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Ubuntu and Gnome get out of your way

This is a big deal for me as I have a demanding job that means I need my system to just work and not bother me with configuration and complaints. Ubuntu and the Gnome desktop together work really well, the defaults are great and I know everything will just work so that I also may just work.

Compatibility with hardware

I am yet to come across any compatibility issues with hardware whilst using Ubuntu. This is great when I see colleagues and friends using Windows constantly hunting for compatible drivers for the right architecture and version of Windows whilst I know I can install Ubuntu on (almost) any machine and it will just work.

Discovering free software and choice

Free software is always good to have but the Ubuntu Software Centre just keeps getting better and better making it easier to discover new applications and utilities to make your Ubuntu experience better. This has become my primary platform for finding new software during the last two iterations of Ubuntu that have included many an update to the software centre. Although Ubuntu is shipped with a default set of software the choice is always there to use another media player, such as Banshee or another photo manager. The ability to remove components (even big ones like the desktop) is just as valuable as the ability to add them, choice is an advantage to any Linux desktop.

Media playback I don't have to worry about file formats, codecs, containers. Ubuntu will manage all this for me, it doesn't matter what sort of video or audio I am trying to play, it just works.

Design Ubuntu was very...brown when I started using it and it was not the prettiest looking desktop (by default) for a long time, but in the last two releases the design has come a long way with a new default theme that is almost a crime to change and a new font that looks amazing. It is only going to get better with the new Unity desktop that will be the default shell in Ubuntu 11.04.

Security Ubuntu and Linux is not targeted like Windows for malware and various other bad stuff. You will not have to constantly scan update and clean your system, you get security just by using it.

It's fresh With a new release every six months Ubuntu is always fresh and new and never goes stale. Updates are regular meaning your system is always secure and you are getting the new good stuff from the packages on your system. -- There are a ton of other reasons, such as the great dev tools, the ease with which you can set up a server, the super useful live USB and the massive community and plethora of ways you can get support.

The above are reasons why I love Ubuntu, based on my well established opinions.  They may well be the reason why you don't.

What happened?

Our little family of three were in the town center where we live yesterday and we had to find somewhere to get lunch. When my son's belly starts rumbling finding a place to eat gets quite time critical. So we hastily set about finding a place that looked like it might serve something that, at least, resembled food and could accommodate children. The first restaurant we entered had two floors (probably making use of the limited and probably more expensive space in a town center). We waited to be seated, until we were approached by a waitress who sent us upstairs and told us that we would be seated there. So we went upstairs where we were ignored for some reason. The top of the stair case was situated right by a door to the kitchen and several staff walked right by the three of us standing there like lemons, a little odd I thought. Whilst I was waiting I had a look around to see if there was no where to seat us, but there was plenty of space for my little family.

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The new release of Ubuntu is not long off so today I decided to try out the beta on my laptop. Seeing as I am going to have to do a similar installation on a number of desktops that I use, I thought that I would write a quick bash script to automate things I want executing once I have installed the new Ubuntu Maverick Meerkat release next month. So here it is:

#!/bin/bash

# To Begin
sudo apt-get -y install ttf-droid ttf-inconsolata
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/beta
sudo apt-get -y update && sudo apt-get -y upgrade

# Gnome tweaks
gconftool-2 -s -t bool /desktop/gnome/interface/menus_have_icons true
gconftool-2 -s -t bool /desktop/gnome/interface/buttons_have_icons true

# Desktop fonts
gconftool-2 -s -t string /desktop/gnome/interface/document_font_name "Droid Sans 9"
gconftool-2 -s -t string /desktop/gnome/interface/font_name "Droid Sans 9"
gconftool-2 -s -t string /desktop/gnome/interface/monospace_font_name "Droid Sans Mono 9"
gconftool-2 -s -t string /apps/metacity/general/titlebar_font "Droid Sans Bold 9"
gconftool-2 -s -t string /apps/nautilus/preferences/desktop_font "Droid Sans 9"

# Remove the fail
sudo apt-get -y autoremove mono-runtime
sudo apt-get -y autoremove openoffice-*
sudo apt-get -y autoremove gnome-games-common
sudo apt-get -y autoremove evolution-common evolution-data-server evolution-plugins evolution-webcal evolution-indicator
sudo apt-get -y autoremove gwibber-service
sudo apt-get -y autoremove simple-scan
sudo apt-get -y autoremove pitivi

# Install the win
sudo apt-get -y install chromium-browser
sudo apt-get -y install hamster-applet imageshack-uploader shutter xchat gm-notify
sudo apt-get -y install git-core bzr sqlite3
sudo apt-get -y install build-essential python-dev libjpeg62 libjpeg62-dev zlib1g zlib1g-dev

# Plugins for mp3 playback and other media
sudo apt-get -y install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3 gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugl
sudo apt-get -y install flashplugin-nonfree

# Python stuff
sudo apt-get -y install python-setuptools
sudo easy_install pip
sudo pip install virtualenv virtualenvwrapper
echo "source /usr/local/bin/virtualenvwrapper.sh" >> ~/.bashrc
mkdir $HOME/.virtualenvs

# Cleanup
sudo apt-get autoremove && sudo apt-get clean all && sudo apt-get autoclean all

# Reminders
echo "***********************************************************************"
echo "Go and download Dropbox from https://www.dropbox.com/downloading "
echo "Go and install Wing IDE from http://wingware.com/downloads/wingide/4.0 "
echo "***********************************************************************"

As you can see, I am not in opposition to using a little bit of beta software. Hope you find this useful.

import os, random

WALLPAPER_DIR = '/path/to/wallpapers'

walls = os.listdir(WALLPAPER_DIR)
wallpaper = os.path.join(WALLPAPER_DIR, random.choice(walls))

if os.path.exists(wallpaper):
    os.system('gconftool-2 -s -t string /desktop/gnome/background/picture_filename "%s"' % wallpaper)