{"id":243763,"date":"2026-05-11T12:43:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T16:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/switching-from-windows-to-linux-these-15-pro-tips-make-ubuntu-feel-like-home\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T12:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T16:45:07","slug":"switching-from-windows-to-linux-these-15-pro-tips-make-ubuntu-feel-like-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/switching-from-windows-to-linux-these-15-pro-tips-make-ubuntu-feel-like-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Switching From Windows to Linux? These 15 Pro Tips Make Ubuntu Feel Like Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/explainers\/switch-from-windows-to-linux-15-pro-tips-make-ubuntu-feel-like-home\">Switching From Windows to Linux? These 15 Pro Tips Make Ubuntu Feel Like Home<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/explainers\/switch-from-windows-to-linux-15-pro-tips-make-ubuntu-feel-like-home\">https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/explainers\/switch-from-windows-to-linux-15-pro-tips-make-ubuntu-feel-like-home<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Publish Date: <a href=\"publish_date]\">2026-05-11 12:43:00<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Source Domain: <a href=\"www.pcmag.com\">www.pcmag.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Unlike other Linux-based systems that can be discouragingly complex, Ubuntu strives for simplicity. It starts you out with a straightforward desktop environment that includes the Firefox browser and a few basic utilities. Of course, if you&#8217;re trying to make the leap from Windows, you might still need a bit of guidance. I&#8217;ve been running Ubuntu on and off since it launched in 2004, so I&#8217;ve put together a list of vital tips to help you customize the operating system, discover powerful hidden features, and install the software you need.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"1-activate-dark-mode\">1. Activate Dark Mode<\/h2>\n<p>Ubuntu has a slick dark mode. You can toggle it by clicking the icons on the panel at the top-right corner of the Ubuntu desktop and selecting \u201cDark Style.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n    Ubuntu&#8217;s dark mode is just two clicks away from the desktop (Credit: Canonical\/PCMag)\n<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"2-theme-the-desktop\">2. Theme the Desktop<\/h2>\n<p>Ubuntu uses a distinct orange theme by default, but that&#8217;s just one option. You can select different accent colors from the Appearance page in the Settings window. Simply click the icons in the top-right corner of the Ubuntu desktop, then the gear icon. You can also launch the Settings application to access these options via the Show Apps button in the bottom-left corner of the desktop.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pcmag.com\/imagery\/articles\/07kkmdoe4L9RQkm92NfQJD8-3.png\" data-lazy-sized=\"\" alt=\"Ubuntu desktop Appearance settings\" data-image-path=\"articles\/07kkmdoe4L9RQkm92NfQJD8-3.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n    Ubuntu&#8217;s desktop accent color affects folder icons, too (Credit: Canonical\/PCMag)\n<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"3-configure-display-options\">3. Configure Display Options<\/h2>\n<p>Visit the Display page in Ubuntu\u2019s Settings app to tweak display options to your liking. For example, Ubuntu defaults to 60Hz, but your PC&#8217;s display might support a higher refresh rate for a smoother picture. I recommend increasing your display&#8217;s refresh rate to the maximum available setting.<\/p>\n<p>You can also adjust display scaling here. If text and other elements seem too small, increase the Scale percentage to enlarge them.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pcmag.com\/imagery\/articles\/07kkmdoe4L9RQkm92NfQJD8-4.png\" data-lazy-sized=\"\" alt=\"Display options in Ubuntu's settings\" data-image-path=\"articles\/07kkmdoe4L9RQkm92NfQJD8-4.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n    Ubuntu&#8217;s display options also have a Night Light feature to reduce blue light at night (Credit: Canonical\/PCMag)\n<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"4-integrate-your-online-accounts\">4. Integrate Your Online Accounts<\/h2>\n<p>Ubuntu\u2019s Gnome desktop supports Google, Microsoft 365,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/explainers\/switch-from-windows-to-linux-15-pro-tips-make-ubuntu-feel-like-home\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Switching From Windows to Linux? These 15 Pro Tips Make Ubuntu Feel Like Home https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/explainers\/switch-from-windows-to-linux-15-pro-tips-make-ubuntu-feel-like-home&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":243765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.pcmag.com\/imagery\/articles\/07kkmdoe4L9RQkm92NfQJD8-1.fit_lim.size_1200x630.v1778517695.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[71,79],"class_list":["post-243763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linux","tag-linux","tag-ubuntu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243763"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243763"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243767,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243763\/revisions\/243767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}