Ubuntu for Non-Geeks by Grant, Rickford -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

UBUNTU FOR NON-GEEKS

PRAISE FOR UBUNTU FOR NON-GEEKS ABOUT THE AUTHORS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION

Version Compatibility Concept and Approach How to Use This Book About the Conventions Used in This Book About the Projects in This Book

1. BECOMING A PENGUINISTA

What Is Linux? About the Penguin Why Should You Use Linux?

Is It All Just About Money?

But Is Linux Really Ready for the Desktop? What Is a Distribution? What Is Ubuntu? Why Ubuntu Then? Hardware Compatibility

Diving In When Research Is Required

Hardware Requirements Good News for 64-Bit Machine Users Mixed News for Mac Users Speaking Ubuntu Where Do I Go from Here?

2. WADING AND DIVING

Going for a Dip Choices, Choices, Choices—Installation Options

Going for a Swim—Installing Ubuntu Inside Windows (the Wubi Installer) Taking the Full Plunge—Installing Ubuntu Outside of Windows Getting Ready for Action

Usernames and User Passwords Dual-Booters Take Note

Doing the Deed

How Can I Get Back into Windows? Oh No, My Computer Won't Boot!

3. A NEW PLACE TO CALL HOME

Welcome to the GNOME Desktop The Top Panel

The Left End The Right End

The Bottom Panel Project 3A: Customizing the GNOME Panel

3A-1: Adding Utility Buttons to the Panel 3A-2: Adding Amusing Applets to the Panel 3A-3: Adding a Program Launcher to the Panel

Method 1

Method 2

Method 3

3A-4: Changing Panel Launcher Icons 3A-5: Adding a Drawer to the Panel 3A-6: Adding Program Launchers to the Drawer 3A-7: Adding the Entire Contents of a Menu to the Panel 3A-8: Moving Things Around on the Panel More Panel Fun

Project 3B: Manipulating Menus

3B-1: Changing Icons Within Menus 3B-2: Changing the Order of Icons Within Menus

Virtual Desktops Wanda Revisited—GNOME Easter Eggs Shutting Down

4. MORE THAN WEBBED FEET

How Do You Connect? Setting Up a Wired Connection Checking Your Connection

Setting Up a Cable or Ethernet Connection for Providers Not Using DHCP

Setting Up a Wireless Connection

Hardware Activating Your Wireless Card Switching Off or Refreshing Your Wireless Connection

Connecting with a DSL or ADSL Modem Setting Up a Dial-up Connection

What to Do If Your Modem Isn't Compatible

Mobile (3G) Broadband Connections I'm Connected . . . So Now What?

5. SLIPPING AND SLIDING

Firefox: Your Internet Browser

Controlling Browser Window Clutter with Tabs Keeping Up-to-Date with Live Bookmarks Pop-up Manager Multimedia Plug-Ins

Flash Silverlight Java

Project 5: Installing Firefox Extensions

5-1: Downloading and Installing the ScribeFire Extension 5-2: Setting Up the ScribeFire Extension

Email with Evolution An Email Alternative: Thunderbird Chatting with Your Friends via Empathy

Starting a Chat Telling People When You Don't Want to Chat

Microblogging—Twitter and Friends Other Internet Applications

6. ROUNDING OUT THE BIRD

Project 6A: Installing Applications via the Ubuntu Software Center

6A-1: Selecting Applications for Installation 6A-2: Searching for Applications 6A-3: Uninstalling Applications

Performing System Upgrades via Update Manager

How Often Should You Install Updates? If an Update Ruins Your Day . . . or System

Adding Extra Software Repositories

APT-URL: Installing from Websites

Project 6B: Installing Software from a PPA: OpenSonic Project 6C: Installing DEB Packages Not Available via the Ubuntu Repositories: Skype

7. A TIDY NEST

Nautilus: Your File Manager

The Side Pane Now You See It; Now You Don't

File Handling in Nautilus

Creating, Naming, and Renaming Folders Moving Files and Folders Copying Files and Folders

Navigating in Nautilus

Browsing with Breadcrumbs in Nautilus Spelling It Out—Typing File Paths in Nautilus Bookmarks Within Nautilus

Understanding the Linux Filesystem What's in All Those Other Folders? Using Nautilus as a Network Browser

