15 Things to Do After Installing Ubuntu 15.04 Desktop Part 2

8. Install Media Burners

To mount ISO images or burn a CDs or a DVD, you can choose and install from the following software:

1. Brasero Disk Burner
2. K3b
3. Xfburn
4. Furius ISO Mount

$ sudo apt-get install brasero
$ sudo apt-get install k3b
$ sudo apt-get install xfburn
$ sudo apt-get install furiusisomount

Install Media Burners

9. Install Archive Applications

To handle most of archive formatted files (zip, tar.gz, zip, 7zip rar etc) install the following packages by issuing the below command:

$ sudo apt-get install unace unrar zip unzip p7zip-full p7zip-rar sharutils rar uudeview mpack arj cabextract file-roller

Install Archive Applications

10. Install Chat Application

If you want to talk to people all over the world, here is a list of the most popular chat applications for Linux:

1. Pidgin
2. Skype
3. Xchat
4. Telegram
5. aMSN
6. Viber

You can install most of them from Ubuntu Software Center or by using the command line:

$ sudo apt-get install pidgin
$ sudo apt-get install skype
$ sudo apt-get install xchat
$ sudo apt-get install amsn
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/telegram -y
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install telegram

Install Chat Applications

To install Viber application on Ubuntu visit Viber official webpage, download the Debian package locally and install the viber.deb application using Gdebi package manager (left click – > Open with -> GDebi Package Installer).

Install Viber

11. Install Torrent Software

The most popular torrent applications and peer-to-peer file sharing programs for Ubuntu are:

1. Deluge
2. Transmission
3. Qbittorrent
4. LinuxDC++

To install your favorite peer-to-peer file sharing application on Ubuntu issue the following command on Terminal.

$ sudo apt-get install deluge
$ sudo apt-get install transmission
$ sudo apt-get install qbittorrent
$ sudo apt-get install linuxdcpp

Install Torrent

12. Install Windows Emulator -Wine and Gaming Support – Steam

Wine emulator allows you to install and run Windows applications on Linux. On the other hand, Steam is a popular gaming platform for Linux based systems developed by Valve. To install both of them on your machine issue the following command on Terminal or use Ubuntu Software Center.

$ sudo apt-get install steam wine winetricks

Install Wine

13. Install Cairo-Dock and Enable Desktop Visual Effects

Cairo-Dock is a beautiful and flexible launcher bar for Linux desktops similar to the Mac OS X dock. To install it on Ubuntu, run the following command on Terminal.

$ sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins 

Install Cairo Dock

Add Cairo Dock at Startup

To enable a set of Desktop Effects, such as Cube effect, install Compiz package with the following command:

$ sudo apt-get install compiz compizconfig-settings-manager compiz-plugins-extra

To activate the Desktop Cube effect, search for ccsm on Dash, open CompizConfig Settings Manager, go to General Options – > Desktop Size and set Horizontal Virtual Size value to 4 and Vertical Virtual Size to 1. Then go back and check Desktop Cube (Disable Desktop Wall) and Rotate Cube boxes (Resolve Conflicts ->Disable Switch to Viewport 1) and press Ctrl+Alt+Left Mouse Click to view the cube effect.

Enable Compiz

Compiz Settings

Compiz Settings Addons

Desktop Window Rotating

14. Add Extra Browser Support

Ubuntu 15.04 comes by default with Mozilla Firefox Web Browser. To install other browsers such as Google Chrome or Opera, visit their official web pages, download the provided .deb packages and install them on your system using the Gdebi Package Installer.

Enable Browser Support

Opera Browser Support

To install Chromium Open Source browser issue the following command on Terminal.

$ sudo apt-get install chromium-browser

15. Install Tweak Tools

Want extra applications for customizing Ubuntu? Then install Unity Tweak Tool and Gnome Tweak Tool by issuing the following commands on Terminal.

$ sudo apt-get install unity-tweak-tool gnome-tweak-tool

Install Tweak Tool

Tweak Tool Settings

Another interesting tweak tool is represented by the Ubuntu Tweak package which can be obtained and installed by visiting the webpage: http://ubuntu-tweak.com/.

Tweak Tool: System Information

After you have installed all this bunch of software, you might want to clean your system in order to free some space on the hard drive, by issuing the following commands:

$ sudo apt-get -y autoremove 
$ sudo apt-get -y autoclean 
$ sudo apt-get -y clean

This are just a few tweaks and programs that an average user might install and use on Ubuntu 15.04 Desktop for daily basic utilization. For more advanced programs, features and utilities use Ubuntu Software Center or consult Ubuntu Wiki webpage.

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