Ubuntu

What is Ubuntu
Ubuntu is a community developed operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. Whether you use it at home, at school or at work Ubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to web server software and programming tools.

Ubuntu is and always will be free of charge. You do not pay any licensing fees. You can download, use and share Ubuntu with your friends, family, school or business for absolutely nothing.

We issue a new desktop and server release every six months. That means you'll always have the the latest and greatest applications that the open source world has to offer.

Ubuntu is designed with security in mind. You get free security updates for at least 18 months on the desktop and server. With the Long Term Support (LTS) version you get three years support on the desktop, and five years on the server. There is no extra fee for the LTS version, we make our very best work available to everyone on the same free terms. Upgrades to new versions of Ubuntu are and always will be free of charge.

Everything you need on one CD, which provides a complete working environment. Additional software is available online.

The graphical installer enables you to get up and running quickly and easily. A standard installation should take less than 25 minutes.

Once installed your system is immediately ready-to-use. On the desktop you have a full set of productivity, internet, drawing and graphics applications, and games.

Getting Started with Ubuntu
Ubuntu is freely distributed as an ISO Image. Anyone can download it, burn it, and use it for free. Also Ubuntu ships CD's of versions 6.06 and 7.10 for free through their shipit website. CD's take 6-8 to ship. Once you have a version of ubuntu on a CD, boot into the OS on the disk. On versions 6.06 and above, this will be a live CD, allowing you to demo the operating system or to just install the operating system on your machine. By using the live CD, no data is copied to your hard drive and you are not overwriting any data. Before you install anything, check to make sure that your hardware is compatible with Ubuntu by using a compatibility database. Hardware that is not compatible may be a hassle to get working in the future. After you have checked to see if your hardware is compatible, you are ready to go into the installation. Here you can easily chose how you want to partition your hard drive. *WARNING Partitioning your hard drive can lead to data loss and it is highly recommended to back up any important data before partitioning or formating anything. You can either have Ubuntu be the only operating system on your computer or you can dual boot, allowing you to have multiple operating systems that you can chose from at boot. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages and it is up to the user to decide. Once you have installed the operating system, you can play around and get used to the new environment.

Installing Applications
Installing applications in Ubuntu is quite different than in Windows. Ubuntu does not handle .exe files (Unless you are using WINE). Ubuntu uses Debian's Advanced Packaging Tool to manage installed packages. This tool can be quite helpful at installing applications. There are several ways to install programs in Ubuntu. The first, and probably the easiest is Add/Remove. This can be found at the end of the Applications Menu. By checking any item on the list and clicking apply, you simply download and install programs and they are added to your Applications menu. The second way is using Synaptic Package Manager. This tool will allow you to install much more than what is found in the Add/Remove menu. Some of these programs are terminal based or are just dependencies for other programs, but Synaptic will allow you to handle all of them. You can access Synaptic by going to System> Administration >Synaptic Package Manager or by using the terminal as root and typing apt-get install. Both methods work and it is up to the user how to do it. If you find a program that is not listed in Synaptic, all hope is not lost. You can easily download a .deb file of that program and use the Package Manager to automatically install this program. Be careful of what programs you chose to install because a faulty program can have broken dependencies and can seriously effect your system.