Comparing Google Sites to Other Team Sites

Microsoft Office Live Workspace
Microsoft Office Live Workspace (http://workspace.officelive.com) — a free service that’s probably the most similar to Sites — offers users the ability to share files easily and to comment on projects. Unlike Sites, however, there’s no Web page tool, so creating a wiki site isn’t part of the package.

The main advantage to using Office Live Workspace is that if you use Microsoft Office, you can download a plug-in that gives you easy access to save your Office documents directly to the site. Office Live’s big brothers, Groove and SharePoint, offer additional features for larger companies but also require expensive servers and software. To use Office Live Workspace, you need a Windows Live ID and password, which you can get free at http://home.live.com.



Blackboard and Moodle
Blackboard (www.blackboard.com) and Moodle (www.moodle.org) are both great tools for teachers to keep track of classes, handouts, quizzes, and grades. They provide tools for pretty much any aspect of your class needs. But they’re also very complex and require extensive training every time a new semester rolls around.

Blackboard and Moodle both require servers to run on, and someone to maintain them. You also have to pay a license fee for Blackboard. If your school already uses either one, they have gone ahead and taken care of the cost. In cases where you don’t need all the bells and whistles or if you use other publisher-provided tools, Google Sites gives you the basics to share all of your classroom information with the students in your class.



Acrobat
Adobe takes a slightly different approach to sharing files. They offer five services through their Web site, www.acrobat.com, which allow you to create and share individual files with others:


• Buzzword is an online word processor similar to Google Docs.

• ConnectNow lets you host online conferences and share your screen over the Internet.

• Create PDF is a tool to transform your documents into portable document format.

• Share lets you upload and invite others to see your documents.

• My Files gives you a place to keep your files and access them from anywhere.

Instead of using a wiki-like interface, Acrobat gives you the option to enter the e-mail addresses of your team members so they can keep track of your files. Although this is useful for individual documents, it makes running a whole team project a little difficult because every time you want to share a file, you have to remember the addresses of everyone on your team. Still, the black interface is very easy to use and is just plain cool.


Source of Information : Google Sites and Chrome FOR DUMMIES

Emacs for E-Mail

Emacs for E-Mail
Emacs has been called the Swiss Army knife of GNU/Linux because of all the functions it can perform. Sending and receiving e-mail is another application of Emacs that you may want to use. It is important to note that not all e-mail services support the use of Gnus or Emacs as a mail client. Double-check with your e-mail service to see if they support this before you configure the .gnus file.

If your e-mail service provides support for Emacs and Gnus, let’s open the .gnus file and modify it to be able to send and receive e-mails. To do this, you will need the SMTP and POP server information that was used for setting up your Evolution account. If you no longer have this information, your e-mail provider’s site will have this information for you.

Once you have opened your .gnus file, move the point to the first available line in the file by using the arrow keys or the C-N key binding (hold down CTRL and press N repeatedly until the point is at the first empty line in the file). Once you have the point in the right place, enter the following code:

(setq smtpmail-smtp-server "smtp.your isp.com")
(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "smtp.your isp.com")))
(setq smtpmail-local-domain "your isp.com")

This will set up Gnus to send mail using the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP). Where the example reads “your isp.com,” substitute the name of your Internet service provider. Remember, not all providers end in “.com”; some end in “.net.” For instance, if you are using Bell South, you would enter bellsouth.net.

To be able to receive e-mail, you need to define the Post Office Protocol (POP) server that your ISP uses. Once you have this information, you need to add the following line to the .gnus configuration file:

(setq mail-sources '((pop :server "your.pop3server.com" :user "username" )))

Gnus will now download all of your mail into a newsgroup that it creates for you. By opening this newsgroup, you can read through all of your downloaded e-mail. Since you set up the SMTP server settings, you can send e-mail as well by going to the toolbar and selecting Gnus | Send A Message. Once you have typed your message, click the Send This Message icon on the toolbar.

If you find Emacs to be a valuable tool when using your computer, practice with it as much as you can. Many more key bindings and many more tools are available to you in Emacs. The more you use this tool, the easier it gets. Learning the key bindings is like learning a second language, only you don’t have to roll your rrrr’s. Practice, practice, practice, and eventually you will find yourself using the key bindings to navigate through the buffers and frames without having to refer to a cheat sheet of any kind.

In this configuration, you will be asked to provide your password each time you start Gnus. It is possible to modify this line to automatically enter your password for you; however, this is not an advisable practice since anyone with access to your computer would be able to read all of your e-mails.

Source of Information : McGraw Hill Osborne Media How to Do Everything

Reading the Gnus

In addition to writing and modifying text files with Emacs, you can use this application to connect to different news servers and to read postings from the newsgroups housed there. Newsgroups are Internet message boards on a wide variety of topics. When you subscribe to a newsgroup, you can read messages posted by other users and post replies of your own. Basically, it is like a worldwide forum where people can ask questions, find answers, and debate ideas.

Emacs provides you with a built-in news reader called Gnus. To use this, you must first create a configuration file called .gnus that will be saved in your home directory. Of course, we can create that file using Emacs! So let’s open a new file, and we will name it .gnus. In the buffer, enter the following:

(setq gnus-select-method ' (nntp "news.cn99.com"))
(setq user-full-name "yourname")
(setq user-email-address "your email address")

Now write the file to disk using your key bindings.

Now that your server is set up, go to the toolbar and select Tools | Read Net News (Gnus). Emacs will now download the list of newsgroups available to you. This could take some time, so be patient.

Once the groups have been loaded, select Groups | Listing | Describe All Groups. Now you should see a long list of the different groups you can subscribe to, along with a brief description of what each group is all about. Once you find a group or two that you wish to subscribe to, from the toolbar select Groups | Subscribe | Subscribe To A Group. In the message area, Emacs will ask you which group you would like to subscribe to. Type the name of the group and press ENTER, and you will be a new subscriber! When you restart Gnus, you will see all of the groups that you subscribed to (plus a few extras that Gnus thinks you may find interesting). If Gnus is still running, from the toolbar select Buffer | Group, and the Group buffer will open in a new window.

To read the articles in a newsgroup, double-click on the newsgroup name, and you will be presented with a list of articles. Navigate to the article you wish to read and double-click it. You can move to the next article or the previous article by using the navigation arrows on the toolbar. You can also post a response to an article by selecting Post | Reply and then clicking the Send This Message icon from the toolbar.


There are many different news servers that you can choose from. News.cn99.com is one that is used for demonstration purposes, so you can substitute whichever server you like here. It is important to note that news servers often do not censor the groups that they host, so some groups may provide content that you find inappropriate. To avoid this, search for servers that host only groups that you find acceptable, or make sure to monitor the group subscriptions if you have children using this service.


A newsgroup topic is called a thread. A thread is generally started by one person who posts a question or comment; then others reply to this posting. It is considered proper etiquette to keep postings related to the thread. If you have a new topic, start a new thread.
You can navigate among the different threads by selecting the Threads menu from the toolbar and then choosing either Go To Next Thread or Go To Previous Thread.

Source of Information : McGraw Hill Osborne Media How to Do Everything

Netstat

The Netstat tab provides information on three sets of network data available on the workstation:

• The routing table
• The active network services
• The multicast network information

Ubuntu maintains an internal routing table to keep track of how to forward network packets to remote networks. Selecting the Routing Table radio button then clicking the Netstat button produces a list.

The routing table matches network destinations with a gateway that can send the packets to the remote network. The routing table always includes at least two entries. One entry is the default route, 0.0.0.0. This route defines the gateway to use by default for sending packets to any network on the Internet. Usually this gateway is the IP address of your broadband modem connection.

The other route defines the local network your Ubuntu workstation is connected to. In the example, the workstation is connected to the 10.0.1.0 public network address and uses the default gateway to send packets to this network.

The active network services selection displays a list of what network ports are currently in use on the workstation. Different software packages use different network ports to listen for incoming connections. Many network servers are assigned standard network ports, such as TCP port 80 for web servers and TCP port 25 for email servers.

The network port list includes the current state of the port. TCP uses 11 states to define what mode the network port is in.


TCP Network Port States
LISTEN Waiting for a connection request from a remote client

SYN-SENT Sent a connection acknowledgment and waiting for one in return

SYN-RECEIVED Received a connection acknowledgment from remote client

ESTABLISHED Port is ready to send and receive data with the remote client

FIN-WAIT-1 Sent a connection disconnect request to the remote client

FIN-WAIT-2 Received a connection disconnect from the remote client in response to a connection disconnect request sent by the port

CLOSE-WAIT Remote client initiated a connection disconnect

CLOSING Waiting for a response from a sent connection disconnect request

LAST-ACK Waiting for remote client to acknowledge a connection disconnect request

TIME-WAIT The port is on hold for a preset amount of time after the connection disconnects

CLOSED The connection is officially closed



The TCP states are invaluable for troubleshooting network programs. By checking the network port states, you often can determine whether a remote device is closing a connection early or is keeping a connection open too long.

The final feature of the Netstat tab is the multicast network information. This protocol allows devices to subscribe to special multicast IP addresses on network routers. Network routers handle multicast packets only when they have a device on the network that requests them. This list displays whether the Ubuntu workstation has registered to receive any multicast packets on the network.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets

GNOME PPP

If you use a dial-up modem to access the Internet, you’ll have to do some manual configuration to tell Ubuntu how to contact your ISP. This is done using the GNOME PPP application. You’ll first have to manually install the GNOME PPP application using the Synaptic Package Manager before you can use it to connect to your ISP.

