Set Nemo as Default File Manager in Ubuntu

Nemo is a file manager application developed by Linux Mint team. It is a fork of Nautilus, the GNOME's file manager. In the beginning, Nemo was just Nautilus 3.4 (Nautilus version which is forked to become Nemo) with different name.

With rapid development and improvement, Nemo now become a full-featured file manager with lots of features, more customizable, and looks beter (in my opinion) than its original (Nautilus).

Nemo is the default file manager in Linux Mint, to handle folder and also handle the desktop. You can also easily install Nemo in Ubuntu if you want which is just apt-get away using a PPA (read more: How to install Nemo in Ubuntu),

When you install Nemo in Ubuntu, it doesn't set itself as the default file manager, Nautilus remains as the default one. If you want to integrate Nemo into Ubuntu system (as the default folder handler), you have to do it manually.

Here I want to share simple command to set Nemo as the default file manager in Ubuntu.

We will invoke the xdg-mime command from freedesktop.org, which is standard command and installed by default in most Linux distribution including Ubuntu. It can be use to set an application (*.desktop file) as the default file opening a certain file type(s) (mime-type). You can also use it to find out what application on your system to handle type(s) of file.

You can run this command in Terminal to show the default app for folder:

xdg-mime query default inode/directory

By default, the output of the command in Ubuntu should be nautilus.desktop.

Set Nemo As Default File Manager

If you have Nemo installed on your system and want to set Nemo as the default file manager, run this command in Terminal:

xdg-mime default nemo.desktop inode/directory application/x-gnome-saved-search

Now Nemo (nemo.desktop app launcher to be exact) should be the default file manager (folder handler). To test the result, run this command:

xdg-open $HOME

That command should launch Nemo showing your home directory.

The xdg-mime command should be available and can be used in most Linux distribution, not only in Ubuntu. If you want to know more about the xdg-mime command, simply run this command in Terminal: xdg-mime --help or man xdg-mime.

***

Set Nemo To Handle Desktop

In Ubuntu, Nautilus is set to handle desktop by default (to manage desktop icons, menu, etc), and if you have Nemo installed, there will be a conflict, both will be automatically loaded every time you logging in, to take control of the desktop.

If you want to stop Nautilus from handling the desktop and want to set Nemo instead, you can do the followings:

1. Disable desktop handling by Nautilus
   Run this command in Terminal:
   

   gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons false

   .
2. Make sure Nemo is set to handle desktop
   Run this command:
   

   gsettings set org.nemo.desktop show-desktop-icons true

   .

Thanks to Cursor (see comment below) for pointing this out.

Source: http://www.fandigital.com/2013/01/set-nemo-default-file-manager-ubuntu.html#more

Create a live system ISO for your Ubuntu-based Linux machines using Systemback

By Jack Wallen December 11, 2014, 4:47 AM PST

Jack Wallen introduces you to an easy way to create live ISO images of your currently running Linux system with Systemback.

You have that Linux desktop or server precisely how you want it and are interested in either creating a spot-on backup or a live ISO that you can then install on other (similar) hardware. How do you do it? You could go through the process of learning a number of commands to take care of the process, or you could install and use a handy tool called Systemback.
The Systemback tool allows you to create restore points, backups, and live images of a running system. Currently, it only works for Ubuntu derivatives based on 14.04, 14.10, and 15.04. It does, however, work like a champ (and does so quite easily).
I want to show you how to install and quickly make a live image of your current Linux system.

Installation

You won't find Systemback in the standard repositories, so you must first add the repo with the command:
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:nemh/systemback
Now, update apt with the command:
sudo apt-get update
Finally, install Systemback with the command:
sudo apt-get install systemback
You'll have to okay the dependencies before the install will begin. The dependencies will vary, based on what you have installed.
At this point, you should be able to start Systemback from the Unity Dash or your desktop start menu. You can also start Systemback from the command line with:
sudo systemback
You are now ready to create a live ISO.

Usage

Using Systemback is quite easy. From the main window (Figure A), select the location to house the ISO image (by clicking the ... button under Storage Location).
Figure A

The Systemback main window.

Click the Live system create button and, in the new window (Figure B), give the live system a name, change the storage location (this location will need to have more than 4 GB of available space), and click Create new. You can optionally include user data files by checking the associated box.
Figure B

Creating the live ISO image.

