Ubuntu 15.04 — Utilities and Configuration

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 Ubuntu and restored the files.

MenuLibre

I installed the menulibre package.  It’s important for any manual installs so that you can add shortcuts to the menu for launching them.

KeePass

I installed KeePass2 from the Software Center.

To make it work from Chrome, I downloaded the KeePassHttp plugin. I copied that file to the /usr/lib/keepass2 directory.

sudo mv ~/Downloads/KeePassHttp.plgx /usr/lib/keepass2
sudo chmod 644 /usr/lib/keepass2/KeePassHttp.plgx
sudo apt-get install mono-complete

On the Chrome bar, I clicked the ChromeIPass icon.
Connecting KeePass to Chrome

Then, I gave it a name:
Connecting Chrome to KeePass

Compression

I use the File Roller application usually. But, I wanted the 7zip and rar libraries available:

sudo apt-get install p7zip-full p7zip-rar

Monitor Settings

For my dual screen setup at my desk, I have a few tweaks that I like to make. I can open the “Displays” settings app to make these changes:
Displays Settings for Ubuntu 15.04

TLP

TLP is supposed to provide advanced power management.  I’m not completely sure why it’s that important for me as my battery’s life is gone, but I installed it anyway.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linrunner/tlp
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install tlp tlp-rdw

Synaptic

I installed Synaptic from the Software Center. The software center is capable for installing and removing packages, but it is nice in case you ever have to do things like force a particular version or advanced dealings with packages

Y PPA Manager

The Y PPA Manager is a nice-to-have tool for managing the repositories. I installed it with these commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/y-ppa-manager
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install y-ppa-manager

Compiz Settings Manager

The Compiz Settings Manager is a handy tool to tweak the compiz settings. I installed the compizconfig-settings-manager package from the Software Center.

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager
sudo apt-get install compiz-plugins

In addition, I installed the compiz-plugins package from the Software Center. To find that package, you have to click the “show technical items” link at the bottom of the Software Center.

If you search for “compiz” in the Unity menu, you can easily open it.

I like the Wobbly Windows, so I enabled that. It requires disabling Snappy Windows, which it will do for you.
Enabling Wobbly Windows

Also, I like the minimize option:
Minimize option for unity

TRIM for my Solid State Drive

I am using an SSD for my root partition. So, when I ran across WebUpd8’s article,   (Read this if it’s Intel or Samsung.)  I thought I would give it a shot. First, I checked the compatibility:

skp@pistachio:~$ sudo hdparm -I /dev/sda | grep "TRIM supported"
skp@pistachio:~$ sudo hdparm -I /dev/sdb | grep "TRIM supported"
* Data Set Management TRIM supported (limit 8 blocks)

Notice, sda is not compatible, but sdb is. sdb is the drive holding the root drive, and it is my SSD. I opted for the Daily cron job method. I tested the command, and it worked fine:

$ sudo fstrim -v /
/: 3852005376 bytes were trimmed

I added the cron job with this command:

gksu gedit /etc/cron.daily/trim

Then, I placed this in the file:

#!/bin/sh
LOG=/var/log/trim.log
echo "*** $(date -R) ***" >> $LOG
fstrim -v / >> $LOG

Finally, I made it executable.

sudo chmod +x /etc/cron.daily/trim

Unity Tweak Tool

I installed the Unity Tweak Tool from the Software Center.  There were a few tweaks that I like:

Unity Tweaks for Ubuntu 15.04

I added items to the clock display and the time on the battery.

Unity Tweak Scrollbars for Unity  15.04

Appearance Tweak

I also like the menus in the title bar instead of at the top of the screen.
Menu-Titlebar Tweak

Resources

AskUbuntu: How to integrate KeyPass2 and Chrome/Chromium using ChromIPass in Ubuntu 13.04 & 13.10
GitHub: KeePassHttp

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