Just start Synaptic, search for the GNOME PPP package, mark it for installation, then apply the changes. After installing the GNOME PPP package, follow these steps to configure a PPP session to connect to your ISP:

1. Start the GNOME PPP dialog box by selecting Applications -> Internet -> GNOME PPP from the Panel menu. The main GNOME PPP dialog box.

2. Click the Setup button at the bottom of the dialog box. This opens the Setup dialog box, where you can configure you modem settings.

3. Configure your modem settings in the Modem tab. You must select which port your modem uses to communicate. If Ubuntu automatically detects your modem, it assigns it to the special port /dev/modem. If that doesn’t work, Ubuntu uses /dev/ttyS0 for COM1, /dev/ttyS1 for COM2, and so on.

4. Click the Networking tab to set your IP address information. If your ISP dynamically assigns an IP address to your workstation, select the Dynamic IP Address radio button. If you must specify a static IP address, select the Static IP Address radio button and enter your IP address information in the text boxes. If your ISP uses a static address, you’ll also need to configure the DNS server to use for the network.

5. Click the Options tab to set additional features for the modem connection. You can set the Modem Connection icon to minimize when the connection is established or dock itself on the panel. You can also choose advanced connection features from this page, such as having the modem reconnect if the connection drops.

6. Click the OK button to save the settings.

7. Back in the main GNOME PPP dialog box, enter the information needed to contact your ISP account. You must provide the phone number, plus any special prefixes (such as a 9 to get an outside line). Enter the userID and password provided by your ISP and select the check box if you want GNOME PPP to remember your password.

8. Click the Connect button to initiate the connection to the ISP.

Once you’ve activated your dial-up modem, Ubuntu will attempt to use it to access the Internet via your ISP whenever a network request is made.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets

Ethernet Connections - Wireless Ethernet Cards

These days it seems that everything is going wireless, from ordinary household appliances to gadgets you hook to your cell phone. The computer world is no different. Wireless network connections are becoming more popular as home users search for an easier way to connect multiple computers to a broadband Internet connection.

There are three current standards and one proposed standard in the wireless network card world:

• 802.11a: Provides up to 54 Mbps of data connectivity but has only a 35-meter range.

• 802.11b: Provides only up to 11 Mbps but has a larger range than the 802.11a specification.

• 802.11g: Provides up to 54 Mbps and has a larger range than the 802.11b specification.

• 802.11n (proposed): Provides up to 248 Mbps, with a range of up to 70 meters.


The benefits of the new 802.11n wireless have made it a commercial success, even before
its formal adoption as a network standard. The downside to wireless network cards is that many of them don’t provide drivers for Linux. Ubuntu can detect and use many wireless network cards, but not all of them.


Besides the network type, you also must worry about whether the wireless network is protected by a security system. Wireless networks offer several types of encryption schemes to protect them from unwanted visitors. The most popular encryption schemes used are

• WEP: The wired equivalent privacy protocol is the oldest and least secure encryption scheme. It uses RC4 encryption with either a 64- or 128-bit key. The key is usually entered as a series of hexadecimal digits, often as text characters, to create a password.

• WPA: The Wi-Fi protected access protocol uses the RC4 encryption scheme with a 128-bit key but dynamically changes the key as the system is used. It can be used with a server that provides separate keys to each device on the network or, for less secure environments, it can provide a pre-shared key (PSK) mode in which multiple computers on the network can share the same key.

• WPA2: The second version of the Wi-Fi protected access protocol uses a more secure advanced encryption standard (AES)-based scheme that for now is considered fully secure and not breakable.

You must know the encryption type as well as the password to connect to a wireless network that uses a security scheme. If you happen to find a network that’s not encrypted, Network Manager will automatically connect you.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets

Internet Connection Types - DSL Modem

The DSL modem uses normal telephone lines to communicate to the ISP. However, instead of converting the digital signal to analog, the DSL modem sends a digital signal directly across the telephone line. The telephone line carries both the analog voice signal and the digital signal on the same wires to the telephone provider, which in turn must separate the two signals, connecting the digital signal to its servers and the analog signal to the appropriate telephone exchange equipment.

Your telephone provider must have the proper equipment installed to be able to provide DSL service to your location. Not all areas are converted to support DSL connectivity. Check with your telephone provider to determine whether they support DSL modems in your area.

Three basic types of digital modems can be used on a digital telephone line:

Integrated services digital network (ISDN): The ISDN modem is the oldest technology and is the most sensitive to distance. It offers up to 128 kbps of connectivity speed (more than double the speed of a dial-up modem), provided that the end connection is within 3.4 miles of the telephone exchange equipment. Performance degrades the farther away you are from the telephone exchange, which is one reason why ISDN didn’t catch on all that well.

Symmetric digital subscriber line (SDSL): SDSL provides a constant upload and download speed using the entire bandwidth provided on the telephone line, so it’s not able to share the same line with an analog signal. SDSL lines can provide up to 2,320 kbps of upload and download speeds.

Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL): ADSL provides a constant upload and download speed but can share the same telephone line with an analog signal, allowing an ADSL modem and a telephone to operate at the same time on the single telephone line. ADSL splits the upload and download speeds, so they don’t have to be the same. This method allows much faster download speeds but at the expense of the upload speeds. ADSL lines can provide download speeds up to 24 megabits per second (Mbps) but usually limit upload speeds to no more than 3.5 Mbps. A typical home ADSL installation provides 8 Mbps of download speed and 1 Mbps of upload speed. For the average home user who downloads videos, music, and Linux distribution ISO files, ADSL is a perfect solution.

The second and third categories of digital modem Internet access is referred to as xDSL. Most xDSL providers distribute a simple DSL modem, which you install by simply plugging it into your normal telephone jack to connect to the telephone company. The DSL modem is usually set to communicate automatically with the telephone system’s ISP.

The DSL modem uses Ethernet to communicate with the workstation. The Ethernet protocol has been a communications standard for decades and is supported by various types of media. The two most popular methods for communicating via Ethernet today are
• Wired Ethernet network cards
• Wireless Ethernet cards

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets

Installing / Removing Packages

Installing Packages
Installing software packages using Synaptic is a breeze. Just follow these steps to install a new package:
1. Open Synaptic by selecting System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager from the Panel menu.

2. Enter your password in the Password dialog box prompt. The Synaptic Package Manager requires administrative permissions to install and remove software packages. If your user account doesn’t have administrative permissions, you won’t be able to use the program.

3. Enter the package name in the Quick Search box. The Search tool searches all of the configured repositories, looking for packages that contain the search word in the name and description, then displays packages that match in the package list, displays the results of a search for the SuperTux game. If you require a more detailed search, use the Search button on the toolbar and select different search criteria.

4. Click the SuperTux package and select the Mark for Installation option from the menu. Synaptic automatically locates any dependent packages required by the selected packages and asks whether you want to mark those for installation as well. Packages marked for installation appear with an error in the status box and are highlighted in green if all of the dependency packages are available.

5. Click the Apply button in the toolbar. The Synaptic installation process begins, downloading and installing the selected packages.

6. Synaptic asks whether you want to install more packages. If you’re done, select No.


Once the packages are installed you may or may not see them in the Ubuntu menu system, depending on what type of packages they are. Some packages require opening a Terminal session and starting them from the command line. You can manually create a menu entry for these packages.


Removing Packages
When you view the package list in Synaptic, installed packages have a green status box, indicating that all of the components for that package are installed. Right-clicking on the package produces a menu that gives you three options for managing the installed package:
• Mark for Reinstallation: Reinstall the package from the current version in the repository.
• Mark for Removal: Remove only the files installed by the package.
• Mark for Complete Removal: Remove the package files plus any additional configuration or data files associated with the application.

If you want to reinstall the package but have customized configuration files you’d like to use with the reinstallation, select Mark for Removal rather than Mark for Complete Removal. A complete removal will delete any custom configuration you’ve done to the package.


Once the packages are installed you may or may not see them in the Ubuntu menu system, depending on what type of packages they are. Some packages require opening a Terminal session and starting them from the command line. You can manually create a menu entry for these packages.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets

The Synaptic Layout

Start the Synaptic Package Manager by selecting System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager. After you enter your password, the main Synaptic Package Manager window appears.

The main window is divided into six sections:
• The menu bar
• The toolbar
• The category selector
• The package list
• The description field
• The status bar
Each of these sections provides features for managing the packages on the system, as described in the following sections.


The Menu Bar
The menu bar provides access to all of the features in Synaptic, separated into standard menu categories:

• File: Provides features for saving selected package settings and restoring them from a file, generating a script to perform the selected package installations at a later time, adding downloaded packages, and displaying the history of package operations.

• Edit: Lets you undo a change, unmark all selections to start over, search for a specific package, reload package information from repositories, add a local CD to the repository list, mark all packages that have available upgrades, and fix broken packages.

• Package: Controls package management, such as marking packages for installation, reinstallation, upgrade, or removal; locking a package version; forcing a specific version of a package; and configuring a package.

• Settings: Allows you to configure repositories (the Software Sources window), preferences, and filters used for determining which packages are available.

• Help: Provides quick access to the Synaptic Package Manager manual, as well as access to online help, if available.