Note: If your .sblive file is larger than 4 GB, the conversion to a ISO is not possible. This is a file system limitation.
Depending on the size of your installation, the process will take some time to complete, so grab a cup of coffee or administer a server or two. After it's installed, you should find an .sblive image in the defined storage location ready to convert to ISO. This image can either be written to a USB device or used to create a live ISO image. From the Created Live images window, select the image you want to convert, and then click Convert to ISO. When this process is completed, you'll find the .iso file in the storage location ready to be written to disk. With that disk, you can then install the live image on other machines.
The best time to use Systemback is on a close-to-newly installed system. This is simply because of the file system size limitation. If you've installed too many applications on the system, the size will reach beyond 4 GB, and you won't be able to convert it. You can, however, still create restore points for a system. To create a restore point, first make sure you've selected a Storage directory, and then click the Create New button.
Once you've created a restore point, you can then go back to that restore point by simply selecting it from the left side of the window (Figure C) and then clicking System Restore on the right side.
Figure C

Restoring from a restore point.

In the resulting window (Figure D), select the type of restore you want to do, if you want to include user configuration files, and click Next. This will begin the restore process.
Figure D

Restore point options.

Systemback is a great way to create live images based on a pre-existing system and restore points in case you need to roll a Linux machine backward.
Do you administer or use Linux machines? If so, what do you use for your Linux backup/restore systems? Share your experience in the discussion thread below.

Source: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/create-a-live-system-iso-for-your-ubuntu-based-linux-machines-using-systemback/

Ubuntu Mate 14.10 - New favorite linux distro

The latest Ubuntu Mate 14.10 is my new favorite distro. It installs and runs flawlessly, and has the looks and performance to allow me to work effortlessly. The MATE desktop simulates the old GTK2 desktop and favors menus instead of icons. Window title bar icons are on the right, icons can be added to toolbars, and are movable. It was also the only Ubuntu 14.10 flavor to work on all my PCs. Something about the video drivers on standard Ubuntu 14.10 just would not work on my Intel Core 2 Duo and AMD Phenom PCs. Ubuntu Mate 14.10 also includes a stylish grub menu, logon screen, and a new Mate Tweak utility which enables the composting manager, which is necessary to run my desktop screenlets. I added Chrome, Deluge, Synaptic, Audacious, Banshee, Gnome Music Player, Screenlets, Docky, VLC, and Picassa. This is an excellent and polished Ubuntu distro with updated packages, lots of themes and wallpapers, kernel 3.16, and Mate 1.8.1. It uses 424 MB memory on my system. Below are links where to download it. Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

You can download Ubuntu Mate 14.10 here:  https://ubuntu-mate.org/download/

Below is a walk thru demo of it:

Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS Available For Download with updates

Posted: 12 Nov 2014 03:39 AM PST, webupd8.org

Because Ubuntu MATE 14.10 was the first Ubuntu MATE release and it's supported for only 9 months, the Ubuntu MATE team released Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS yesterday, which is supported until 2019.

Ubuntu MATE is an unofficial (for now) Ubuntu flavor which uses MATE as the default desktop environment. MATE is a GNOME 2 fork introduced after GNOME 3 and GNOME Shell replaced the classic desktop metaphor, which led to some criticism from the Linux community. Currently, MATE only supports GTK2, but the plan is to add GTK3 support with MATE 1.12.

Ubuntu MATE 14.04 ships with MATE 1.8 by default, and not MATE 1.6, which is available in the official Ubuntu 14.04 repositories. This was possible because Ubuntu MATE is not yet an official Ubuntu flavor and that allowed using the Ubuntu MATE PPAs by default.

Compared to Ubuntu MATE 14.10, Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS comes with quite a few changes, although many of these changes have already been released as updates for Ubuntu MATE 14.10. For instance, Ubuntu MATE 14.04 supports Ubuntu AppIndicators out of the box:

An AppIndicator (Variety) running under Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS

Note that the AppMenu / global menu applet is available but it didn't work in my test.

Also, Ubuntu MATE 14.04 ships with some new packages installed by default:

• MATE Tweak (a MintDesktop fork) - a tool which lets you configure which icons to show on the desktop, enable/disable compositing, change the window buttons layout, show/hide icons in menus and buttons and more;
• MATE Menu (a MintMenu fork) - a searchable menu for the MATE panel. This is not the default menu, but you can add it to the panel by right clicking the panel, selecting Add to Panel and then adding "MATE Menu";
• Totem has been replaced with VLC as per a community poll;

MATE Menu

MATE Tweak

Other changes in Ubuntu MATE 14.04 include:

• updated Ambiant-MATE and Radiant-MATE themes;
• new community wallpapers;
• enabled the Accessibility PPA to add Orca 3.14 which improves the accessibility of Firefox;
• enabled screen reader activation via LightDM indicators and LightDM key bindings;
• updated various MATE packages with the latest version from Debian;
• various bug fixes, including: fixed Plymouth not displaying boot up splash screens, fixed GRUB theme activation, fixed Calculator media keys, fixed conflicts with gnome-applets and more.

