The complete Ubuntu guide. P.S NOT really a guide

Changes to do!

1. Update graphic card drivers by installing recommended updates. Install intel linux graphic drivers (here)
2. Update firefox (described how to, below)
3. In case the whole thing freezes ALT+ SYSRQ + R + E + I + S + U + B
4. Add keyboard shortcuts to xkill and System Monitor
5. Change selection color to blue
6. Change font color to black 
7. Increase Unity Launcher sensitivity to make it faster

Must have apps

1. Skype (download the setup file from the site and run it)
2. Jupiter (decribed below) or the laptop will overheat
3. Pinta Image Editor (software center)
4. chromium (software center)
5. VLC Media Player (software center) - and make this the default app to play media by right clicking a file.
6. dconf editor, compiz config, My Unity (to customize appearance)
7. qBittorrent (alternative to utorrent)
8. Quicklist Editor (to add shortcuts to folders on the launcher)
9. Brasero Disk Burner
10. Storage Device Manager (auto mount windows partitions on startup - make sure its not mounted as read-only)

Change launcher sensitivity

" There is experimental tab in Unity Compiz plugin(CCSM). Check with the values in the screenshot. And change the launcher reveal pressure. A value of 1 will make the launcher popup faster."

Install Juptor

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/jupiter
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install jupiter

Use the firefox cookies, bookmarks and personal settings from windows
open terminal in Ubuntu, and type firefox -profilemanager
(link for complete guide)

How to update firefox

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/firefox-next
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firefox

How to make Ubuntu the default boot option
In Windows 7, go to Control Panel > System and Security > System > Advanced system settings (on the left). click Settings under Startup and Recovery. change the timeout as well. changing the timeout to zero (0) may cause issues booting into Windows. 


Change system font color
To change the system font color of the Ambiance theme from gray to black, you can edit these three files.

sudo gedit /usr/share/themes/Ambiance/gtk-2.0/gtkrc
sudo gedit /usr/share/themes/Ambiance/gtk-3.0/settings.ini
sudo gedit /usr/share/themes/Ambiance/gtk-3.0/gtk.css

In these files change

text_color:#3C3C3C to text_color:#000000
fg_color:#4c4c4c to fg_color:#000000

and reduce the font size using My Unity > font > letter size ubuntu 10

Change selection color to blue (#2ab5ff)

dconf-tools> org> gnome> desktop> interface >gtk-color-scheme
bg_color:#f0f1f2;selected_bg_color:#023C88

sudo gedit /usr/share/themes/Ambiance/gtk-3.0/settings.ini

 Useful links

1. Wubu guide (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide)
2. Tips and Tricks for Ubuntu after Installation (link)