In the Preferences window you can specify how Synaptic handles package changes, displays package information, and connects to the remote software repositories (if a network proxy server is required). You can also specify whether to load only the package versions that match the current distribution release.

By default, Ubuntu allows you to install the highest-available version of a software package. Sometimes, though, this can cause problems when working with other packages in the distribution. If you need to synchronize all of the packages in your distribution to the same release levels, click the Distribution tab in the Preferences window and select the Always Prefer the Installed Version option.


The Toolbar
The toolbar provides quick access to common functions in Synaptic:
• Reload: Refresh the package list from the configured repositories
• Mark All Upgrades: Mark all installed packages that have an upgrade available.
• Apply: Perform the operations as marked in the package list.
• Properties: Display the properties for the selected package.
• Quick Search: Enter text in the text box to perform a real-time search of the package based on package names and descriptions.
• Search: Search for packages using other attributes, such as version numbers, dependencies, and the maintainer. Although there aren’t many buttons in the Synaptic toolbar, the ones supplied should cover most of the features you need for normal operations.


The Category List
The category list helps filter the packages that appear in the package list. There are five categories of filters you can select from:
• Sections: Contains individual section filters based on the package application type.
• Status: Displays the status of the package—installed or not installed.
• Origin: Filters packages based on which repository they were loaded from.
• Custom Filters: Lets you create your own definitions for filtering packages.
• Search Results: Filters the results based on the Search tool.

The Sections filter divides packages into sections based on the primary category they belong to. There are 32 different categories of packages, such as base packages loaded at installation time, GNOME packages, KDE packages, networking packages, and library packages. Within each category there may be multiple entries, depending on the type of applications:
• Main: open-source packages supported by Ubuntu
• Multiverse: packages that may be covered by copyright or patent licensing but are not supported by Ubuntu and are not provided with automatic updates
• Restricted: packages that are supported by Ubuntu but are not open-source programs, such as proprietary hardware drivers
• Universe: packages that are open-source and supported by the open-source community but are not supported directly by Ubuntu (Ubuntu doesn’t guarantee updates for these packages but may provide them if they are available) Packages not marked as one of these four types are part of the Ubuntu main repository and are fully supported by Ubuntu.


The Package List
The package list displays the packages available on the system, depending on the filters set in the category list. The package list provides five pieces of information about the packages:
• The package status (installed, not installed, marked for upgrade, marked for installation, or marked for removal)
• The package name
• The installed version of the package
• The version currently available in the repository
• A brief description of the package

When you select a package, the lower section of the package list provides a more detailed description of the package.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets

The Add/Remove Applications Window in Ubuntu

You can start the Add/Remove Applications tool by selecting Applications -> Add/Remove from the Panel menu. If it’s been a while since your Ubuntu workstation has contacted the software repositories, you may see a notice message telling you the list may be out of date and asking whether you want to update it. Click the Reload button to update the list of available applications.

The Add/Remove Applications window consists of four sections:
• The software catalog
• The Applications panel
• The Filter drop-down menu and Search text box
• The Application Description window

The application software catalog appears on the left side of the Add/Remove Applications window. It breaks down the applications into categories to help you find applications. There are eleven categories of applications you can browse through:
• Accessories: small utilities that can enhance your desktop experience, such as an advanced calculator, an alarm, a virtual keyboard, and a dictionary
• Education: programs for supporting educational purposes, such as a test and exam editor, educational games, and language translators
• Games: programs to help entertain and amuse you
• Graphics: programs for handling photos and images and for drawing pictures
• Internet: programs for accessing Internet features such as email, web browsing, and news reading
• Office: alternative office productivity tools such as basic word processors, calendars, and finance programs
• Other: the junk drawer of utilities and small programs, including programs for setting monitor features and setting laptop touchpad features, and packages restricted by patents or copyrights
• Programming: Programming tools such as integrated development environments
(IDEs) and editors, as well as compilers and debuggers
• Sound & Video: a collection of multimedia applications for advanced audio and video capturing, editing, and CD burning
• System Tools: utilities that interact with the Ubuntu system, such as a battery monitor, all-in-one configuration editor, alternative file managers, and file backup managers
• Universal Access: applications that provide assistive technologies for workstations

Selecting a catalog from the list automatically filters the Application panel to display only the applications in that catalog.

The Filter drop-down menu and Search text box allow you to fine-tune the applications listed in the panel. The drop-down menu allows you to select the type of applications listed in the panel:
• All Available Applications: all applications available within the configured Ubuntu software repositories
• All Open-Source Applications: only applications that are part of the open-source community
• Canonical-Maintained Applications: only applications that are supported by Ubuntu and Canonical, Ltd.
• Third-Party Applications: applications that are not part of the Ubuntu software
• Installed Applications Only: only applications that are currently installed on the workstation

Selecting one of these options immediately changes the application list window to display only the applications that meet the filter specification. The Search box allows you to search the application names and descriptions for keywords. Only applications that meet the search keywords appear in the application list window.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets

Installing Updates

Once you have the software management settings configured, you’re ready to start working with the actual software updates. This section walks through how to use the graphical Update Manager tool to check on, retrieve, and install updates on your Ubuntu workstation.


The Update Manager
The Update Manager provides a quick interface for downloading and installing all updates for your Ubuntu workstation. You can start the Update Manager by selecting System -> Administration -> Update Manager from the Panel menu. The main Update Manager window.

If you configured the Software Source settings to automatically check for updates, the Update Manager may already have a current list of the updates available for your installed software packages, depending on when it last checked for updates. You can manually force Update Manager to check the configured repositories by clicking the Check button. The Update Manager connects to all of the remote repositories you configure in the Software Sources and checks for updates to all software packages installed on your specific Ubuntu distribution. If updates are available, they appear in the Update Manager main window.

From the main window you can view the title and summary for each update available for installation. Click on an individual update to highlight it, then click the Description of Update link at the bottom of the window to view a more detailed explanation of the update.

By default, all available updates are selected for download and installation. If there are any updates you don’t want to apply, just remove the check mark from the check box.
To begin the update process, click the Install Updates button. The Update Manager produces a progress dialog box, that indicates the download progress.

After the Update Manager downloads all of the updates, it processes each package update individually, applying the update to the installed software package.

Sometimes, certain updates are required to be installed before other updates can
process. Therefore, after you run an update you should manually check again
for additional updates. If additional updates are still available, install them, then
manually check again for more updates. Repeat this process until there are no
more updates available to install.


Using the Update Manager Applet
By default, Ubuntu installs the Update Manager Applet in the top panel. If you’ve configured the Update Manager to retrieve updates automatically, the Update Manager Applet monitors the status of the Update Manager as it works in the background on your workstation.
The Update Manager Applet icon displays a quick status of the Update Manager:
• Gray sun: Update Manager is checking for updates.
• Orange sun: Software updates are available to download and install.
• Gray down arrow: Update Manager is checking for security updates.
• Red down arrow: Security patches are available to download and install.
• Circling blue arrows: A reboot is necessary after an update installation.

If the orange sun or red down arrow icon appears, Update Manager has determined that updates are available for your installation. Clicking the Update Manager Applet icon in the top panel starts the Update Manager window and displays the updates available to install. As with the manual method, click the Install Updates button to begin downloading and installing the selected updates.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets

Configuring Software Repositories

The main Ubuntu installation includes a graphical utility that allows you to easily configure your Ubuntu system to access different software repositories. You can start the
Software Sources tool by selecting System -> Administration -> Software Sources from the Panel menu.

The Software Sources window contains five tabbed sections:
• Ubuntu Software: Configure the types of software packages to download and from where to download them.

• Third-Party Software: Identify non-Ubuntu software repositories from which to retrieve software packages.

• Updates: Define the types of updates to download and how often to check for new updates.

• Authentication: Store public keys for verifying the authenticity of software repositories.

• Statistics: Allow your Ubuntu workstation to share information on the packages you install with an online statistical tracker.


Ubuntu classifies software packages into five categories of software :

Ubuntu Software Repositories
Canonical-supported, opensource software
Large, open-source projects supported by formal organizations, such as OpenOffice.org and Firefox

Community-maintained, opensource software
Smaller, open-source projects, such as GIMP and Rhythmbox, supported by groups of individuals

Proprietary drivers for devices
Drivers supported by a commercial company for its own products only and not released to the open-source community (for example, packages such as video- and sound-card drivers)

Software restricted by copyright or legal issues
Software that may be illegal to use in some countries due to patent or copyright violations

Source code
The application source code for open-source packages


Just select the categories of software you’re interested in keeping up with. By default Ubuntu will retrieve software from all of these repositories. You can remove the check mark next to any of the repositories if you prefer not to use that particular software category. The Updates tab section allows you to customize how your Ubuntu workstation receives software updates. Updates provide a quick and easy way to update an installed software package with new patches that fix coding bugs and security problems. You can control several facets of software updates:

Ubuntu Updates: Select which types of updates to look for in the repositories:

• Security Updates: updates that fix security-related bugs in installed software packages

• Recommended Updates: updates that fix nonsecurity-related code bugs in installed software packages

• Pre-Released Updates: updates that haven’t been officially released by Ubuntu but may fix reported bugs in software

• Unsupported Updates: updates to installed software packages that aren’t supported by the Ubuntu community

• Automatic Updates: Indicate whether the workstation should automatically check for available updates, how often to check, and whether to install security-related updates automatically without notification or user intervention.

