Linux Mint Beginners Desktop Tutorial

Here's a blog entry of what I did when I first setup my Linux Mint desktop machine with a Cinnamon UI that I would spend the rest of my internet career with.


::>>BUGS<<::

Well... there are a lot of computer manufacturers in the world.  Groups like dell, lenovo, acer-msi-asus, alienware, ibuypower, etc...  And what operating systems do you think these people test their hardware against?  Yep, windows.  So each time an disreputable company like, say, Gateway, comes out with a new laptop, they're releasing a solid piece of hardware if you're using windows XP on it for instance.  However, they're releasing a dumpy alpha release from the stand point of serious linux users.

::Brightness Control doesn't work in linux mint::
To be fair to gateway, everything else works other than the screen brightness control (the most important control).  I believe the problem has more to do with the issues that intel has with integrated graphics cards than it does to do with Gateway...

-Problem
Anyway, the problem was that the brightness softkeys change a file in the /proc virtual directory... but to get the actual brightness levels changed, you need to change a special intel file in the /proc directory instead.  I lack the savvy to make the softkeys work as intended, but...


-Solution
The solution for me was to manually set the brightness to my desired value on the terminal (as root!).

(set the screen brightness to 19, or 19%)
[code]
$  su
<Input Pass>
$  setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=19
[/code]




::>>HOTKEYS<<::
Go to Software Manager and install xbindkeys.  Then install xbindkeys-config.  launch xbindkeys-config from a terminal window and you should be good to go for configuring the following hotkeys.

You'll also need to install 'xautomation' to "send keystorkes" which is helpful for, say, turning your capslock button into an escape key if you aren't using your capslock key very much.

recap/ Code behind:
[code]
$  apt-get install xbindkeys xbindkeys-config xautomation

$  xbindkeys-config
[/code]


::Hotkeys you should install OR have by default.

Desktop
	Ctrl+Win+d          Show desktop (default)
	Ctrl+Alt+t          Spawn Terminal (default)
	Ctrl+Alt+backspace  Kill the windows manager if it freezes (default)

	Ctrl+Alt+e        Spawn file explorer


Web Browsers and Editors
	mouse button 6 (scroll left)    =>     Control+Shift+Tab    (move tab left in )
	mouse button 7 (scroll right)    =>     Control+Tab    (move tab right)

recap/ Code behind:
(~/.xkeybindsrc)
[code]
###########################
# xbindkeys configuration #
#keystate_numlock = enable
#keystate_scrolllock = enable
#keystate_capslock = enable
###########################

#Show/Hide desktop
"if xprop -root  _NET_SHOWING_DESKTOP|egrep '= 1' ; then  wmctrl -k off ; else wmctrl -k on ; fi"
    Control+Alt + d

#FireFox
"firefox"
    m:0x15 + c:25
    Control+Shift + w

#Nautilus
"nautilus"
    m:0x1c + c:26
    Control+Alt + e

#Tab Left
"xte 'keydown Control_L' 'keydown Shift_L' 'key Tab' 'keyup Shift_L' 'keyup Control_L'"
   b:6

#Tab Right
"xte 'keydown Control_L' 'key Tab' 'keyup Control_L'"
   b:7

#
# End of xbindkeys configuration
[/code]


ref:  http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-software-2/how-to-show-desktop-in-xfce4-601161/

ref:  http://askubuntu.com/questions/85850/how-to-remap-a-key-combination-to-a-single-key



::Remap the windows key::

I'm starting to get used to ctrl+alt+d rather than Super+d, so I'm personally not using this trick...

But a trick, if you want to use xbindkeys to bind, say, windows key + e, then do..

#FireFox
"firefox"
    m:0x50 + c:26
    Mod2+Mod4 + e

...then you can make linux register the key combo by first opening the start menu, and then pressing the key combo...  You could also change the way the windows key works by editing the Keyboard Layout -> Layouts -> Options  to make the windows key be a hyperkey.


disable windows key from messing up
ref:  http://superuser.com/questions/433724/how-do-i-disable-the-keyboard-shortcut-for-menu-in-linux-mint-13



::Create Keybindings with built in GUI for Linux Mint::

You could also just use the built in feature, but I don't like it because it's unclear where it's dotfiles are stored which complicates migrations.  Hit windows key, and type 'keyboard'.  Then press enter.  You should now be in the Keyboard setting panel.  Click the shortcuts tab.  This panel allows you to create custom shortcuts.  It may also be useful to disable default hotkeys in here, if you'd like to do everything in xbindkeys, but that too makes LinuxMint to LinuxMint migrations more complicated.





::>>Browsers<<::

-Ctrl+l
Just a little tip for using web browsers, when you want to highlight the search bar, DON'T use the mouse.  Linux is keyboard oriented, so they make highlighting with the mouse more difficult I think.  Instead type ctrl+l and that will highlight the address bar.  This is more efficient because the next thing you will likely do is ctrl+c to copy, or just typing in a search query/url and so your hands will already be at the keyboard.

