Category: ubuntu

Ubuntu – Quick Guide ”; Previous Next Ubuntu – Overview Ubuntu is a Linux-based operating system. It is designed for computers, smartphones, and network servers. The system is developed by a UK based company called Canonical Ltd. All the principles used to develop the Ubuntu software are based on the principles of Open Source software development. Features of Ubuntu Following are some of the significant features of Ubuntu − The desktop version of Ubuntu supports all the normal software on Windows such as Firefox, Chrome, VLC, etc. It supports the office suite called LibreOffice. Ubuntu has an in-built email software called Thunderbird, which gives the user access to email such as Exchange, Gmail, Hotmail, etc. There are a host of free applications for users to view and edit photos. There are also applications to manage videos and it also allows the users to share videos. It is easy to find content on Ubuntu with the smart searching facility. The best feature is, it is a free operating system and is backed by a huge open source community. Release Cycle of Ubuntu Every year there are 2 releases of Ubuntu, one in April and one in October, from Canonical. The version number normally denotes the year in which the software was released. For example, version 14.04 specifies that it was released in the year 2014 and in the month of April. Similarly, the version 16.04 specifies that it was released in the year 2016 and in the month of April. The April build every year is the more stable build, while the October build does a lot of experimentation on new features. The official site for Ubuntu is https://www.ubuntu.com/ The site has all information and documentation about the Ubuntu Software. It also has the download links for both the server and desktop versions of Ubuntu. Ubuntu – Flavors Ubuntu comes in a variety of flavors. In this chapter, we will discuss briefly about some of the popular flavors of Ubuntu. Ubuntu Desktop This is the operating system which can be used by regular users. This comes pre-built with software that help the users perform usual basic activities. Operations such as browsing, email and multimedia are also available in this edition. The latest version as of September 2016 is 16.04.01. Ubuntu Server The server version is used for hosting applications such as web servers and databases. Each server version is supported by Ubuntu for 5 years. These operating systems have support for cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure. The latest version as of September 2016 is 16.04.1. Kubuntu The normal Ubuntu interface is based on a software called Unity. However, Kubuntu is based on a software called KDE Plasma desktop. This gives a different look and feel to the Ubuntu software. Kubuntu has the same features and software availability as Ubuntu. The official site for Kubuntu is https://www.kubuntu.org/ Linux Mint This is also based of the Ubuntu operating system. It comes pre-built with a lot of applications for the modern user in the space of photos and multimedia. This operating system is completely based on the open source community. The official site for Linux Mint is https://www.linuxmint.com/ Ubuntu – Environment We need to ensure we have the right hardware specifications in order to have Ubuntu installed. System Requirements Ensure the following system requirements are met before proceeding with the installation. Memory 2GB RAM (recommended) Disk Space 25GB of free hard disk space Processor 2 GHz dual core processor or better Other requirements An optional DVD drive or USB drive with the Installer media. An internet connection to download the optional updates. Downloading Ubuntu Step 1 − To download Ubuntu, go to the following url − https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop Step 2 − On this page, there is an option to download the older versions of Ubuntu if required. Click the Alternative downloads and torrents link. Step 3 − Go to Past releases link. It then presents a page with all the past releases of the Ubuntu software. Installing Ubuntu Now let’s learn about installing the desktop version of Ubuntu. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will go with the latest version which is 16.04. The installer is a ISO image which can be mounted on a DVD drive or USB stick. Once the image is booted on the machine, following are the steps for installation. Step 1 − The first screen allows us to either install or try out Ubuntu. The try out option allows us to see the features of Ubuntu without actually installing it. However, we want to use Ubuntu, so let’s choose the Install Ubuntu option. Step 2 − The next screen gives you 2 options. One is to download updates in the background while installing and the other is to install 3rd party software. Check the option to install 3rd party software. Then click the Continue button. Step 3 − In the next screen, the following options are presented − The disk is erased and the installation is carried out. If there was another operating system already on the disk, then Ubuntu would detect it and give the user the option to install the operating system side by side. There is an option to encrypt the installation. This is so that if anybody else were to steal the data, they would not be able to decrypt the data. Finally, Linux offers a facility called LVM, which can be used for taking snapshots of the disk. For the moment, to make the installation simple, let’s keep the options unchecked and proceed with the installation by clicking the Install Now button. Step 4 − In the following screen, we will be prompted if we want to erase the disk. Click the Continue button to proceed. Step 5 − In this screen, we will be asked to confirm our location. Click the Continue button to proceed. Step 6 − Now, we will be asked to confirm the language and the keyboard settings. Let us select English (UK) as

Ubuntu – Environment ”; Previous Next We need to ensure we have the right hardware specifications in order to have Ubuntu installed. System Requirements Ensure the following system requirements are met before proceeding with the installation. Memory 2GB RAM (recommended) Disk Space 25GB of free hard disk space Processor 2 GHz dual core processor or better Other requirements An optional DVD drive or USB drive with the Installer media. An internet connection to download the optional updates. Downloading Ubuntu Step 1 − To download Ubuntu, go to the following url − https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop Step 2 − On this page, there is an option to download the older versions of Ubuntu if required. Click the Alternative downloads and torrents link. Step 3 − Go to Past releases link. It then presents a page with all the past releases of the Ubuntu software. Installing Ubuntu Now let’s learn about installing the desktop version of Ubuntu. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will go with the latest version which is 16.04. The installer is a ISO image which can be mounted on a DVD drive or USB stick. Once the image is booted on the machine, following are the steps for installation. Step 1 − The first screen allows us to either install or try out Ubuntu. The try out option allows us to see the features of Ubuntu without actually installing it. However, we want to use Ubuntu, so let’s choose the Install Ubuntu option. Step 2 − The next screen gives you 2 options. One is to download updates in the background while installing and the other is to install 3rd party software. Check the option to install 3rd party software. Then click the Continue button. Step 3 − In the next screen, the following options are presented − The disk is erased and the installation is carried out. If there was another operating system already on the disk, then Ubuntu would detect it and give the user the option to install the operating system side by side. There is an option to encrypt the installation. This is so that if anybody else were to steal the data, they would not be able to decrypt the data. Finally, Linux offers a facility called LVM, which can be used for taking snapshots of the disk. For the moment, to make the installation simple, let’s keep the options unchecked and proceed with the installation by clicking the Install Now button. Step 4 − In the following screen, we will be prompted if we want to erase the disk. Click the Continue button to proceed. Step 5 − In this screen, we will be asked to confirm our location. Click the Continue button to proceed. Step 6 − Now, we will be asked to confirm the language and the keyboard settings. Let us select English (UK) as the preferred settings. Step 7 − In the following screen, we will need to enter the user name, computer name and password which will be used to log into the system. Fill the necessary details as shown in the following screenshot. Then, click the continue button to proceed. The system will now proceed with the installation and we will see the progress of the installation as shown in the following screenshot. At the end of the installation, the system will prompt for a restart. Step 8 − Click the Restart Now to proceed. Once the restart is complete, log in with the username and password. Once logged in, the desktop is presented as shown in the following screenshot. We now have a fully functional version of Ubuntu. In the subsequent chapters, we will look at the various features available. Let us take a quick look at the Ubuntu environment before we proceed ahead with the remaining chapters. The Control Panel The Control Panel on the left-hand side of the screen presents shortcuts for all of the most used applications. Using these options, we can launch the LibreOffice component, the Firefox browser, the Software Center and many other applications. The Menu Bar When we launch any application, we will get the associated menu bar at the top of the application, which will have the different menu options for that application. We can choose to close the entire window or resize the window, if required. Taskbar On the right-hand side of the screen is the task bar. The taskbar allows us to choose the change in volume settings, view the status of your internet connect, change your language and other settings, and view the battery status while working on a laptop. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Ubuntu – On the Cloud ”; Previous Next We can also install Ubuntu on various cloud environments such as Google Cloud, Amazon web services, and Azure web services. In this chapter, we will see how to get Ubuntu up and running on Amazon web services. Following are the steps to get this in place. Step 1 − One can get a free account with Amazon web services. All we need to do is register with AWS on the following url − https://aws.amazon.com/ Step 2 − Click the Sign in to the Console and it presents the following dialog box. Step 3 − Click the option ‘I am a new user’ and enter the required email id of an existing Gmail account. Then click the ‘Sign in using our secure server’ button. We will then need to give some information in the subsequent screen to create an account. Step 4 − Once an account has been created, we can log into the console. Once logged in, click the EC2 option. This option is used for creating virtual machines on the cloud. Step 5 − In the following screenshot, click the Launch Instance button. Step 6 − The next screen prompts to select an appropriate AMI. An AMI is a pre-built image for an operating system in Amazon. Scroll down until to the Ubuntu option and click the Select button. Step 7 − In the next screen, choose the configuration