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Discover Ubuntu, Today’s Hottest Linux
Everyone’s talking about Ubuntu–it’s not just 100% free, it’s the most useful, practical desktop Linux ever! Now, Linux expert Marcel Gagné reveals Ubuntu’s amazing power and helps you migrate from Windows faster than you ever thought possible.
Moving to Ubuntu Linux will teach you how to do virtually anything with Ubuntu–write documents, create spreadsheets, surf the Web, use email, listen to music, watch movies, and play games.
Acknowledgments xix
Foreword xxi
Chapter 1: Introducing Ubuntu! 1
But What Is Linux? 2
Is Linux Really FREE? 4
What’s a Distribution? 4
Linux and the GPL 5
What Do I Gain? 5
What Do I Lose? 7
Some Tips on Using This Book 8
Quick Tips and Shelling Out 9
Meet Your Desktop 9
Help Me! 10
About the DVD 12
It’s My Philosophy 13
Resources 14
Chapter 2: Running and Installing the Ubuntu Live DVD 15Ready to Try Ubuntu Linux? 17
HELP! 18
Installing the Ubuntu Live DVD 31
Remember to Share 40
Resources 40
Chapter 3: Getting Your Hands Dirty (Desktop Overview) 41Getting to Know You . . . GNOME 42
Logging In 43
Becoming One with the Desktop 44
Your First Application 46
Windows, Title Bars, and Menus, Oh My! 48
Command Central 52
A Polite Introduction to the Command Line 54
Give Me More! 55
Changing Your Password; It’s All About You! 56
User Security 58
Much Ado About sudo 60
I Need More Help! 61
Logging Out 62
Navigating Your Ubuntu Desktop 64
Resources 64
Chapter 4: Navigating Nautilus 65Files, Directories, and the Root of All Things 66
Wherever You Go . . . 70
Search Me . . . 71
Navigating Networks 75
Uh, Roger, Copy That . . . 78
Creating New Folders 79
Copying Files and Directories (and Moving, Too!) 80
Deleting Files and Folders 86
Other Interesting Places to Visit 87
My World, My Way 88
Making Your Home a Home 88
Chapter 5: Customizing Your Desktop (or Making Your World Your Own) 89I Am Sovereign of All I Survey . . . 90
Save My Screen, Please! 93
Moving Things Around 95
Is That a Theme or a Motif? 98
Adding Icons and Shortcuts to Your Desktop 102
Applets Galore: Back to the Panel! 106
Miscellaneous Changes 109
Resources 109
Chapter 6: Printers and Other Hardware 111Yes, It Runs with Linux! 112
Plug and Play 113
Printers and Printing 114
Getting Familiar with Your Other Hardware 123
Modems versus Winmodems 129
What? More Devices? 132
Resources 133
Chapter 7: Connecting to the Internet 135Before You Begin 136
Getting on the Net 137
Connecting to the Net with a Modem 137
Cable Modems and High-Speed DSL 143
Going Wireless 144
Okay, I’m Connected—Now What? 146
Resources 147
Chapter 8: Installing New Applications 149Linux and Security 150
Identifying Software Packages 151
The Simplest Way to Add Applications 151
The Synaptic Package Manager 155
Installing Software with Synaptic 158
Keeping Ubuntu Up-to-Date 162
DEBs, the Shell Way 164
Chapter 9: Instant Messaging, and IRC, Too! 169Why Jabber? 170
Instant Messaging with Gaim 170
IRC: Internet Relay Chat 176
Resources 182
Chapter 10: Surfing the Net with Firefox 183Mozilla versus Firefox 184
Extending Firefox 193
Wrapping Up—Other Browsers to Consider 196
Resources 197
Chapter 11: Evolution: Email and More! 199Be Prepared . . . 200
Evolution 200
Sending and Receiving Mail 204
Your Little Black Book 207
Attached to You . . . 209
Other Options 210
Resources 210
Chapter 12: Evolution: Keeping Organized 211Evolution and Planning 212
Resources 223
Chapter 13: OpenOffice.org Writer (It Was a Dark and Stormy Night . . .) 225Getting Started with OpenOffice.org Writer 226
Alternative Word Processor Choices 244
Resources 244
Chapter 14: OpenOffice.org Calc (Tables You Can Count On) 245Starting a New Spreadsheet and Entering Data 246
Nice, Colorful, Impressive, and Dynamic Graphs 252
Final Touches 255
Alternatives 257
Resources 257
Chapter 15: OpenOffice.org Impress (For When You Need to Impress Someone) 259Getting Ready to Impress 260
Instant Web Presentations 270
So What’s with the Penguin? 275
Extra! Extra! 276
Alternatives 277
Resources 277
Chapter 16: OpenOffice.org Base 279The Beginning: Creating a New Database 280
Setting the Table 284
Creating Mailing Labels 289
Further Exploring 293
Resources 294
Chapter 17: Digital Art with the GIMP 295Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your GIMP 296
Printing Your Masterpiece 303
Tools, Tools, and More Tools 305
On to the Tool Icons 306
Touching Up Photographs 314
What Is Script-Fu? 317
Resources 317
Chapter 18: If Music Be the Food of Love . . . (Ubuntu Linux Multimedia) 319Adjusting the Levels 320
Playing Audio CDs with the Sound Juicer 321
A Simpler CD Player 323
Ripping and Burning Songs 324
Playing Your Songs 329
Can You Feel the Burn? 331
Put Another Nickel In . . . 340
Resources 345
Chapter 19: Would You Like to Play a Game? (Very Serious Fun) 347Ubuntu Preinstalled Games 348
Must-Have Linux Games 364
More Games! I Need More Games! 368
Resources 369
Chapter 20: Turning Ubuntu into Kubuntu 371Installing the Kubuntu Desktop 372
Doing It with the Shell 379
Resources 379
Chapter 21: Taking Command of Ubuntu Linux 381Linux Commands: An Easy Start 382
Working with Files 384
A Peek at Metacharacters 386
File Permissions in the Shell 386
More on rm (or, “Oops! I didn’t really mean that”) 389
Making Your Life Easier with alias 389
Standard Input and Standard Output 392
Pipes and Piping 394
Linux Commands: Working with Directories 397
There’s No Place Like $HOME 399
More on File Permissions 399
User and Group Ownership 400
Who Was That Masked User? 403
Finding Anything 405
Processes 409
Working with Editors 416
Resources 424
Appendix A: The GNU General Public License 425
Index 435