-Ctrl+Shift+y
Open downloads window.


::Setup FireFox

:Searching
First thing's first, setup FireFox so you can browse.  Firefox is installed by default, so Linux Mint get a +1 here.  However, Google, the largest search engine on the web isn't sharing ANY of it's revenue with Linux Mint which I find quite contemptable.  But because I'm a programmer and a serious web searcher, I have no choice to add google to the search engine bar an bind them to the key 'g'...  Perhaps other search engines will become better at searching API documentation and I will be able to switch to them.  Or perhaps google will share it's wealth with what seems to be the greatest OS in the world.  I suggest using one of the partner search engines to look for how to add the google search engine to FireFox in mint...  as a practice, to see if it works well.

Don't foget to change the default search engin by going to 'about:config' (hint: keyword.url)

:Mouse Gestures
You need mouse gestures immediately!  Go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/all-in-one-gestures/

I change...
open new tab:  D
Copy tab:  DU
Close tab:  DR

:Tab Mix Plus
You need to get tab mix plus in order to have the tabs open up in a convienient fashion.


::Setup Chrome

Everyone knows you need more than one web browser to get a good experience on the web.  That means you're going to go to google and download their web browser.  Chrome is the browser you'll use for just quickly getting to a site you want.  You want have your tabs save when you close chrome, that's what Firefox is for.  You'll be downloading a .deb file.  Simply double click this .deb file and it will walk you through the packages installation.

Once the installation is complete, you can get to chrome by hitting the windows key (I know, ironic, isn't it) and typing in 'chrome'.





::>>System Stuff<<::

::NaUtilus::
Nautilus is like windows explorer.

Related Shortcuts
	Ctrl + L    Show address bar
	Ctrl + H    Show/hide hidden files





::XBMC::

The standard 'Totem' mediaplayer is a fully functional media player that windows would be blessed with if they installed on their systems by default.  But it doesn't look completely rad.  On the other hand, XBMC does, so let's install that.

[code]
$  apt install xbmc
[/code]

To use XBMC, you need to log completely out and then when you loging, click the gear icon to login with the XBMC session.  This is like replacing your xbox dashboard but for linux, and you aren't replacing it for ever, just until you log back in normally.



::Ping a windows computer by name (netbios name)::

Install dependencies
[code]
$  apt-get install winbind
[/code]

(vi /etc/nsswitch.conf)
[code]
hosts:        ...bla blah... wins     # insert the word "wins"
[/code]

ref:  https://www.zulius.com/how-to/resolve-windows-netbios-names-from-linux/



::Connect to a windows file share::

Ctrl+Alt+e (if you made that hotkey from above).  Then Ctrl+l.  Then type:
smb://Windows_box_name/

Then just type in the password when prompted.  If you're unable to connect, that's probably because you need to do 'apt install winbind' and setup /etc/nsswitch.conf properly.  See the section on Ping a windows computer for my help.



::Startup files::

When your linux session first starts up, it finds ~/.xprofile an executes it's contents.  It's called x profile, because it's the profile for X, which is the linux GUI base code.  You may find this knowlege useful.  There's also scripts that get executed when you first login to a bash shell.  ~/.profile and ~/.bashrc and ~/.bash_login are some of these files.  Also note /etc/profile is a system wide version of these files.




::Putty Style Terminal for Linux Mint::

Usage
	Copy Text:          Simply highlight some text
	Paste Text:         Middle click

The terminal you get when you press Ctrl+alt + T is called "gnome-terminal".  It's annoying to have to copy and paste things by using the context menu, and since ctrl+c is bound to "Close Process" in terminals, you would hope that highlighting any text within the terminal would automatically put it into your copy buffer.  Well, it does that!  But it adds it to it's own special copy buffer, so when you try to right click and paste, it won't paste what you expect.  Instead you have to use middle click to paste.

ref:  sudo apt-get install parcellite





::A Windows 7/ OSX Style Dock Panel (Docky)

Ok, before I start, let me just say, these panels are truly more efficient if you use your computer on the job (programming, IT, bla, blah).  If you work a computer related profession, you likely use suites of applications, and the Dock panel system facilitates this style.  Before windows 7, I was an avid "quick list" user, which in windows allows you to arrange shortcut icons right on the task bar.  I found it hard to switch to the dock panel, but at this point, I agree that it is far more efficient.

Go to Software Manager and search for "Docky".  Then just install it.  Use the window key to search for docky to load it up manually.  It should be setup to automatically load up when the user logs in from now on.  Set docky to 'Panel Mode' in the settings to make it most similar to Windows 7.

I had trouble getting the highlighted overlay to indicate which app was currently in focus.  The fix for me was to download ambience-dark theme and use that.  http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Ambiance+Docky+Themes+%28Light+%26+Dark%29?content=125005

You might want to go into your Cinnamon Settings and move the old task bar to the top and set it to auto hide.  You unfortunately don't want to remove it completely because the time is on there, so is the network display and all that luggage.

