Install a Simplified Nautilus for Ubuntu [100 Paper Cuts]

One Hundred Paper Cuts is a project which attempts to fix 100 usability errors reported by the users for the new Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala:

A project led by Canonical's Design and User Experience team to improve user experience in Ubuntu by identifying 100 small points of pain for users, or "paper cuts", and healing them!

This project aims to improve user experience by:

1. Identifying 100 bugs that appear relatively easy to fix but that negatively impact user experience.
2. Channeling resources to fixing those bugs.
3. Measuring and celebrating progress towards fixing those bugs.
4. Tracking impact of the fixes in upstreams over successive versions.

One of the most popular "paper cuts" concerns Nautilus, the default file browser in GNOME. Its graphical interface could be improved a lot: the space currently devoted to the menu / columns is too big and takes away space for the really important stuff.

Thanks to developer Marcus Carlson, we now have a patch available which simplifies the Nautilus interface, as shown in the picture above. The sidebar remains intact and only some useless information was removed; the top toolbar saves a lot of space by using icons for the most used actions.

To install this Nautilus patch:

1. You need to add the following PPA repository (paste the command in a terminal):

-For Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope:

sudo sh -c "echo 'deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/0-launchpad-mejlamej-nu/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main' >> /etc/apt/sources.list"

-For Ubuntu Karmic Koala:

sudo sh -c "echo 'deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/0-launchpad-mejlamej-nu/ppa/ubuntu karmic main' >> /etc/apt/sources.list"

2. Then add the PPA key using the following command (paste it in a terminal):

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 9A93A0AB

3. Then all you have to do is update Nautilus:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

4. Restart your system.

[via GenBeta]