Download Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS

Download Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS

Source: http://www.webupd8.org/2014/11/ubuntu-mate-1404-lts-available-for.html

20 things I did after installing Ubuntu 14.10/Ubuntu 14.04

Ten years has been gone by since the launch of brand Ubuntu. Ubuntu 14.10 is the 21st major release and this latest launch codenamed "Utopic Unicorn" could also be the most low-key release to date. But that's a whole different discussion. We will be reviewing Ubuntu 14.10 in detail soon. Here we'll see what all can be done to improve stock Ubuntu 14.10. 20 things to do after installing Ubuntu 14.10/Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

Introduction: Ubuntu 14.10 "Utopic Unicorn"
My favorite Ubuntu versions has almost always has been the LTS releases. Ubuntu 12.04 could be termed as my favorite Ubuntu to date, and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS comes a close second. On the other hand, Ubuntu 14.10 could be termed as one of my least favorite Ubuntu ever!

A lot of issues actually. First being the fact that there are no serious changes/improvements to Ubuntu 14.10, it's kind of like a token release. Secondly, for the first time in my laptop which has been running Linux-es for ages, a lot of commonplace apps like Firefox and Chrome are acting weird, like unusable-weird.

May be I will fresh-install Ubuntu 14.10 once again before doing the full review. For now, I'll do a quick things-to-do-after-installation exercise which is applicable for both Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Trusy Tahr.

Disclaimer: Even though I have made utmost care not to make any mistakes here, please make sure you double-check everything before executing. As they say, you don't trust a random code or command from the web. The same applies here. You've been warned.

First things first: Downloading Codecs package during Installation

• You can install restricted codecs package (which include Adobe Flash, MP3 codecs and such) during installation of OS itself. See below.

• Notice the arrows pointing to the boxes in the screenshot above. If you tick both of them during the Ubuntu installation process (make sure you are connected to the internet before doing so), restricted extras package will be installed automatically and you will be able to play mp3's, avi's, mp4's etc. and watch flash videos (YouTube videos for example) right after Ubuntu installation is done with.

• But there is a catch. If you have a slow internet connection (which is very rare these days), ticking the boxes shown in the screenshot above will unnecessarily lengthen the installation process. I for one prefer to do all that after installing Ubuntu. If you are like me, the next two steps are for you.

Update Repositories

• After you install brand new Ubuntu 14.10/Ubuntu14.04, the first thing you need to do is to update repositories and make sure you have the latest updates installed.

• Search for Software Updater in Unity Dash and launch the Software Updater app. It will automatically check for updates available. Install the updates.

• OR you could simply use the command line method. Open Terminal (Ubuntu 14.10 Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T) and copy-paste the following command into Terminal.

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

• Enter your password when asked and you're done. Your new Ubuntu 14.10 has been successfully updated and upgraded. 

Install Ubuntu Restricted Extras

• Install the "ubuntu-restricted-extras" package. This will enable your Ubuntu to play popular file formats like mp3, avi, flash videos etc. CLICK HERE (to install directly fromUbuntu Software Center) OR simply copy-paste the following command into Terminal to install the package (You need not do this if you have ticked the 'right' boxes before).

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

• Done. [Note: The package contains some proprietary fonts and such which will not be downloaded while OS installation. Hence, you might still want to install Ubuntu Restricted Extras package even though you ticked those boxes before.]

Check for Availability of Proprietary Hardware Drivers

• As in previous releases, Ubuntu 14.10 has 'Additional Drivers' functionality inside Software & Updates (previously called Software Sources).

• In my case, all the hardware drivers including graphics, sound and wireless drivers were enabled automatically. But this may not be the case for everyone.

• If you are among the not-so-lucky, open Unity dash (Ubuntu 14.10 Keyboard Shortcut:Super key) and search for 'Software & Updates' application.

• Check for additional drivers available and activate the ones you want. In majority of the cases, this will do the trick. If you're not able to get hardware drivers working yet, you'll have to do a fair amount of digging through ubuntuforums and askubuntu.

Display Current Date and Day on Top Panel

• Trivial stuff, but something I've been doing for years with each new Ubuntu release.

