Automatix + Ubuntu = good stuff

[vfrex]

I don't know if this has been discussed before. It seems like automatix is well known in some places, and not in others. I just discovered it yesterday and wiped out my Suse install for Ubuntu again.

Ubuntu is a pretty lightweight, barebones installation by design. Automatix is a script that automatically installs up to 44 items that are often useful to people. It is very simple and fast, and I think it even can maintain updating the programs it installs. If you are doing a fresh Ubuntu install, I highly recommend giving this a shot. It's not like you couldn't do this on your own, but it is just so convenient.

1) Installs multimedia codecs
2) Installs all Firefox plugins (java, flash, etc) (except Adobe reader and mplayer)
3) Installs RAR, ACE and UNRAR archive support
4) Installs skype
5) Installs Acrobat reader 7 and firefox plugin for the same.
6) Installs Gnomebaker (CD/DVD burning s/w for GNOME)
7) Installs gftp (FTP client for GNOME with ssh capability)
8) Installs Frostwire (GPL clone of Limewire)
9) Installs multimedia editors (Audacity (audio), Kino (video), EasyTag (ID3))
10) Installs DVD (dvdrip) ripper
11) Installs Mplayer and mplayerplug-in version 3.05 for Firefox
12) Installs totem-xine, Realplayer, VLC and Beep Media Player (with docklet)
13) Installs Opera Browser
14) Installs Debian Menu (shows all installed applications) (this kills and restarts your gnome-panel without warning u but its a completely harmless operation!)
15) Installs Bittornado and Azureus (Bittorrent clients)
16) Installs Avidemux (Video editing tool) (New version 2.1.0)
17) Enables Numlock on (turns numlock on Gnome startup)
18) Installs Programming Tools (Anjuta (C/C++ IDE), Bluefish (HTML editor), Screem (Web Development Env.) and NVU (HTML editor))
19) Install GnomePPP (Graphical Dial up connection tool)
20) Installs MS true type fonts
21) Configures ctrl-alt-del to start gnome-system-monitor (aka windows)
22) Installs Streamripper and Streamtuner
23) Installs NON-FREE audio and dvd codecs
24) Installs ndisgtk (WiFi configurator Graphical user interface)
25) Upgrades Open Office to 2.0 (final version), installs openoffice clipart and installs OO2 thumbnailer.
26) Adds 3 nautilus scripts (open any file with gedit as root; open a nautilus window as root in any folder; open gnome search tool in any folder (Right click in a nautilus window and look under "scripts")
27) Installs SUN'S JAVA JRE version 1.5
28) Installs SUN'S JAVA JDK version 1.5
29) Installs wine (u need to run winecfg manually after installation)
30) Enables ejection of CD when CDROM drive button is pressed.
31) Installs AMSN 0.95 (MSN client with webcam support)
32) Installs Mercury Messenger (Java based MSN client with webcam support)
33) Installs BUM (Boot-up Manager)
34) Installs DCPP (Linux DC++ client)
35) Installs sbackup (Backup and restoration solution)
36*) Installs firestarter (GNOME firewall frontend) and adds firestarter to GNOME startup
37*) installs gdesklets (GNOME eyecandy) and adds gdesklets to GNOME startup
38*) Gamepads (Makes USB gamepads work)
39*) Turns DMA ON on Intel and AMD machines (needs a restart)
40*) NVIDIA cards (Detects Nvidia cards and installs drivers) (Needs a restart)
41*) Adds midi capability to your Ubuntu box (test by playing a midi file with timidity or pmidi from terminal)
42*) Installs Firefox 1.5.0.3 and its plugins(themes and extensions are not retained, bookmarks need to be copied from backup folder)
43*) Installs Mozilla-Thunderbird 1.5 (US-only version) (no support for non-US-english language packs and enigmail)
44*) Fixes Gnome sound related issues (ALSA and ESD config) (needs a restart) (ONLY FOR GNOME! NOT TO BE USED ON KDE/XFCE)

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=138405

[GIBSON]

Turns DMA ON on Intel and AMD machines (needs a restart)
Err, what exactly is DMA?

[werty316]

DMA = "Direct memory access (DMA) allows certain hardware subsystems within a computer to access system memory for reading and/or writing independently of the CPU. Many hardware systems use DMA including disk drive controllers, graphics cards, network cards, and sound cards. Computers that have DMA channels can transfer data to and from devices much more quickly than computers without a DMA channel. This is useful for making quick backups and for real-time applications."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_memory_access

[Bio-Hazard]

I've been beating around the idea of installing some sort of Linux on my second HD for a dual boot system after I get tired of Vista, maybe this would be a good option. I guess I've got a lot of reading to do.

[vfrex]

For better or worse sb, installing Ubuntu and then using Automatix will cut down the amount of reading you'll have to do by hours. If you're new to *nix, you will end up spending hours getting everything working (although the Ubuntu base install isn't terrible to begin with). Between the Ubuntu installer and Automatix, you could be in a very intuitive desktop environment with nearly every piece of software that you think you might need for typical, day to day desktop stuff, with just 20 minutes of reading under your belt.