The Ultimate Ubuntu Tips & Tweaks Thread

[DAE_JA_VOO]

How's it guys.

Having used Ubuntu for about 7 months now, i have learned so many things that i wish i could have known when i first started using this wonderful operating system. The motivation behind this thread is exactly that... it will help n00bies and Ubuntu gurus alike.

We can use this thread to post and nice tweaks or mods we find for Ubuntu. I have quite a few, and i find new ones all the time, so i should have new posts from time to time.

Anyway, let's get to it:

Batch Image Resizing, the easy way

1) Download the script:

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wget http://ossiriand.net/rhosgobel/scripts/Resize_images

2) Make it executable:

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chmod u+x Resize_images

3) Copy it to your Nautilus scripts folder:

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cp Resize_images ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts/

4) Make sure you have imagemagick and zenity installed:

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sudo apt-get install imagemagick zenity

That's it. Now this is how it's used:

First off, highlight all the images you want resized, right click on them, and go to scripts -> Resize_Images:





Select the size you want. You can also edit the script itself to allow for more custom sizes. I have added 1280x1024, and mine also resize to 90% of the original image quality, as opposed to the default 80% (i think it's 80, can't remember):





Once you've chosen your size, the script will resize copies of the images and throw them into a new folder, like this:





This is a GREAT little script that i use all the time. There are loads of other scripts that you can use as well.



CPU Temp on your task bar

Looky:





I actually only found this little app now. Very very easy to set up

1) Install lm-sensors:

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sudo apt-get install lm-sensors

2) Install sensors-applet

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sudo apt-get install sensors-applet

* You could probably do these two steps at the same time by doing:

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sudo apt-get install lm-sensors sensors-applet

3) Right click on your task bar and click Add To Panel. Choose Hardware Sensors Monitor and then just configure it as you please



I've got a few more tweaks that i can add, but i'm not gonna type out all of this only to have one or two replies. Is there anyone interested in more?

[DarkRanger]

Dude, keep on going. this is looking like fun already!!

cant wait to get ubuntu working!!

I'm going to keep on reading this thread.

[Ron2K]

Keep them coming.

[ryanrich]

Nice thread DAE!

I'll be sure to add some soon.

Keep em coming!

[WiK1d]

Awesome! *Looks at copy of Ubuntu, rubs chin*

[SoulBlade]

OK, I'm going to try out Ubunto in this month. Stupid off-topic question...

Why all the scripts and whatnot? Why not have a nice app to do whatever scripts can do AND have the option of scripts for power users???

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Great stuff. Glad you guys like the idea I'll be sure to post some more ASAP. I might take a while though because i start with CCNA tomorrow, so i'm gonna have very little free time.

Why all the scripts and whatnot? Why not have a nice app to do whatever scripts can do AND have the option of scripts for power users???

Well, there are apps, i'm sure, but scripts are just so much faster and have, like, a 4KB footprint

[WAJeff]

Nice thread Ett!!

Lemme have a think about what tricks I can pull from my install In the mean time, I think this thread should go sticky

[WAJeff]

Just though of one, I wrote a tutorial on how to run your current XP partition on Linux

LINK
Seems pretty usefull to me

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Hey guys. Time for some thread revival of note

I've got one or two things to share quick. First off, since Ubuntu 9.04's just been released, here's the guide I wrote for installing 7.10. 9.04's installation is pretty much identical, so you can just follow that

Secondly, and this is something that every Ubuntu user should do - install the msttcorefonts package. This will install all the Microsoft fonts that many websites (including this one) use. I actually only did this tonight, and I can see a difference almost everywhere I go. For example... before:




After:





So yeah, do it Here's how. Open up the terminal and type

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sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts

Alternatively, you could just search for that package in Synaptic


Third: Ubuntu Tweak! I found this little app a while ago, and it's great! Got one or two really nice little tweaks



You can download it HERE.



Last, but not least - Conky. Guys, Conky is rocking my face off lately... oh man it's amazing. It's a system monitoring application for your desktop, and allows this sort of thing:



I'm going to throw a full guide together and post that up for you guys. In the meantime...

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sudo apt-get install Conky

Cheers
Ettienne

[ryanrich]

Nice DAE! I just added the Windows fonts after reading this, big difference!

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Yeah man, the fonts are pretty much mandatory if you ask me. Glad I could help

[M1ke]

Thanks for the extra tips - it should give the beginners some joy.

And for the record, your Conky configuration is legendary.

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Thanks dude

[ryanrich]

Here is a list of lots of tips that especially a beginner to Linux would find very useful...

Ubuntu Tips & Tweaks :: the How-To Geek