• Release Upgrade: Opt to be notified when a new major Ubuntu distribution upgrade has been released.

The updates tab is where you configure Ubuntu to automatically check for updates available in the repositories for the software currently installed on your system. If you have the Update Manager Applet installed an icon appears in the top panel of your desktop notifying you of available updates to download and install. This makes managing software updates a breeze!

As you can see from this list, not only can you update the individual software packages installed on your workstation, you can also perform a complete upgrade from one version of Ubuntu to another via the package download process. This feature is a great timesaver if you have a high-speed Internet connection, because you don’t have to mess with downloading and burning an installation CD. You can upgrade your Ubuntu workstation directly from the Internet.

The software updates allow you to keep an Ubuntu installation active and up to date when the next release becomes available, so there’s no reason to rush out and install a new version when it comes out. However, Ubuntu eventually will cease to release updates for a particular version.

For most distribution versions, Ubuntu provides security and code updates for up to 18 months after the initial release date. The long-term support (LTS) Ubuntu distributions provide security updates for up to 3 years for workstations and 5 years for servers after the distribution release date. When Ubuntu no longer releases security updates for a distribution you can still run the system, but it’s recommended to upgrade to a newer version of Ubuntu to avoid any future security problems.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets

Software Management in Ubuntu

The Ubuntu operating system contains lots of software. Trying to keep track of which applications are installed, which ones can be installed, and which ones you can remove can be a full-time job. Fortunately Ubuntu offers some features that help make software management a little easier. This section walks through the basics of how Ubuntu handles software and shows how to access software for Ubuntu once you’ve installed the basic distribution.


Software Packages
The Ubuntu distribution consists of many different open-source software packages. A package is a self-contained application or a set of related applications that installs as a single component.

Examples of self-contained applications are common programs such as the Firefox web browser, the Evolution email client, and the GIMP image editor. Each of these applications loads as a self-contained package in Ubuntu. You can easily install or remove these applications individually without affecting the operation of your Ubuntu system. Examples of an application set are the OpenOffice.org office automation suite of applications and the GNOME games package. These packages contain several individual applications that are installed in one package.

Ubuntu packages aren’t limited to applications. Ubuntu also bundles the different operating system elements into packages. The default Ubuntu installation includes packages for the Linux kernel, the GNU utilities used on the command line, and even the command-line shell itself. As you can see, packages are the core of Ubuntu software management. The ability to add new packages to the system and remove old or unused packages makes Ubuntu an extremely versatile operating system. The key is knowing where to find those packages.


Software Repositories
When you install Ubuntu from either the LiveCD or the alternate CD, you’re installing all of the individual packages that make up the system. The installation process copies each package bundled on the LiveCD or alternate CD to the hard drive and installs it in the proper location.

Unfortunately, there’s a limited amount of space on the LiveCD and alternative CD, so Ubuntu can’t include every software package in the default installation. However, if your workstation is connected to the Internet, you can easily retrieve additional software packages from Ubuntu servers for installation. Ubuntu maintains multiple servers that contain software packages for downloading. These servers are called software repositories. Ubuntu maintains different repositories for different applications. You must configure your Ubuntu system to interact with the software repositories you want to use.

If your Ubuntu system doesn’t have Internet connectivity, you can get Ubuntu software package collections on DVDs. You can install software packages and updates directly from the DVDs instead of from a software repository. Check the Ubuntu web site for details on software repository DVDs you can download or purchase.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Linux Secrets

Linux Sound Preferences

Start the Sound Preferences dialog box by selecting System -> Preferences -> Sound from the top Panel menu. The Sound Preferences utility starts. The Sound Preferences dialog box has two tabs of settings:

• Devices: Allows you to select which sound system to use for specific audio functions.

• Sounds: Allows you to select specific sounds for specific system functions. Each tab controls the settings for specific features of the sound environment.


The Devices Tab
The Devices tab sets the default front-end sound system used for the different types of sound generated on the workstation

For each category of sounds, you can select the front-end sound management system to use. Ubuntu includes three software sound management packages:
• The Advanced Linux Sound A Architecture (ALSA)
• The Open Sound System (OSS)
• The PulseAudio Sound Server

By default Ubuntu will set the values to autodetect the best sound system for your workstation. You can change the selected sound management system by clicking the drop-down box for the sound generation method and selecting the sound management system you want to use. The Audio Conferencing setup allows you to select separate sound management systems for playing received sound and recording sound to send.


The Sounds Tab
The Sounds tab provides an interface for you to select various sounds for Ubuntu to play
for specific system events. Figure 11-2 shows the events that you can define sounds for.
For each event you can select to play the default sound, disable the sound, or select a
custom sound from a sound file. The only restriction is that the sound file must be in WAV format.


The Sound Applet
When Ubuntu detects a sound card in your workstation at installation time, it automatically places the Sound applet in your panel. The Sound applet appears as a speaker icon in the right side of the top panel. When you click it, the master volume control appears.

The slider allows you to set the overall volume level of the workstation speakers. For more detailed volume control, double-click the Sound applet icon, and the ALSA mixer windowrs.

The ALSA mixer contains eight sets of sliders for detailed control of the sound environment:
• Master: Controls the overall volume level of the mixer (this is the same as the master volume control that appears if you single-click the icon).
• Headphone: Controls the volume level for the headphone jack on the workstation.
• PCM: Controls the volume level for audio CDs and music files when played from the system.
• Front: Controls the volume level for the speakers on the workstation, either internal or external.
• Line-in Boost: Sets the recording level for an external microphone plugged into the microphone jack on the workstation.
• CD: Sets the left and right channel volume when playing audio CDs.
• Microphone: Sets the recording level for the built-in microphone on the workstation.
• PC Speaker: Sets the volume for the built-in speaker on the workstation.
Using these sliders you can customize the sound volume for playing and recording audio from all applications on your workstation.

Source of Information : OReilly Linux in a Nutshell 6th Edition

Starting and Stopping the System

The job of booting and rebooting a machine falls to a special program called init. Init is responsible for finishing the boot process once the kernel is done loading, launching the services necessary to run the computer. Init is also responsible for stopping services when needed and for shutting down or rebooting the computer when instructed.

For decades, the software handling these duties was called SysVinit, or System V init. Modern Linux distributions have begun switching to a replacement called Upstart (a less common replacement, init-ng, we will not discuss). The traditional model, facilitated by SysVinit, divides potential system states into multiple runlevels, each with a distinct purpose. Runlevel 3, for example, indicates a standard booted system; runlevel 6 indicates a reboot. When entering a runlevel N, SysVinit runs all of the commands in the directory /etc/rcN.d. In this manner, the scripts in /etc/rc3.d handle a system’s booting while those in /etc/rc6.d handle a reboot. Various commands (see accompanying table) allow a system administrator to force the system into a given runlevel. The file /etc/inittab specifies what runlevel is entered on boot, as well as configuration for the system’s tty’s.

Upstart replaces this functionality with a more general mechanism for the stopping, starting, and monitoring of services. Upstart operates asynchronously and is a much more powerful system than SysVinit. Thankfully, however, it is backward compatible with SysVinit and most distributions use it in a way in which much of the preceding paragraph remains accurate. Indeed, most modern Linux distributions have moved to Upstart but still manage runlevels via SysVinit-style scripts in /etc/rcN.d.

The biggest change with Upstart is with configuration. Instead of an inittab, Upstart maintains a directory of configuration scripts, /etc/event.d. Files within this directory describe how Upstart should handle tty’s and SysVinit-style runlevels: /etc/event.d/ttyN configures ttyN while /etc/event.d/rcN configures runlevel N.



Common Command on Starting and Stopping the System

chkconfig Manage which services run in a runlevel.
ctrlaltdel Shut down and then soft reboot system.
halt Stop or shut down system.
initctl Manage the Upstart init daemon.
reboot Shut down and then hard reboot system.
runlevel Print system runlevel.
shutdown Shut down system.
telinit Change the current runlevel.
uptime Display uptimes of local machines


Source of Information : OReilly Linux in a Nutshell 6th Edition

Managing Linux Filesystems

To Unix systems, a filesystem is a device (such as a partition) that is formatted to store files. Filesystems can be found on hard drives, floppies, CD-ROMs, USB drives, or other storage media that permit random access.

The exact format and means by which the files are stored are not important; the system provides a common interface for all filesystem types that it recognizes. By default, almost all modern distributions of Linux use a journaling filesystem. When the kernel interacts with a journalling filesystem, writes to disk are first written to a log or journal before they are written to disk. This slows down writes to the filesystem, but reduces the risk of data corruption in the event of a power outage. It also speeds up reboots after a system unexpectedly loses power.

Most current Linux distributions default to the Third Extended (ext3) Filesystem. The ext3 filesystem was developed primarily for Linux and supports 256-character filenames and 4-terabyte maximum filesystem size. This ext3 filesystem is essentially a Second Extended (ext2) filesystem with an added journal. Since it is in all other ways identical to the ext2 system, it is both forward- and backward-compatible with ext2—all ext2 utilities work with ext3 filesystems.

