Recently, I set up an older MacBookPro to run Ubuntu 14.04. As ever, these are mostly notes to myself. You don't need to do any of these things - it's just how I prefer my set up.

Turn Off Dash Amazon Search

No one wants their dash searches going off to Amazon.
In the dash, search for privacy.

Use A Proper Desktop - MATE 1.8.1

As per the instructions:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-mate-dev/ppa
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-mate-dev/trusty-mate
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-mate-core ubuntu-mate-desktop

Log out, on the login screen press the Ubuntu icon and choose "Mate Desktop".

Wobbly Windows

Because they're THE BEST THING EVER!

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager compiz-plugins compiz libdecoration0-dev

Add the following to your start-up - or just run it in the terminal

compiz --replace

Run ccsm and turn on all the stuff you like!

You'll probably need the "Move" and "Window Decoration" plugins enabled.

Switcher

Activate the Slide Switcher in ccsm. You'll also need the "Text" plugin activated in order to see window titles.

Moving the Min/Max/Close Buttons to the right / correct side

In a terminal

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout "menu:minimize,maximize,close"

Edit The Gnome Panels

You need to hit CTRL+CMD or CRTL+Windows to access the edit menu if you're using Gnome. On Mate it's just a simple right click.

Fix Skype Indicator

If you install Skype directly (rather than from the Software Centre) you need to add a missing library.

sudo apt-get install sni-qt:i386

Bigger Fonts

Install the Unity Tweak Tool.
Bits of it will work even if you're not actually running Unity.

Evolutent Vertical Mouse

Luckily, I've already written a guide!

MS 4000 Keyboard

My old guide is wrong. Follow this guide from AskUbuntu.

sudo nano /etc/udev/hwdb.d/61-keyboard-local.hwdb

Add these lines:

keyboard:usb:v045Ep00DB*
 KEYBOARD_KEY_0c022d=pageup
 KEYBOARD_KEY_0c022e=pagedown

Recompile the hwdb that udev uses:

sudo udevadm hwdb --update

Reboot. It should work anywhere that pgup/pgdn works.

Apps

pngquant

The best way to reduce filesize on the command line.

sudo apt-get install pngquant

Single Window GiMP

I'm not a PhotoShopSnob - GiMP is fine for me. But I prefer the Single Window mode.

sudo apt-get install gimp

Balsamiq

As per these Air Installation instructions:
Install the dependencies:

sudo apt-get install gtk2-engines:i386 libart-2.0-2:i386 libcairo2:i386 libcanberra-gtk0:i386 libdatrie1:i386 libgail-common:i386 libgconf2-4:i386 libgtk2.0-0:i386 liblua5.1-0:i386 libpango1.0-0:i386 libpixman-1-0:i386 libqt4-network:i386 libqt4-test:i386 libqtcore4:i386 libthai0:i386 libbonobo2-0:i386 libglade2-0:i386 libgnomecanvas2-0:i386 libidl0:i386 liborbit2:i386 libwmf0.2-7:i386 gtk2-engines-murrine:i386 libxml2:i386 libxslt1.1:i386 libxt6:i386 lib32nss-mdns libnspr4-0d:i386 libnss3-1d:i386 gnome-keyring gdebi gdebi-core

Fix the missing keyring

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgnome-keyring.so.0 /usr/lib/libgnome-keyring.so.0
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgnome-keyring.so.0.2.0 /usr/lib/libgnome-keyring.so.0

Download the latest (and last) Adobe Air.

chmod +x AdobeAIRInstaller.bin
./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin

Finally, grab the 64 bit Balsamiq installer.

Record Skype Calls

It's as easy as installing Skype Call Record 0.1 for Ubuntu.

Sublime Text 2

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/sublime-text-2
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sublime-text