Using Nautilus as an FTP Client File and Folder Permissions Within Nautilus

Changing File and Folder Permissions in Nautilus Keeping Your Home Folder Private

Reading Data CDs and DVDs Burning Data CDs and DVDs

Dealing with CD-RWs Burning ISO Images to Disc Creating Your Own ISO Images Burning Multisession CDs Burning Subsequent Sessions Duplicating CDs and DVDs

USB Storage Devices Working with Bluetooth Devices

Pairing Devices Sending Files by Bluetooth Receiving Files by Bluetooth

Backing Up Your Files Recovering from a Backup Removing Unwanted Files Project 7: Creating and Extracting Compressed Files

8. DRESSING UP THE BIRD

Project 8A: Creating a New User Account

8A-1: Creating the Account 8A-2: Logging In to Your New Account

Project 8B: Customizing Your Desktop Environment

8B-1: Adding Emblems to Folders 8B-2: Setting Window Backgrounds (and Emblems Again) 8B-3: Dolling Up the Side Pane (and Emblems Yet Again) 8B-4: Changing the Desktop Background

Installing Additional Wallpapers Wallpaper from Internet to Desktop—Quick and Easy

8B-5: Hiding the Bottom Panel 8B-6: Downloading and Installing the Art Manager (GNOME Art) 8B-7: Changing Window Borders, Controls, and Icon Sets 8B-8: Installing Additional Window Borders, Controls, and Icons

Getting and Installing the Files You'll Need Finishing Touches

8B-9: Changing the Order of the Window Buttons 8B-10: Placing Home and Trash Icons on the Desktop 8B-11: Stretching Desktop Icons 8B-12: Doing It All Again!

Font Feathered Frenzy: Changing Your Fonts Project 8C: Installing TrueType Fonts

8C-1: Getting the Font Files 8C-2: Installing Fonts Locally 8C-3: Installing TrueType Fonts Globally

Project 8D: Changing Your Login Screen

8D-1: Beautifying the Login Screen 8D-2: Adding a Picture to Your User Account 8D-3: Logging In Automatically

Choosing a Screensaver Taking Screenshots Customizing Visual Effects

9. SIMPLE KITTEN WAYS

Meet the Terminal Some Goofy Yet Useful Fun with the Command Terminal Nontoxic Commands

$ whoami $ finger

What Is a Shell? What Is a Plan?

$ pwd $ df $ ls $ calendar $ exit

Commands with Some Teeth

$ mkdir $ mv $ cd $ cp $ rm $ rmdir $ chmod $ sudo $ locate $ apt-get $ aptitude

A Couple of Other Biters You'll Be Using Soon

$ ln $ tar

Compressing and Extracting Compressed Single Files

Project 9A: Creating a Plan Project 9B: More Command Practice with pyWings

9B-1: Getting Ready for pyWings (Installing Tkinter) 9B-2: Getting pyWings 9B-3: Creating a LocalApps Folder for pyWings 9B-4: Extracting the pyWings Tarball 9B-5: Moving the pyWings Folder to Your LocalApps Folder 9B-6: Running pyWings 9B-7: Creating a Launchable Link for pyWings 9B-8: Running pyWings Again 9B-9: Adding Emblems to Your LocalApps Folder

Project 9C: Command Practice Review with Briscola

9C-1: Getting Briscola 9C-2: Extracting the Briscola Tarball and Renaming the Briscola Folder 9C-3: Preparing the Briscola Script 9C-4: Moving the Briscola Folder to a Global Location 9C-5: Creating a Launchable Link for Briscola Can You Do the Same Thing with pyWings? Playing Briscola

Want to Know More?

Project 9D: Compiling and Installing Programs from Source: Xmahjongg

So, What Is Source? The Basics 9D-1: Installing the Tools You Need 9D-2: Downloading and Extracting the Xmahjongg File 9D-3: Running configure and make for Xmahjongg 9D-4: Installing and Running Xmahjongg 9D-5: Cleaning Up and/or Uninstalling Xmahjongg

Customizing the Terminal Tabbed Shell Sessions in the Terminal

10. GUTENBIRD

Printers

Confirming That Your Printer Is Supported Getting Ubuntu to Automatically Recognize and Set Up Your Printer Manually Configuring Printers Setting Up Printers Connected Over a Network For the Driverless Among You

Checking the Connections Trying Your Windows Drivers Using Third-Party Drivers Trial and Error

Printing Details

Printing in OpenOffice.org Printing to PDF Canceling a Print Job Checking Ink Levels and Other Printer Maintenance Tasks

Scanners

Scanning, No Questions Asked, with Simple Scan Not-So-Simple Scanning with XSane Unrecognized Scanners Why Are My Scanned Images So Big? Which Resolution Should I Use When Scanning?

