The Official Ubuntu Book

by Hill, Benjamin; Helmke, Matthew; Burger, Corey

• ISBN13: 9780137081301
• ISBN10: 0137081308
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-21
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

Ubuntu is a complete, free operating system that emphasizes community, support, and ease of use without compromising speed, power, or flexibility. Itrs"s Linux for human beings, designed for everyone from computer novices to experts. Ubuntu 10.04 is the latest release-more powerful, more flexible, and friendlier than ever.The Official Ubuntu Book, Fifth Edition,will get you up and running quickly. Written by expert, leading Ubuntu community members, this book covers all you need to know to make the most of Ubuntu 10.04, whether yours"re a home user, small business user, server administrator, or programmer. The authors explain Ubuntu 10.04 from start to finish: installation, configuration, desktop productivity, games, management, support, and much more. Among the many topics covered in this edition: Kubuntu, Ubuntu Netbook Edition, and Ubuntu Server. The Official Ubuntu Book, Fifth Edition,covers standard desktop applications, from word processing, spreadsheets, Web browsing, e-mail, instant messaging, music, video, and games to software development, databases, and server applications. In addition, you will Learn how to customize Ubuntu for home, small business, school, government, and enterprise environments Learn how to quickly update Ubuntu to new release versions and upgraded applications Find up-to-the-minute troubleshooting advice from Ubuntu users worldwide from forums and other means to get the help you need quickly Learn Ubuntu Server installation and administration, including LVM and RAID implementation Learn how to install Ubuntu on a netbook The DVD includes the complete Ubuntu Linux operating system for installation on PC platforms, preconfigured with an outstanding desktop environment for both home and business computing. It can be used to install other complete variants of Ubuntu, including Kubuntu (with the KDE environment), Ubuntu Netbook Edition, and Ubuntu Server.

Author Biography

Benjamin Mako Hill serves on Ubuntu’s Community Council governance board, which helps oversee community aspects of Ubuntu. He is a fellow at the MIT Center for Future Civic Media, and a researcher and Ph.D. candidate at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

 

Matthew Helmke is one of the administrators of the Ubuntu Forums and a member of the Ubuntu membership board for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

 

Corey Burger serves on Ubuntu’s Community Council governance board, Ubuntu’s Marketing and News Teams, and is a geography student in his spare time.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the First Edition         xxi

Preface         xxvii

Acknowledgments         xxix

About the Authors         xxxi

Introduction         xxxiii

 

Chapter 1: Introducing Ubuntu         1

A Wild Ride 2

Free Software, Open Source, and GNU/Linux 3

A Brief History of Ubuntu 7

What Is Ubuntu? 12

Ubuntu Promises and Goals 18

Canonical and the Ubuntu Foundation 26

Ubuntu Subprojects, Derivatives, and Spin-offs 31

Summary 33

 

Chapter 2: Installing Ubuntu         35

Choosing Your Ubuntu Version 36

Getting Ubuntu 38

Installing from the Desktop CD 41

Installing from the Alternate Install CD 50

Installing from a USB Key 56

Installing from within Windows 57

Summary 57

 

Chapter 3: Using Ubuntu on the Desktop         59

Taking Your Desktop for a Ride 61

Using Your Applications 72

The Ubuntu File Chooser and Bookmarks 84

Ubuntu in Your Language 86

Customizing Ubuntu’s Look and Feel 87

Managing Your Files 89

Ubuntu and Multimedia 94

Moving to the Next Ubuntu Release 109

Summary 111

 

Chapter 4: Gaining Greater Proficiency         113

Adding and Removing Programs and Packages 114

Keeping Your Computer Updated 120

Adding Additional Users 124

Using and Abusing Devices and Media 125

Configuring a Printer in Ubuntu 128

How Linux Stores and Organizes Files 133

The Terminal 137

Backup Strategies 137

Working with Windows Programs 139

Summary 140

 

Chapter 5: The Ubuntu Server         141

What Is Ubuntu Server? 142

Installing Ubuntu Server 144

Ubuntu Package Management 156

Ubuntu Server Security 167

Advanced Topics 174

Summary 178

 

Chapter 6: More Applications for Ubuntu         181

Creating Graphics with GIMP and Inkscape 182

Desktop Publishing with Scribus 194

Exploring the Future with GNOME-shell and Zeitgeist 206

Getting There Faster with GNOME Do and Docky 211

Summary 214

 

Chapter 7: The Ubuntu Community         215

Venues 217

Teams, Processes, and Community Governance 231

Getting Involved 240

Summary 243

 

Chapter 8: Using Kubuntu         245

Introduction to Kubuntu 246

Installing Kubuntu 249

Navigating in Kubuntu 254

Customizing Kubuntu 257

System Administration 260

Managing Files with Kubuntu 272

Common Applications 277

Finding Help and Giving Back to the Community 290

Summary 291

 

Chapter 9: Mobile and Netbook Editions         293

Installing on a Netbook 294

Using the Launcher 296

Window Listing 300

Maximized Windows 300

Switching Back to the Regular Ubuntu Desktop 301

Applications to Make Your Netbook Better 302

Other Changes from the Desktop Edition 306

Summary 307

 

Chapter 10: Ubuntu-Related Projects         309

Officially Supported Derivatives 310

Recognized Derivatives 314

Other Distributions 315

Launchpad 318

Bazaar 324

Summary 325

 

Chapter 11: Introducing the Ubuntu Forums         327

What Are the Ubuntu Forums? 328

A Brief History of the Ubuntu Forums 328

How May I Participate? 329

Questions, Locations, Conversations, and Activities 334

Key People in the Forums 335

Fun Stuff 336

The Foundation of the Ubuntu Forums 337

Summary 337

 

Appendix: Welcome to the Command Line         339

Starting Up the Terminal 339

Getting Started 340

Building Pipelines 341

Running Commands as the Superuser 342

Finding Help 343

Moving Around the Filesystem 343

Manipulating Files and Folders 344

System Information Commands 345

Searching and Editing Text Files 347

Dealing with Users and Groups 348

Getting Help on the Command Line 348

Searching for Man Files 349

Using Wildcards 349

Executing Multiple Commands 350

Moving to More Advanced Uses of the Command Line 352

 

Index         355