Valuable tips to making your Ubuntu experience the best it can be!

Having already made a review on the newly released Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope, I would like to express a number of basic Ubuntu tips, which many of you may have heard of before but for the sake of the Ubuntu beginners, bear with me! These tips and tricks which I am going to explain will work practically on most Ubuntu distro’s, but not on all of them.

Right, let’s start. Also, before I commence, if you have any other tips and tricks that would be useful to newcomers, feel free to leave it in the comments below!

Alter the colour of your Ubuntu

In order to change the colour of your Ubuntu, use the following command:

sudo apt-get install gnome-color-chooser

In future you can then discover the colours, under System >> Preferences.

How to convert Ext2/Ext3 file system to Ext4 (in 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope)

- Make sure you have Ubuntu 9.04 installed so that you have an Ext3 file-system.

- Back-up all of your valued data.

- To convert the partition, reboot from the real CD, and run this code:

sudo bash
tune2fs -O extents,uninit_bg,dir_index /dev/sda1
e2fsck -pf /dev/sda1

In this case, the partiton you need to convert is /dev/sda1.

- Next, you must change Ext3 to Ext4 quite simply like below,

# /dev/sda1
UUID=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  /           ext3
relatime,errors=remount-ro 0          1

Change this code to:

# /dev/sda1
UUID=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  /           ext4
relatime,errors=remount-ro 0          1

No doubt you can tell that all that has changed is Ext3 and Ext4! You now MUST save the changes.

If you are upgrading from ext2 to ext4, when converting the partition use this code instead:

sudo bashtune2fs -O extents,uninit_bg,dir_index,has_journal /dev/sda1
e2fsck -pf /dev/sda1

That should be it for most people, all you need to restart your computer and voila, you are now running from an Ext 4 file system. However, if you come across the dreaded error 13 when restarting, it might be because it did not like one of the updates. This might help though,

sudo bashmount /dev/sda1 /mnt
grub-install /dev/sda --root-directory=/mnt --recheck

You have now successfully completed the conversion!

Finding valuable system information

To find useful system information:

Applications>> System Tools >> System Monitor

Or

sudo apt-get install sysinfo

How to download YouTube videos, and then convert them from .flv to .avi

sudo apt-get install youtube-dl ffmpeg

- Then use this code to download the video,

youtube-dl -o example.flv "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQyZLehrIUw"

- To convert the video to .avi format

ffmpeg -i example.flv example.avi

Just to let you know, you should edit the name of the video and video link. Mine is just an example, however it is a good video on one of the Britain’s Got Talent shows exposing the new hit wonder, DJ Talent. =)

How to kill processes rapidly

Many users tend to use the conventional kill, ps|aux or killall commands like

sudo killall firefox

However, there is a much better command that is a lot quicker and responsive, PKILL. If PKill searches for “Firefox”, it will amazingly find any process related to Firefox and dispose of it straight away. In addition to PKILL, pstree is a similar command that puts all the processes in a tree-like order, systematized by whoever is the program owner.

Initiate OpenOffice even more briskly

OpenOffice matches Ubuntu perfectly, a cost-free program with great features. Though, it also has the tendency to open very slowly in comparison to other programs; this really does agitate users. To make OpenOffice open faster, all you need to do is go to Start-up manager, well that is what it is called in version 9.04, and in other distro’s it is normally named the Sessions program.

System >> Preferences >> Startup Applications in order to find the program.

Then, add a new entry and in the command field, put in

openoffice -nodefault -nologo

The only thing that required now is to restart your system. It is now cached, so when the Gnome desktop begins, OpenOffice will also start, as it is basically moving it to a start up program and therefore making it start up super-fast.

Again, feel free to share new, valuable tips in the comment box below, as well as feedback on the tips and tricks I have composed.

Ubuntu 9.04 includes the latest 2.6.28.8 kernel as well as many other features

Ubuntu sponsors, Canonical , announced the release of Ubuntu 9.04 destop version that can be downloaded for free now!

Ubuntu is an open source operating system with the intention of supplying an up-to-date, stable operating system for the normal computer user. In addition to stablility Ubuntu try to target ease of use and installation. Ubuntu can be used on almost anything including Desktops, Business PC’s, Notebooks and many others that are able to support x86 CPU or ARM CPUs, this has only been adapted in the 9.04 version.

One standard, but remarkable (because it outdoes Vista) feature of Ubuntu is the Compiz Fusion 3D desktop, which has enables some really cool effects. Of course, for this feature to function you need a 3D accelerated graphics card.

In terms of ease of use, Ubuntu outshines Vista without a doubt. But it is arguably limited when it comes to software. Most applications written for Windows have not been ported with Linux, and therefore you may not be able to get your favourite programs running on Ubuntu. However, I don’t think this is much of a problem, as there is a whole world of open source out there, which sometimes provide even better functionality.

An ideal alternative is VMware. They have created a server version of their software which is free. It essentially allows you to run multiple operating systems at the same time, by creating a virtual machine. So, you could have Vista and Ubuntu running at the same time, which can improve efficiency greatly, if you have to use both OS’.

Canonical Jane Silber who is chief operating officer quoted,

“With every release, we see Ubuntu Desktop Edition make significant steps forward in appealing to mainstream computer users. With access to the latest office productivity suite, support for Skype and Adobe Flash, and faster boot times, we’re confident that Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition will see more people join millions of others and make the switch to an open platform.”

Product Features- Ubuntu 9.04 includes the latest 2.6.28.8 kernel, and a multitude of features. Here is a taste:

• OpenOffice 3.0
• Latest Skype
• Latest Adobe Flash
• Faster boot times
• Gnome 2.26
• Brasero 2.26 (all-in-one CD burning application)
• More intuitive multi-monitor support
• X.Org server 1.6
• More uniform notifications and system messages
• Ext4 file system support
• A Netbook Remix version, which offers:
  • Even faster boot speeds
  • Enhanced power management
  • Easier network switching
• A Server Edition

Get the full technical overview here

Read Canonical’s press release on Ubuntu 9.04 here

You can download Ubuntu here.

Our Opinion

Pros

- Includes OpenOffice 3.0, which has been vastly improved

 - Can read/write to all Windows hard drive formats

- Easy to use and install

- Vastly improved boot times

- Evolution PIM and mail client now features even better Microsoft compatibility

- Variety of Versions

- Trouble free operations

- Ubuntu’s notorious ‘wiry fonts’ have been changed- now the font makes for more solid glyphs

- Significant server platform developments

Cons

- Not enough new features

- Lack of Game support

- Program on the System –> Preferences menu which was supposed to allow control over the notifications is not included in the final release for unknown reasons

Conclusion

To be honest, this is probably the least ground-breaking release of Ubuntu so far. There just aren’t enough new features. The netbook remix of Ubuntu 9.04, however, offers significant improvements over previous releases, and is worth a try if you use a netbook. Having said all this, Ubuntu is still miles ahead of any other desktop version of Linux, and this release does have some significant server platform developments. Personally, I think Ubuntu is on the same level as Windows and OS X. We’ll just have to wait and see where Ubuntu goes from now on.

Ubuntu 9.04 Screenshots

Better colour scheme, font and overall interface for the desktop

So much cleaner and more efficient than Vista...

Installation page finally allowed to go full screen!