Updates tab, check:
     gutsy-security
     gutsy-updates
   • After closing the dialog, be sure to click the "Reload" button.


3. Run Update Manager
   System -> Administration -> Update Manager
   • press the Check button
   • press the Install Updates button


4. Configure Firefox
   • set home page to del.icio.us
   • remove bookmarks toolbar
   • save downloads to /home/sofeng/incoming
   • install del.icio.us Bookmarks Firefox Add-on
     https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3615
   • install IE Tab Firefox Add-on (oh, not available for linux)
   • install flash plugin (free version)
     sudo apt-get install mozilla-plugin-gnash
   • youtube doesn't work
   • remove free flash plugin
     sudo apt-get autoremove mozilla-plugin-gnash
   • install flash plugin (non-free version)
     sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree
     got an error message:
     

     sofeng@tortoise:~$ sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree 
     Reading package lists... Done
     Building dependency tree       
     Reading state information... Done
     Package flashplugin-nonfree is not available, but is referred to by another package.
     This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
     is only available from another source
     E: Package flashplugin-nonfree has no installation candidate

     It appears as if I didn't add the multiverse repository. But I did. It turns out I didn't press the "Reload" button after adding the new repositories. hmmph. went back and did that and everything worked good.
5. Install and configure emacs
   sofeng@tortoise:~$ sudo apt-get install emacs22
   copy in my .emacs file


6. Install and configure my shell and terminal
   • copy in my .bashrc
   • copy in my .Xdefaults
   • copy in my .screenrc
   • install urxvt:
     sofeng@tortoise:~$ sudo apt-get install rxvt-unicode
   • To my suprise, I actually like gnome-terminal better than urxvt. The gnome-terminal font was better than urxvt and I couldn't figure out how to use that one with urxvt. While I was evaluating gnome-terminal, I found out it actually has a real transparent background! This is sweet. Google "ubuntu transparent background" to find out more. I will still use screen inside of gnome-terminal in lieu of gnome-terminal's tabs. There's no replacement for screen yet.


7. Turn off PC speaker to get rid of annoying beeps
   sofeng@tortoise:~/$ sudo sh -c 'echo "blacklist pcspkr" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist'
   from http://ubuntu-tutorials.com/2007/07/26/turning-off-the-system-hardware-beep-linux-tutorial/


8. Do not dim display when on battery power
   From the Gnome System menu, Preferences -> Power Management
   On Battery Power tab:
   Dim display brightness by: 0%