11. POLYGLOT PENGUINS

Read-Only Language Support Typing Nonstandard Characters

Using the Compose Key Option Adding Keyboard Layouts

Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Input

Chinese Japanese Korean

Project 11: Setting Up Asian-Language Support

11-1: Selecting Input Method Modules 11-2: Typing Asian Languages with IBus

Setting Up IBus to Automatically Start Up When You Log In Viewing Your System in Another Language

12. PENGUINS AT WORK

OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org Applications

Writer Calc Impress Draw

Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org File Compatibility OpenOffice.org Features Getting to Know the Buttons

Export to PDF Hyperlink Navigator Gallery Styles and Formatting

Word Processing Done Lightly with AbiWord Some Other Cool Productivity Apps

Sticky Notes Tomboy GnuCash Scribus

13. BRUSH-WIELDING PENGUINS

Project 13A: Importing Images from Digital Cameras

13A-1: Importing Images from Camera to Computer Somewhat Automatically via F-Spot 13A-2: Transferring Images from Camera to Computer via Nautilus

Project 13B: Working with Digital Images in F-Spot Photo Manager

13B-1: Exporting Images to Online Albums and Galleries 13B-2: Organizing Your Photo Collections with Tags

Getting Arty with the GIMP

Using the GIMP to Resize Images and Convert File Formats Learning More

Phatch Photo Batch Processor

Using Phatch

gpaint Inkscape Project 13C: Installing Picasa

13C-1: Downloading and Installing the Picasa Package 13C-2: Running and Setting Up Picasa

A Few Other Graphics Apps to Consider

gThumb Image Viewer Blender QCad Tux Paint

14. TUX ROCKS

Audio File Formats Project 14A: Installing MP3 Support for Audio Apps Rhythmbox—Your Audio Player

Adding Songs and Albums to the Rhythmbox Library Ripping Audio CDs with Rhythmbox Browsing the Rhythmbox Library Creating Playlists in Rhythmbox Online Music Stores via Rhythmbox Other Cool Features in Rhythmbox

Project 14B: Listening to Streaming Media with Rhythmbox

14B-1: Adding Radio Streams to Rhythmbox 14B-2: Adding Additional Radio Streams to Rhythmbox

Creating Audio CDs

Burning Audio CDs with Rhythmbox Burning Audio CDs with Brasero

Project 14C: Listening to RealMedia Streams with RealPlayer

14C-1: Downloading and Installing RealPlayer 14C-2: Setting Up RealPlayer and Testing Your Installation

Other Cool Audio Apps

Alternative Players Streaming Music with Streamtuner EasyTAG and Audio Tag Tool LMMS Audacity MuseScore

15. PLUGGIN' IN THE PENGUIN

Knowing Your Limits Mounting and Ejecting Your iPod or iPhone (Not) Auto-updating Your iPod or iPhone Working with Android-Based Phones Working with Other Digital Media Players and Cell Phones Managing Your Audio Device's Audio Files with Rhythmbox

Copying Songs from Your Audio Device to Your Hard Disk Ejecting Your iPod or Other Digital Device from Within Rhythmbox

Problems Writing to Your iPod Working with Photos on Your Digital Device Converting Audio File Formats Playing Locked AAC (M4P) Files Linux on Your iPod? Working with . . . Your iPad?

16. COUCH PENGUINS

DVDs Project 16A: Installing Support for Encrypted DVDs

Can I Play Foreign DVDs?

Totem Movie Player

Using Totem to Play DVDs, VCDs, and Other Multimedia Files Totem as an Audio Player? A Couple of Other Cool Totem Features

An Alternative to Totem: VLC Media Player Editing Digital Video with PiTiVi Project 16B: Capturing Digital Video with Kino

16B-1: Installing Kino and Setting Up Your System 16B-2: Capturing and Editing Digital Video with Kino