#######################
Linux Mint Installation
#######################

Set Linux Swap Space to Zero
============================

#. During the :guilabel:`Installation type` step,
   select :guilabel:`Something else`.

#. Click :guilabel:`New Partition Table...`.

   #. Set :guilabel:`Type for the new partition` to :guilabel:`Primary`.

   #. Set :guilabel:`Use as` to :guilabel:`Ext4 journaling file system`.

   #. Select :guilabel:`/` for :guilabel:`Mount point`.

#. Make sure the :guilabel:`Format` box is checkmarked before continuing with
   installation.

After finishing the installation, run

.. code:: bash

   sudo sysctl -w vm.swappiness=0
   echo 'vm.swappiness=0' | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf

Linux Mint Cinnamon as VMware Workstation Player Guest OS
=========================================================

`open-vm-tools`_ is required to make the UI more human-usable.

.. code:: bash

   sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop

.. _open-vm-tools: https://github.com/vmware/open-vm-tools

In order to access the VMware shared folders,
`VMware Tools needs to be patched`_.

.. code:: bash

   sudo apt-get install git
   git clone https://github.com/rasa/vmware-tools-patches.git
   cd vmware-tools-patches
   sudo ./patched-open-vm-tools.sh

.. _VMware Tools needs to be patched: https://github.com/rasa/vmware-tools-patches/

After rebooting, the shared folders should now appear under :file:`/mnt/hgfs`.

If the back mouse button is not working, shut down the VM and modify
:file:`<path-to-virtual-matchine>/<virtual-machine>.vmx` to include

.. code:: bash

   mouse.vusb.enable = "TRUE"
   mouse.vusb.useBasicMouse = "FALSE"
   usb.generic.allowHID = "TRUE"

preload
=======

Behdad Esfahbod's :program:`preload` program records statistics about the usage
of programs using Markov chains.  Files of frequently-used programs are loaded
into memory when the computer is idle; this results in faster startup times.

.. code:: bash

   sudo apt-get install preload

cURL
====

:program:`cURL` is compute software project providing a library and command-line
tool for transferring data using various protocols.

.. code:: bash

   sudo apt-get install curl

DjView
======

This is a DjVu viewer with search capability.

.. code:: bash

   sudo apt-get install djview4

Meld
====

This is a visual diff and merge tool for developers.

.. code:: bash

   sudo apt-get install meld

xclip
=====

This command enables piping to the system clipboard.

.. code:: bash

   sudo apt-get install xclip
   cat <file> | xclip -selection clipboard

Autocomplete Terminal Shell
===========================

To add command-line history auto-completion to the terminal shell, add the
following to :file:`~/.inputrc` (which has been copied from `here`_ because it
is that important):

.. include:: _inputrc
   :code: bash

.. _here: https://sites.google.com/site/simonegasparini/Home/miscellanea

RAM Drive
=========

The default Linux Mint settings mounts :file:`/run` as a ram drive, which
greatly enhances the performance of the system.  The following achieves the same
thing with :file:`/tmp`.

.. code:: bash

   echo 'none /tmp tmpfs defaults 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

Change Default Linux Directories
================================

If the following are not done, the default Linux settings will wipe out any
changes to :file:`~/.config/user-dirs.dirs` each time the computer restarts.

.. code:: bash

   cat /etc/xdg/user-dirs.conf > ~/.config/user-dirs.conf
   sed -i 's/enabled=True/enabled=False/g' ~/.config/user-dirs.conf

Enable Secure Shell (SSH)
=========================

.. code:: bash

   sudo ufw enable
   sudo apt-get install openssh-server
   sudo apt-get install gufw

Mount Windows share on Linux
============================

.. code:: bash

   sudo apt-get install cifs-utils
   sudo mount -t cifs -o username=<your_name> //<ip_windows_share>/<folder_name> <local_folder>
   sudo umount -t cifs -l <local_folder>

Mount Windows share on VirtualBox Guest Linux OS
================================================

.. code:: bash

   sudo mount -t vboxsf <Share Folder> <local folder>

Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition as VirtualBox Guest OS
==================================================

After a system update and restart, the login may take a really long time; when
it does finish, the following error message may appear

.. code:: bash

   Cinnamon just crashed, you are currently running in Fallback Mode Restart Cinnamon?

One fix is to disable :guilabel:`3D Acceleration` under :guilabel:`Display`,
install :guilabel:`Guest Additions`, and re-enable the
:guilabel:`3D Acceleration`.

Miscellanea
===========

- If :command:`apt-get` fails to locate any packages, rebuild the package index
  cache.

  .. code:: bash

     sudo rm -rv /var/lib/apt/lists/*
     sudo apt-get update

- Enable :guilabel:`Do Not Track` in browsers and install
  :program:`Privacy Badger`.
- Change preferences of :program:`xed`.
- Change background image.
- Adjust power settings and screensaver.
- Configure the clock :guilabel:`%I:%M:%S %p`.
- Specify :menuselection:`System Settings --> Preferred Applications`.
- Add or remove programs from the start menu's :guilabel:`Favorites Bar`.
- Check :menuselection:`All Settings --> Sound --> Hardware` if there are no
  sound when playing a video.