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The Perfect Desktop - Xubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr)

Author: Falko Timme

This tutorial shows how you can set up a Xubuntu 14.04 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. Xubuntu uses the lightweight XFCE desktop environment.

The software I propose as default is the one I found easiest to use and best in their functionality - this won't necessarily be true for your needs, thus you are welcome to try out the applications listed as alternatives.

I do not issue any guarantee that this will work for you!

 

1 Preliminary Note

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

Graphics:

Internet:

Office:

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. Some may also not be in the default repositoriesand have to be downloaded from the internet or from extra repositories.

The software provided in the above list covers most of the basic tasks one may need to do on their desktop computers, sometimes thereare multiple choices for same functionality. If you know which one you like best, you obviously don't need toinstall and test the other applications, however if you like choice, then ofcourse you can install more than one.

I will use the username srijan 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 Xubuntu installer doesn't offer a lot of options to choose from, so youcannot go wrong.

Download the Xubuntu 14.04 iso image from http://xubuntu.org/getxubuntu/, burn it onto a CD, and boot your computer from it:

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

On the next screen you see a few requirements for the Xubuntu 14.04 installation (the system should have at least 5.7 GB available drivespace 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 Xubuntu is a good choice, unless you need custom partitions and know what you're doing. Erase disk and install Xubuntu will create one big / partition for us:

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, Xubuntu 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:

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

This is how your new Xubuntu XFCE desktop looks:

Now the base system is ready to be used.

 

The Perfect Desktop - Xubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr)