Ubuntu Made Easy

Table of Contents

1. Ubuntu Made Easy
2. Dedication
3. Acknowledgments
4. Introduction
   1. Version Compatibility
   2. Concept and Approach
   3. How to Use This Book
   4. About the Conventions Used in This Book
   5. About the Projects in This Book
5. 1. Becoming a Penguinista
   1. What Is Linux?
   2. About the Penguin
   3. Should You Use Linux?
   4. What Is a Distribution?
   5. What Is Ubuntu?
   6. Why Ubuntu Then?
   7. Hardware Compatibility
      1. When Research Is Required
   8. Hardware Requirements
   9. Good News for 64-Bit Machine Users
   10. Mixed News for Mac Users
   11. Speaking Ubuntu
   12. Where Do I Go from Here?
6. 2. Wading and Diving
   1. Going for a Dip
   2. Choices, Choices, Choices—Installation Options
      1. Going for a Swim—Installing Ubuntu Inside Windows (the Wubi Installer)
      2. Taking the Full Plunge—Installing Ubuntu Outside of Windows
      3. Getting Ready for Action
         1. Usernames and User Passwords
      4. Doing the Deed
   3. How Can I Get Back into Windows?
   4. Oh No, My Computer Won’t Boot!
7. 3. A New Place to Call Home
   1. Welcome to the Desktop
   2. Parts of the Unity Desktop Environment
      1. The Panel
      2. The Desktop
      3. The Launcher
   3. Working with the Launcher
   4. The Dash
      1. Lenses
      2. Filters
      3. Finding and Running Apps with the Keyboard
   5. Head-up Display
   6. Navigating a Sea of Open Windows
   7. Workspace Switcher—Virtual Desktops
   8. Why Doesn’t My Desktop Look Like That?
   9. Keyboard Shortcuts
   10. Shutting Down
8. 4. More Than Webbed Feet
   1. How Do You Connect?
   2. Setting Up a Wired Connection
      1. Checking Your Connection
      2. Setting Up a Cable or Ethernet Connection for Providers Not Using DHCP
   3. Setting Up a Wireless Connection
      1. Hardware
      2. Activating Your Wireless Card
      3. Switching Off or Refreshing Your Wireless Connection
   4. Connecting with a DSL or ADSL Modem
   5. Setting Up a Dial-up Connection
      1. What to Do If Your Modem Isn’t Compatible
   6. Mobile Broadband Connections
   7. I’m Connected . . . So Now What?
9. 5. Slipping and Sliding
   1. Firefox: Your Internet Browser
      1. Controlling Browser Window Clutter with Tabs
      2. Save It for Later: Using History and Bookmarks
         1. Bookmarks
         2. History
      3. Keeping Up-to-Date with Live Bookmarks
      4. Pop-up Manager
      5. Multimedia Plug-ins
         1. Flash
         2. Silverlight/Moonlight
         3. Java
   2. Project 5: Installing Firefox Extensions
      1. 5-1: Downloading and Installing the ScribeFire Extension
      2. 5-2: Setting Up the ScribeFire Extension
   3. Email with Thunderbird
   4. The Messaging Menu
   5. Chatting with Your Friends via Empathy
      1. Starting a Chat
      2. Telling People When You Don’t Want to Chat
   6. Microblogging—Twitter and Friends
   7. Other Internet Applications
10. 6. Rounding Out the Bird
    1. Project 6A: Installing Applications via the Ubuntu Software Center
       1. 6A-1: Selecting Applications for Installation
       2. 6A-2: Searching for Applications
       3. 6A-3: Uninstalling Applications
       4. 6A-4: Commercial vs. Free Software
    2. Performing System Updates via Update Manager
       1. How Often Should You Install Updates?
       2. If an Update Ruins Your Day . . . or System
    3. Adding Extra Software Repositories
       1. APT-URL: Installing from Websites
    4. Project 6B: Installing Software from a PPA—Turtle Arena
    5. Project 6C: Installing DEB Packages Not Available via the Ubuntu Repositories—Google Earth
11. 7. A Tidy Nest
    1. Find It Fast—Searching for Files with the Dash
       1. Recent Files and Downloads
       2. Finding More Elusive Files
       3. A Closer Look at Lenses and Filters
          1. Files & Folders
          2. Music
          3. Videos
    2. Nautilus: The Fully Featured File Manager
       1. The Sidebar
       2. Now You See It; Now You Don’t
    3. File Handling in Nautilus
       1. Creating, Naming, and Renaming Folders
       2. Moving Files and Folders
       3. Copying Files and Folders
    4. Navigating in Nautilus
       1. Browsing with Breadcrumbs in Nautilus
       2. Spelling It Out—Typing File Paths in Nautilus
       3. Bookmarks Within Nautilus
       4. Understanding the Linux Filesystem
       5. What’s in All Those Other Folders?
       6. Using Nautilus as a Network Browser
       7. Using Nautilus as an FTP Client
       8. File and Folder Permissions Within Nautilus
       9. Changing File and Folder Permissions in Nautilus
       10. Keeping Your Home Folder Private
    5. Reading Data CDs and DVDs
       1. Burning Data CDs and DVDs
       2. Dealing with CD-RWs
       3. Burning ISO Images to Disc
       4. Creating Your Own ISO Images
       5. Burning Multisession CDs
       6. Burning Subsequent Sessions
       7. Duplicating CDs and DVDs
    6. USB Storage Devices
    7. Working with Bluetooth Devices
       1. Pairing Devices
       2. Sending Files by Bluetooth
       3. Receiving Files by Bluetooth
    8. Backing Up Your Files
       1. Recovering from a Backup
    9. Removing Unwanted Files
    10. Project 7: Creating and Extracting Compressed Files
12. 8. Simple Kitten Ways
    1. Meet the Terminal
    2. Some Goofy yet Useful Fun with the Command Terminal
    3. Nontoxic Commands
       1. $ whoami
       2. $ pwd
       3. $ df
       4. $ ls
       5. $ calendar
       6. $ exit
    4. Commands with Some Teeth
       1. $ mkdir
       2. $ mv
       3. $ cd
       4. $ cp
       5. $ rm
       6. $ rmdir
       7. $ chmod
       8. $ sudo
       9. $ locate
       10. $ apt-get
       11. $ finger
           1. What Is a Shell?
           2. What Is a Plan?
           3. Other Uses of the finger Command
    5. A Couple of Other Commands You’ll Be Using Soon
       1. $ ln
       2. $ tar
          1. Compressing and Extracting Compressed Single Files
    6. Project 8A: Creating a Plan
    7. Project 8B: More Command Practice with pyWings
       1. 8B-1: Getting Ready for pyWings (Installing Tkinter)
