How to get the main task bar back?

I was just playing with Ubuntu and being new was looking for the restart/shutdown button. I remembered it was in the top right corner but could not find it there. Not sure what I did but I created a new blank bar on the right and when I wanted to get rid of that, I somehow deleted the main menu bar.

As a result I now have a very tidy (ie empty) desktop

Can someone please tell me how to get the main menu bar back and where to find the shut down function, also is there any keyboard command for that?

 

Hello beethoven,

Do you still have the panel on the right ? There should always be one panel, as far as I know Ubuntu does not allow deletion of all panels. So if it's there you can drag it to the top or r/click in it >Add new panel and choose placement on top. Then delete the one on the right side.
In future, once you have added all the applets you want displayed in the panel, you can lock it to prevent inadvertently moving it. To do this open configuration editor (gconf editor)
>apps>panel>global>'locked-down' and tick locked down.

 

No, all panels are gone except for the bottom one which only shows the desktop icon and the thrash bin.
Otherwise I can do a right click and create folder/ launcher or documents or change the wallpaper but that does not really help me, does it?

 

Its called Notification Area, right click and select add to panel>Notification Area

 

Thanks, back in business - I feel like I am back in pre-school, figuring out the basics again

One more query - when I watch youtube videos on linux (or other stuff) on my linux screen, the actual video seems much smaller and fuzzy compared to my windows box. This is an issue when I try to follow someone's instruction and have to type in all the magic codes that for someone coming from windows don't mean anything. Any setting that I can change to make this clearer?

 

Are you on x64 or x32 Ubuntu, what flash are you using and what video card do you have?

 

I installed 32bit Ubuntu 10.04 - don't know what flash is loaded, I think it's still the same that came with Ubuntu. How would I check that?

As for the video card, it's Radeon 9250

 

Also which browser was used.

 

I am used to Opera but as this is all still "out of the box", the one on my Linux pc is FF.

 

Then you have x32 flash, try google chrome for better flash vids. Have you installed your video drivers through hardware drivers?

 

for opera

right click and install

http://www.opera.com/browser/download/

http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html?platform=linux_ubuntu_i386

select ubuntu download .deb pakage system right click and install or double click install just like windows it will insall all required packages with it

for flash playing go to ubuntu sotware center and search flash and nswrapper and install both

to know they are installed or not from ubuntu software center check green tick icon(right check) on them those got it means they are already installed

 

Thanks Mack, got it - while FF works fine, I am just used to Opera
Surprised that this is not yet in the repositories.
Also the youtube videos don't play - is there some other flash component that I need to download? It's working in FF but maybe for Opera I need something else in Ubuntu?

 

The driver was part of the motherboard but it's the same that is used on a different pc without the "fuzzyness"

 

So there is no restricted drivers out for your PC?

 

Sorry but as you may have gathered by now, I don't have much experience with hardware (or linux). I have just asked someone more knowledgeable and the videocard used on both one of the Windows and this particular Linux box is Radeon 9250 and that would have come with the relevant driver. (So please forget what I said about the motherboard).

Not sure what a restricted driver is though.

 

Go to system>administration>hardware drivers and see if any driver is listed, enable it and reboot if its there and you will have the drivers for your video card.

 

No proprietary drivers are in use on this system

 

Ok then you are set, try another browser like Chrome to see if this issue persists and then we will take it from there.

 

easy way to get opera plugging working is

1 go to ubuntu software center form there type and install nspluginwrapper if you still face problem playing videos in opera then

remove flash plugin form ubuntu software center and reinstall it i try this trick on 1 computer so far work very well

edit also

http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-in...er-in-ubuntu-including-flashjava-plugins.html

 

Uninstalling Flash and reinstalling did it - thanks a lot.