Ubuntu – The first name that pops up in your mind when you are planning to turn down Windows and move to open-source operating systems. It is good to know that the people are moving to Ubuntu to feel the freshness and improved user experiences.
But, when people move to Ubuntu from Windows, they struggle to get things done because of lack of knowledge. This unpleasant experience led people not to go for open source operating systems like Ubuntu and stick with what they have.
To change the unpleasant experience to awesome experience, here, we are covering, 20 things to do after fresh installation of Ubuntu 18.04 to get the most out of it for daily use.
We have already covered the topics of Ubuntu 18.04 installation.
READ: How to Install Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) on UEFI and Legacy BIOS System
Also, an upgrade to Ubuntu 18.04.
READ: How to Upgrade To Ubuntu 18.04 From Ubuntu 16.04 / Ubuntu 17.10 [Detailed Guide]
If you are about to install Ubuntu 18.04 Alongside With Windows 10, then.
READ: How to Install Ubuntu 18.04 Alongside With Windows 10 or 8 in Dual Boot
20 Things to Do After Fresh Installation of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Set up your Ubuntu system now with following things to increase the efficiency and productivity as you get in Windows.
During the series of tasks, you will sometime work on the terminal or graphical interface mode or both.
To open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) or Go to Activities >> Search for Terminal.
sudo su -
OR
su -
1. Update
First thing first, keep your system updated to the latest packages. You may still have few packages pending for an update even though you did a fresh installation.
Command Line:
apt -y upgrade
Graphical: (Activities >> Software Updater)
You can see that my Ubuntu 18.04 machine is waiting for updates.
2. Set Hostname
You can change/set the hostname for your system any time in case if you forgot to set at the time of installation.
Setting the hostname is recommended in Ubuntu, but not mandatory.
hostnamectl set-hostname mydesktop
OR
hostnamectl set-hostname mydesktop.mydomain.com
3. Set IP Address
By default, the Ubuntu system is set to get an IP Address from DHCP server, or a DHCP enabled WiFi router. In some special cases, you may wish to set static IP Address on your system to bring it into your home network or corporate network.
Follow the below link to set static IP address.
READ: How To Configure Static IP Address in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS using Interfaces file
OR
READ: How To Configure Static IP Address in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS using Netplan
4. Install and Enable SSH service
SSH lets you access (shell terminal) your Ubuntu desktop from other Linux machine or Windows desktop. Install OpenSSH package on Ubuntu machine.
apt install openssh-server
OpenSSH service is useful for taking putty terminal from Windows machine.
5. Integrate Google Drive
Ubuntu comes with the Gnome built-in Online Accounts feature that let us easily configure Google Drive with Ubuntu 18.04.
READ: How To Integrate Google Drive on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
6. Install Spotify
Spotify is one of the popular choices when it comes to listening to music, and podcasts. Its basic features are free with advertisements, while additional features, such as streaming quality, and music downloads, are offered via paid subscription.
snap install spotify
OR
READ: How To Install Spotify on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Spotify running on Ubuntu 18.04:
7. Install VLC Media Player
No video player can match the VLC media player. VLC is the best video player for watching videos, streaming videos, and audios. The VLC player is available on Ubuntu repository and same can be installed as snap or using apt command
sudo snap install vlc
OR
READ: How to Install VLC Media Player on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
VLC Media Player running on Ubuntu 18.04:
8. Install Google Chrome
Ubuntu comes with Firefox as the default web browser for your internet usage. But sometimes, you may want to have Chome for fast and better internet browsing.
Use the below link to install Google Chrome on your Fedora system.
READ: How To Install Google Chrome on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Google Chrome running on Ubuntu 18.04:
9. Install Wunderlistux
Are you missing Wunderlist in Linux? A great Todo list application. Here is the solution to have Wunderlist on Ubuntu. Wunderlistux is a wrapper around Wunderlist web app, and tasks you added here will be sync across all of your devices.
wget https://github.com/edipox/wunderlistux/releases/download/Linux-0.0.8/Wunderlistux_0.0.8_amd64.deb sudo apt install ./Wunderlistux_0.0.8_amd64.deb
Wunderlistux running on Ubuntu 18.04:
10. Install Dropbox
Dropbox is the widely used storage providers for storing your files in the cloud and access them anywhere.
Setting up a DropBox client on your Ubuntu system will help you sync the local documents to Dropbox and vice-versa.
DropBox offers an official client for Ubuntu system, and you can use below link to setup it up.
READ: How To Install Dropbox on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
11. Install TeamViewer
Want to help someone remotely or share your presentation with your manager the TeamViewer is the best and free of cost solution.
With TeamViewer, you can access your Ubuntu system from anywhere in the world. Also, you can access your system using a web browser.
TeamViewer offers an installable package for Fedora system. Use below links to get TeamViewer installed on your Fedora machine.
READ: How to Install TeamViewer on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Teamviewer running on Ubuntu 18.04:
12. Install Skype
Get connected via video calls with your long distance relatives and friends with Microsoft Skype. Microsoft offers an official package for Ubuntu, and it is available only for 64 Bit version of Fedora system.
Just follow the below link to install Skype.
READ: How To Install Skype on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Skype running on Ubuntu 18.04:
13. Install Antivirus
As you already know, Linux is virus free but not files you receive or send. Having antivirus solution on Fedora system can keep you safe from malicious threads.
Install ClamAV along with GUI. Also, update the ClamAV database.
sudo apt install clamtk clamav freshclam
You can scan for threads using ClamTK (Activities >> ClamTK)
You can either choose to quarantine or delete the infected file.
14. Install Image Editor
GIMP is an open source image editor and will be an alternative to Microsoft paint for you in Ubuntu.
apt install gimp
15. Install System Optimizer
Stacer is a system cleaner and monitoring software for Linux systems. With stacer, you can clean up the system caches, logs, Trash, startup applications, etc.
You can also monitor the system performance and historical resource usage. Stacer also includes built-in package uninstaller to remove applications.
Use below commands to install Stacer on Ubuntu system.
add-apt-repository ppa:oguzhaninan/stacer apt install stacer
16. Install Torrent Client
qBittorrent is a torrent client that helps you download files using BitTorrent protocol. qBittorrent is available on Ubuntu repository, so, you can use the apt command to install it.
apt install qbittorrent
OR
You can also install uTorrent on Ubuntu 18.04.
READ: How To Install μTorrent (uTorrent) on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
17. Install YouTube Downloader
YouTube-DL (command line tool) / Gydl (GUI Downloader) for downloading videos from www.youtube.com and other video platforms. It is written in Python and can download videos from 15+ websites.
Installation of youtube-dl is relatively straightforward.
GUI based downloader:
snap install gydl
Commandline based downloader:
apt install youtube-dl
To download YouTube videos, you can use commands.
youtube-dl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coOKvrsmQiI
GUI:
Note: Downloading videos from YouTube is against YouTube policies. Play fairly.
18. Install Snipping Tool
With shutter, you can capture a snip or screenshot of any object on your screen, and then annotate, save, or share the image.
apt -y install shutter
19. Setup StickyNotes
You can write instant notes with the help of Knotes. Install the Knotes using the below command
apt install knotes
20. Install Unity Desktop Environment
You can also install old type Unity desktop in Ubuntu 18.04.
apt install ubuntu-unity-desktop
Choose gdm as your display manager while installing Unity desktop in Ubuntu 18.04.
Select Unity from Ubuntu login screen.
That’s All. Thanks for your time.