An Introduction to Ubuntu
Soumitra Bhattacharyya
Introducing Ubuntu: Desktop Linux, by Brian Proffitt, Course Technology PTR, ISBN-10: 1-59863-415-1, ISBN-13: 978-1-59863-415-0, 439 pp.
Ubuntu is a completely free, user-friendly distribution of Desktop Linux for the masses. When common desktop users hear of Linux, they usually think of Linux servers and the computer administrators who work on them. In this book, Brian Proffitt shatters this myth and explain how any desktop user can use Linux (Ubuntu).
Proffitt introduces Linux with the history of free software and the huge community behind this movement. After setting the historical stage, he describes the various flavors of Ubuntu. This book aims to hand-hold a person step by step in procuring, installing, configuring, and exploring Ubuntu as a feature-rich operating system. Several sections compare Ubuntu with Windows, outlining the advantages of Ubuntu as a robust, modular, and secure operating system that requires less hardware resources, in addition to being free.
Unlike Windows (Vista or XP), Ubuntu isn’t available from a retail store. You have to download it from Web sites. Proffitt describes the installation procedure for both standalone installations of Ubuntu and dual bootable installations with Windows. He also clarifies the pros and cons of keeping two operating systems so that the user can make an informed decision.
After installing Ubuntu, users must become familiar with the desktop features and Ubuntu configuration. The book's explanations of the various menus, desktop settings, and panels include screen shots as they would appear in following the mouse clicks.
An important aspect of Ubuntu similar to Windows is an update manager for keeping the installed software up to date with latest releases. However, unlike Windows, Ubuntu must be set up and managed with existing Ubuntu tools like Synaptic.
Making Things Work
While the first six chapters make the reader feel that setting up Ubuntu as a desktop OS is a cake walk, the author starts Chapter 7 with a paradoxical statement: “Ubuntu is not perfect.” Chapter 7 is devoted to making trickier parts of Ubuntu, such as installing printers, digital cameras, Wi-Fi cards, modems, and sounds.
The book’s second half then proceeds to deal with using various applications and tools. Unlike commercial Windows applications, such as MS Office or Adobe suites, Linux applications aren’t advertised. Proffitt helps increase awareness of the rich application set that the Linux community has created, including the Firefox browser, Evolution mail client, and GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation program) image editing tool.
Although the software package that comes officially with Ubuntu is free, commercially available applications are available as add-ons—for example, Real Player and Adobe Flash run efficiently on Ubuntu. Proffitt devotes an entire chapter to Automatix2, a powerful third-party package manager for installing these specialized applications.
Finally, there’s OpenOffice.org. Ubuntu would be limited use if it had no equivalent to the all-powerful Microsoft Office for documentation. Proffitt explains OpenOffice’s document writing, spreadsheet, presentation, and database packages, along with their compatibility to Microsoft Office.
Overall, this book provides a practical tutorial on how to use Ubuntu as a Desktop Linux. At a higher level, it details the operating system’s capabilities and numerous free applications. This book is a golden guide and anyone installing and using Ubuntu will appreciate it.
Soumitra Bhattacharyya is a manager in the embedded solutions group at Slingmedia, India. Contact him at soumitra001@hotmail.com.