       2. 8B-2: Getting pyWings
       3. 8B-3: Creating a LocalApps Folder for pyWings
       4. 8B-4: Extracting the pyWings Tarball
       5. 8B-5: Moving the pyWings Folder to Your LocalApps Folder
       6. 8B-6: Running pyWings
       7. 8B-7: Creating a Launchable Link for pyWings
       8. 8B-8: Running pyWings Again
    8. Project 8C: Command Practice Review with Briscola
       1. 8C-1: Getting Briscola
       2. 8C-2: Extracting the Briscola Tarball and Renaming the Briscola Folder
       3. 8C-3: Preparing the Briscola Script
       4. 8C-4: Moving the Briscola Folder to a Global Location
       5. 8C-5: Creating a Launchable Link for Briscola
       6. Can You Do the Same Thing with pyWings?
       7. Playing Briscola
    9. Project 8D: Compiling and Installing Programs from Source—Xmahjongg
       1. What Is Source?
       2. The Basics
       3. 8D-1: Installing the Tools You Need
       4. 8D-2: Downloading and Extracting the Xmahjongg File
       5. 8D-3: Running configure and make for Xmahjongg
       6. 8D-4: Installing and Running Xmahjongg
       7. 8D-5: Cleaning Up and/or Uninstalling Xmahjongg
    10. Customizing the Terminal
    11. Tabbed Shell Sessions in the Terminal
13. 9. Dressing Up the Bird
    1. Project 9A: Creating a New User Account
       1. 9A-1: Creating the Account
       2. 9A-2: Logging In to Your New Account
    2. Customizing: The Basics
       1. Changing the Desktop Background
          1. Installing Additional Wallpapers
          2. Wallpaper from Internet to Desktop—Quick and Easy
       2. Changing Themes
       3. Changing Your Launcher Icon Size (Unity 3D Only)
       4. Autohiding the Launcher
       5. Stretching Desktop Icons
       6. Taking Screenshots
    3. Customizing Your Desktop Environment: The Next Level
       1. Customizations with MyUnity
          1. Changing Launcher Properties
          2. Changing Dash Properties
          3. Changing Panel Transparency
          4. Changing Desktop Features
          5. Changing Display Fonts
          6. Changing Themes
       2. Customizing Visual Effects with CompizConfig Settings Manager
    4. Project 9B: Customizing Your Desktop Environment—There’s No Place Like GNOME
       1. 9B-1: Installing the GNOME Desktop Environments
       2. 9B-2: Switching to the GNOME Desktop Environments and Back Again
    5. Project 9C: Switching from Unity to Cinnamon
14. 10. Gutenbird
    1. Printers
       1. Confirming That Your Printer Is Supported
       2. Getting Ubuntu to Automatically Recognize and Set Up Your Printer
       3. Manually Configuring Printers
       4. Setting Up Wireless-Enabled Printers
       5. Setting Up Printers Connected over a Network
       6. For the Driverless Among You
          1. Checking the Connections
          2. Trying Your Windows Drivers
          3. Using Third-Party Drivers
          4. Trial and Error
       7. Printing Details
          1. Printing in LibreOffice
          2. Printing to PDF
          3. Canceling a Print Job
          4. Checking Ink Levels and Other Printer Maintenance Tasks
    2. Project 10: Installing TrueType Fonts
       1. 10-1: Getting the Font Files
       2. 10-2: Installing Fonts Locally
       3. 10-3: Installing TrueType Fonts Globally
    3. Scanners
       1. Scanning, No Questions Asked, with Simple Scan
       2. Not-So-Simple Scanning with XSane
       3. Unrecognized Scanners
       4. Why Are My Scanned Images So Big?
       5. Which Resolution Should I Use When Scanning?
15. 11. Polyglot Penguins
    1. Read-Only Language Support
    2. Typing Nonstandard Characters
       1. Using the Compose Key Option
       2. Adding Keyboard Layouts
    3. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Input
       1. Chinese
       2. Japanese
       3. Korean
    4. Project 11: Setting Up Asian-Language Support
       1. 11-1: Installing IBus Input Methods
       2. 11-2: Selecting Input Method Modules
       3. 11-3: Typing Asian Languages with IBus
    5. Setting Up IBus to Automatically Start Up When You Log In
    6. Viewing Your System in Another Language
16. 12. Penguins at Work
    1. Where the Apps Are
    2. LibreOffice
       1. LibreOffice Applications
          1. Writer
          2. Calc
          3. Impress
          4. Draw
       2. Microsoft Office and LibreOffice File Compatibility
       3. LibreOffice Features
       4. Getting to Know the Buttons
          1. Export to PDF
          2. Hyperlink
          3. Navigator
          4. Gallery
          5. Styles and Formatting
    3. Word Processing Done Lightly with AbiWord
    4. FocusWriter
    5. Some Other Cool Productivity Apps
       1. Dlume
       2. gLabels
       3. Tomboy
       4. FreeMind
       5. Scribus
17. 13. Right-Brain Penguins
    1. Where the Apps Are
    2. Project 13A: Importing Images from Digital Cameras
       1. 13A-1: Importing Images from Camera to Computer Somewhat Automatically via Shotwell
