When you install Ubuntu you will see that everytime you want to go to Computer (equivalent to My Computer in Windows) or your Home folder, you have to go to the Places menu and click on menuitems. I personally find this a bit annoying. Here’s an easy way to create shortcuts for them on your desktop.
First, open the Configuration Editor. To do this, go to System -> Preferences -> Main Menu. This will open the Main Menu editor. Under Applications, select System Tools. Then tick Configuration Editor.
Close the Main Menu editor and go to Applications -> System Tools, and open Configuration Manager.
[Tip: Another way to open the Configuration Editor is by pressing Alt+F2 and entering the following code in the Run dialog box]
gconf-editor
Once you open the Configuration Editor, go to apps -> nautilus -> desktop
From there you can tick and select which icons you want to appear on your desktop.
Result:
