Installing Chromium on Ubuntu 12.10

Chromium is the open-source browser on which Google bases its Chrome browser. Therefore, these browsers are nearly identical, and you can use Chromium in place of Chrome. In fact, you should do so on Ubuntu 12.10. If you try to install Chrome on a PC running Ubuntu 12.10, the installation halts and displays "The package is of bad quality" as shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1 - A warning against installing Google Chrome on Ubuntu 12.10. You should instead install Chromium.

This document explains how to remove Google Chrome (if installed), install Chromium, and then configure it.

Removing Google Chrome
In case you have installed Google Chrome on Ubuntu 12.10, you should remove it and then install Chromium according to the next section. To remove (uninstall) Google Chrome, do the following:

1. Open a terminal, type sudo apt-get install synaptic, type your password and then wait for Synaptic to install.
2. Type sudo synaptic to display the Synaptic Package Manager window.
3. Type google-chrome into the Quick filter search field.
4. Right-click google-chrome-stable, click Mark for Complete Removal, click Apply to display a Summary window and then click Apply.
5. Close both the Synaptic Package Manager window and the terminal.

Installing Chromium
To install Chromium on Ubuntu 12.10, do the following:

1. As shown in Figure 2 below; in the Unity launcher, click the Ubuntu Software Center icon to display its window.
2. As shown in Figure 3 below, type chromium into the search field, select Chromium Web Browser and then click Install.
3. Type your password and then click Authenticate to start the installation.
4. After Chromium installs, close the Ubuntu Software Center.
5. Configure Chromium according to the next section.

Figure 2 - Opening the Ubuntu Software Center. 

Figure 3 - Installing the Chromium Web Browser.

Configuring Chromium
To configure Chromium on Ubuntu 12.10, do the following:

1. Click Dash Home (at top of the launcher) and then click Chromium Web Browser as shown in Figure 4 below.
2. Minimize the Chromium window; in the Unity launcher, right-click the Chromium icon; and then click Lock to Launcher as shown in Figure 5 below.
3. Maximize the Chromium window, click sign in (at the upper right) to display the Sign in to Chromium window as shown in Figure 6 below.
4. Type your email address, and then click either Sign in or Create a Google Account. If you already have a Google account, Chromium can synchronize your bookmarks, history, and settings.
5. Click the three bars at the upper right, and then click Settings to display its window.
6. Select Open a specific page or set of pages, click Set pages, select https//www.google.com/ and then click OK.
7. As shown in Figure 7 below, scroll to Default browser, click Make Chromium my default browser and then close the Settings - Chromium window.

Figure 4 - Opening Chromium through Dash.

Figure 5 - Locking the Chromium icon to the Unity launcher. 

Figure 6 - Signing into Chromium, and syncing to your Google account.

Figure 7 - Making Chromium your default browser.