Redshift
Redshift helps with eyestrain by decreasing the amount of blue colors/light coming from the monitor (I think). redshift-gtk
enables a taskbar icon for the program with rudimentary ability to see the current configuration, enable/disable, and autostart.
sudo apt install -y redshift redshift-gtk geoclue-2.0
VeraCrypt
"VeraCrypt is a free open source disk encryption software for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. Brought to you by IDRIX (https://www.idrix.fr) and based on TrueCrypt 7.1a."
Check the warrant canary before downloading: https://www.idrix.fr/VeraCrypt/canary.txt
Verify PGP Signature
Before installing the program verify the PGP signature to attempt to ensure it hasn't been tampered with. There are some instructions provided here: https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Digital%20Signatures.html
Get the VeraCrypt PGP Key
wget https://www.idrix.fr/VeraCrypt/VeraCrypt_PGP_public_key.asc
Check the Key's Fingerprint
It should match 5069A233D55A0EEB174A5FC3821ACD02680D16DE
according to the VeraCrypt site:
gpg VeraCrypt_PGP_public_key.asc
gpg: WARNING: no command supplied. Trying to guess what you mean ...
pub rsa4096 2018-09-11 [SC]
5069A233D55A0EEB174A5FC3821ACD02680D16DE
uid VeraCrypt Team (2018 - Supersedes Key ID=0x54DDD393)
sub rsa4096 2018-09-11 [E]
sub rsa4096 2018-09-11 [A]
Import the Public Key
gpg --import VeraCrypt_PGP_public_key.asc
Verify the Signature of the VeraCrypt Download File
gpg --verify veracrypt-1.23-setup.tar.bz2.sig veracrypt-1.23-setup.tar.bz2
gpg: Signature made Wed 12 Sep 2018 15:50:49 PDT
gpg: using RSA key 5069A233D55A0EEB174A5FC3821ACD02680D16DE
gpg: Good signature from "VeraCrypt Team (2018 - Supersedes Key ID=0x54DDD393) " [unknown]
gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!
gpg: There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.
Primary key fingerprint: 5069 A233 D55A 0EEB 174A 5FC3 821A CD02 680D 16DE
Unarchive the download and execute the install script; in this case:
./veracrypt-1.23-setup-gui-x64
It will launch an X GUI installer and the rest is straight forward.
Keepass
Keepassxc seems to be a good option for Keepass these days.
Insall Options
Snap
sudo snap install keepassxc
PPA
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:phoerious/keepassxc
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt install keepassxc
Browser Integration
Follow the instructions here: https://keepassxc.org/quickstart/ in order to use the browser plugin for Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/keepassxc-browser/
Spotify
Linux instructions here: https://www.spotify.com/us/download/linux/
# 1. Add the Spotify repository signing keys to be able to verify downloaded packages
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv-keys 931FF8E79F0876134EDDBDCCA87FF9DF48BF1C90
# 2. Add the Spotify repository
echo deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list
# 3. Update list of available packages
sudo apt-get update
# 4. Install Spotify
sudo apt-get install spotify-client
Konsole
Keybindings / Shortcuts
Ctrl+Shift+M - toggle menubar
Themes
- https://github.com/nareshv/kde-konsole-colorschemes
- https://github.com/mbadolato/iTerm2-Color-Schemes/tree/master/konsole
Copy the theme files into ~/.local/share/konsole
; some that look nice:
<ol>
<li>Afterglow</li>
<li>Builtin Dark</li>
<li>Dark Pastel</li>
<li>Later This Evening</li>
<li>Vibrant Ink</li>
</ol>
Kontact / KMail / PIM
KMail
Show Your Own Replies in Threads in the Inbox
In order for your replies to be included in threads in the inbox, they must not be moved to the 'Sent' folder. To accomplish this enable the Keep replies in this folder
option that is found in the right click context menu launched by right clicking the 'Inbox' label'. If you also want to be able to see your replies in the 'Sent' folder as well you can create a filter / rule to copy replies there; see the following SO post:
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/97459/include-replies-in-the-inbox-in-kmail
CalDAV / CardDAV for Calendar and Contacts via Nextcloud
https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/13/user_manual/pim/sync_kde.html
Nextcloud Client
PPA
https://launchpad.net/~nextcloud-devs/+archive/ubuntu/client
File Manager Integration of Dolphin
sudo apt install nextcloud-client-dolphin
- https://help.nextcloud.com/t/client-for-dolphin-file-manager-kde/11327
- https://packages.debian.org/sid/kde/dolphin-nextcloud
TLP
TLP is a battery optimization utility which attempts to improve battery life. It's available in the official Ubuntu repos, or alternatively one can use the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linrunner/tlp
sudo apt-get update
Appearance
Fonts
Adjust fonts to Noto family; should be pre-installed.
Gripes about Small Font Size in Firefox
The font-size in firefox seems pretty tiny; something seems wonky. There are lots of cases of people griping about it; ex:
- https://old.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/8skzy3/font_size_on_firefox_help/
- https://superuser.com/questions/1301367/firefox-font-size-too-small-for-some-websites
- And a more general rant: https://pandasauce.org/post/linux-fonts/
Upping the system-wide DPI helps but creates issues in most other applications, so it's a non-starter. Constantly zooming in firefox is annoying and not really a solution either. Firefox's own font settings seem to only affect the menu bar, tab bar, etc. as opposed to the actual webpage text. At a loss on this one so far.
Task Switch / Alt-Tab Behavior
In Settings → Window Management → Task Switcher, change the visualization to 'Thumbnails'.
Misc. Additional Programs
sudo apt install git
Helpful Resources
- Inspiration for programs, and info on common install techniques for various programs: https://github.com/erikdubois/Ultimate-Ubuntu-18.04