Installation and basic configuration of a Debian 6 Squeeze for Desktops

Adding PPA's in Debian:

Debian does not have the command "apt-add-repository ppa: ppa_name" like Ubuntu. To enable this command, making adding repositories practical; follow this tip: How to add PPA's in Debian

Enabling ReiserFS Support:

By default, Debian does not recognize parties with ReiserFS file systems. If you have any other distros using this system, Grub will not recognize the entries. To fix this, install the following package and its dependencies:

# apt-get install reiserfsprogs

Leaving Kde in Portuguese:

If you installed Kde without using mirrors during the installation, Kde comes in English. To leave it in Portuguese, follow this arthas tip: English to Portuguese KDE on Debian

Installing Firefox:

If you used the sources.list from this article, just run:

# apt-get purge iceweasel

To remove Firefox fork from Debian:

# apt-get install firefox

To install Firefox (during the creation of this article, it is in version 6.0.2).

Installing Google-Chrome:

With the same repository already included in the Sources.list of this article, just run.

For the unstable version:

# apt-get install google-chrome-unstable

For the beta version:

# apt-get install google-chrome-beta

For stable version (recommended):

# apt-get install google-chrome-stable

Installing Adobe Flash Plugin:

# apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

Installing multimedia codecs:

Follow this Eliab Venancio tip: Installing non-free codecs and players on Debian GNU / Linux

NOTE: The multimedia repository is already included in the sources.list of this article.

Installing Java:

Follow the guto76 tip: Installing Sun-Java on Debian Squeeze

The "non-free" repository is already included in the sources.list of this article.

Installing compressors:

To unzip most common files (rar and zip), install the packages:

# apt-get install unrar zip

And a graphical interface to unzip:

Gnome:

# apt-get install file-roller

Kde:

# apt-get install ark

Xfce / Lxde:

# apt-get install xarchive

Add the "Open Terminal Here" option in the Nautilus context menu:

# apt-get install nautilus-open-terminal

Edit Grub:

To manage Grub boot, editing entries etc, follow this tip: How to edit, rename entries and insert a Grub 2 background image with Grub Customizer

Its repository is already listed in the sources.list of this article. So, to install, just run:

# apt-get install grub-customizer

Themes and cones:

If you like to customize the look of Gnome, use the Gstyle theme manager. To install, follow this edps tip: Gstyle, theme manager for Ubuntu, Debian and derivatives

The Gstyle repository is already included in the sources.list of this article.

Create wallpapers with image sequence in Gnome.

Take a look at the MNd article: Letting the GNOME Slide Animated Desktop

And in guigomendonca's tip: Slideshow of wallpapers on your desktop with Crebs

I use Crebs. Therefore, its repository is already included in the sources.list of this article.

Creating xorg.conf File:

Debian does not come with a file /etc/X11/xorg.conf. This file is responsible for some parameters of the graphic environment X, such as resolution, keyboard, video driver etc. Its use is recommended.

To create an xorg.conf file, type in the terminal:

$ su # init 1

This command will terminate X, returning a black screen. At this screen, enter the root password to enter a terminal, and run the command:

# Xorg -configure # mv xorg.conf.new /etc/X11/xorg.conf

The first creates an "xorg.conf.new" file, the second moves this file to / etc / X11, renaming it to "xorg.conf".

# reboot

To restart.

Disable the feature that turns off the monitor after 10min idle in Gnome:

This is a boring little problem. Whenever you are idle, or watching a movie, after 10 min Gnome automatically turns off the monitor.

To resolve this, disable the screensaver and also edit the xorg.conf generated in the previous tip by typing:

# nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Enter the following lines below the "ServerLayout" session:

Section "ServerFlags" Option "BlankTime" "0" Option "StandbyTime" "0" Option "SuspendTime" "0" Option "OffTime" "0" EndSection