Although not covered in this edition of Linux in a Nutshell, Linux supports other open source journaling filesystems including: IBM’s Journaled Filesystem (JFS), SGI’s Extensible Filesystem (XFS), and the Naming System Venture’s Reiser Filesystem (ReiserFS). In some situations these can be faster than ext3. Some Linux distributions use these alternative filesystems by default. Other common filesystems include the FAT and VFAT filesystems, which allow files on partitions and floppies of Microsoft Windows systems to be accessed under Linux, and the ISO 9660 filesystem used by CD-ROMs.



Common Command about Managing Filesystems

debugfs Debug ext2 filesystem.
dosfsck Check and repair a DOS or VFAT filesystem.
dump Back up data from a filesystem.
dumpe2fs Print information about superblock and blocks group.
e2fsck Check and repair an ext2 filesystem.
e2image Store disaster-recovery data for an ext2 filesystem.
e2label Label an ext2 filesystem.
edquota Edit filesystem quotas with vim.
fdformat Format floppy disk.
fsck Another name for e2fsck.
fsck.ext2 Check and repair an ext2 filesystem.
mke2fs Make a new ext2 filesystem.
mkfs Make a new filesystem.
mkfs.ext2 Another name for mke2fs.
mkfs.ext3 Yet another name for mke2fs.
mklost+found Make lost+found directory.
mkraid Set up a RAID device.
mkswap Designate swapspace.
mount Mount a filesystem.
quotacheck Audit stored quota information.
quotaon Enforce quotas.
quotaoff Do not enforce quotas.
quotastats Display kernel quota statistics.
rdev Describe or change values for root filesystem.
repquota Display quota summary.
resize2fs Enlarge or shrink an ext2 filesystem.
restore Restore data from a dump to a filesystem.
rootflags List or set flags to use in mounting root filesystem.
setquota Edit filesystem quotas.
showmount List exported directories on a remote host.
swapoff Cease using device for swapping.
swapon Begin using device for swapping.
sync Write filesystem buffers to disk.
tune2fs Manage an ext2 filesystem.
umount Unmount a filesystem.
warnquota Mail disk usage warnings to users.


Source of Information : OReilly Linux in a Nutshell 6th Edition

Linux Sources and Licenses

Some distributions contain the source code for Linux; it is also easily available for download at http://www.kernel.org and elsewhere. Source code is similarly available
for all the utilities on Linux (unless your vendor offers a commercial application or library as a special enhancement). You may never bother looking at the source code, but it’s key to Linux’s strength. Under the Linux license, the source code has to be provided or made available by the vendor, and it permits those who are competent at such things to fix bugs, provide advice about the system’s functioning, and submit improvements that benefit everyone. The license is the GNUproject’s well-known General Public License, also known as the GPL or “copyleft,” invented and popularized by the Free Software Foundation (FSF).

The FSF, founded by Richard Stallman, is a phenomenon that many people might believe to be impossible if it did not exist. (The same goes for Linux, in fact—20 years ago, who would have imagined a robust operating system developed by collaborators over the Internet and made freely redistributable?) One of the most popular editors on Unix, GNU Emacs, comes from the FSF. So do gcc and g++ (C and C++ compilers), which for a while set the standard in the industry for optimization and the creation of fast code. One of the most ambitious projects within GNUis the GNOME desktop, which encompasses several useful generalpurpose libraries and applications that use these libraries to provide consistent behavior and interoperability.

Dedicated to the sharing of software, the FSF provides all its code and documentation on the Internet and allows anyone with a whim for enhancements to alter the source code. One of its projects is the Debian distribution of Linux.

To prevent hoarding, the FSF requires that the source code for all enhancements be distributed under the same GPL that it uses. This encourages individuals or companies to make improvements and share them with others. The only thing someone cannot do is add enhancements, withhold the source code, and then sell the product as proprietary software. Doing so would be taking advantage of the FSF and users of the GPL. You can find the text of the GPL in any software covered by that license, or online at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html.

As we said earlier, many Linux tools come from BSD instead of GNU. BSD is also free software. The license is significantly different, but that probably doesn’t concern you as a user. The effect of the difference is that companies are permitted to incorporate the software into their proprietary products, a practice that is severely limited by the GNU license.

Source of Information : OReilly Linux in a Nutshell 6th Edition

The Excitement of Linux

Linux is, first of all, free software: anyone can download the source from the Internet or buy it on a low-cost CD-ROM. But Linux is becoming well known because it’s more than just free software—it’s unusually good software. You can get more from your hardware with Linux and be assured of fewer crashes; even its security is better than many commercial alternatives.

Linux first appeared in organizations as ad hoc installations by hackers running modest web servers or development systems at universities and research institutions, but it now extends deeply into corporations around the world. People deploying Linux for mission-critical systems tend to talk about its ample practical advantages, such as the ability to deliver a lot of bang for the buck and the ease of deploying other powerful tools on Linux, such as Apache, Samba, and Java environments. They also cite Linux’s ability to grow and sprout new features of interest to large numbers of users. But these advantages can be traced back to the concept of software freedom, which is the root of the broad wave of innovation driving Linux.

As free software, Linux revives the grand creativity and the community of sharing that Unix was long known for. The unprecedented flexibility and openness of Unix—which newcomers usually found confusing and frustrating, but eventually found they couldn’t live without—continually inspired extensions, new tools, and experiments in computer science that sometimes ended up in mainstream commercial computer systems.

Many programmers fondly remember the days when AT&T provided universities with Unix source code at no charge and the University of Berkeley started distributing its version in any manner that allowed people to get it. For these older hackers, Linux brings back the spirit of working together—all the more so because the Internet is now so widespread. And for the many who are too young to remember the first round of open systems or whose prior experience has been constricted by trying to explore and adapt proprietary operating systems, now is the time to discover the wonders of freely distributable source code and infinitely adaptable interfaces.

The economic power behind Linux’s popularity is its support for an enormous range of hardware. People who are accustomed to Microsoft Windows are often amazed at how much faster their hardware appears to work with Linux—it makes efficient use of its resources.

For the first several years after its appearance, users were attracted to Linux for a variety of financial and political reasons, but soon they discovered an unexpected benefit: Linux works better than many commercial systems. With the Samba file and print server, for instance, Linux provides stable Windows-based networking to a large number of end-user PCs. With the Apache web server, it provides more of the useful features web administrators want than competing products do. Embedded versions of the Linux kernel are growing in use because, although they are larger than the most stripped-down operating systems, they deliver a range of powerful features within a remarkably small footprint.

Opinions still differ on how suitable Linux is as a general-purpose desktop system. But the tremendous advances in usability and stability of the desktop software and its applications are undisputed. Soon (if not today), one will find Linux in many offices and other end-user environments. Meanwhile, the strides made by Linux in everyday computing tasks are reflected in the many new commands found in this edition.

Source of Information : OReilly Linux in a Nutshell 6th Edition

Ubuntu RESOURCES

As Linux owes much of its growth and development to the Internet, it should come as no surprise that there is a wealth of information about Ubuntu available to you online. In addition to the usual news, how-to, and download sites, you will also find a variety of tutorials, forums, blogs, and other sources of useful information—all of which you can turn to as you use and learn more about your system.



Forums
When you are looking for advice, trying to solve a particular problem, or just looking for some general tips, online forums are the way to go. Fortunately, Ubuntu has a forum all its own, and since Ubuntu is primarily a desktoporiented Linux distro, you are likely to find many fellow newbies and newbiefriendly posters there, rather than the hard-core geekiness you might find on some other sites. There are, of course, other newbie-friendly forums, which, although not Ubuntu-specific, should also be able to provide you with lots of helpful information.

Regardless of which forum you are posting in, just be sure to mention that you are using Ubuntu, which version you have (Feisty Fawn, in case you forgot), and that you are new to Linux. And remember to always seek clarification when you get an answer you don’t understand. The same poster will usually come back and clarify things for you. You should feel right at home at most of these sites, though you will probably come to like one or two more than the others.

http://www.ubuntuforums.org The official Ubuntu community forum. Always a good place to start when you’re in a fix, have a question, or just want to find out what’s going on.

http://www.ubuntux.org/forum Another slightly smaller Ubuntuspecific forum. A good place to turn if you find UbuntuForums.org a bit too much to wade through.

http://www.kubuntuforums.net A forum dedicated to Kubuntu, an official Ubuntu edition based on the KDE desktop environment.

http://www.justlinux.com If you can’t find what you want in the previously mentioned forums, you can try this or the following two forums dealing with general Linux issues. You are sure to find many Ubuntu users on any of them.

http://www.linuxforum.com

http://www.linuxquestions.org



Linux Reference
These are sites, many of which are geared towards newbies, where you can learn more about using Ubuntu or Linux in general.

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/ubuntu:feisty An unofficial Ubuntu startup guide.

https://help.ubuntu.com Official documentation for the current release of Ubuntu.

http://www.tuxfiles.org Lots of tutorials and information for Linux newbies.

http://www.linuxcommand.org Learn to use commands in Linux.

http://www.linux.org News, book reviews, downloads, and all sorts of other stuff—all about Linux!



Blogs
A lot of great information can also be found in blogs. In these, you can discover the findings of fellow users as they try new things, share tips, and offer solutions to problems.

http://ubuntu.wordpress.com Ubuntu news with some tips thrown in.
http://www.ubuntux.org/blog Mostly an Ubuntu-oriented news blog.
http://www.ubuntugeek.com Despite having the word geek in the name, this is a pretty accessible set of mostly useful Ubuntu system and software tweaks.



