Ubuntu post-installation tasks

After the installation is done, some additional steps must be taken to have a nicely configured system. Just for the record, I'll collect here all the steps I've followed with a brand-new Ubuntu installation.

64 bit Flash-player

Like it or not, flash is a must these days. We keep on receiving youtube-links from friends, etc. Still, if you install through Synaptic, you'll get the 32bit version, which will grab all the 32bit libraries. No good - and the 64bit version feels much more solid. So let's install the 64bit version.

I followed more or less this post; for the record here are the steps I've taken in Terminal:

wget http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/flashplayer10/libflashplayer-10.0.45.2.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz
tar xvzf libflashplayer-10.0.45.2.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz
mkdir -p ~/.mozilla/plugins
mv libflashplayer.so ~/.mozilla/plugins/

Youtube works like a charm after.

64 bit Skype

Easy. Just download the 64bit version from here. Double-click the downloaded .deb file, which opens Package Installer. Click Install and voila.

Now is a good time to call the beautiful lady at Skype Call Testing Service, hopefully she's there - if you can't here your own voice, check if the microphone is your default input device.

I didn't find the 64bit version in any official ubuntu repositories, so had to go away with the .deb file: this means Skype will have to be updated manually from the Skype website if a new version is released. If you found a repo, let us know!