What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

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AZgl1800
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What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by AZgl1800 »

as I experiment with the different OS types, I am finding that I am not "at home / comfortable" with any of them for long term enjoyment unless I have my full set of Tweaks installed so that I can feel "comfy" .....

of those, Redshift with Kybd Shortcuts has joined that list.

Evening hours

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redshift -O 4500
Bedtime hours

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redshift -O 3700
and in the morning, back to normal:

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redshift -O 6500
I add these commands to Keyboard Shortcuts

Cntl-Alt-B = Bedtime
Cntl-Alt-M = Morning
Cntl-Alt-E = Evening
===========================================
Syncing Firefox to my FF account so that all of my Bookmarks and Preferences automatically load,
all that is needed is to login to your FF account and leave it alone for a while, it will set itself up just the way you like it.
===========================================
One feature I want, but don't have yet, is a way to make LibreOffice Record Macros and be able to assign my own Kybd Shortcut to activate that macro.... I have NOT been able to make this work yet.
===========================================
Adding in mint-meta-codecs so that all muti-media stuff will play
===========================================
Fix the WiFi radio so it won't drop out, a major PITA for me

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sudo sed -i 's/wifi.powersave = 3/wifi.powersave = 2/' /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf
=============================================
Reminding myself that I must turn OFF all power save features,
Hibernate, Suspend, Sleep..... or my laptop will crash.
=============================================
Making notes of what kernels are bad so that I don't repeat an old problem
4.15.0-24 is blacklisted
=============================================
Setting up Timeshift so that it performs the way I want it to
=============================================
Installing the Crontab jobs so that the Security Updates are taken care w/o me getting involved.
I also have them create a log so that I can go back and review every change that was made.
This has proven invaluable to me..... click on Update Manager does NOT leave a trail for you to follow
=============================================
Add in all of the PPA features that we have started thinking of as "Standard Features" in for a good install,
but, are totally missing in the Mint Repositories.
=============================================
Turn on FlatPaks so those are available in Software Manager
=============================================
Screenshots: I use this extensively, and it irks me to have to go find the files, so..........
Linux Default Directories for Screenshot Leafpad xed
For me, it must always be this:

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gsettings set org.gnome.gnome-screenshot auto-save-directory '/home/john/Desktop'
of course, you will have to use your name instead of 'john' in that code.
=========================================================
and while you are doing that new install, and it crashes for some reason:
Linux Install Screensaver password

.name is just 'mint'
password is null, just press enter.
=========================================================
Aptik: this needs to be in everyones bag of tricks:
Linux Aptik backup & restore utility
it is now is Software Manager do not use this version, it won't update correctly.
the new way that TJ has it works better, as he split it into two apps, not one.

Main:

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sudo apt-add-repository -y ppa:teejee2008/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install aptik

the GUI

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apt install aptik-gtk
The new version works different:
And Contrary to TeeJee's comments, it does NOT show up in Accessories, it shows up in the Administration menu.
================================================
and for me, a reminder to turn off Guest Accounts
To Disable the Guest Account:

you can disable the Guest session by going to
Menu > Control Center > Administration section > Login Window.
toggle the button next to Allow guest sessions to OFF
=================================================
and dependencies, a hint I have stored:
Note: I have run into the problem of dependencies not be installed, and new software not working.
this is supposed to help with this.

Code: Select all

sudo apt install -f
When you install a new software, it should have installed any other software dependencies along with it.
Sometimes like with Google Chrome, you may have to run the command below before it comes up.
I usually run this command below after installing any software just to be sure the installation finished and any dependencies were installed. per phd21 Phill
======================================================

This is just my new "Check List", I am always adding to it.....
What features are part of your "Standard Setup Routine" ??
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by Flemur »

fluxbox!
wine!
Turn off some services, remove extraneous fonts and themes, update the etc.
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] if/when it is solved!
Your data and OS are backed up....right?
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by AZgl1800 »

Flemur wrote: Sun Aug 12, 2018 1:31 pm remove extraneous fonts and themes, update the etc.
How do you go about that?
the simplest way to do it quickly, and it should reduce the footprint of the OS, right?
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DAMIEN1307

Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by DAMIEN1307 »

Remove Rarely Used Fonts

sudo apt-get -y --purge autoremove fonts-beng fonts-beng-extra fonts-deva fonts-droid fonts-gubbi fonts-gujr fonts-gujr-extra fonts-guru fonts-guru-extra fonts-kacst fonts-kacst-one fonts-kalapi fonts-khmeros-core fonts-knda fonts-lao fonts-lklug-sinhala fonts-lohit-beng-assamese fonts-lohit-beng-bengali fonts-lohit-deva fonts-lohit-gujr fonts-lohit-guru fonts-lohit-knda fonts-lohit-mlym fonts-lohit-orya fonts-lohit-taml fonts-lohit-taml-classical fonts-lohit-telu fonts-nakula fonts-nanum fonts-navilu fonts-noto-unhinted fonts-orya-extra fonts-pagul fonts-sahadeva fonts-samyak-deva fonts-samyak-gujr fonts-samyak-mlym fonts-samyak-taml fonts-sarai fonts-smc fonts-sil-abyssinica fonts-sil-padauk fonts-takao-pgothic fonts-taml fonts-telu fonts-telu-extra fonts-thai-tlwg fonts-tibetan-machine fonts-tlwg-garuda fonts-tlwg-garuda-ttf fonts-tlwg-kinnari fonts-tlwg-kinnari-ttf fonts-tlwg-laksaman fonts-tlwg-laksaman-ttf fonts-tlwg-loma fonts-tlwg-loma-ttf fonts-tlwg-mono fonts-tlwg-mono-ttf fonts-tlwg-norasi fonts-tlwg-norasi-ttf fonts-tlwg-purisa fonts-tlwg-purisa-ttf fonts-tlwg-sawasdee fonts-tlwg-sawasdee-ttf fonts-tlwg-typewriter fonts-tlwg-typewriter-ttf fonts-tlwg-typist fonts-tlwg-typist-ttf fonts-tlwg-typo fonts-tlwg-typo-ttf fonts-tlwg-umpush fonts-tlwg-umpush-ttf fonts-tlwg-waree fonts-tlwg-waree-ttf fonts-wqy-microhei fonts-wqy-zenhei ttf-indic-fonts-core ttf-punjabi-fonts ttf-wqy-microhei


sudo apt-get --purge autoremove fonts-kacst fonts-kacst-one fonts-khmeros-core fonts-lao fonts-lklug-sinhala fonts-nanum fonts-sil-abyssinica fonts-sil-padauk fonts-takao-pgothic fonts-tibetan-machine fonts-tlwg-garuda fonts-tlwg-kinnari fonts-tlwg-loma fonts-tlwg-mono fonts-tlwg-norasi fonts-tlwg-purisa fonts-tlwg-sawasdee fonts-tlwg-typewriter fonts-tlwg-typist fonts-tlwg-typo fonts-tlwg-umpush fonts-tlwg-waree ttf-indic-fonts-core ttf-punjabi-fonts ttf-wqy-microhei
DAMIEN1307

Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by DAMIEN1307 »

Purge ndiswrapper
sudo apt purge ndiswrapper


Disable IPV6

sudo xed /etc/sysctl.conf

Add at the bottom of list, the following lines

net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6 = 1

net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6 = 1

net.ipv6.conf.lo.disable_ipv6 = 1

Then activate with:

sudo sysctl -p

Then reboot

now run this test after your booted up again

test -f /proc/net/if_inet6 && echo "Running kernel is IPv6 ready"

if the test still says "IPv6 ready", then do the following:

gksudo xed /etc/default/grub

Edit the bold face line that starts as "GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT"...by deleting it and putting this one in its place

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="ipv6.disable=1 quiet splash"

X out and "save" when prompted to do so

Then in terminal

sudo update-grub.

Then: Reboot

Test again:

test -f /proc/net/if_inet6 && echo "Running kernel is IPv6 ready"

if this comes back with no response, you have succeeded.


Kernel and other Cleanups after Deletions

do these one at a time, dont worry if the first dpkg -l says error etc...just means nothing is there is all...

sudo apt autoremove

dpkg -l | grep '^rc' | awk '{print $2}' | sudo xargs dpkg --purge

dpkg -l | grep '^rc' | awk '{print $2}' | xargs sudo apt-get purge
DAMIEN1307

Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by DAMIEN1307 »

also unnecessary startups

Disable Network Manager and Modem Manager

systemctl disable NetworkManager-wait-online.service...if that doesnt work after reboot then use this one...

sudo systemctl disable NetworkManager-wait-online.service

sudo systemctl disable ModemManager.service

reboot then check they are removed with... systemd-analyze blame ...and then... systemd-analyze ...the last one gives you what your actual boot time was...DAMIEN
rui no onna

Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by rui no onna »

Thus far, GParted, GSmartControl, Notepadqq and adblock. I'm still slowly getting used to Linux so I expect that will grow as I find more must-have utilities.

For now, I need to figure out what to do with Dropbox. I just installed it and it's already saying it will stop syncing in November 2018. Switching to a more-Linux friendly alternative is not an option as I need Dropbox for my iOS apps.
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by smurphos »

AZgl1500 wrote: Sun Aug 12, 2018 1:24 pm click on Update Manager does NOT leave a trail for you to follow
Good checklist - and just to prove I read it all - there are apt logs that record Update Manager output if you know where to look...