• By default, only time is displayed on top. By going to the Time and Date Settings, you can modify it to display both date and weekday along with time. 

Enable Workspaces for Ubuntu 14.10

• Back in 2007, one of the first "feature" that attracted me to Ubuntu was the multiple workspaces thing and all the cool animations you could do with it. I know, it's kind of silly but workspaces are still very important to me.

• Even when market leaders like Microsoft is thinking about bringing multiple workspaces feature to its upcoming Windows 10 OS (or so I heard), Ubuntu 14.10 by default decides to ditch workspaces. I find it kind of amusing. May be Canonical received a different feedback from its users. Anyway, you can easily re-enable it by going to System Settings - Apperance window (see screenshot above for reference). 

Unlock/Remove Unwanted Stuff from Launcher

• A lot of apps are there in the Unity Launcher by default and this can be a problem if you're using a smaller screen device like netbooks. 

• I almost never use apps such as LibreOffice Writer, LibreOffice Calc and even Ubuntu Software Center. Unlocking them from launcher makes the whole Unity experience a little less cluttered (Right Click - Unlock from Launcher). 

• You can also re-arrange stuff in the Launcher by simple double-click and drag action. 

Learn the Essential Ubuntu 14.10 Keyboard Shortcuts

• If you want to be a PRO Ubuntu user, you've to learn the shortcuts. There's no other way around. And there are a ton of them for Ubuntu's Unity interface.

• Press and hold the Super key (aka Windows key) and learn the basics. 

Hate two-finger scrolling? I do too.

• Two-finger scrolling is enabled by default. But you know what, I kind of like it now. But still, if you want to change it back to normal scrolling, here is what you need to do. 

• Launch System Settings and browse to Mouse & Touchpad under Hardware.

• Unselect Two finger scroll.

Unity Tweak Tool: The insanely good tweaking tool for Ubuntu

• When it comes to tweaking Unity, there's no better candidate. Even the default Ubuntu Settings app is no match for Unity Tweak Tool.

• Unity Tweak Tool is available in default Ubuntu 14.10 repositories. 

• Click Here to install Unity Tweak Tool in Ubuntu 14.10.

• Unity Tweak Tool has a lot of options to tinker with, about which we will discuss in detail later on in this post.

Enable 'Click to Minimize' feature using Unity Tweak Tool

• You can now click on the apps to minimize it to the launcher, a behavior which should have been default if you ask me. Here's how you do it.

• Launch Unity Tweak Tool which you've already installed, goto Launcher sub-menu under "Unity". Rest is self-explanatory (refer screenshot above). More details and video. 

Enable 'Hot Corner' feature in Unity Tweak Tool

• Hotcorners along with multiple-workspaces have been two of favorite features ever since I started using Ubuntu years ago. Enabling hotcorners is a pretty straight-forward affair since you have already installed Unity Tweak Tool.

• Launch Unity Tweak Tool and goto Hotcorners sub-menu under 'Window Manager'.

Compiz Config Settings Manager, nuff said!

• CCSM is similar to Unity Tweak Tool, but more advanced, and very specific to Compiz, the default window manager. CCSM may not be as relevant as before, but it still packs the punch. We'll deal with some CCSM specific hacks later on. 

• CLICK HERE to install CCSM. 

Disable Animations and Fading windows using CCSM

• I am all for eyecandy, but it should not be at the cost of performance or responsiveness.

• Disabling Animations and Fading windows from CCSM might make your Ubuntu look less attractive. But as far as I can see, it has a significant positive impact on performance. 

Disable Active Blur in CCSM for a faster loading Unity Dash

• Launch CCSM again, goto Ubuntu Unity Plugin under Desktop.

• Change Active Blur to Static Blur or No Blur. 

Disable Online Search Results in Unity Dash

• Online search results in Unity dash, sounds like a good idea on paper, but not in the real world. It unnecessarily makes Dash search slower (at least for me). 

• To disable it, goto System Settings app and find Privacy category. 

Disable Record Activity Option in Unity Dash

• Ubuntu by default will be recording your activity which is later used to refine searches in Unity and such. You can completely disable this feature by accessing Privacy category within System Settings application. 

• You can optionally disable recording for a pre-defined set of files only like image, text, video etc. instead of completely disabling recording altogether (my preferred way).

Disable Unnecessary Error Messages from Appearing in Ubuntu 14.10

• If errors like that with titles such as "system program problem detected" or "ubuntu 14.10 has experienced an internal error" are common in your Ubuntu installation, you might want to disable Apport error reporting tool altogether. 

