Setup GDM2 startup graphically

GDM2Setup is a graphical tool that allows us to setup the new GDM2 included since Ubuntu Karmic.

After installation, a new entrance in the menu appears: System > Administration > Login Screen (GDM2Setup)

See also my post about other graphical setup tools for the Ubuntu bootup process.

Install instructions

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gdm2setup/gdm2setup
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install python-gdm2setup

Extract email attachments from winmail.dat files

tnef is a program for unpacking MIME attachments of type "application/ms-tnef". This is typically a Microsoft only attachment, named winmail.dat.
This program allows one to unpack the attachments which were encapsulated into the TNEF attachment, thus alleviating the need to use Microsoft Outlook to view the attachment.

Install instructions

sudo aptitude install tnef

or click here.

Usage

Save the winmail.dat file from the email and execute

tnef --list winmail.dat  # list containing files
tnef winmail.dat         # unpack containing attachments

Notifications integrated with Thunderbird 3

With Thunderbird 2.0.x it was possible to integrate with Ubuntus notification system.

The Libnotify plugin intents to improve the integration with libnotify. With this plugin, Firefox and Thunderbird will display notification message like "new mail received", "download complete" using the libnotify library. For now, only Thunderbird displays notifications, but it stopped working with release 3.x

The latest beta release solves the problems and works with TB 3 like a charm.

Install instructions

Download the extension from here and install it from inside Thunderbird.
You can also have a look at the list of beta releases, in case a newer one is available after having written this post.

Tweaking Ubuntu

There exist applications that provide many useful desktop and system options that the default desktop environment doesn't provide or are hard to find inside the Gnome configuration.

The following applications complete very well and you should use both of them, as each one offers a different set of tweaking options.

Ubuntu-Tweak

Ubuntu Tweak is an application designed to adjust Ubuntu easier for everyone, handling package caches, tweaking nautilus, offering a bunch of application to install.

Install instructions

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tualatrix/ppa
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ubuntu-tweak

Ailurus

Ailurus is a similar Ubuntu enhancement application. It can install/remove applications which do not provide Debian packages at all. It can change system settings. Moreover, it can detect which Ubuntu repository is the fastest one for your connection.

Install instructions

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ailurus
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ailurus