This year my one-and-only New Year's resolution was to begin the transition to open-source software in general and Linux in particular. I thought I was just setting out to learn a new operating system. In fact, I was entering an entirely new world of computing.
My Linux education began with a lesson in community. I struggled to get Ubuntu, my distribution (or "distro") of choice, to recognize either of my two wireless adapters. One of many comments to the blog post in which I described my wireless woes pointed me to a program that got me connected in no time.
Not long after that, I spent the better part of an afternoon troubleshooting my inability to get Flash animations to play on my Linux laptop. I found the solution on one of the Web's many informative Linux user forums (there's more about these resources below). The site listed all the "extras" I had to download and install. The process taught me that Linux is an on-demand operating system that bundles only software that's truly free (which excludes Adobe's Flash Player and most other media players).
It's more than a product; it's a movement
I soon realized that many long-time Linux users have an emotional connection to the OS, and I don't mean the anger and frustration that Windows veterans feel whenever their PCs flake off. I once made the newbie mistake of referring to "Ubuntu" when I was really talking about the Gnome interface that's used with many different versions of Linux. The erroneous reference made many Linux veterans cringe, and I understand their pain. The prospect of Windows users bringing their preconceived notions of personal computing into the open-source community must be frightening for them.
The ability to apply different interfaces to the OS was a novel concept after years of the Windows monolith. KDE, Gnome, and Xfce are the most popular Linux graphical interfaces, most of which are based on the X Window System, but many hard-core Linux users stick with its command-line interface, which harkens back to DOS. Instead of taking whatever features Microsoft offers, Linux lets you mix and match components and functions to meet your needs and fit your style.
Looking to each other for support
There's something down-right neighborly about the effort so many Linux users make to help other people who rely on the OS. Yes, you'll find no shortage of help sites by and for Windows users on the Web, but in the end it's up to Microsoft to keep the operating system safe and steady. Even though much of the Linux advice is developer-to-developer, I have found answers to many of my Linux questions in various forums dedicated to the open-source OS.
One of the most complete and up-to-date Linux resources on the Web is Linux Forums, which covers all aspects of living in the open-source world and includes plenty of useful tutorials.
The Linux Forums site provides many useful tutorials for new Linux users.
(Credit: Linux Forums)Another great site for Linux tutorials is LinuxQuestions.org, which cover hardware, software, networking, and security. The site's wiki includes a comprehensive "Getting Started" section.
More advanced Linux tutorials are found on HowtoForge, though most of the threads in the site's forums seem to lead nowhere. There are plenty of resources for Linux beginners at the YoLinux Information Portal, as well as security updates for various distros and links to other Linux-related sites.
Finally, to keep abreast of the latest happenings in the Linux world, check out the Linux Foundation, which recently published a white paper on development of the Linux kernel.
Tomorrow: get more power out of your notebook computer's battery.
Perhaps the greatest single productivity-boosting feature in Linux is the ability to open several virtual desktops at one time. This allows you to create separate work environments for various simultaneous tasks, such as one with a word processor, image editor, and spreadsheet open for creating a report, and another with e-mail and browser windows active for keeping in touch with co-workers. The multiple desktops let you focus on the task at hand without interruption, but switch to your other active workspace with a single click.
By default, the Gnome interface used by Ubuntu 7.10 allows only two virtual desktops at one time, though this number can be increased to as many as 36. To add more desktops, right-click the Workplace Switcher icon in the bottom-right corner of the Gnome desktop and choose Preferences. (If you don't see the Workplace Switcher icon, right-click the panel, choose Add to Panel, and click Workplace Switcher in the Desktop & Windows section. You may also want to add the Window Selector applet, which offers another option for switching between your open workspaces.)
Make sure "Show all workspaces in (blank) rows" is selected, and set the number of rows you want the workspace-icons to appear in. Click the up arrow in the "Number of workspaces" field to add more workspaces, or simply enter a number up to 36. Click one of the entries under "Workspace names" twice slowly (but don't double-click) to rename it, and check "Show workspace names in switcher" to add the name to its panel icon. When you're done, click Close.
Increase the number of virtual desktops available in the Gnome Linux interface via the Workspace Switcher Preferences dialog box.
Move to another desktop by clicking its icon in the panel, or click the Window Selector and choose the one you want to open. You can also press Ctrl and scroll your mouse wheel to navigate from workspace to workspace, or right-click the title bar of an open application and choose one of the "Move" options. To show the program in all workspaces, select Always on Visible Workspace.
Switch between workspaces in the Linux Gnome interface by right-clicking an app's title bar and selecting one of the "Move" options.
You get more ways to customize and access your virtual desktops in KDE, Compiz, and other Linux interfaces, including the ability to change the desktop wallpaper for each environment, and to switch workspaces by pressing Ctrl-Tab. There are lots of discussion on Linux forums about the pros and cons of various interfaces, but the consensus appears to be that Gnome is the most generic and least troublesome for new users. Since I'm still in that camp, I'll stick with Gnome for now, but I'm wondering whether the extra features might be worth the risk...eventually.
Tomorrow: freeware adds Linux-like virtual desktops to Windows.
The more I use Ubuntu, the more I like it. That's not to say I was happy with the operating system's default start-up settings, however. Here are three Ubuntu tweaks that speed up the start of my workday.
Do away with the log-in
I'm the only one using the ancient laptop I installed Ubuntu on, and I don't feel the need to keep interlopers off it, so I set it to start without requiring a log-in ID and password. To cancel the log-in, click System > Administration > Login Window, enter your password, and select the Security tab in the Login Windows Preferences dialog box. Choose your ID in the User drop-down menu, and click Close. The next time you start Ubuntu, the OS will load without prompting you for a username and password. You'll still have to enter your password to access Administration tools, however.
Set Ubuntu to start without prompting for a username and password via this option in the Login Window Preferences dialog box.
Add shortcuts to the top panel of the desktop
One of my favorite Ubuntu applications is the Tomboy note-taker, but opening it by clicking Applications > Accessories > Tomboy Notes takes too long. Instead, I added a shortcut to the program on the panel that runs across the top of the screen, much like Windows' Quick Launch toolbar reversed. To do so, right-click an empty area of the panel, choose Add to Panel, select the program you want to add in the list of Accessories, or scroll down the page to the Desktop & Windows, System & Hardware, or Utilities section, click Add at the bottom of the window, and close it.
Add shortcuts to your favorite Ubuntu apps by selecting them in the Add to Panel dialog box and clicking Add.
Keep your favorite app window on top
Now that I have my notepad at the ready on my desktop, I want to keep other windows I open from obfuscating it. A nice feature of Ubuntu that Windows lacks (unless you tweak the Registry or download a separate always-on-top utility) is the ability to keep a window on top of all others. Just right-click the bar along the top of the window, and select Always on Top from the drop-down menu.
Right-click the top of a program's window in Ubuntu and choose Always on Top to keep it in view as new windows open.
Bonus tip: Get a snapshot of your system performance by adding a mini System Monitor window to your panel: Right-click the panel, choose Add to Panel, scroll down to and select System Monitor, and click Add and Close. Now you can get a continuous glimpse of your system activity, though you may have to squint to make out the miniscule green blips in the tiny black rectangle that appears.
Tomorrow: Tell-tale signs of a Web site's trustworthiness.
- prev
- 1
- next