Hardware Compatibility Issues
If you want to find out whether or not your hardware is compatible with Linux, or if you want to read up on other matters related to hardware support, take a look at the following sites:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupport Ubuntu-specific hardware compatibility information.
http://www.linuxcompatible.org/compatibility.html Numerous compatibility lists, arranged by distribution.
http://www.linuxprinting.org A great spot for reading up on printer compatibility issues.
http://www.linmodems.org Find out if your modem is supported.
http://www.sane-project.org Check to see if your scanner is Linux compatible, and look for fixes if it isn’t.
http://www.linux-laptop.net Have laptop, want Linux? Check it out here.
http://www.tuxmobil.org Info for using Linux with anything that isn’t stuck to your desk (laptops, PDAs, phones, etc.).



Wireless Connections
If you use a wireless card to connect to the Internet and have trouble getting your card to work, or if you just want to know where all the free wireless hotspots happen to be, the following sites should help.
http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux
http://www.ezgoal.com/hotspots/wireless



Free Downloads
If you find yourself looking for more goodies to play around with, you should be able to find plenty of free stuff to download at one of these sites.



Applications and Other Packages
http://sourceforge.net
http://www.freshmeat.net
http://www.gnomefiles.org



Free Fonts
http://www.fontfreak.com
http://www.fontparadise.com
http://fonts.tom7.com



News and Information
These sites are mainly informational, keeping you abreast of what’s going on in the Linux world. DistroWatch focuses on the various distributions available out there, whereas Linux Today and LinuxPlanet fit better in the online magazine/newspaper genre.
http://www.distrowatch.com
http://www.linuxtoday.com
http://www.linuxplanet.com



Magazines
If you are more of a tactile type who enjoys the feel of paper pressed between your fingers, then you might like to turn to some of the Linux magazines available at most major newsstands. All have a good deal of online content, so even if you’re not interested in the pleasures of holding a magazine in your hand, their sites are worth checking out.
http://www.tuxmagazine.com
http://www.linux-magazine.com (European)
http://www.linuxmagazine.com (US)
http://www.linuxjournal.com
There are two (unrelated) magazines sharing almost the same name:
One of these is from the United States, one from Europe. The newbie who wants some pizzazz in his or her reading materials, plus some useful tips, and some things to play around with should go for the European version. The US version is targeted toward business users and power geeks, not newbies.



Books
Once you’ve finished working through this book, you should be able to do just about whatever you want in Ubuntu. Still, your interest may have been piqued enough that you would like to find out a bit more about Linux. Here are some books that might help in that quest.
How Linux Works by Brian Ward. (No Starch Press, 2004.)
The Debian System by Martin Krafft. (No Starch Press, 2005.)
The Linux Cookbook 2nd Ed. by Michael Stutz. (No Starch Press, 2004.)
Running Linux by Matthias Dalheimer and Matt Welsh. (O’Reilly Media, 2005.)
Linux Multimedia Hacks: Tips & Tools for Taming Images, Audio, and Video by Kyle Rankin. (O’Reilly Media, 2005.)
Linux Pocket Guide by Daniel J. Barrett. (O’Reilly Media, 2004.)



Ubuntu CDs
To order an AMD64 version of the Ubuntu Desktop CD, get a replacement for the i386 version that comes with this book, or get the next version of Ubuntu when it comes out (if you don’t want to or can’t download it), just place an order with any of the following sites. Remember that those from Ubuntu will be free, while those from other suppliers will cost you a little ($5 to $10 or so) but will be delivered much faster.
https://shipit.ubuntu.com
http://www.cheapbytes.com
http://www.linuxcd.org


Source of Information : Ubuntu for Non-Geeks (2nd Ed)

Connecting to a Shared Music Library with Xbox 360

With Xbox 360 game consoles now found in tens of millions of homes worldwide, Microsoft has found a perfect way to share PC-based music libraries with a device that is probably connected to the best TV display and stereo system in the home. Thankfully, the process is simple:

1. After you’ve confi gured Windows Media Player 11 to share its media library, ensure that your Xbox 360 is connected to the home network, and then turn it on. You will see a Found Windows Media Center Extender balloon window, but you can ignore this for now (unless you’re using your Windows Vista–based machine as a Media Center PC).

2. You will also see a balloon window appear for sharing with the Xbox 360. Doubleclick this icon and click Allow in the resulting dialog box. Alternatively, access the Media Sharing dialog box described earlier and make sure the Xbox 360 is configured to allow sharing.

3. Access your Xbox 360 and navigate to the Media blade. This part of the Xbox 360 user interface enables you to interact with PC-based digital media, connected portable devices (e.g., iPods and other MP3 players), and even external hard drives with stored digital media files. Right now, of course, you are just concerned with sharing media content from a Windows Vista–based PC.

4. To play shared music, select the Music option to display the Music page. Then select the name of your Vista-based computer from the source list on the left. (You’ll also see options such as Console, Current Disk, and Portable Device.) If this is the fi rst time you’ve done this, Xbox 360 will need to download Windows Media Connect, which is the same software many devices use to stream media from Windows Vista–based PCs. After this download is completed, Xbox 360 will automatically connect to PCs that are sharing media libraries. Just select the correct PC from the list to continue. Now you can access your PC’s media library using a simple menu that consists of albums, artists, saved playlists, songs, and genres (see Figure 11-43). Xbox 360 also includes a decent media player for playing back this content.

As you might expect, photos and videos are accessed in a similar manner.

If you attempt to access photos or videos from an Xbox 360 or other Windows Media Connect device and receive a “No photos found,” “No videos found,” or similar message, then you’re not sharing any content of this type. To add photo or video content to Windows Media Player, you can either add it via Windows Photo Gallery or use the Find Media steps to manually search folders that include photo and video content.

The Xbox 360 isn’t the only electronics device that can access digital media content on your Vista-based PC over the home network. A variety of hardware makers, such as D-Link, Linksys, and others, sell so-called digital media receivers, which are simple set-top boxes that bridge the gap between your home stereo and TV and your PC. Sony’s PlayStation 3 (PS3) also offers Xbox 360–like media connectivity functionality, also using Microsoft Windows Media Connect technology. Increasingly, it’s getting easier and easier to access your content regardless of where you are.

Source of Information : Wiley Windows Vista Secrets SP1 Edition

UBUNTU DESKTOP CDS FOR AMD64 USERS

In order to use Ubuntu with AMD64 processors in 64-bit mode, you must get a different disk on your own. There are several ways of doing this: downloading an ISO (disk image) and then burning it to CD yourself, ordering the CD from Ubuntu (for free), or ordering it from an online Linux CD provider (for a nominal cost).



Downloading and Burning Ubuntu Desktop CD ISOs to CD
To download an ISO of the Ubuntu Desktop CD, go to the Ubuntu website at www.ubuntu.com, find the link to the download page, and then select and download the appropriate version for your machine. Remember that the ISO file you will be downloading is a heavyweight, weighing in at just over 700MB, so the download will take a bit of time. Don’t count on getting it all downloaded and done before dinner . . . or, if you happen to be using a dial-up Internet connection, before dinner tomorrow. Yikes!



Burning the ISO to CD in Windows
Once the Desktop CD ISO has been downloaded, you need to burn it to CD before you can use it. Although Windows has built-in CD-writing capabilities, it does not have the ability to burn ISOs. To burn an ISO to CD in Windows, therefore, you must use a third-party commercial application, such as Nero. If you don’t have a commercial disk-burning utility installed on your system, try the free and handy ISO Recorder. To get ISO Recorder, visit to http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/v1.htm. Once the download is complete, double-click the ISORecorderSetup.msi file on your hard disk to install it. After the installation is complete, burn your ISO to CD by double-clicking the Ubuntu ISO file on your disk and selecting Copy image to CD in the popup menu. A CD Recording Wizard window.

It is generally best if you burn installation or live CDs at a lower speed than the maximum speed allowed by your drive, in order to reduce the chance of error (with 2X to 4X speeds considered optimal). To do so, click the Recorder Properties button in the CD Recording Wizard window, and then drag the slider in the Properties window down to about 4X. Next, pop a blank CD into the drive and click the Next button. The CD burning process should begin. Once it’s done, the CD should pop out of the drive, and if all goes well you’ll have yourself an AMD64-compatible live CD.



Burning the ISO to CD in OS X
Although Ubuntu no longer comes in PowerPC editions, the i386 editions can be installed and run on Intel-based Macs. You can also, of course, download ISOs for other architectures on your Mac, and then burn them to CD for use on other machines. To burn an ISO file to CD in OS X, first check to make sure the ISO image is not mounted by opening a Finder window and checking the disk area at the top of the left pane. If it is mounted, a white drive icon will appear in that location. If the drive icon is there, click the arrow next to that entry to eject, or unmount, it.

After that, click Applications in the same Finder window, and then look for and open the Utilities folder. In that folder, find and then double-click Disk Utility. If the ISO is not listed in the left pane of the Disk Utility window when it opens, go back to the Finder window, locate the Ubuntu Live CD ISO you just downloaded, and then drag it to the left pane of the Disk Utility window, just below the listings for your current drives. Once the ISO file appears in that list, click it once to highlight it.

