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ubuntu pocket guide and reference pdf edition version pdf1.1 www.ubuntupocketguide.com copyright © 2009 by keir thomas all rights reserved this book is distributed in two editions as a printed book print edition and as a pdf computer file pdf edition no part of the print edition of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including photocopying recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the copyright owner permission is granted to redistribute electronically the unmodified and complete computer file that comprises the pdf edition of this work this permission does not impair or restrict the author s moral rights or grant any additional permissions without the prior written permission of the copyright owner any or all of the following is not permitted i altering editing or otherwise modifying the file that comprises the pdf edition of this work ii printing or publishing this work in any form including but not limited to print ondemand services iii selling retailing or offering in exchange for any kind of compensation the file that comprises the pdf edition of this work or any of its content iv redistributing some or all extracted or excerpted content from this work v redistributing some or all content of this work in a different format for example but not limited to html or plain text isbn ean13 9781440478291 the ubuntu logo is a registered trademark of canonical ltd and is used with permission trademarked names may appear in this book rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name we use the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner with no intention of infringement of the trademark for information on translations and/or licensing please email licensing@ubuntupocketguide.com the information in this book is distributed on an as is basis without warranty although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work neither the author nor publishers shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this work.[close]
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contents about the author ix a brief introduction xi what is ubuntu xi gnu xi the linux kernel xii linux distros xiii what makes ubuntu special xiii focus on desktop users xiv philosophy and community xiv ease of use xv what ubuntu offers xvii how to read this book xvii typing commands xviii menu options xviii what to click xviii ubuntu versions xviii chapter one installing ubuntu 1 types of installation 1 #1 dualbooting 1 #2 installing within windows 2 #3 virtual computer 2 preparing your pc for ubuntu 2 ensuring enough disk space is free 2 defragmenting the hard disk 3 checking the windows filesystem for errors 3 getting ubuntu 4 choosing a version 4 choosing a release 6 downloading ubuntu 7 creating an install cd 8 stepbystep installing ubuntu 9 standard repartitioning 9 within windows wubi 13 virtual computer 15 problematic installations alternate install 16 getting ubuntu onto an apple mac 17 iii[close]
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chapter two configuring ubuntu 19 getting started 19 keyboard and mouse/trackpad 20 switching keyboard languages 20 mouse 20 graphics 21 changing screen resolution 21 installing proprietary drivers 21 activating desktop visual effects 22 configuring a second monitor 23 changing screen backlighting 24 screensaver 24 sound 24 getting online 25 wireless 25 wired ethernet 26 printers 27 printing a test page 27 setting default print options 27 managing print jobs 28 installing a network printer 28 removable storage 29 scanners 30 bluetooth 30 pairing ubuntu 8.10 31 pairing ubuntu 8.04 31 transferring files 31 chapter three getting to grips with the desktop 33 logging in 33 wubi windows install 34 dualboot 34 the layout of the desktop 35 panels 35 main menus 35 icons and applets 36 virtual desktops 37 personalizing 38 themes 38 fonts 38 login screen 39 configuring menus 39 customizing desktop icons 40 useful applications 40 iv[close]
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cutting copying and pasting 40 desktop search 41 deskbar 41 keyboard shortcuts 44 adding new users 44 making programs start automatically 46 dealing with crashed programs 47 changing the time date 47 rebooting and shutting down 48 chapter four users and the filesystem 49 how ubuntu handles files 49 paths 49 mounting 50 file folder names 50 important filesystem locations 51 hidden files and folders 52 file extensions 53 understanding users 54 root user 54 file permissions 54 nautilus an overview 56 daytoday file management 61 links and launchers 61 bookmarks 62 tabbed browsing 62 searching for files 64 special browsing locations 64 file associations 64 file compression 65 chapter five handson at the commandline 67 all about the shell 67 bashed about 67 to dos or not to dos 68 understanding the prompt 68 starting a commandline session 68 knowing who you are 69 knowing where you re browsing 69 how commands work 70 arguments 70 command options 71 complex filenames 72 relative and absolute paths 72 running programs 74 v[close]
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useful everyday commands 75 working with root powers 77 using sudo 77 temporarily switching to root 77 enabling root login 77 file permissions in depth 78 the basics 78 execute permission 79 folder permissions 79 what permissions look like 81 changing ownerships and permissions 83 bash productivity tricks 87 keyboard shortcuts 87 command history 88 job management 89 managing processes 90 working with compressed files 91 zip files 91 tar archives 92 advanced bash techniques 94 redirection 94 piping 95 brace expansion 95 wildcards 96 chapter six software management 97 all about package management 97 what s in a package 97 apt and dpkg 98 software repositories 98 dependency management 99 synaptic an overview 101 typical tasks 103 installing software 103 uninstalling software 105 reinstalling software 105 manually installing a package 106 commandline software management 108 installing software 108 uninstalling software 110 reinstalling software 110 manually installing/uninstalling packages 110 working with repositories 112 adding a repository 112 adding a new repository key 113 compiling from source code 113 vi[close]
