Official Ubuntu Book, The

Product Author Bios

Benjamin Mako Hill is on the Ubuntu Community Council governance board, and on the founding Ubuntu team with the charge to help grow the Ubuntu development and user community during the first year. With the community off the ground, Mako returned to graduate school at the MIT Media Lab where he works on the One Laptop Per per Child project.

Jono Bacon is an Open Source consultant, speaker, and writer living in the United Kingdom. Jono spends his days helping people to move to Open Source and speaks at conferences around the world about Open Source and its community

Corey Burger is a member of the Ubuntu Documentation Team, the Laptop Testing Team, and has been involved with Ubuntu since December 2004. As leader of Ubuntu Canada, he works to promote Ubuntu to individuals and organizations across Canada.

Jonathan Jesse is a member of the Kubuntu Documents Team, works on bugs for the Kubuntu team, tests builds for the Laptop Testing Team, and helps out on the wiki as well.

Ivan Krstić is one of the Ubuntu Server Team administrators and has previously served as director of research at the Medical Informatics Laboratory at Zagreb Children's Hospital, where he depended on Ubuntu Server for mission-critical backend tasks. He is now developing software architecture for the One Laptop Per Child project

Ubuntu is a complete, free operating system that emphasizes community, support, and ease of use while refusing to compromise on speed, power, and flexibility. It's Linux for human beings--designed for everyone from computer novices to experts. Ubuntu is the most in-demand Linux distribution, and this official guide will get you up and running quickly.

Learn how to seamlessly install and customize Ubuntu for your home or small businesses. Its open source power can be used in schools, government, or by corporations, and is suitable for both desktop and server use. The Ubuntu community is built on the premise that software should be available free of charge, and that people should have the freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they see fit.

Written by leading Ubuntu community members, this is the only book that you need to become a savvy Ubuntu user.

• Covers the latest version of Ubuntu--Ubuntu 6.06LTS
• Covers every standard desktop application from word processing, spreadsheets, Web browsing, e-mail, instant messaging, music, video, and, of course, games, all the way to software development, databases, and other server applications
• Includes real-world troubleshooting advice contributed by Ubuntu users from around the world
• Learn about the extended Ubuntu community, which includes translators; software developers; teachers; people who love to hand out CDs and help friends try free software; artists; people who write documentation, tips, and guides; accountants; and even a lawyer or two.
• Covers both Ubuntu and Kubuntu desktop systems
• Explains Ubuntu Server installation and basic administration, complete with advanced installer features like LVM and RAID

This book comes with a version of Ubuntu that can run right off the DVD, as well as the complete set of supported packages for Ubuntu, including Kubuntu. Try out Ubuntu on the DVD. If you want to keep it, install it directly from your desktop.

Community Contributors: James Stanger, Jorge O. Castro, Matthew East, Quim Gil, Dennis Kaarsemaker, David Bain, Alan Barnard, David Clayton, Manu Cornet, Scott Dier, Oskar Jönefors, Jason LaPrade, Avinash Meetoo, Julien Rottenberg, Stephen Sandlin, David Symons, Paul van Genderen, Andrew Zajac

Online Sample Chapters

Support and Typical Problems in Ubuntu

The Official Ubuntu Book: Advanced Usage and Managing Ubuntu

The Official Ubuntu Book: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Open Publication License

The Official Ubuntu Book: Installing Ubuntu

The Official Ubuntu Book: Introducing Ubuntu

The Official Ubuntu Book: Support and Typical Problems

The Official Ubuntu Book: The Ubuntu Community

The Official Ubuntu Book: The Ubuntu Server

The Official Ubuntu Book: Ubuntu Equivalents to Windows Programs

The Official Ubuntu Book: Ubuntu Foundation Documents

The Official Ubuntu Book: Ubuntu-Related Projects

The Official Ubuntu Book: Using Kubuntu

The Official Ubuntu Book: Using Ubuntu on the Desktop

The Official Ubuntu Book: Welcome to the Command Line

Table of Contents

Foreword xix

Preface xxv

Acknowledgments xxvii

About the Authors xxix

Introduction xxxi

About This Book xxxi

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 24

Ubuntu Subprojects, Derivatives, and Spin offs 28

Summary 30

Chapter 2: Installing Ubuntu 31

Choosing Your Ubuntu Version 32

Getting Ubuntu 34

Installing from the Desktop CD 36

Installing Using the Alternate Install CD 45

Post-Installation 52

Summary 54

Chapter 3: Using Ubuntu on the Desktop 55

Taking Your Desktop for a Ride 57

Using Your Applications 65

The Ubuntu File Chooser and Bookmarks 99

Ubuntu in Your Language 100

Customizing Ubuntu’s Look and Feel 101

Managing Your Files 103

Ubuntu and Multimedia 109

Summary 115

Chapter 4: Advanced Usage and Managing Ubuntu 117

Adding and Removing Programs and Packages 118

Keeping Your Computer Updated 125

Moving to the Next Ubuntu Release 128

Using and Abusing Devices and Media 129

Configuring a Printer in Ubuntu 132

Graphically Access Remote Files 139

The Terminal 141

Working with Windows 145

Summary 147

Chapter 5: The Ubuntu Server 149

What Is Ubuntu Server? 150

Installing Ubuntu Server 152

Ubuntu Package Management 162

Ubuntu Server Security 173

Summary 180

Chapter 6: Support and Typical Problems 183

Your System 184

Applications 199

Multimedia 204

Networking 210

Hardware 216

System Administration 227

Other 240

Summary 246

Chapter 7: Using Kubuntu 249

Introduction to Kubuntu 250

Installing Kubuntu 255

Customizing Kubuntu 259

Systems Administration 264

Managing Files with Kubuntu 279

Common Applications 287

Finding Help and Giving Back to the Community 308

Summary 310

Chapter 8: The Ubuntu Community 311

Venues 313

Ubuntu Mailing Lists 314

IRC Channel List 318

Teams, Processes, and Community Governance 331

Getting Involved 338

Summary 341

Chapter 9: Ubuntu-Related Projects 343

Partner Projects 344

Derived Distributions 346

The Launchpad 351

Bazaar 356

Summary 356

Appendix A: Welcome to the Command Line 357

Starting Up the Terminal 357

Moving around the Filesystem 357

Manipulating Files and Folders 359

System Information Commands 360

Searching and Editing Text Files 361

Dealing with Users and Groups 362

Getting Help on the Command Line 363

Searching for Man Files 363

Using Wildcards 364

Executing Multiple Commands 364

Moving on to More Advanced Uses of the Command Line 365

Appendix B: Ubuntu Foundation Documents 367

Code of Conduct 367

Ubuntu Code of Conduct 368

Ubuntu Philosophy 370

Components 372

License Policy 374

Appendix C: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Open Publication License 379

Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 379

License 379

Appendix D: Ubuntu Equivalents to Windows Programs 387

On the Ubuntu Desktop 387

Additional Applications 389

Index 393

Preface

Welcome to The Official Ubuntu Book!

In recent years, the Ubuntu operating system has taken the Open Source and IT world by storm. From out of nowhere, the Little Operating System That Could has blossomed into a full-featured desktop and server offering that has won over the hearts of users around the world. Aside from the strong technical platform and impressive commitment to quality, Ubuntu also enjoys success due to its sprawling community of enthusiastic users who have helped to support, document, and test every millimeter of the Ubuntu landscape.

In your hands you are holding the official authorized guide to this impressive operating system. Each of the authors selected to work on this book have demonstrated a high level of technical competence, an unbridled commitment to Ubuntu, and the ability to share this knowledge in a simple and clear manner. These authors were gathered together to create a book that offers a solid grounding to Ubuntu and explains how the many facets and features of Ubuntu work.