[code]
$  apt-get install docky
[/code]



::>>ScreenCasting<<::

kazam and istanbul and a couple of others does exists too kentos.

::>>IDEs<<::

::Aptana::
The best way to install aptana for Linux Mint is by browsing to apanata's website and downloading the linux version.  Then unzip the contents of the download to a folder that's out of the way, but not too far out of the way... (I use ~/bin to store these kinds of files).

When you're done extracting the file, you need to run Aptana one time as administrator.  After that it will just work.

(what I just said above, but in shell commands)
[code]
$  mkdir ~/bin; cd ~/bin
$  wget http://download.aptana.com/studio3/standalone/3.2.2/linux/Aptana_Studio_3_Setup_Linux_x86_64_3.2.2.zip

$  unzip Aptana_Studio_3_Setup_Linux_x86_64_3.2.2.zip
$  rm Aptana_Studio_3_Setup_Linux_x86_64_3.2.2.zip  # we don't need the zip anymore
[/code]



::Light weight Editor::

I was having trouble finding a good notepad style text editor.  My problem was that, in the windows and mac world, you through out the built in editor because it's buggy rubbish.  But that isn't how the Linux world works.  After closer consideration, I've reached an understanding that gEdit is quite good, although I also do a lot of vim work since I'm mostly on the terminal anyway.  I didn't like gedit at first because after I search for some text, I have a habit of hitting escape to clear the search box from the screen... but pressing esc after searching text in gedit is a way of undoing the search --slamming your view back to where you came from.  This was very jarring for me, especially when I didn't even know where the view was switching to.  Below is a crash course on gEdit, listing off all the feature settings and usages that I find useful.

::gEdit
Ctrl+f       search
    tab      end search
    esc      undo search
    Ctrl+g   Find next


configuration
Edit -> preferences -> View (tab)
    Display line numbers (don't worry, we'll change it so it's not ugly)
	Highlight matching brackets

Edit -> preferences -> Editor (tab)
	Insert spaces instead of tabs
	Enable automatic indentation

Edit -> preferences -> Font & Colors (tab)
	Color Scheme:  Cobalt or Oblivion

Edit -> preferences -> Plugins (tab)
    Change Case

Tools -> Highlight Misspelled Words


Those are all the cool features.  Of course there's plugins you can download too if you'd like more features!  I plan to look into it more when I have some freetime.  I'd love to have a button in this editor that just runs the script and displays it's outputs in a small console window.

ref:  http://rbjl.net/58-rubybuntu-6-gedit-3-wtf-set-it-up-for-ruby-web-development


::>>Programming Environment<<::

::Git::
You need to install this, no matter what language you're developing in.

[code]
$  apt-get install git-core
[/code]


::Ruby::
To install ruby, we'll use rvm because that's the standard rubiest way.

[code]
$  apt-get install build-essential bison openssl libreadline6 libreadline6-dev curl git-core zlib1g zlib1g-dev libssl-dev libyaml-dev libsqlite3-0 libsqlite3-dev sqlite3 libxml2-dev libxslt-dev autoconf
$  bash -s stable < <(curl -s https://raw.github.com/wayneeseguin/rvm/master/binscripts/rvm-installer)
[/code]

After that, you should be able to close your terminal, and then reopen it, with access to rvm
[code]
$  rvm -v
rvm 1.15.8 (stable) by Wayne E. Seguin <wayneeseguin@gmail.com>, Michal Papis <mpapis@gmail.com> [https://rvm.io/]
[/code]

Now you need to install some versions of ruby.  Atm, ruby 1.9.3 exists, so I'll just go ahead and install that.
[code]
$  rvm install 1.9.3      # this will take a while...
[/code]

Before rvm will work in gnome-terminal, you'll need to apply this fix...

https://rvm.io/integration/gnome-terminal/

After you've done that, you should be able to use ruby...
[code]
#  make this version of ruby active by default
$  rvm --default 1.9.3

#  Manually change to version 1.9.3
$  rvm use 1.9.3

#  verify which version of ruby you're using
$  ruby -v
ruby 1.9.3p194 (2012-04-20 revision 35410) [x86_64-linux]
[/code]

You may also need to put the below line into your bashrc and possible source it in your .bash_login file.  I did this when I seemed to have encountered a bug.
(~/.bashrc)
[code]
[[ -s "$HOME/.rvm/scripts/rvm" ]] && . "$HOME/.rvm/scripts/rvm"
[/code]

Fun!  Want to do a hello world?

(~/dev/ruby/hello/main.rb)
[code]
puts "Hello world of Ruby!"
[/code]

Then ruby it, you should see:
[code]
$  ruby ~/dev/ruby/hello/main.rb
Hello world of Ruby!
[/code]



::Mono::
Bla

::Java::
Bla




::>>Social<<::

::Voice over IP::
You need to install Jitsi if you'd like to have conversations with people where you don't want intercepts to take place (electronic eves droppers).

Browse to https://download.jitsi.org/jitsi/debian/ and download the latest stable release. Once it's downloaded, double click the .deb package to install it.

Now...