       2. 13A-2: Transferring Images from Camera to Computer via the File Manager
    3. Project 13B: Working with Digital Images in Shotwell
       1. 13B-1: Publishing Images to Online Albums and Galleries
       2. 13B-2: Sending Images by Email via Shotwell
       3. 13B-3: Organizing Your Photo Collections with Tags
    4. A Few Other Graphics Apps to Consider
       1. RawTherapee
       2. Getting Arty with the GIMP
          1. Using the GIMP to Resize Images and Convert File Formats
          2. Learning More
       3. Phatch Photo Batch Processor
       4. MyPaint
       5. Inkscape
       6. gThumb Image Viewer
       7. Blender
18. 14. Tux Rocks
    1. Where the Apps Are
    2. Audio File Formats
    3. Installing MP3 Support for Audio Apps
    4. Rhythmbox—Ubuntu’s Default Audio Player
       1. Adding Songs and Albums to the Rhythmbox Library
       2. Ripping Audio CDs with Rhythmbox
       3. Browsing the Rhythmbox Library
       4. Creating Playlists in Rhythmbox
       5. Ubuntu One Music Store via Rhythmbox
       6. Other Cool Features in Rhythmbox
    5. Project 14: Listening to Streaming Media with Rhythmbox
       1. 14-1: Adding Radio Streams to Rhythmbox
       2. 14-2: Changing a Stream’s Title and Information in Rhythmbox
    6. Creating Audio CDs
       1. Burning Audio CDs with Rhythmbox
       2. Burning Audio CDs Directly with Brasero
    7. Other Cool Audio Apps
       1. Alternative Players
       2. Streaming Music with Streamtuner2
       3. Ex Falso and EasyTAG
    8. Apps for Music Makers
       1. Audacity
       2. Ardour and LMMS
       3. MuseScore
       4. Amping It Up with PLUG
       5. Hydrogen & Mixx
19. 15. Pluggin’ In the Penguin
    1. Knowing Your Limits
    2. Mounting and Ejecting Your iPod, iPhone, or iPad
    3. (Not) Auto-updating Your iPod or iPhone
    4. Working with Android-Based Devices
    5. What About Kindles, NOOKs, and Android 3.0+ “Honeycomb”-Based Devices?
    6. Working with Other Digital Media Players and Cell Phones
    7. Managing Your Audio Device’s Audio Files with Rhythmbox
       1. Copying Songs from Your Audio Device to Your Hard Disk
       2. Ejecting Your iPod or Other Digital Device from Within Rhythmbox
    8. Problems Writing to Your iPod
    9. Working with Photos on Your Digital Device
    10. Converting Audio File Formats
    11. Playing Locked AAC (M4P) Files
    12. Linux on Your iPod, iPad, or Android Device?
20. 16. Couch Penguins
    1. Where the Apps Are
    2. DVDs
    3. Project 16: Installing Support for Encrypted DVDs
    4. Can I Play Foreign DVDs?
    5. Watching Video Files with Movie Player
       1. Using Movie Player to Play DVDs, VCDs, and Other Multimedia Files
       2. Movie Player as an Audio Player?
       3. A Couple of Other Cool Movie Player Features
    6. An Alternative (and Arguably Better) Video Player: VLC
    7. Transferring Movies from Your Digital Camera to Computer
       1. Transferring Video Files from a Camera with a Storage Card
       2. Transferring Video Files from a Cell Phone or Another Mobile Device
       3. Capturing Digital Video from Cameras with Tape Storage
    8. Editing Digital Video with PiTiVi
    9. Other Video Apps
21. 17. Feathered Flippers
    1. Where the Apps Are
    2. Project 17A: Expanding Your Game Collection via the Ubuntu Software Center
       1. 17A-1: Installing Classic GNOME Games
       2. 17A-2: Installing Some Linux Classics: Frozen Bubble, Tux Racer, and Pingus
    3. 3D Games
       1. Checking for Hardware Acceleration
       2. Shooting Games
       3. Strategy Games
       4. Simulators
       5. Beyond the Ubuntu Software Center
       6. Commercial Games
    4. Project 17B: Installing a Java-Based Game: Schnapsen
       1. 17B-1: Installing the Java Runtime Environment
       2. 17B-2: Getting and Extracting Schnapsen
       3. 17B-3: Running and Anglicizing Schnapsen
    5. Online Gaming
    6. Searching for More Games
22. 18. Sweet Home Antarctica
    1. Where the Apps Are
    2. HomeBank
    3. Project 18A: Installing a Recipe Lens
    4. Personal Health
    5. Fun (but Educational) Stuff
    6. Kids’ Stuff
    7. Project 18B: Installing Parental Controls
    8. Other Home-Related Applications
23. 19. Penguins at the Gates
    1. Project 19A: Accessing Files on Your Windows Partition (for Dual-Booters)
       1. 19A-1: Mounting Your Windows Partition
       2. 19A-2: Unmounting Your Windows Partition
    2. Accessing a Linux Partition While Running Windows
    3. Project 19B: Installing Microsoft Windows Core Fonts
    4. Dual-Booting: Changing the Boot Order and Timeout
    5. Linux Equivalents to Your Windows Applications
    6. Project 19C: Running Windows Programs
       1. 19C-1: Installing and Testing Wine
       2. 19C-2: Installing a Windows Application in Wine
