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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.
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
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
Download the Sample Chapter from this book.
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
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
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
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
What Is Ubuntu Server? 150
Installing Ubuntu Server 152
Ubuntu Package Management 162
Ubuntu Server Security 173
Summary 180
Your System 184
Applications 199
Multimedia 204
Networking 210
Hardware 216
System Administration 227
Other 240
Summary 246
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
Venues 313
Ubuntu Mailing Lists 314
IRC Channel List 318
Teams, Processes, and Community Governance 331
Getting Involved 338
Summary 341
Partner Projects 344
Derived Distributions 346
The Launchpad 351
Bazaar 356
Summary 356
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
Code of Conduct 367
Ubuntu Code of Conduct 368
Ubuntu Philosophy 370
Components 372
License Policy 374
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 379
License 379
On the Ubuntu Desktop 387
Additional Applications 389
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.
Download the Foreword from this book.
Download the Index file from this book.