Now that you have finished installing the new Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal", what do you do now? In this post we list some of the things that you might want to do after installing Ubuntu 11.04.

If you are in Ubuntu 10.10, to upgrade to Ubuntu 11.04 easily read this guide.

1. Install Ubuntu Restricted Extras

Ubuntu does not come with the codecs to play non-free audio and video formats. It does not come with other non-free stuffs like Flash etc. Ubuntu 11.04, however, provides an option to downland and install them during the installation. However, if you are like me and did not select it during installation to speed up the install, you have to install them separately.

These packages are available as ubuntu-restricted-extras. To install, open the Terminal and execute the command below:

$ sudo apt-get update

$ sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

2. Install proprietary drivers

Ubuntu 11.04 will only install the open source drivers by default. Sometime the open source drivers works just fine. However, if your hardware requires any proprietary drives, open Additional Drivers and install the proprietary drivers you require.

Note: Unity does not work with the proprietary ATI Graphics Cards driver. It does, however, work work with the open source driver. The light weight Unity 2D works with ATI's proprietary drivers though.

3. Install Unity 2D

Unity 2D is a lighter version of the normal Unity (or Unity 3D) which comes with Ubuntu 11.04. Unity 3D does not run in systems which does not support 3D acceleration. Unity 2D will however run on such systems and it is also a lot more responsive compared to Unity 3D.

You can have both Unity 2D and Unity 3D installed on the same Ubuntu installation and select which one to launch at the login screen. To install Unity 2D, open the Terminal and execute the following commands:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:unity-2d-team/unity-2d-daily

$ sudo apt-get update

$ sudo apt-get install unity-2d

4. Install GIMP

GIMP is a fantastic image editor. However it does not come pre-installed in Ubuntu 11.04. You may need to install GIMP if you take photos and do some image editing. Install it with the command below:

$ sudo apt-get install gimp

5. Install Skype

Skype is not avaible in the main Ubuntu repository. Rather it is located in the the Partners repository, which is disabled by default.

To install Skype, open the Terminal and do the following:

$ sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Look for the lines shown below. Uncomment them and save it.

deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu natty partner

deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu natty partner

Now install Skype:

$ sudo apt-get update

$ sudo apt-get install skype

6. Install VLC

VLC is perhaps the best video player available for Ubuntu. It does not come pre-installed with Ubutnu 11.04, so you have to install it on your own.

$ sudo apt-get install vlc

7.  Install CompizConfig Settings Manager

With Ubuntu 11.04, the Compiz settings manager is a must have. Unity is basically a plugin for Compiz. So, if you want to change something in Unity, you have to do it using the CompizConfig Settings Manager.

Install CompizConfig Settings Manager with the command given below:

$ sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager