Ubuntu Tweak

Ubuntu has acquired a reputation for being easy to use but even this version of Linux can be hard to customise for the beginner.

Ubuntu Tweak brings all of the common personalising options into one place. In many respects it is a lot like the popular Microsoft PowerToy TweakUI.

Ubuntu Tweak 0.5.4 is for Ubuntu on 32-bit processors. The 64-bit version can be found on the download page. This latest version is to fix various bugs and supports Linux Mint 9 and Ubuntu 10.04.

Installation is simple. Download this file onto the Desktop and double-click on it. This should start the package installation utility. Click on the Install button and then on close when it has finished. It can then be found in the System Tools part of the Applications Window.

The starting screen has a summary of the computer including some basic hardware specifications and the version of Linux being used. This is a good starting point for getting help in case of problems.

Ubuntu Tweak is capable of more than this. One useful starting point is deciding which icons should be shown on the Desktop including the Home Folder and My Computer.

Other options such as the action of double-clicking on the title bar can be changed. All of the option categories are shown down the left-hand side of the window.

The changes take effect immediately so there is no OK button, just Quit for when you are done.

Ubuntu Tweak can also be installed using the apt-get command by adding the Ubuntu Tweak repository to the sources list. It's a little techy but a good way of staying up to date. Full instructions can be found on the Ubuntu Tweak Download page.