About This Book
At the start of every book, on every bookshelf, in every shop is a paragraph that sums up the intentions and aims for the book. In some cases, this paragraph turns into an introspective philosophical lesson with the author on the brink of claiming the book will help the author cure disease and open up a donkey sanctuary. The Official Ubuntu Book is different. We have one very simple, down-to-earth aim: to make the Ubuntu experience even more pleasant for users. The Ubuntu developers and community have gone to great lengths to produce an easy-to-use, functional, and flexible operating system for doing, browsing, and creating all kinds of interesting things. This book augments that effort. With such an integrated and flexible operating system, this guide acts as a tour de force for the many things you can do with Ubuntu.

The Scope of the Book
With such an extensive and flexible operating system to cover, we had our work cut out to write a book that could cover the system in sufficient detail. However, if we were to write in detail about every possible feature in Ubuntu, you would need to buy a new bookcase to store the sheer amount of content that would need to be written. The authors would also need to continue writing until they were skeletons. Unlikely, some may say.

Part of the challenge in creating The Official Ubuntu Book was selecting the topics and content that can be covered within a reasonably sized book. As such, we have identified the most essential content to be covered and written about it. These chosen topics not only include coverage of installation, using the desktop, applications, multimedia, system administration, and software management but also include a discussion of the community, online resources, and the philosophy weaved into Ubuntu and Open Source. In addition to this, we managed to squeeze in a chapter full of useful troubleshooting recipes that you can use when you need to troubleshoot problems. All in all, the book provides an ideal one-stop shop for getting started with Ubuntu.

The Menu
Let's take a look at the range of chapters included in the book and what each covers.

• Chapter 1--Introducing Ubuntu: Spirited introduction to the Ubuntu project, its distribution, its development processes, and some of the history that made it all possible.
  
• Chapter 2--Installing Ubuntu: Run through the installation process one step at a time, and get Ubuntu ready to run on your computer.
  
• Chapter 3--Using Ubuntu on the Desktop: Take a whistle-stop tour of the Ubuntu desktop, the applications included, and explore ways to configure your desktop.
  
• Chapter 4--Advanced Usage and Managing Ubuntu: Explore some of the advanced ways to use Ubuntu including managing the system. Learn how to install and manage software, use hardware devices and printers, interact with remove computers, use the terminal, and run some Windows programs under Ubuntu.
  
• Chapter 5--The Ubuntu Server: Introduces Ubuntu Server installation and administration, including coverage of console-line package management, basic security topics, and advanced installer features such as logical volume management (LVM) and RAID.
  
• Chapter 6--Support and Typical Problems: Packed to the seams with lots of small, independent recipes so you can learn how to solve common problems or meet requirements.
  
• Chapter 7--Using Kubuntu: The most popular spin-off project from Ubuntu is Kubuntu. This chapter provides a solid primer for getting started.
  
• Chapter 8--The Ubuntu Community: Understand the breadth of the Ubuntu community, including what folks do to build, promote, distribute, support, document, translate, and advocate Ubuntu--and find out what you can do to join in the fun.
  
• Chapter 9--Ubuntu Related Projects: Explore the universe of other distributions that surround Ubuntu, including Edubuntu and nUbuntu.
  
• Appendix A--Welcome to the Command Line: Take advantage of the power of the command line with clear, easy-to-use examples in this brief primer.
  
• Appendix B--Core Ubuntu Documents: Review some of the key documents that define Ubuntu, including the Code of Conduct, the Ubuntu Licensing Policy, the Ubuntu Philosophy, and the Description of Ubuntu Components
  
• Appendix C--Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Open Publication License
  
• Appendix D--Ubuntu Equivalents to Windows Programs
  

Downloadable Sample Chapter

Download the Sample Chapter from this book.

Foreword

Download the Foreword from this book.

Index

Download the Index file from this book.