HowtoForge

The Perfect Desktop - Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr)

Author: Srijan Kishore

This tutorial shows how you can set up an Ubuntu 14.04LTS (Trusty Tahr) desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge.

Ubuntu 14.04 will by default start the new Unity ver 7.2 desktop which requires that your hardware supports 3D acceleration,however you can also switch to Ubuntu 2D mode in the log on screen. If your hardware does not support 3D acceleration or you don't like Unity,you can still switch back to 2D version or download one of the countless alternatives.

I want to say first that this is not the only way of setting up such a system. There are many ways of achieving this goal but this is the way I take. I do not issue any guarantee that this will work for you!

 

1 Preliminary Note

To fully replace a Windows desktop, I want the Ubuntu desktop to have the following software installed:

Graphics:

Internet:

Sound & Video:

Programming:

Other:

Lots of our desired applications are available in the Ubunturepositories, and some of these applications have been contributed by the Ubuntu community.

As you might have noticed, a few applications are redundant, forexample there are two CD/DVD burning applications in my list (Brasero, K3B). If you know which one you like best, you obviously don't need toinstall the other applications, however if you like choice, then of course you can install both. The same goes for music players likeAmarok, Banshee, Rhythmbox, XMMS or browsers (Firefox, Opera, Chromium).

I will use the username howtoforge in this tutorial. Please replace it with your own username.

 

2 Installing The Base System

The installation of the base system is easy as 1-2-3 because the Ubuntu installer doesn't offer a lot of options to choose from, so you cannot go wrong.

Download the Ubuntu 14.04 desktop edition iso image from http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download, burn it onto a CD, and boot your computer from it:

Select your language and click on the Install Ubuntu button to start the installation:

On the next screen you see a few requirements for the Ubuntu 14.04 installation (the system should have at least  GB available drive space and should be connected to the Internet). Please check the Download updates while installing and Install this third-party software (this will install the software necessary to process Flash, MP3, and other mediafiles) checkboxes and click on Continue:

Now we come to the partitioning of our hard disk. Usually Erase disk and install Ubuntu is a good choice, unless you need custom partitions and know what you're doing. Erase disk and install Ubuntu will create one big / partition for us:

Select the hard drive that you want to use for the Ubuntu installation. Then choose your time zone:



Change the keyboard layout, if necessary:


Type in your real name, your desired username along with a password,and click on Continue:



Afterwards, Ubuntu is being installed. This can take a few minutes,so be patient:

After the installation, you will be asked to reboot the system.Click on Restart Now:

At the end of the shutdown process, you are asked to remove the Ubuntu installation CD from the CD drive. Please do this now and press ENTER.

Your new Ubuntu system starts. Log into the desktop with the username and password you provided during the installation:

This is how your new Ubuntu Unity desktop looks:

Now the base system is ready to be used.

The Perfect Desktop - Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr)