Installing Google Chrome in Ubuntu

The installation process is very simple. Open a terminal window (Applications->Accessories->Terminal) and do the above:

1. The first step is to update the sources list. Enter this command:

gksu gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

and add the above lines to the end of that file:


#Google Chrome
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu karmic main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu karmic main


2. Save the file and exit the program, and then add the GPG keys by running this command:

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 0xfbef0d696de1c72ba5a835fe5a9bf3bb4e5e17b5

3. Now we need to update our system:

sudo apt-get update

4. For the end we need to install the Chrome browser:

sudo apt-get install chromium-browser

One thing that may look bad to you, is that Chrome uses its own blue theme which looks very ugly with Ubuntu’s earth colors. In case you want to change that, go to the options menu and select the GTK theme from the Personal Stuff tab.

The linux community partially fixed that in the past when Knoppix released as a live CD and of course this is something that now is available for every major linux distribution including Ubuntu. Trying linux with a live CD is cool but you can’t add new software or play with it as with a real environment (write data, etc.)

This can be fixed by using a live USB portable drive installation. This way you can store your data, and actually you can get your system wherever you go So let me introduce you to…

uSbuntu live creator

uSbuntu live creator is a lightweight application created by Slÿm, a 24 years old French dude. This nice piece of software works under Windows (XP, 2003 and Vista) and creates bootable USB drives using an Ubuntu ISO image or a CD Rom. Alternatively uSbuntu can download an Ubuntu image for you.

,

usbuntu screenshot

After the installation, you just have to change the boot order in BIOS (usually F12 or Del during boot start) and then you can boot with your new Ubuntu installation. The speed of the installation depends on your drive and USB bus, and it can’t be as fast as a normal installation but it is sure that you will be able to check Ubuntu in a better way than a live CD. The only I think I couldn’t do till now with a live USB installation is to upgrade the kernel which is of course something that you wont need to do while you are testing the operating system

You can download uSbuntu live creator from here.

Since Hardy Heron Transmission is the default bit torrent client for Ubuntu, but at least in the Intrepid release the package is outdated as the 1.34 release is used. While I write this the 1.51 is the latest stable release which is included in the Jaunty Jackalope repositories.

Keeping transmission to the latest stable version

If you want to use the new features of Transmission in your pre Jaunty Ubuntu here is what you have to do. First of all we need to add the new repositories to your /etc/apt/sources.list file. This will tell Ubuntu to look for newer versions of software we have installed there too.

1) To do so we need to open a terminal (Applications-> accesories-> terminal) and give the above command:

gksu gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

2) Now add in the end of the text the above lines and save it:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/transmissionbt/ubuntu intrepid main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/transmissionbt/ubuntu intrepid main

If you are using Hardy Heron replace intrepid with hardy, or if you are using 9.04 replace it with jaunty.

3) In the terminal give the above commands:

gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv 976b5901365c5ca1
gpg --export --armor 976b5901365c5ca1 | sudo apt-key add -

4) We are almost done. Give this last set of commands in your terminal and your transmission will be upgraded to the latest stable release:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

Now we are done. If you are asking yourself if that actually worths the effort, I can assure you that trasmission 1.51 is much better than the 1.34 that Ubuntu 8.10 has and I think that it is also much faster too.

• It opens/closes just by pressing the F1 button.
• Stays always on top, so it is easy to use it with an open firefox. In other words it is great when you need to copy/paste from a tutorial you read.
• It can be configured to be transparent and to have cool colours. I know this is not so important, but who doesn’t like the eye candy?

How to install/configure Tilda

Tilda appears in the main repositories so the installation is really simple. Just open a Terminal window and execute this:

sudo apt-get install tilda

You are done! Tilda now appears in your Applications->Accesories folder. Here are two things you can do to make it more usable:

1. Adding Tilda to your session

First of all we need Tilda to open each time we login. This way we will be able to hit F1 and get the terminal window. To do so, go to Sessions (System -> Preferences -> Sessions) and add a session:

This way tilda will open each time we login to our Ubuntu window system. Now we need to tweak tilda a little.

2. Playing around with Tilda settings

Well here the only thing we actually want to do is to make Tilda open hidden. The first time you will open Tilda you will get the Config screen. If you don’t just right click on the Tilda window and go to Preferences. There you should click the “Start Tilda hidden” button. Other cool options are in the “Colors” tab and the “Enable Transparency” in the “Appearance” tab.

We are done. Hit F1 and check your new terminal. Here is a screenshot from my desktop with Tilda open: