I was a complete
beginner when I began playing around with Ubuntu Linux about
five years ago. I started with Version 6.06.1
(Dapper Drake) and recently migrated to the newest version,
Natty Narwhal
11.04. It's installed on what started as an old
computer running on my home network.
My Rant
The current version of Ubuntu is 11.10 but I cannot recommend it
because Ubuntu has abandoned Gnome2 for the resource hog
interface, Unity. An additional desktop called Gnome3 is
also available in Ubuntu 11.10 but it is seriously lacking.
I understand that there is a procedure to allow you to fallback
to gnome2 but I know little about it. Unless Canonical (Ubuntu's
parent company) changes their desktop philosophy I have reached
the end of my support for Ubuntu. I intend to continue to
use version 11.04 for as long as possible. 11.04 also uses
a version of the Unity desktop but it can be easily booted into
Gnome2. I advise new users to avoid Ubuntu 11.10. In
addition, I also strongly advise everyone to avoid Ubuntu
upgrades because the process is seriously broken. A much better
approach is to back up your /home directory, export your
bookmarks, passwords, and email addresses and any other files
you wish to retain and do a fresh install of the new version.
Believe me, you'll be glad you did!
An
excellent choice for a beginner or anyone for that matter would
be Ubuntu 10.04.3 LTS because it is the latest release with long term
support.
Download Ubuntu 10.04.3 here.
End of Rant - I've upgraded that "old" computer
a bit since I first threw it together. Linux does not require
state of the art processors and gobs of ram. I believe Ubuntu
will run just fine with 512 MB.
A couple of years ago I built a Ubuntu Server that
runs Ubuntu 8.04 Server Edition that serves music that I've ripped from my
entire collection of CD's. I also have a few movies on the
machine. The server also backs up files on our home network that
include another Ubuntu desktop computer that my wife uses and a laptop
and another desktop both running
Ubuntu Studio. I also sometimes use my Macbook Pro laptop.
If I find myself needing
Windows for a specific Windows only application, I boot into
Windows XP using
Oracle Virtualbox right from within Ubuntu. This
is the most perfect computer I've ever owned. Ubuntu 11.04 is the best version of Linux I've ever run. Anyway, the specs
of my Ubuntu desktop computer are as follows:
- Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3L
motherboard FSB 1333 MHz
- Intel Core 2 Duo 3 GHz
CPU E8400
- 250 gig Seagate SATA 7200 rpm
hard drive
- EVGA Geforce GT 240 1 GB DDR3 Nvidia Video Card
- 4 GB G.Skill PC2-8500 DDR2-1066 Dual Channel Ram
- Onboard 10/100/1000 NIC
- Lite On CD/DVD RW Combo
Drive
- Logitech wireless keyboard
and
mouse
- 22" Acer X223W Widescreen LCD
monitor
- Klipsch speakers
- Networked HP5 printer
- Cooler Master Centurion 5
case
- Thermaltake Purepower 500W power
supply
- Networked with a Ubuntu Linux server running
Ubuntu Server 8.04 Version

By the
way, I don't run any antivirus software nor do I use any software
firewall with Ubuntu. I've never had any problems because of this.
The machine does sit behind my router, which appears to be
sufficient. My Linux system runs
flawlessly and requires no tinkering what-so-ever, although I do play with some
visual effects like icons, backgrounds and Compiz. It NEVER
CRASHES under any circumstances. For the most part, it does
everything that my Windows system does with a lot less attention.
No defragging necessary, no viruses, and very quick for what has
become "old" hardware.Ubuntu
Software Center
Ubuntu now includes the Software Center. It's
now easy for anyone to install programs from the Ubuntu
repositories. Just search the categories and click to install.
Couldn't be easier!

Ubuntu One
Also new is Ubuntu One. Ubuntu gives all users
2 gigabytes on remote storage on their servers for FREE.
Additional storage can be purchased. You can back up any
sensitive files you might have to this secure remote storage.
Places>Ubuntu One. Looks like a local folder. Just
drag and drop.
AWN (Avant
Window Manager)
If you happen to like the looks
of Apple's Application Dock you can have your very own dock in
Ubuntu. If
you've seen Apples dock you will noticed the similarities. AWN is an
add-on for Linux that is available from Ubuntu through the repositories.
It's highly configurable and actually offers more options than Apple's dock. To
install the path is System>Administration>Synaptic. You can also install
via the new Ubuntu Software Center.

If you'd like it to start when you log on add it to your Sessions
menu. The path to Sessions is System>Preferences>Sessions. You'll
get a window that looks something like this;

As you can see, I've already added AWN to my
Sessions menu. To add a new program, simply click the Add button. A second
window opens up.

Just fill in the Name and Command as shown and
when you restart your system AWN will automatically start. The same process is
followed for any program you want to start up when you boot.
Conky Hardware Manager
Conky is a lightweight hardware manager that
runs on your desktop. It's available either in the Ubuntu
Software Center or in Synaptic. It's highly configurable. Like
AWN, it can be configured to auto-start at boot.
Here's the link to the Conky homepage with much more
information.
Sun
Virtualbox
Sun Virtualbox is a program that allows you to
run other operating systems on your system within what is called a virtual box.
I am currently running Windows XP Pro. This website is done with Microsoft Front Page I am able to do updates to
this site from Linux running Windows in a virtual box. For more on Sun Virtualbox please follow this
link. There is a version of Virtualbox supplied by Ubuntu in their
repositories but I've found the newer version directly from Sun to be superior.
Just make sure you get the version that matches your Ubuntu release. You can
download the users manual in pdf form from here.
Ubuntu Brainstorm
Brainstorm is a new site where everyone can
submit and vote on ideas for Ubuntu.
It's inspired by Dell's Ideastorm. By default, you see the ideas submitted by
the community sorted by popularity. Each idea is accompanied by arrows so you
can vote it up or down (you have to log in first). You can only click once per
idea. So this is an easy way to submit ideas and see what people are really
wanting.
Network Printer
Set-Up
I had trouble setting up my HP 5P
network printer that runs on a HP Jetdirect 300X print
server. I was able to fix this with the help of some folks on
the Ubuntu Users Forum. I'm running Ubuntu 8.10. To start with,
under "Printing" I checked "detect LAN printers" and then add
new printer. Then I selected UNIX printers LPD. The host is
the fixed address of my printer 192.168.1.XXX, for queue name I
entered the name of my print server, HP Jetdirect 300X.
I then selected my HP printer in the next dialogue box, then
applied. Works perfectly!
Ubuntu Tweak
Ubuntu Tweak is an
application designed to make configuring Ubuntu easier for
everyone. It provides many useful desktop and system options that
the default desktop environment doesn't. At present, It is only
designed for the Ubuntu GNOME Desktop. It is similar to the Windows
Tweak IU program but presently doesn't offer as many options. It is
worth downloading and using for some although Ubuntu now offers Configuration
Editor that does much the same thing. You can find it in Synaptic or in
9.10's Ubuntu Software Center.
Ubuntu
Forums and Ubuntu Geek
I can't say enough about these two sites.
Ubuntu Forums is
supported by Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu. Free to join, free
to browse, expert users and beginnings post their issues and get solid
solutions to whatever their problems may be. It also a great source
for general information. Ubuntu Geek is
another terrific help site. The Geek has many more tips and tweaks that I
could ever hope to assemble on this page. I suggest you add it to your
favorites.
OpenDNS
OpenDNS is a service providing
free, fast name servers. By default, most users are using the name
server of their ISP. These name servers can be slow. I
wholeheartedly recommended using OpenDNS to speed up your internet.
Not just for Linux but for any operating system. The service also
provides phishing blocking. Complete installation instructions
provided at OpenDNS.
Want to Play Online Poker in
Linux?
The best software I've found is
Poker
Stars. It's runs great. It installs and runs with Wine. You'll
need to have Wine installed on your system. In Ubuntu, Wine is
available through the Add/Remove Software applet or
Synaptic.
Poker Stars Won't Start after
Installation/Upgrade of Ubuntu 10.10
Those running Poker Stars through Wine will
discover that it will no longer start after upgrading or
installing Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) This is because
Maverick introduced security feature which no longer allows
programs to attach to processes. Disabling this consists of two
parts;
1. Download package libcap2-bin from Synaptic.
This package contains the setcap that disables the security
feature in Ubuntu 10.10.
2. In terminal run; sudo setcap
cap_sys_ptrace=eip /usr/bin/wineserver
Poker Stars will now start and function as
before.

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