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chapter seven securing the system 115 system updates 115 update manager 115 updating at the commandline 116 configuring the firewall 117 installing and configuring firestarter 117 creating inbound rules 118 creating outbound rules 120 turning off diagnostic tool responses 121 installing antivirus 121 installing clamtk 122 scanning for viruses 122 encrypting files and folders 123 creating an encrypted /private folder 124 encrypting individual files and folders 125 enhancing web browser security 127 enabling a master password 128 avoiding executable content attacks 129 appendix a glossary of terms 131 appendix b learning more and getting help 141 books and magazines 141 online help 142 forums 142 mailing lists 143 builtin documentation 143 understanding man pages 143 readmes and other documentation 146 index 147 vii[close]
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about the author keir thomas is the one of the world s most prolific authors writing about ubuntu linux ubuntu pocket guide and reference is his third ubuntu book and his award-winning comprehensive guide to ubuntu beginning ubuntu linux isbn 978-1590599914 recently reached a third edition thomas is also the author of ubuntu kung fu isbn 978-1934356227 a unique book containing over 300 tips tricks hints and hacks for ubuntu it regularly tops the amazon.com best-seller list in the linux category he has written books on the subjects of suse and fedora linux and edited books on subjects ranging from enterprise e-commerce to ruby programming in a previous life he edited several top-selling computer magazines including pc utilities and linux user developer and has written for many more he lives in the united kingdom and his pastimes include hiking cycling and gardening he wishes to thank the technical reviewers of this book john southern matthew helmke and ryan troy ix[close]
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if you like ubuntu pocket guide and reference why not get the print edition only $9.94 from amazon.com add it to your amazon order now other books by keir thomas ubuntu kung fu the pragmatic programmers isbn 9781934356227 beginning ubuntu linux third edition apress isbn 9781590599914 over 300 tips tricks hints and hacks for the world s favorite linux 10 comprehensive award winning guide from zero to hero in over 700 pages![close]
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a brief introduction the purpose of this chapter is to introduce you to the ubuntu operating system and the philosophy that underpins it the fact you re reading this book might mean you already know about ubuntu but one or two readers might have bought the print edition of this book or downloaded the pdf on a whim to see what the fuss is all about these people might lack specifics and remain unconvinced of the benefits of ubuntu so i m going to burn through some precious pages of this slim volume to evangelize and explain just a little what is ubuntu ubuntu is a version of the linux operating system an operating system is the software that runs your computer microsoft windows is the world s most popular operating system at least for desktop computers but linux is a completely separate endeavor gnu the ball started rolling back in the 1980s when a hugely talented computer scientist called richard stallman decided to create a clone of a venerable operating system called unix at the time unix ran many of the world s industrial and academic computer systems stallman did this because unix was becoming increasingly proprietary it was no longer permitted to share its source code the xi[close]
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listings created by programmers as had happened since the inception of unix in 1969 this was anathema to stallman who believed sharing software was natural and healthy he decided his version of unix would always be freely available and invented the legal and ethical concept of free software to ensure this happened put simply free software says users should always have the freedom to share software without restrictions on a technical level free software guarantees the right to view and also modify source code or even use it as a basis to make a new program however any additions or changes must be released as free software too so others can continue to benefit note the free software ideal is enshrined in a software license applied to all free software projects it s called the gnu public license or gpl this is like microsoft s end user license agreement that comes with windows and you see whenever you install windows from scratch except whereas the microsoft eula prohibits sharing windows under any circumstances the gpl says exactly the opposite that you can always share the software stallman called his version of unix gnu pronounced g-noo this is a recursive acronym standing for gnu s not unix in other words the acronym refers to itself a joke of a type favored by programmers the linux kernel gnu grew into a major project with many contributors however good as it was it lacked a kernel a kernel is the program at the heart of any operating system that takes care of fundamental stuff like letting hardware communicate with software almost by accident a chap called linus torvalds provided a solution in 1991 he started a personal project to create a kernel due to a naming error when his kernel was uploaded to the internet it got named after him and became known as linux a hybrid of linus and unix crucially torvalds chose to release his kernel as free software and invited any interested party to give him a hand they did thousands of people around the world got involved as the years went by the project became more and more important and grander in its design and outlook today the linux kernel receives sponsorship from many major corporations including ibm note torvalds continues to oversee and contribute to the linux kernel project to this day he humorously describes his role as a benign dictator xii[close]