To complete the process, click the Burn icon in the Disk Utility window’s toolbar, and then insert a blank CD in your drive when prompted to do so. Once the blank disk is inserted and recognized, you will be able to adjust the burn speed from the drop-down menu next to the word Speed. Select as low a speed as your hardware will allow, which, depending on the age of your Mac, will probably be 4X to 8X. Finally, click the Burn button in that same window, and the burning process will begin.



Ordering an Install Disk from Ubuntu
The easiest and most foolproof way to get an Ubuntu Desktop CD is to simply order one (or more) for free from Ubuntu; you don’t even have to pay shipping or handling. Ubuntu will not only send you one install CD for your particular machine architecture, but they will actually send you one for each of the architectures they support: i386 and AMD64. In fact, you don’t even get to choose which you want; it’s basically an all-or-nothing deal, which in this case isn’t such a bad thing. Of course, the only downside to this approach is time. It can take four to six weeks for you to get the CDs in this manner, so if you’re impatient, you might want to opt for one of the other methods. To order your install CDs from Ubuntu, go to https://shipit.ubuntu.com and follow the directions there. It’s easy.



Ordering an Install Disk from Other Online Sources
If you are in a hurry to get your install CD, you can also order a copy from one of the many online sources that specialize in copying and selling install CDs for a variety of Linux distributions at very low prices. For example, you can get an Ubuntu install CD from LinuxCD (www.linuxcd.org) for a quarter shy of two dollars. CheapBytes (www.cheapbytes.com) and UseLinux (www.uselinux.net) are two other well-known sources you might want to try.

Source of Information : Ubuntu for Non-Geeks (2nd Ed)

Getting Involved

Users can participate in the Ubuntu community on a variety of different levels and in a multitude of ways. The following list of such ways, adapted largely from a page with links to relevant resources online on the Ubuntu Web site (www.ubuntu.com/community/participate), provides a good list of ways in which people can get a running start in the Ubuntu community. The list is broken down into the major ways to get involved.



Advocacy
The easiest way for someone to contribute to the Ubuntu community is simply by telling others about Ubuntu. Advocacy frequently occurs in a variety of ways. One good method involves joining or starting a LoCo Team. LoCos, described above, provide a method through which you can get involved in Ubuntu activities. If users do not have a LoCo and do not have the critical mass of users to start one, they might help build support by giving a talk about Ubuntu to a local Linux User Group or other technical group. Advocates can also order CDs at no cost and can distribute them. Through these and other means, advocacy provides a great way to spread the word about Ubuntu and offers a low-barrier opportunity to make contributions to the community.



Support
One of the most meaningful ways that users can contribute to Ubuntu is by helping others use the software. Users can do this by joining the support-oriented mailing lists, IRC channels, or forums as described in detail earlier in this chapter. By responding to requests for help in each of these venues, users can help other users get up and running on Ubuntu. Even if users are themselves beginners, the knowledge they gain in solving even simple problems enables them to help users who run into the same issues.



Ideas and Feedback
Another way to contribute to Ubuntu is by helping steer the direction of the project by describing a vision or providing ideas. This can be done by participating in discussion and brainstorming sessions at conferences and on the Ubuntu wiki. By monitoring specifications as they are written and creating feedback, especially at early stages, users can make meaningful contributions. However, users contributing ideas should remember that "talk is cheap." Users are wise to work with others to help turn their vision into reality.



Documentation
When a user is stumped by a problem, chances are good that other users will also be frustrated by it. If a user is not in a position to write code to change the situation, they may be able to help others by writing up their experience and documenting the solution. Ubuntu has a vibrant documentation team and community, and writing documentation is a great low-barrier way to make meaningful contributions to the Ubuntu community.

Users aiming to contribute to Ubuntu's documentation would be advised to take notes as they puzzle through problems and to document solutions when they find them. Before writing, users should also check to see if documentation for a particular problem already exists. When it does, users would be wise to choose to improve or augment existing documentation over writing a new document. Similarly, users can also make meaningful contributions by reading through existing documentation and fixing factual, technical, stylistic, spelling, and grammar errors. Users who spend a large amount of time working on documentation may, with time, also want to join the Ubuntu Documentation Team, which can help organize and coordinate this work in terms of Ubuntu documentation goals.



Artwork
For those users who feel that their strengths are primarily artistic, there are many ways to improve the style and feel of the Ubuntu desktop through wholly artistic contributions. For example, Ubuntu is always in need of new ideas for wallpapers, icons, and graphical themes. Inkscape, similar in many respects to Adobe Illustrator, is a great piece of free software in Ubuntu that proves useful for this type of work. As with documentation, there is an Ubuntu Art Team that helps coordinate artistic work within the Ubuntu community.



Translation and Localization
The discussion of LoCo Teams should have already made it clear that translation is a great way that anyone with a firm understanding of English and another language can contribute to the Ubuntu community. Translation through Rosetta allows users to translate as little as a single string or as much as an entire application. Through its easy interface and Web-based nature, it provides an easy, low-barrier road to contribution. Serious translators should join a local community team and the ubuntu-translators mailing list so that they can stay in touch with other Ubuntu localizers.



Quality Assurance and Bugs
Quality assurance (QA) is something for which many companies hire special engineers. In Ubuntu, the Development Team relies on itself and the community to test software before it is released to let developers know about problems so that the bugs can be squashed before the vast majority of users ever see it. To test software, users merely need to upgrade to the latest development version of Ubuntu and to upgrade regularly. When users helping out with QA find bugs, they should report them in the Ubuntu bug-tracking system Malone. They can also help by "triaging" bugs, closing or merging duplicates, or verifying bugs and adding information to a bug's description. If you intend to become involved in QA, you should subscribe to the ubuntu-devel-announce mailing list, and you should considering monitoring ubuntu-devel as well.



Programming and Packaging
The final way that users can contribute to the Ubuntu community is through the production of code. Because Ubuntu is free and Open Source software, users can get access to every piece of software that Ubuntu supports. This allows users to package additional software for inclusion in Ubuntu, to fix bugs, and to add features. Developers, like those testing software, should subscribe to the ubuntu-devel-announce mailing list and should consider monitoring ubuntu-devel as well. The best way to begin making contributions is then through the MOTU team as a MOTU hopeful, as described above. Users can also look through a list of specifications to find a project that they find personally interesting. In some situations, there are even "bounties" availablesmall amounts of money available to those who fulfill a small feature goal that has remained unfilled for some period of time.

Source of Information : The Official Ubuntu Book

Teams, Processes, and Community Governance

Ubuntu operates under the famous hacker mantra of "rough consensus and running code." The project attempts to forge consensus, to make good technical decisions, and to move forward. It attempts to minimize politicization wherever possible and to distribute power to those who are best at getting good work done. Mark Shuttleworth explains, "This is not a democracy, it's a meritocracy. We try to operate more on consensus than on votes, seeking agreement from the people who will have to do the work."

The project attempts to keep disagreements from spiraling out of control by enforcing mutual respect at all times with its Code of Conduct. Disagreements, of course, are inevitable and can be technical or nontechnical in nature. The community needs to be able to deal with these and, toward that end, has created a lightweight governance system that aims to ensure that disagreements are resolved carefully and that the project always has a strong, fair, and responsive direction.

The Ubuntu Web site describes the goals of its community governance system as threefold:
• Ensure that a process is defined that allows people to contribute to decisions regarding the Ubuntu community and distribution

• Ensure that decisions regarding the Ubuntu distribution and community are made in a fair and transparent fashion

• Ensure that necessary decisions are actually made, even when there is no clear consensus amongst the community

With these goals in mind, Ubuntu's system is based on the delegation of decision-making power to small- and medium-sized teams. When disagreements arise, they are handled within a relevant team. When teams cannot resolve their own disagreements or when there are disagreements between teams, issues are forwarded to either the Community Council or the Technical Boarddepending on whether the issue is technical in nature. As the financier and the project's progenitor, Mark Shuttleworth sits on both boards and occupies a special position as the self-appointed benevolent dictator for life (SABDFL). Users can participate in the Ubuntu governance structure by serving on teams and by approving members of both the Community Council and the Technical Board as Ubuntu members and maintainers.



Teams
Most work in Ubuntu is delegated to a set of teams that are responsible for a particular area of work in Ubuntu. A sample of important teams (which is by no means complete) might include the marketing, documentation, kernel, server, laptop, and translation teams. Anyone with an interest in a particular aspect of the Ubuntu project can join a team's discussion and contribute to its decisions.

When a group of participants feel that a particular area is underserved, they can go ahead and build a new team by beginning work and writing up a proposal for consideration by the Community Council, which approves the creation of all new teams. Rather than catalyzing work with the creation of a team, the Community Council likes to recognize existing work with official team status. Teams should always involve the participation of several individuals. There are no one-man or one-woman teams in Ubuntu.



Local Community (LoCo) Teams
Local Community Teams, affectionately referred to as LoCo Teams in the community, are a very important type of team. Each LoCo is responsible for promoting, supporting, and representing Ubuntu in a particular locale. These locales are usually geographical and frequently countrywide, although in some situations they may overlap geographically. Ubuntu tries to encourage LoCos to work together whenever it is possible.

LoCos are like Linux User Groups (LUGs) and may often work closely with or be associated with a LUG. LoCos are often involved in localization or translations of Ubuntu into local languages and in advocacy in local schools, public administrations, and communities. The best LoCos meet regularly for social events, talks, and discussion. Often, they meet for "installfests" where team members help new users install Ubuntu onto their computers. Representatives of LoCos are asked to assist with localization matters, to speak on behalf of the Ubuntu project at local conferences and trade shows, and to organize a booth or presence at such events.

