help.ubuntu.com
Ubuntu-specific documentation is available at https://help.ubuntu.com. Here on listed links you can find specific documentation for different releases. Always check the release help page first for documentation, though it may be sparse and cover mainly changed areas. The Ubuntu LTS … Continue reading
Ubuntu Editions
Ubuntu is released in several editions, each designed for a distinct group of users or functions. Editions install different collections of software such as the GNOME desktop, the KDE desktop, servers, educational software, and multimedia applications. Table 1-2 lists the … Continue reading
Welcome, Language, and Preparing to install
When the Ubuntu Desktop CD first boots, it will display a Welcome screen with buttons for two options as shown here. Try Ubuntu Install Ubuntu
Recovery
If for some reason your system is not able to start up, it may be due to conflicting configurations, libraries, or applications. Select the recovery mode entry from the GRUB boot menu, the Ubuntu kernel entry with the (recovery mode) … Continue reading
GNOME Power Management
For power management, Ubuntu uses the GNOME Power Manager, gnome-power-manager, which makes use of Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) support provided by a computer to manage power use. The GNOME Power Manager can display an icon on the panel … Continue reading
The Indicator Applet Session applet and the User Switcher
The User Switcher lets you switch to another user, without having to log out or end your current user session. The User Switcher is installed automatically as part of your basic Ubuntu desktop configuration, located in the Indicator Applet Session … Continue reading
Installing Software Packages
Installing software is an administrative function performed by a user with administrative access. During the Ubuntu installation, only some of the many applications and utilities available for users on Linux were installed on your system. On Ubuntu, you can install … Continue reading
Software Sources managed from Ubuntu Desktop
You can manage your repositories with the Software Sources dialog, allowing you to enable or disable repository sections, as well as add new entries. This dialog edits the /etc/apt/sources.list file directly. Choose System | Administration | Software Sources to open the Software Sources … Continue reading
Running Microsoft Office on Linux: Wine and CrossOver
One of the concerns for new Linux users is what kind of access they will have to their Microsoft Office files, particularly Word files. The Linux operating system and many applications for it are designed to provide seamless access to … Continue reading
KOffice
KOffice is an integrated office suite for the K Desktop Environment (KDE) consisting of several office applications, including a word processor, a spreadsheet, and graphics applications. You can download it from the Ubuntu Software Center | Office | KOffice, or … Continue reading
Photo Management: Shotwell, F-Spot, and Cheese
The Shotwell Photo Manager provides an easy and powerful way to manage, display, and import, and publish your photos and images (http://www.yorba.org/shotwell/). It is the default photo manager for Ubuntu 10.10. See the Shotwell user manual for full details (Help … Continue reading
GNOME Graphics Tools
GNOME features several powerful and easy-to-use graphic tools. The gThumb application is an image viewer and browser that lets you browse images using thumbnails, display them, and organize them into catalogs for easy reference. The Eye of Gnome is the … Continue reading
The KDE Mail Client: KMail
The KDE mail client, KMail, provides a full-featured GUI interface for composing, sending, and receiving e-mail messages. KMail is part of the KDE Personal Information Management suite (KDE-PIM) which also includes an address book (KAddressBook), an organizer and scheduler (KOrganizer), … Continue reading
Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a full-featured stand-alone e-mail client provided by the Mozilla project (http://www.mozilla.org). It is designed to be easy to use, highly customizable, and heavily secure. It features advanced intelligent spam filtering, as well as security features like encryption, digital … Continue reading
Firefox Configuration
The Preferences menu (Edit | Preferences) in Firefox enables you to set several different options. There are preference buttons for Main, Tabs, Content, Applications, Privacy, Security, and Advance. On the Main page, you can set you home page, download options, … Continue reading
Java for Linux
To develop Java applications, use Java tools, and run many Java products, you use the Java 2 Software Development Kit (SDK) and the Java 2 Runtime Environment (JRE). The SDK is a superset of the JRE, adding development tools like … Continue reading
System Tools
Useful system tools as well as user specific configuration tools can be found in the Applications | System Tools, System | Preferences, System | Administration, and Applications | Accessories menus. The Administration menu holds tools like the System Monitor for checking on resource … Continue reading
Automatic Login Preferences
If you want to change automatic login preferences, you can use the Login Screen Settings window accessible from System | Administration | Login Screen. This configures the GNOME Display Manager, which runs your login process. With Ubuntu 10.10 the Login … Continue reading
sudo and gksu
The sudo service provides administrative access to specific users. You have to be a user on the system with a valid username and password that has been authorized by the sudo service for administrative access. This allows other users to … Continue reading
System Administration
Most administrative configurations tasks are performed for you automatically. Devices like printers, hard drive partitions, and graphics cards are detected and set up for you. There are cases where you may need to perform tasks manually like adding new users and installing … Continue reading
Network Manager manual configuration for all network connections
Should you need to edit any network connection, wired or wireless, you right-click on the Network Manager icon and select Edit Connections. You can also select System | Preferences | Network Connections. This opens Network Manager’s Network Connections window as … Continue reading
Wired Configuration
To edit a wired connection, select the connection and click the Edit buttons on the Wired tab. This opens an Editing window as shown in Figure. The Add button is used to add a new connection and opens a similar … Continue reading
Remote Printers
You specify a printer location using special URI protocols. For a locally attached USB printer, the USB URI is usb. For another CUPS printer on a remote host, the protocol used is ipp, for Internet Printing Protocol, whereas for a … Continue reading
Ubuntu Printers remotely accessed from Windows
On an older Windows system, like Windows XP, you can use the Add Printer Wizard to locate a shared printer on a Linux system. Locate the Ubuntu system, click on it, and the shared printers on the Ubuntu system will … Continue reading
The GNOME Interface
The Network Object Model Environment, also known as GNOME, is a powerful and easy-to-use environment consisting primarily of a panel, a desktop, and a set of GUI tools with which program interfaces can be constructed. GNOME is designed to provide … Continue reading
Drag-and-Drop Files to the Desktop
Any icon for an item that you drag-and-drop from a file manager window to the desktop also appears on the desktop. However, the default drag-and-drop operation is a move operation. If you select a file in your file manager window … Continue reading
The KDE 4 Desktop
One of KDE’s aims is to provide users with a consistent integrated desktop. KDE provides its own window manager (KWM), file manager (Dolphin), program manager, and desktop and panel (Plasma). You can run any other X Window System–compliant application, such … Continue reading
Leave KDE
To leave KDE, you first click the Leave tab on the KDE Kickoff menu. Here you will find options to logout, lock, switch user, sleep, hibernate, shutdown, and restart. There are Session and System sections. The Session section has entries … Continue reading
Filename Expansion: *, ?, [ ]
Filenames are the most common arguments used in a command. Often you will know only part of the filename, or you will want to reference several filenames that have the same extension or begin with the same characters. The shell … Continue reading
The Command Line
The shell is a command interpreter that provides a line-oriented interactive and non-interactive interface between the user and the operating system. You enter commands on a command line; they are interpreted by the shell and then sent as instructions to … Continue reading