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First steps with Ubuntu Gutsy

Date: 2007-10-27  |   Tags: linux, ubuntu
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%

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