I'm not going to rave about 8.04, the latest Ubuntu release. There are already plenty of reviews around (here and here and here) even though the final version only hit the servers last Thursday. Rather, I'm going to go through my post-install routine and show you how I tweak things to set them the way I prefer.

I should note here that I installed 8.04 (aka "Hardy Heron") on my Dell Latitude D531 laptop. Laptops can be tricky under Linux on account of the odd drivers and tricksy hardware they tend to use. While Dell do release a range of Ubuntu-powered laptops -- at least in the States -- the D531 ain't one of them. But, amazingly, installation correctly detected almost everything "out of the box".



Graphics Driver
On booting, my graphics didn't look quite right. But an icon on the panel showed the availability of restricted (ie: proprietary) drivers for my system.



Clicking it revealed an ATI Accelerated Graphics Driver could be added. I clicked to install it and, after a three minute download followed by a reboot, graphics were perfect.



Sexier Graphics
The graphics looked great, it was time to spice them up further. Choosing System / Preferences / Appearances and clicking the Visual Effects tab showed that using the ATI driver had also enabled a Normal level of graphics effects. But I wanted more, so I clicked Extra Effects. Wee, now I've got wobbly windows!



More Desktops
I like four virtual desktops (they're called "workspaces" in Ubuntu); the system defaults to two. That's an easy fix. Right-click in one of the workspaces



and choose Preferences.



Now you can pick as many as you like, and how you'd like them arranged.



Adding Favourites to the Panel
I like quick access to a number of applications, so I added their icons to the panel that runs along the top of the screen.



Naturally, you can add whatever you like.

• Right-click on the panel and choose Add.
  
• Select Application Launcher (to copy a launcher from the appications menu).
  
• Then simply pick the program.

To move the icon where you want it, right-click and choose Move. Note that the default icons are locked in place. Right-click 'em and untick Lock to Panel to move them too.



Autologin
On my day-to-day desktop I use automatic login. It's not such a good idea on a laptop on account of them being a lot easier to lose, but it's simple enough to do:

• Click System / Administration / Login Window and choose the Security tab.
  
• Click Enable Automatic Login and select the appropriate User.

Changing Desktop Icon Size
I find Gnome's desktop icons a little big for my taste. You can resize them individually by right-clicking on them and choosing Stretch Icon, but I prefer a global fix.

• Start the Nautilus file manager by clicking Places / Home Folder.
• Choose Edit / Preferences and select the Views tab.
• Change the Default Zoom Level under Icon View Defaults. 75% works for me.

Note: Changing the Global setting under Nautilus won't alter individual changes made with Stretch Icon.



Desktop Fonts
I also prefer a slightly smaller font to match my smaller desktop icons. Under System / Preferences / Appearance / Fonts I reset the destop font to 8pt.



Change the Default Boot Program
Many of my unenlightened clients still use Windows, so I prefer the laptop to default there on the boot menu. Installing Ubunut naturally makes it the default, so to change it...

• Hit Alt+F2 to start Run Application and enter gksu gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst to open file /boot/grub/menu.lst in the gedit program.
  
• Lines beginning with a # are simply comments. The first uncommented line reads
  default        0 
  which is the number of the operating system to boot. (Numbering starts from 0.)
  
• Scroll down the file (there are plenty of comments) till you find the line
  ## ## End Default Options ##
  Under this is an uncommented line that reads
  title        Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic
  That's 0, the system you're currently booting into.
  
• Now scroll down, counting each uncommented title line till you reach the default system you want to boot. Remember this number!
  
  In my case, here are the title lines I counted:
  (0) title        Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic
  (1) title        Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic (recovery mode)
  (2) title        Ubuntu 8.04, memtest86+
  (3) title        Other operating systems:
  (4) title        Dell Utility Partition
  (5) title        Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  
• Scroll back to the top of the file and set default to this. (In my case I made it 5.)
  
• Save the file and close gedit. When you reboot, you'll default to the selected operating system.
  

I'll have some more advanced tweaks next time -- including how I solved the mystery of the missing wireless driver -- but right now you'll probably want to start downloading Hardy. Click here.



<--Previous Hidden Linux        Next Hidden Linux -->