• Hit ALT + F2 and run the following command (as in the screenshot above).

gksu gedit /etc/default/apport

• Change value of "enabled" from 1 to 0 (instructions are provided in the text file itself).

• Save and exit. Now for changes to take effect, do the following in Terminal.

sudo restart apport

• OR do a system restart. Both will do. Apport is supposed to be disabled in stable releases and yet I'm finding it enabled in almost all major releases since Ubuntu 12.04. More details and discussion about Apport can be found here.

Remove Unwanted Lenses from Unity Dash

• NOTE: If you are new to Ubuntu 14.10 and Unity, you might not want to do this. Stay with default settings for the time being and find for yourself if Lenses are useful or not.

• I have never found video, music or photo lens useful. I know where exactly my files are and I would simply use Nautilus file browser instead. Never been a fan of shopping lens either. All I need is a really fast loading Dash.

• If you're like me, you might want to trade them for a faster responding Unity dash. Copy-paste the following command into Terminal.

sudo apt-get autoremove unity-lens-music unity-lens-photos unity-lens-shopping unity-lens-video

• Done. Also recommended: Fix Ubuntu.

TLP Power Management Tool

• Jupiter used to be an easy to use hardware and power management applet for laptops and netbooks running Linux.   

• I have had overheating problems in Ubuntu on several occasions. Jupiter came to the rescue every single time. Alas, Jupiter project is no more.  

• TLP looks like a good alternative. Here's how you install TLP in Ubuntu 14.10.

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

• Just restart the system and you're done. There are no specific settings you need to do to make TLP work. Just install and forget. 

Install Preload

• Preload has been mentioned a number of times here. It basically monitor applications you run, and by analyzing this data, predicts what applications you might run, and fetches those binaries and their dependencies into memory for faster startup times. 

• Installing Preload could drastically improve your overall Ubuntu Unity performance. To an extent, the kind of slickness you see in distros like elementary OS is because of Preload. Click Here to install Preload.

Other Popular Apps to Install:

• Google Chrome or Chromium

• Skype

• VLC

• Synaptic Package Manager

• Steam for Linux

• GDebi Package Installer

• GIMP

• Music Players for Linux

Also, Netflix works out of the box in Ubuntu 14.10 "Utopic Unicorn". No need for painful tweaks and trouble-shoots anymore! So that's it for now folks. More Unicorn news, updates, reviews and comparisons to follow. Stay tuned.

Source:http://www.techdrivein.com/2014/11/20-things-todo-after-installing-ubuntu1410-ubuntu1404.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+techdrivein+%28Tech+Drive-in%29

Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn is here -- Linux fans, download now!

• By Brian Fagioli

Not only is Ubuntu one of the most user-friendly Linux distributions, but it also gets many timely releases. Say what you want about it, but the overall experience is second to none. I would not hesitate to recommend Ubuntu to both Linux beginners and experts alike.

After we just learned the name of the future version of the OS (15.04) to be Vivid Vervet (it is coming in 2015), Canonical releases Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn today. Linux fans can download it now!

One of the most important aspects of a Linux-based operating system is the kernel. In 14.10, it is very up-to-date.

Canonical explains, "the Ubuntu 14.10 release delivers a v3.16 based kernel. This brings a significant number of bug fixes and new hardware support including expanded architecture support for Power 8 and arm64 platforms. It also includes support for Intel Cherryview, Haswell, Broadwell and Merrifield systems, and initial support for Nvidia GK20A and GK110B GPU’s. There is improved graphics performance on many Nvidia, Intel and ATI Radeon devices and also audio improvements with support for the Radeon .264 video encoder. Expanded platform support is enabled via support for 64 bit EFI boot on 32 bit EFI BIOS. This release also brings performance improvements in suspend/resume times".

Canonical touts the following additional changes:

• Unity has improved support for High-DPI displays.
• Firefox is updated to version 33 and Chromium is updated to version 38.
• Gtk updated to version 3.12. Qt updated to version 5.3.
• Support for IPP Everywhere printers is added, and printers shared from Ubuntu can emulate IPP Everywhere printers.
• LibreOffice 4.3 brings a lot of improvements including improved PDF support, new features in Writer, Calc and Impress (word processor, spreadsheet and presentations).

If you are ready to download, you can get it here. Since this is a final release, it should be safe for most home users; however, if you are using it for a business, you should always test first.

Source: http://betanews.com/2014/10/23/ubuntu-14-10-utopic-unicorn-is-here-linux-fans-download-now/