Linux
Install Google Pinyin in Ubuntu
I had been using Sun Pinyin for a long time, but once I tried Google Pinyin I never looked back. Here is how to get a comfortable Chinese Pinyin setup on Ubuntu. Note: This post has been updated for Fcitx5, the input method framework that ships with current Ubuntu (20.04 and later). The original 2013 version installed the standalone fcitx-googlepinyin package on Fcitx 4 through the fcitx-team PPA. That package is now unmaintained; Fcitx5’s built-in Pinyin engine, paired with the Cloud Pinyin addon, is its modern replacement, and no PPA is needed.
Configure Unity Workspace Layout in Ubuntu
Note: This post describes Unity 7 and Compiz, Ubuntu’s default desktop through Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Canonical ended its work on Unity in 2017, and the default switched to GNOME Shell starting with Ubuntu 17.10 — where workspaces are configured differently and compizconfig-settings-manager no longer applies. The steps below are kept as a historical walkthrough; they still work on the community-maintained Ubuntu Unity flavor. Why change the layout? Every time I upgrade to a new Ubuntu release, the desktop defaults to a 2×2 workspace grid.