Kubuntu 18.04 Setup Notes

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