Ubuntu is the world’s most popular Linux distribution. It is also the gateway for many new users trying something other than Windows and Mac. It is always possible to improve its user experience, so in this article, I will show you 5 things to do after installing Ubuntu 18.10.

Recently we have talked about this new version of Ubuntu and is that cannot go unnoticed a release of the most used Linux distribution in the world in one way or another.

All Ubuntu launches stand out for their very refined user experience, but it is possible to improve it and adapt it to our needs. There are many things to do after installing Ubuntu 18.10 but they depend on each specific user.

5 things to do after installing Ubuntu 18.10

1. Upgrade the system

The first thing you have to do after installing Ubuntu 18.10 is upgrading the system.

From the moment a new version of Ubuntu is released until you install it, it is possible that security patches have been released for the distribution packages. In short, these are packages or updates that resolve security breaches that affect system stability.

First, open a Terminal and run:

:~$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

When you enter the password, the update of the repository cache will start. It will then install the published updates if any. This process should be done on a daily basis.

2.- Install codecs multimedia

For licensing reasons Ubuntu does not bring most of the multimedia codecs needed to play the most popular formats such as MP3, MKV, etc.. To do this, open a Terminal and run.

:~$ sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras

This package also installs the official Microsoft sources such as Arial, Times New Roman.

also if you work with multimedia edition or just do not want to have problems decoding various files, you can install the libavcodec-extra package.

:~$ sudo apt install libavcodec-extra

And finally, you can get support for DVD playback with this command.

:~$ sudo apt install libdvd-pkg

If you play multimedia files, this is something you have to do after installing Ubuntu 18.10.

3. Enable minimize to Dock

The Ubuntu Dock is a very useful tool for opening applications quickly and easily. However, there is a basic feature that is not available by default and is to gain comfort, I’m talking about minimizing applications by clicking the Dock.

To resolve this situation, run the following instruction on a terminal.

:~$ gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock click-action 'minimize'

This will solve the problem.

4. Enable Google Drive integration

This is one of Ubuntu’s most enjoyable capabilities. We can enable the integration of our online accounts, from Ubuntu, in a very simple way. With this, you can have access to your files that you save in those accounts.

Some of the supported services are Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft or Facebook. As you can see, they are very popular services. In this case, I’ll enable the Google Drive account.

Go to Settings, Online Accounts and add Google Account. You will have to write your username and password.

When finished, you can view your Google Drive files from the Nautilus file manager.

5. Make a Backup

Sometimes due to routine work, we forget to make backups of our system. Ubuntu is a very safe system but it is not free of failures, so it is advisable to make backups from time to time.

Fortunately, Ubuntu has installed by default a very useful and simple tool to make them.

First, open it from the Menu.

You will see several options to make the backup. For example, in Folders to save, you can include the folders you want to back up. This way you can have control of what is backed up.

The tool also allows you to set where the backup in question will be saved.

As you can see, it is very simple and intuitive to use.

Conclusion

There are many things to do after installing Ubuntu 18.10 but each of them depends on the user who uses it. In this article, I showed you 5 things everyone should do after installing it.

Tell us about yourself, do you use Ubuntu? How did you do with Ubuntu 18.10? Do you have another tweak that you can tell us?

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