Namely - /var/log/apt/term.log, /var/log/apt/history.log & /var/log/dpkg.log
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by AZgl1800 »

smurphos wrote: Mon Aug 13, 2018 12:54 am
AZgl1500 wrote: Sun Aug 12, 2018 1:24 pm click on Update Manager does NOT leave a trail for you to follow
Good checklist - and just to prove I read it all - there are apt logs that record Update Manager output if you know where to look...

Namely - /var/log/apt/term.log, /var/log/apt/history.log & /var/log/dpkg.log
Thanks for that addition to this thread... wow, it records the removal of stuff that I tried but didn't like.
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by JosephM »

Not much actually. I pretty much use the system as installed. Install all the things I need for development and that's about it. Probably why my system seems to be so much more stable and lacks a lot of the issues I see people having ;)

Over time my installs usually become a mess of installed stuff trying to test peoples issues. Since I also maintain Mint's Gtk themes I also end up installing all of our DE's at some point.
When I give opinions, they are my own. Not necessarily those of any other Linux Mint developer or the Linux Mint project as a whole.
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by rambo919 »

Remove redshift and add f.lux... just works SO much better.

Add wine staging ppa and install

Aptik

Fiddle with DE toolbar settings, Mostly just move the bottom to the top and add a bottom that I move the taskbar to, that way I can add whatever applets but keep the app switching clean, clear and separate.

Everything else (including extra ppa's & repo's) on an as needed basis.
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by HaveaMint »

Install from Winehq, set background & desktop, turn off power manager/screen saver, arrange icons on panel and set-up grsync and timeshift adding these apps.
Selection_003.png
Then drive it around the block and see what I forgot :D
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by AZgl1800 »

What app is this, that shows the installed apps in a GUI like that?


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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by gm10 »

^ that's the Mint Software Manager.

Also I just checked, my post-install script will currently purge 332 packages, makes you wonder why I go with a distro at all. ;) It will also install a few packages of my own, remove some default cron jobs, restore my network connections, replace or add a few configuration files entirely, modify a bunch more, enable hibernation including pre/post sleep scripts, modify the root user's environment so it reflects my normal user's one, etc.

Not gonna post any of the details because I find users tend to follow such "tweak" lists blindly without understanding the implications.

Mint-specific changes are mainly fixing all themes so media button overlays show up correctly, fixing grub naming so Mint doesn't come up as Ubuntu after an update-grub, replace apt with my own version (way too many bugs and limitations in the default), patch mintupdate and mintinstall sizes, and also patch mintupdate to show a popup when updates are found. The rest are some minor mint-specific configuration changes.
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by AZgl1800 »

gm10 wrote: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:57 pm ^ that's the Mint Software Manager.
That's not the 18.3 Cinnamon Software Manager, this is 18.3 Cinnamon


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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by AZgl1800 »

gm10 wrote: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:57 pm

Not gonna post any of the details because I find users tend to follow such "tweak" lists blindly without understanding the implications.
Oh yes, can fully understand that.
I am cautious as I follow thru with other threads, and always do a Timeshift snapshot prior to an experiment, and label it as thus. I have backed out of as many "neat things", as I have kept.
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by gm10 »

AZgl1500 wrote: Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:08 pm
gm10 wrote: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:57 pm ^ that's the Mint Software Manager.
That's not the 18.3 Cinnamon Software Manager, this is 18.3 Cinnamon
Click on the hamburger menu.
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by rui no onna »

AZgl1500 wrote: Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:08 pm
gm10 wrote: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:57 pm ^ that's the Mint Software Manager.
That's not the 18.3 Cinnamon Software Manager, this is 18.3 Cinnamon


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Upper right corner, three lines, Show installed applications. Mine's blank, though. Probably because I installed via terminal or Synaptic.
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by gm10 »

rui no onna wrote: Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:11 pm Upper right corner, three lines, Show installed applications. Mine's blank, though. Probably because I installed via terminal or Synaptic.
That's the reason indeed, it only lists what you installed via Software Manager.
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Re: What Standard Tweaks and apps do you always add to a fresh OS install?

Post by AZgl1800 »

gm10 wrote: Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:10 pm
AZgl1500 wrote: Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:08 pm
gm10 wrote: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:57 pm ^ that's the Mint Software Manager.
That's not the 18.3 Cinnamon Software Manager, this is 18.3 Cinnamon
Click on the hamburger menu.
I can't find "hamburger" anywhere, not in the regular 18.3 menu, nor in Software Manager.

Code: Select all

john@john-TP500LA ~ $ showHamburgerMenu: true
showHamburgerMenu:: command not found
john@john-TP500LA ~ $ 
none of this works for me: https://github.com/zeit/hyper/issues/1266
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