       3. 19C-3: Getting Windows Apps to Work in Wine with PlayOnLinux
    7. Installing Windows Inside Ubuntu
    8. Sharing Files with Windows Users on Your Network
       1. Accessing Files Stored on a Windows Computer
       2. Making Your Files Accessible from a Windows Computer
24. 20. Defending the Nest
    1. Does My System Need Protection?
    2. The First Line of Defense
    3. Software Firewalls
       1. Taking Control of Firestarter
       2. Confirming That Firestarter Runs Automatically
       3. Finding Out More
    4. ClamAV: Antivirus Software, Linux Style
    5. Project 20A: Encrypting Your Files
       1. 20A-1: Creating an Encrypted File Folder
       2. 20A-2: Recovering Encrypted Files If Something Goes Wrong
    6. Project 20B: Shredding Documents Digitally
       1. 20B-1: Trying the shred Command
       2. 20B-2: A Graphical Equivalent to the shred Command
25. 21. A Colony of Penguins
    1. Take Me to Your SABDFL
    2. Launchpad: Your Passport to the Ubuntu Community
    3. Bugs, Bugs, Glorious Bugs
       1. What Counts as a Bug?
       2. Reporting a Bug
       3. Has It Already Been Reported?
       4. A New Bug
       5. What Happens Now?
       6. When Will My Bug Be Fixed?
       7. Faster Fixes
    4. The Ubuntu Forums
       1. Replying to a Post
       2. Creating Your Own Thread
       3. What’s All This Bean Business?
    5. Ask Ubuntu
    6. Chatting on IRC
       1. Registering Your Nickname
       2. IRC Etiquette
       3. More Help with IRC
       4. An IRC Alternative: Mailing Lists
    7. Keeping Up with the News
    8. LoCos and LUGs
    9. Stickers and Other Goodies
    10. Getting Involved
        1. Ubuntu Accomplishments
26. 22. Wounded Wings
    1. I Can’t Get Ubuntu Installed
       1. My Computer Won’t Boot from the CD
       2. I Can’t Get the Installer to Run
       3. The Installer Stops Partway Through
    2. Something Goes Wrong Before Ubuntu Finishes Booting
       1. I Get a GRUB Error
       2. I Get a Kernel Panic or the Computer Freezes
          1. Unplug Unnecessary Hardware
          2. Disable Restricted Drivers
          3. Check Your System Memory for Defects
          4. Use an Older Kernel
          5. Use Rescue Mode
          6. Reinstall Ubuntu
       3. Windows Won’t Boot
    3. Sound and Video Problems
       1. Ubuntu Doesn’t Play Any Sounds
       2. My Microphone Doesn’t Work
       3. I Can’t Play an Audio or Video File
    4. Internet and Network Connection Problems
       1. Finding the Cause of a Connection Problem
       2. Installing Drivers for Your Network/Wireless Card
       3. Checking for Restricted Drivers
       4. No Wireless Networks Are Found
       5. Other Users on My Computer Can’t Connect
    5. Problems with the Display and Graphics Cards
       1. Games/Unity Don’t Work: Installing Accelerated Graphics Drivers
          1. ATI/AMD Cards
          2. nVidia Cards
       2. The Screen Looks Stretched or the Wrong Size
       3. The Screen Is Blank
    6. Hard Disks and Storage Problems
       1. My Disk Is Almost Full
       2. My Disk Is Completely Full
       3. I Can’t Delete a File
    7. Software Installation Problems
       1. I Get an Error About Unauthenticated Packages
       2. I Get a dpkg Error
       3. I Have a Broken Update
       4. A Software Repository/PPA That I Added Doesn’t Show Up in the Software Center
    8. Common Problems with Applications
       1. Firefox Says It’s Already Running
       2. A Program Always Crashes
       3. A Program Won’t Start
    9. My Computer Is Running Slowly
    10. Lost Files
    11. Where Can I Go to Get More Help?
27. A. Installing Ubuntu from a USB Flash Drive
    1. Preparing the Installer Files
    2. Creating a Bootable Installer Disk
    3. Booting from the USB Disk
28. B. Ubuntu Desktop 64-Bit Discs
    1. Downloading and Burning Ubuntu Desktop CD ISOs to Disc
       1. Burning the ISO to Disc in Windows
       2. Burning the ISO to Disc in OS X
    2. Ordering an Install Disc from Other Online Sources
29. C. Manually Partitioning Your Hard Disk
    1. Creating and Deleting Partitions
    2. Editing Existing Partitions
    3. Varieties of Partitions
       1. Root Partition
       2. Swap Partition
       3. Home Partition
       4. Windows Partition
       5. Shared Partition
    4. Example Partition Layouts
       1. Standard Ubuntu-Only Installation
       2. Ubuntu-Only with a Separate Home Partition
       3. Ubuntu and Windows with a Shared Partition
    5. Finishing Up
30. D. Resources
    1. Forums
    2. Linux References
    3. Blogs
    4. Hardware Compatibility Issues
    5. Wireless Connections
    6. Free Downloads
       1. Applications and Other Packages
       2. Free Fonts
    7. News and Information
    8. Magazines
    9. Books
    10. Ubuntu CDs
31. Index
32. About the Authors
33. UPDATES
34. E. About the CD
35. Copyright