The Perfect Desktop - Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron) - Page 2

3 Basic Configuration

3.1 Nautilus

It's a good idea to enable the delete command that bypasses the trash - because if you delete something from external storages with the standard delete command, the things will not really be deleted but moved to a trash on the device (.trash). This trash will not be affected when you delete the trash on your desktop. To change this open any folder and edit the settings.

3.2 Font Rendering

The general font settings are available in the GNOME system menu.

Select "Subpixel smoothing" if you're using a LCD monitor - click on "Details" to see further options.

Set the resolution to 96dpi.

3.3 Services

Some services are enabled by default on your system - maybe some of them are needless (depending on your hardware and your needs). The deactivation of needless services will save system resources, so it's worth to take a look on the service settings. The settings for services are available via the GNOME system menu.

Before you can change the service settings you have to unlock them - click on "Unlock", enter your password and click on "Authenticate".

Disable the service "Bluetooth device management (bluetooth)" if there is no bluetooth device attached to your system or if you don't want to use it.

3.4 Startup Programs

The settings for the startup programs are available in the GNOME system menu.

Have a look at the enabled startup programs - disable all that you don't need. For example the bluetooth stuff - it's useless if you have no bluetooth devices that you can use with these programs.

3.5 Reduce Power Consumption

With Powertop, a tool from Intel for Intel Platforms, you are able to find what software is using the most power on your system. Especially notebook users will benefit from reduced power consumption - there will be more time left on battery power.

If you want to use powertop, install the following package:

• powertop

Note: How you can install software is explained in step 4.2.

Afterwards you can run powertop within a terminal. It's recommended to run it with root privileges, otherwise you can't use all the features of this tool.

Run powertop with root privileges:

sudo powertop

Powertop will permanently collect data from the system. In intervals it shows you what is using the most power and at the same time how you can optimize your system. In certain cases powertop is able to optimize the system itself if you hit the key that is shown.

It's not improbable to save a few watts.

3.6 Uninstall Software

Before you are going to update the system for the first time you should check if there is software installed that you don't need, or rather that you want to replace with another software. The goal should be a clean system with only the programs installed that you really need.

Which programs you should uninstall or replace with others is up to you - you'll find a summary of already installed software in step 5 and a little assortment of additional software (including replacements for already installed software) in step 6.

You can simply uninstall software with the Synaptic Package Manager - proceed with the next step.