This is a continuation of my series of notes on my install of Ubuntu 15.04 on my laptop. The full list of posts is on this page. Previously, in the last post, I installed utilities and tweaked the configuration. In this post, I setup various networking and Internet-related programs.
Chrome
I went with the regular version of Chrome this time. I just downloaded the deb file from the Chrome website:
Regular Chrome Download Page
Chrome Beta Download Page
Also, FYI, I restored my Chrome profile in the $HOME/.config/google-chrome directory. And, I connected the ChromeIPass plugin to KeePass2/KeePassHttp.
Network Manager: VPNs
I had to install the packages for the VPNs. I just usually install them all so that I am ready if a client uses any one of them.
sudo apt-get install vpnc \ network-manager-vpnc \ network-manager-openconnect \ openconnect \ network-manager-openconnect-gnome \ network-manager-iodine \ network-manager-openvpn \ network-manager-strongswan
To keep my configured connections from before, I restored the directory: /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections. This is the directory that you have to watch out for backing up because it is not in your home directory.
Skype
I am quickly developing a hatred for Skype. It is missing some key features from Windows: ability to share/view desktops when more than 2 people are in the call, ability to read fonts from other’s computers, etc. Still, I have to use it because that is what others at work use.
I installed it from the Software Center. Then, I used Startup Applications to set it to run automatically:
Zoom
I downloaded the Zoom client from the “Download Center”. Then, I installed the Deb file. It’s become a promising alternative to Skype.
Dropbox
I simply downloaded the Deb package from the Dropbox Download page.
FileZilla
FTP access is a common need for anyone with a website. Entering an “ftp://” url into the File Manager is a quick easy way to get to FTP sites for simple tasks. For doing large downloads, you may want a complete FTP client. FileZilla works great for me.
I installed FileZilla from the Software Center. Then, I restored the ~/.filezilla directory to keep my settings.
Remmina
I switched from Gnome RDP to Remmina a while back, and I’ve been disappointed in the lack of progress. It seems like it’s been stuck at version 0.9. The 1.1 version came installed in Ubuntu 15.04!
I went to the Remina options and enabled the Auto Start option so it is always ready to go:
I ran into a problem with the clipboard syncing, and in my searches, I found that there is a latest Remmina PPA. I decided to give that a try to see if it would fix my clipboard issues:
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:remmina-ppa-team/remmina-next sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade remmina remmina-plugin-rdp remmina-plugin-vnc
This installed version 1.2.0.
Another thing that I found interesting was that there are more plugins out there that are not installed by default. I didn’t need any of them, but it was interesting to see.
$ apt-cache search remmina-plugin remmina-plugin-rdp - RDP plugin for remmina remote desktop client remmina-plugin-vnc - VNC plugin for remmina remote desktop client remmina-plugin-gnome - GNOME plugin for remmina remote desktop client remmina-plugin-nx - NX plugin for remmina remote desktop client remmina-plugin-telepathy - Telepathy plugin for remmina remote desktop client remmina-plugin-xdmcp - XDMCP plugin for remmina remote desktop client
I didn’t worry about installing any of these extra, but I will keep them in mind.