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because the kernel is such an important aspect of an operating system people began to refer to the combination of gnu and linux simply as linux this upset stallman who asked that the name gnu/linux be used instead but it was too late the name stuck note whether to refer to the operating system as gnu/linux or simply linux is a debate that continues to this day software from other sources is typically included in the linux operating system too alongside gnu and the linux kernel virtually all the software in linux is free software even though much of it has no direct ties with gnu or richard stallman arguably stallman s greatest gift to the world was not the gnu software but the concept of free software much of stallman s activity nowadays involves evangelizing around the world about free software note often the term open source is used instead of free software it has a similar meaning see www.opensource.org linux distros there isn t just one version of linux there are hundreds versions are known as distributions of linux or distros for short examples of other distros include red hat www.redhat.com and suse www.suse.com but there are many others and new ones appear all the time this variety is possible because of the freedom allowed by free software anybody can take the source code and make their own version some distros are commercially sponsored while others arose from the massive community of linux users around the world ubuntu is a little of both it is sponsored by canonical a company founded by the entrepreneur mark shuttleworth in 2004 but it also benefits from massive community support and is based on debian www.debian.org a community-generated distro what makes ubuntu special three things make ubuntu stand out from the crowd 1 2 3 its focus on desktop users the ubuntu philosophy and community ease of use let s take a closer look at each xiii[close]
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focus on desktop users although it comes in versions for all kinds of computers at its core ubuntu is a distribution of linux aimed primarily at desktop users most linux distros are equally at home on desktop or server computers the powerful computers that run the internet but lack polish when it comes to the desktop experience indeed in many cases the needs of desktop users are something of an afterthought in contrast the desktop experience is something to which the ubuntu developers pay very close attention when ubuntu was created back in 2004 mark shuttleworth recorded the very first bug in the online database however it wasn t about software instead it was a revolutionary call to arms it read as follows microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop pc marketplace this is a bug which ubuntu is designed to fix philosophy and community as you might have realized linux is as much a philosophy as it is an operating system ubuntu is no different african values ubuntu gets its title from the african concept of the same name that translates roughly as humanity to others the term gained popularity in post-apartheid south africa where it stressed the importance of individuals recognizing their role within communities and being generous of spirit because of this when mark shuttleworth founded the ubuntu linux project in 2004 he drew-up a philosophical statement based on this concept and on the principles of free software in a nutshell the ubuntu project is driven by the idea that software should be inclusive it should be possible for anybody anywhere to use share or modify ubuntu this means the software should be available in a particular user s language too if they have a disability the software should be accessible to them ubuntu is free of charge like nearly all versions of linux updates are also free-of-charge for a set period after release usually 18 months but see the table on page 7 for more details xiv[close]
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www.ubuntu.com/community/ubuntustory/philosophy and read www.gnu.org/philosophy/freesw.html note you can read more about the ubuntu philosophy at more about the free software foundation s principles at what ubuntu represents is freedom freedom to use and share the software to do what you want with it and to learn the community the ubuntu community arose directly out of the ubuntu philosophy put simply people respect the principled stand ubuntu takes they also like the fact that ubuntu focuses on the desktop experience there have been many versions of linux that like ubuntu were aimed specifically at desktop users virtually all failed this was because they compromised on some component of free software principles maybe their version of linux included a proprietary installation program that couldn t be freely shared or modified sometimes they attempted to limit redistribution of their version of linux ubuntu doesn t do any of this its reward is a truly massive community of users around the world arguably the biggest user-base of any version of linux it s certainly one of the friendliest linux communities shuttleworth takes a back seat and apart from occasionally issuing edicts the community runs the show decisions about new features are made democratically and many of its users help develop ubuntu provided they have the skills of course for a humble end-user of ubuntu the benefit of the ubuntu community is found in the magnificent technical support offered at www.ubuntuforums.org the community forums site where ubuntu users hang-out and help each other note it isn t 100 accurate that ubuntu doesn t include proprietary software a small amount of proprietary hardware firmware is provided to support wireless and graphics devices presently not fully supported by free software this is seen a stopgap measure however until more acceptable alternatives become available ease of use alongside strong principles and financial sponsorship shuttleworth brought something else to the linux party he wanted to make a linux for human beings indeed this is ubuntu s tag line xv[close]
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