Canonical Ltd. provides each team with a mailing list and a domain name (usually in the form of ubuntu-.org where CC is the country's two-letter country code). Canonical Ltd. also is willing to host LoCo Team's Web pages, wikis, forums, Web logs, download areas, and additional mailing lists. LoCos are open to participation by anyone.



MOTU
Another very special team that deserves an in-depth description in this book is the MOTU. The MOTU are the maintainers of Ubuntu's universe repository and the phrase stands, jokingly (if not slightly embarrassingly), for Masters of the Universe. MOTUs call themselves, "the brave souls who try to keep the universe section of Ubuntu in shape."

MOTUs are package maintainers. They maintain, as a group, the vast majority of packages in the Ubuntu archive. Several of the packages that have been well maintained by the MOTU have, with time, migrated into the main component and become an official part of the Ubuntu distribution. Because Ubuntu does not make support or quality promises regarding the packages in universe, the MOTU team provides a way for maintainers to sharpen their teeth and (since it's sometimes unavoidable) make mistakes before jumping into the higher responsibility packages in main.

The roles and responsibility of the MOTU are many. Two important ones are:
• Filing and fixing bugs on Ubuntu packages using Malone
• Getting new or updated packages included in Ubuntu's universe

This work is done largely by full-fledged MOTU members who, as team members, can upload directly into Ubuntu. This group is helped by "MOTU hopefuls," who work closely with the MOTUs and whose work is then "sponsored" into Ubuntu. Many of these hopefuls graduate to full-fledged MOTUs, and many MOTUs eventually are granted full-core developer status. This three-step system is the process by which almost all new maintainers learn to maintain packages in Ubuntu and gain their stripes.



Community Council
The Community Council and the Technical Board are the highest level governance structures within Ubuntu. The Community Council, as it pertains to all Ubuntu members and activities, is arguably the most powerful team within the Ubuntu project. The Community Council is charged with supervising the social structures, venues, and processes of the project.


The Community Council's day-to-day work involves five major areas in Ubuntu. The first, and the most straightforward, is the maintenance of the Ubuntu Code of Conduct. The Community Council is the only body that can approve revisions to the code. Because the Community Council does not ask each member to "re-agree" to the code when it is changed, each of these revisions must be fully within the spirit of the previous drafts.
The second charge of the Community Council is the arbitration of disputes that cannot be handled within a particular team or that arise between teams. Very frequently, these are disputes about the Code of Conduct that may require clarification of a part of the Code of Conduct or a description of whether any of the code was in fact violated by a particular action or behavior. However, the Community Council's purview is not limited to Code of Conduct violations, and the Community Council is available to handle disputes in any nontechnical situation. In most situations, the Community Council does not take action against individuals but, rather, helps groups come to agreement or consensus among themselves. If this fails, the Community Council can ask a maintainer or other member of the community to apologize and refrain from particular behavior or to leave the community. The council promises that nobody will be asked to leave without a substantial review and opportunity to defend themselves.
A third area of council work is the creation and dissolution of teams and the appointment of team leaders. New teams are proposed to the Community Council in the manner described above in the section on teams, and the Community Council either approves the request or asks the proposer to wait. Defunct or inactive teams can similarly be dissolved by the Community Council. In cases where team leadership is requested, the Community Council can appoint leaders of teams or shift leadership to different team members. In most situations, the appointment of team leaders is an internal team matter but, when requested, the Community Council is available to intervene.

Fourth, the Community Council is responsible for approving and welcoming new members to the project. This will be described in more depth in the subsequent section on membership. Finally, the Community Council is responsible for all community-related structures and processes. New types of teams, requirements for membership, and core philosophical documents should first be approved by the Community Council. Community members who wish to suggest new structures or processes can submit their proposal to the Community Council for discussion and approval.

The Community Council meets every two weeks on IRC. Any community participant can submit an item or proposal for discussion by the Community Council. Meetings are open to the community, but the Council only seeks consensus or votes from Council membersalthough it consults representatives from the team that submitted the proposal and other community members. If an open meeting becomes too noisy, the Council reserves the right to move to a private channel for the duration of the meeting. To date, this has never happened. In all situations, full transcripts of meetings are published immediately following a Community Council meeting. The Community Council at the time of this writing consists of Benjamin Mako Hill, Mark Shuttleworth, Colin Watson, and James Troup. Appointments to the board are made by Mark Shuttleworth and subject to confirmation by a vote among all members. Appointments are for a period of two years.



Technical Board
The Ubuntu Technical Board is responsible for the Ubuntu project's technical direction. By handling all technical matters the Technical Board complements the Community Council as Ubuntu's highest rung of project governance. In particular, the Technical Board is responsible for three major areas of Ubuntu policy: package policy, release feature goals, and package selection. Additionally, the Technical Board is available to arbitrate any technical disagreements or issues within or between teams in a manner similar to the one described above in relation to the Community Council.

The Technical Board's first responsibility is Ubuntu's Package Policy. The Technical Board maintains the policy document which describe the processes and standards to which all Ubuntu packages are held. Since the policy is constantly evolving, each Ubuntu release is associated with a specific version of the Ubuntu package policy as determined by the Technical Board. Any suggestions or proposals about policy are suggested to and considered by the Technical Board.

Additionally, the Technical Board is responsible for maintaining Ubuntu's feature goals for each release. During each release cycle, there is a date defined as "Feature Freeze" after which no new features are added. The Technical Board is the body that sets these dates and decides when and if the rules can be bent for a particular feature or piece of software.

Finally, the Technical Board is responsible for maintaining the list of pieces of software (i.e., packages) in Ubuntu. In this capacity, the Technical Board determines which software is installed in the default desktop installation and which packages qualify for full support as part of the main component of Ubuntu. Users and developers can propose a particular piece of software for inclusion in main, the base install, or in a desktop install. In all cases, the ultimate decision will be made by the Technical Board.

Like the Community Council, the Technical Board meets at least every two weeks on IRC. Also like the Community Council, any user can submit an item or proposal for discussion by the Technical Board ahead of the meeting. Meetings are open to all interested parties, although decision-making and voting is restricted to Technical Board members. Full transcripts and rules about noise, as they pertain to the Community Council, also apply to the Technical Board. The Technical Board at the time of this writing comprises Matt Zimmerman as board chair, Scott James Remnant, Mark Shuttleworth, and Matthew Garrett. Nominations for the Technical Board are considered at the beginning of each release cycle. Like the Community Council, appointments are made by Mark Shuttleworth but are subject to confirmation by a vote among the maintainers instead of all members. Appointments are made for a period of one year.



SABDFL
Mark Shuttleworth jokingly refers to himself as Ubuntu's SABDFL"self-appointed benevolent dictator for life." Mark plays an admittedly undemocratic role as the sponsor of the Ubuntu project and the sole owner of Canonical Ltd. Shuttleworth has the ability, with regard to Canonical Ltd. employees, to ask people to work on specific projects, feature goals, and bugs. He does exactly this.

Mark also maintains a tie-breaking vote on the Technical Board and Community Council but has never used this power and has publicly said that he will not use it lightly. In situations where the boards are split and there is no one "right" answer, the SABDFL will provide a decision instead of more debate. The SABDFL exists to provide clear leadership on difficult issues and to set the pace and direction for the project. In exchange for this power, he has the responsibility to listen to the community and to understand that the use of his SABDFL authority can weaken the project.



Ubunteros and Ubuntu Members
Membership in the Ubuntu project is one official way that the project recognizes sustained and significant contributions. The first level of membership in Ubuntu is as an Ubuntero (formerly, the name was "Ubuntite"). Ubunteros are "Ubuntu activists" and can be any person in the Ubuntu community who has explicitly committed to observe the Ubuntu Code of Conduct. Ubunteros are self-nominated and self-confirmed. Using Launchpad, participants can generate a GPG encryption key and "sign" the Code of Conduct as a way of pledging to uphold it within the Ubuntu community. By doing so, that participant automatically gains status as an Ubuntero.

The next, more significant, step is official membership. Official membership is available to any Ubuntero who has demonstrated a significant and sustained set of contributions to the Ubuntu community. These contributions can be of any kindtechnical or nontechnicalbut need to be of a form that can be represented to the Community Council, which will consider each application individually. A full list of types of contributions that qualify can be found in the following section on getting involved. The Community Council tries to be flexible in the variety of different types of contributions that it accepts in consideration of membership.

Members are responsible for confirming, by voting, all nominations to the Ubuntu Community Council. They also may be asked by the Community Council to vote on resolutions put to the general membership. In exchange, members gain the right to an e-mail address @ubuntu.com and the right to carry Ubuntu business cards. Membership lasts for two years and is renewable. Members who fail to renew their membership will be marked as inactive but, with renewed activity and a simple procedure that involves approval of the Community Council, can be easily reactivated.

The process to become a member is relatively straightforward and is documented in-depth on the Ubuntu Web site. Most important, it requires that users document their contributions on a wiki page that includes links to code, mailing list messages, documentation, or other relevant material. Additionally, membership applications should also include testimonials on work and involvement in Ubuntu from current Ubuntu members.

Source of Information : The Official Ubuntu Book