ThinkPad Setup for Data Science in ENV

Instructions for setting up a ThinkPad in bcgov, tailored for data science workflows used by ENV teams.

Data Science Related Installs

Install R and RStudio according to these instructions

• https://github.com/bcgov/bcgov-data-science-resources/wiki/Installing-R-&-RStudio
• Add R to the Windows PATH if you want using these steps:
  • Verify R is installed here: C:\Program Files\R\R-[version_number]\bin\
  • Open the start menu and type in 'View advanced system settings', click on 'Environment variables'
  • Under 'System variables', select Path and click on edit.
  • Click 'New', and add the folder address for R to there (C:\Program Files\R\R-[version_number]\bin)
  • Open windows power shell and type in R to launch R command line tool

Install Rtools

• Install from here: https://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/Rtools/
• Accept all defaults except also check the box "Add rtools to system PATH"

Install a text editor you can use

• Sublime (small licence fee)
• Visual studio code
• Emacs
• vim

Install git

• https://git-scm.com/downloads
• Accept all defaults except the choice of text editor, choose something other than vim
• Configure git with your username and email

(see Chapter 6 of Happy Git and GitHub for the useR)

Configure GitHub

• As soon as you try to push to a repo where you have to establish your GitHub profile, git will open an authentication window. Simply provide your GitHub password and subsequent 2nd authentication. This will add a personal access token to your GitHub profile and allow you to push to your repos.

(see Chapter 9 of Happy Git and GitHub for the useR)

Connect RStudio to Git and GitHub

• Connecting RStudio to Git and GitHub allows you to pull and push your commits from the RStudio environment. The process is described in Chapter 12 of Happy Git and GitHub for the useR.

Generic Windows/Lenovo Issues

Fix F* key issue with ThinkPads

• Fn keys (F1, F2, etc) have alternate functions. The default for LENOVE Thinkpads is for the F keys to control volume, brightness, etc. To toggle to more typical behavour press the Fn and Esc/FnLock keys at the same time. A light should appear on in the Esc/FnLock key.

Turn on access to your camera and microphone

• Setting > Privacy > Camera > Allow apps to access your camera (Toggle on)
• Setting > Privacy > Microphone > Allow apps to access your camera (Toggle on)

Setup WLS on Windows 10

This process will allow you to use a Ubuntu shell from inside Windows 10. This can be very handy.

Here is the official Microsoft setup guide: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10