Installed Ubuntu Linux...Questions!

Alright so I just installed Ubuntu Linux Desktop 12.04 LTS...here are some questions I have

1. When I go to Updates Available and press Check it comes up with a ton of updates, should I install them all?
2. What is the best way to keep Ubuntu clean and running fast (I use Glary Utilities, CCleaner, and Remove Empty Directories in Windows 7)
3. What do you guys think about running Google Chrome instead of Mozilla?
4. Are there any other suggestions you guys have for a new Linux user? (I know some people recommended trying different faster servers..etc)
5. I know someone recommended Bumble Bee to help Linux use my Nvidia GeForce GTM555M card, sound good?
6. Is there anyway to get my iTunes music on Linux?
7. Is there a way to restart my computer from Linux so I don't have to Shutdown and Reboot to get back into Windows?

If I have any more questions I will add to this list.

Thanks!

 

Hey Kawasaki, I've got Ubuntu 12.04 installed on a couple of PCs so I'll try to answer a few of your questions. I'm definitely no expert though, so it would be good to get some other opinions.

1. I always install an update if it is there, so I'd say yes.
2. I use CCleaner in Windows as well but haven't come across similar for Linux, I haven't really thought about that actually. There isn't a registry to clean in Linux luckily.
3. I am a big fan of Chrome and run either that or Chromium, depending on the distro I'm using. I'm running Chrome from my Ubuntu 12.04 install now and it is working great. (I'm just not the into Firefox.)
4. Not too sure about this one, sorry.
5. They gave good advice, Bumblebee is great. I use Bumblebee on my M11x with Optimus and it definitely helped with battery life. I haven't actually tried to run something from the dGPU yet but I would assume it works. Give it a try.
6. I'm pretty sure that most new iTunes music is DRM free now and you should be able to play it fine. Just find it on your hard drive and you should be good to go.
7. Not that I know of, nor do I think it is possible. Someone else may know though.

 

Question…. What install path was used for UB 12.04? No VM?

1. Go ahead and take the software updates. They are security/bug patches.
2. Display setup. UB default is 4:3 I have an 18” LCD & selected a 16:9
best fit for 1080p res. Connecting to another display via HDMI, test it.
3. Audio setup. Laptop 2.1 or 5.1 speakers. Test headphone..
SP/DIF 3.5 mm jack. If connecting optical Toslink to an audio rack, test it.
4. Printer setup or multifunction scan, copy, fax. Select from UB and test it.
5. Any Bluetooth devices….Test them.
6. Any WIFI…..Test it.
7. Any hard wired home network setup, plug in and test it.

A few passes to tweak everything just right and UB should be good to go.

 

Thanks guys! and no I did the dual boot setup

 

Congrats Kawasaki268F, how may partitions did you use? I am trying to figure out what is best now (I want to dual boot win 7 and 12.04 but have a shared partition for music, photos, etc) I have an 80 gig 7200 RPM hard drive only.
Also did you install an antivirus program ?

 

I like to set the update manager to only check every two weeks. Then it's only popping up every two weeks as opposed to every day, which is kind of annoying.

 

you could try bleachbit, it should be in the ubuntu software manager.

 

@JOSEA. If you have the shared partition in NTFS then you can still use that in linux also. I have an 80gb also. My solution (if you have installed linux on a laptop) is to buy an SDHC card for my music and a few assorted miscellaneous files to reduce hard disk congestion. I will keep the SDHC in the card reader in my laptop. I use an external hard drive for storing all my videos, music, and files I wish to keep handy. For travel I will load some movies on a USB jump drive for viewing. I do not like to install huge files (specifically gigabyte sized files) on my windows partition. Minimal things on my laptop is how I like to keep things running smoothly and efficiently.

If you have 80gb on a desktop then I would suggest buying a larger capacity hard drive. There is not really any other alternative if you wish to store data and as your operating systems files grow after updates and new program installations.

Generally installing an antivirus is only necessary for those times you wish to share files with windows. The impression I get is that most virus and malware is created to target windows operating systems. An antivirus run from linux will screen any file you choose to scan before you open it up within a windows computer. I feel somewhat secure with my windows antivirus and exercise caution when working with files in windows. For that reason I do not bother installing an antivirus in linux.

 

Thanks for more feedback guys! I will try out Bleachbit as a couple people have recommended that.

 

You could always install Virtualbox and run Windows from within Ubuntu.

Bumblebee is an old project and is no longer continued. There's a new project that forked from it (forgot the name of it).

The package manager keeps the OS clean if you use it from the commandline.

The only advice I have is don't try to get windows games to run on Linux using wine . It will waste your time and cause headaches.

 

I already have it installed as dualboot...do I need to uninstall and then do virtual box if I wanna do it that way?

 

Kawasaki268F you do not have to uninstall anything to use Virtual box. It runs as an application under Ubuntu, or Windows or etc. If you are happy with the performance of you present dual boot system I would not use virtual box at this point. It does come in very handy if for instance you want to test run Win 8 RC, that way Ubuntu and your present Window install are not affected when you install or remove Win 8. Also since Virtual box shares RAM with the OS it runs under you need at least 4 GIG RAM installed, more is better.
@turqoisegirl08 thanks for your help, + 1 as soon as the 'spread it around message' stops popping up!

 

Since you already have a dual boot system you wouldn't have to go the VM route. That's in case you only had Linux installed and wanted to run Windows in a VM. VM's are extremely useful, but they come at the cost of a performance hit, and any program or game that requires a lot of system resources will suffer.