Ubuntu

New laptop, so we are back to ubuntu again. This time because debian did not support the wifi card... sad !

So here again a guide to dismantling the horrible out-of-the-box state of ubuntu.

gnome

First of all, get rid of this horrible new interface. First install

apt-get update
apt-get install gnome-session-fallback

Now logout and try to hit the ubuntu sign in the top right corner. You have the choice of two fallback options, choose the one without compiz (if you want to alter the topbar with new applets, see later on).

ssh

Yes, it comes with ssh server disables .. sigh

apt-get install openssh-server

Sadly, i really needed a complete reboot for sshd to get started.

cannot add applets with ALT-right click

There are just other option in that menu. as said in the previous chapter, only the compiz version does this. Don't use it.

indicator-keylock

Sadly, it does not work ;) but let's just add it here so maybe you find some solution to get it working :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tsbarnes/indicator-keylock
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-keylock

The problem is with the dbus, try to start this up manually :

indicator-keylock

It complains about session bus problems

moving window controls to the RIGHT side

simple :

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout ':minimize,maximize,close'

gsettings permanently

This page :

visit

Using gsettings works perfectly when you are on the X server, but it will complain about the DISPLAY if you try it from an ssh session for instance. So ansible installs will do nothing as well, don't even try it 'command'.

There is a way to do this system wide, but first you might want to find which settings to use anyhow. The are in the dconf database in :

tree /usr/share/glib-2.0/schemas/

So you can grep for instance what possible keys you need to disable notifications :

grep -r notification /usr/share/glib-2.0/schemas | grep mate

At least it narrows down the search.

Also you can use gsettings:

gsettings list-recursively 

Tryout settings by hand to see if they work, and if so create a file like this:

[org.mate.screensaver]
lock-enabled=true
idle-activation-enabled=false

Now you can rebuild the database with :

glib-compile-schemas /usr/share/glib-2.0/schemas/

Now logout and login, the settings should be reflected, and for all users !.