linux mint, mate, panels: change desktop folder location

if you don't want mate to use the $HOME/Desktop folder as the folder it actually shows on your desktop, you can change which location it uses.

i couldn't find anything by searching for this until i remembered that mate is a successor of gnome2.  so, i looked up how to do it for gnome2 and it seems to be kind of the same:

here's how to do it with gnome:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/17752/use-any-folder-for-your-ubuntu-desktop-even-a-dropbox-folder/

so, just go to your home folder, click "view"->"show hidden files", then click on the ".config" folder and then open "user-dirs.dirs" and change everything there.

alternatively (thanks anonymous),

1. gedit ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs
2. change the value of XDG_DESKTOP_DIR="/insert/path/here" and save it
3. killall nautilus

solution: ubuntu/mint linux doesn't shut down, cpu stuck

i have linux mint installed on my dell studio 1569 laptop.  linux mint would never shut down on its own.  i go to shut off and it just pukes all over the screen.

Linux Mint 13 Maya ajtNbMint tty1
ajtNbMint login: modem manager[2701]: <info> Caught signal 15, shutting down...

rpcbind: rpcbind terminating on signal.  Restart with "rpcbind -w"
nm-dispatcher.action: Caught signal 15, shutting down...
[  766.704047] BUG: soft lockup - CPU#3 stuck for 23s! [reboot:9642]
[  766.704341] Stack:
[  766.704304] Call Trace:
[  766.704410]  <IRQ>
[  766.704404]  <EOI>
...

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important edit 2014-06-09:

if you are running ubuntu 12.04, i recommend updating to ubuntu 14.04.  this has fixed many hardware related issues for me.

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important edit 2013-11-11:

i don't think the below solution actually does anything, despite people say it working.  this is because the bug only happens when you shut down the computer after it has been on for a while, but when you test a new boot parameter, you restart so it can take effect and then shut down immediately after restarting to test it.  because you shut down right after starting up, it seems to have worked, and then post "thank you" and realize later that day that it didn't work.

this bug has already been reported to linux and is already fixed in the "mainline kernel" which means that it just hasn't been rolled out to normal users yet because it's not completely tested.  here is the bug report where the reporter says the bug has been fixed upstream:  https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/254326

no need to wait -- you can begin using the mainline kernel now.  all i did was install an image*.deb file and now when i boot up, i can choose "ubuntu with advanced options" and boot using the updated kernel.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/MainlineBuilds?action=show&redirect=KernelMainlineBuilds

after using the new kernel, my computer turns off normally even after several hours of use, and it also doesn't crash every 2 hours or after resuming from sleep anymore.

below are the old suggestions, which i believe DO NOT work!
let me know what actually works for you in the comments.  remember, to test if your change worked, you should use your computer for a couple hours before shutting down.

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for some people, adding the kernel boot parameters "noapic" fixes the problem:

• http://muffinresearch.co.uk/archives/2008/08/20/ubuntu-bug-soft-lockup-cpu0-stuck-for-11s/
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/206316

once i did this, my computer still didn't shut down, but it gave me this helpful message:  "irq 19: nobody cared (try booting with the "irqpoll" option)".  so i also added the "irqpoll" kernel boot parameter, and ever since it has shut down beautifully.  this has to do with intel and linux not playing well together.

if you are using grub2, simply run 
gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub


and add "noapic" to the line starting with "GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT":

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash blah blah blah noapic irqpoll"