of the machine. Choose the General purpose – t2.micro option and then click the ‘Next: Configure Instance Details’ button. Step 8 − In the next screen, enter the following details as shown in the screenshot. The number of instances to launch – Keep 1 as the default. VPC – If there is no existing VPC, choose the option to create a new one. Now, if we choose the option to create a new subnet, we need to perform the following sub steps. Click the Create VPC button. (Note: The VPC is known as a virtual private network which is used to store all AWS objects in an isolated environment.) In the Create VPC dialog box, enter the following details and click the ‘Yes Create’ button. For the subnet, keep the default setting as it is. For the Auto-assign Public IP option, choose ‘use subnet setting(Enable)’. Keep the IAM Role as ‘none’. Keep the Shutdown behavior as ‘none’. The remaining settings can remain as by default. Click the Next: Add Storage button. Step 9 − In the next screen, keep the default storage as is and click the Review and Launch button. Step 10 − The review screen will pop up. Click the Launch button. Step 11 − The next screen prompts to create a new key pair. This is required to log into the instance when it is created. Enter a key name and click the download Key pair button. Step 12 − Once download is complete, click the Launch Instances button. Step 13 − Click the ‘View Instances’ button. Step 14 − Once the state of the instance is running, click the Connect button. The next dialog box presents the steps to log into the Ubuntu server machine. Step 15 − Perform the steps as we would normally do, using a SSH client to log into the machine. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Ubuntu – Useful Resources ”; Previous Next The following resources contain additional information on Ubuntu. Please use them to get more in-depth knowledge on this. Useful Links on Ubuntu Ubuntu Official Website − Reference for Ubuntu Ubuntu Wiki − Wikipedia Reference for Ubuntu Ubuntu Download Link − for Ubuntu Useful Books on Ubuntu To enlist your site on this page, please drop an email to [email protected] Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Ubuntu Tutorial PDF Version Quick Guide Resources Job Search Discussion This tutorial looks at the various aspects of the Ubuntu Operating system. It discusses various features, flavors, and working of the Ubuntu desktop edition. A comparison is made against software which we would normally find on a Windows operating system. There are chapters that focus on the server version of Ubuntu. This tutorial also includes separate chapters for those who are interested in understanding the virtual machines and cloud aspects of Ubuntu. Audience Ubuntu Linux has been around for quite some time in the industry. This tutorial will be beneficial for those who want to learn some basic concepts of the Ubuntu desktop and server edition. Prerequisites You should be familiar with a basic operating system such as Windows and the various programs that are already available on the Windows operating system. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Ubuntu – LibreOffice ”; Previous Next LibreOffice is a suite of office products available in Ubuntu. It is similar to the Microsoft suite of products although there are some features of Microsoft Office that does not work with LibreOffice and vice versa. LibreOffice was first introduced in the year 1985 by a company called StarOffice. In the year 2002, the suite was taken by OpenOffice.org with Sun Microsystems being a major contributor to the product. From the year 2010 onwards, a separate branch of the source code of the product was taken which is now known as LibreOffice. We will look at the LibreOffice writer and Calc in subsequent chapters. In this chapter, we will look at LibreOffice Impress which is the PowerPoint version of Microsoft. The LibreOffice suite comes in-built in Ubuntu and is available in the Software launcher. The icon of LibreOffice is encircled in red in the above screenshot. Once we click on the icon, the Impress Software will launch and the following screen will pop up. The interface looks quite similar to Microsoft PowerPoint. We can then modify the content on the slides as required. Adding Slides Adding slides to Impress is pretty similar to Microsoft PowerPoint. There are multiple ways of adding slides. One way is to use the Duplicate Slide option. We can decide on the slide layout of the new slide by choosing the layout from the layout panel that appears on the right-hand side of the screen. Saving Slides To save the presentation, choose the ‘Save As’ menu option. Provide the name and location of the slide and click the Save button. Opening Slides To open an existing presentation, click the Open menu option. Choose the location and name of the file. Click the Open button to open the presentation. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Ubuntu – Node.js ”; Previous Next Node.js is a popular JavaScript framework used for developing server side applications. In this chapter, we will see how to get Node.js installed on Ubuntu. Following are the steps to get Node.js installed. Step 1 − Run the following command. sudo apt-get install nodejs This will install all the necessary packages for Node.js Next, we need to install the Node package manager which is required for Node.js applications. Step 2 − Run the following command. sudo apt-get install npm All the necessary packages for the node package manager will be installed. Step 3 − Next, create a symbolic link to the Node.js folder. Then, run the Node –v command and npm –v to see the Node and npm version installed. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Ubuntu – Scripting ”; Previous Next Since we have the ability to work with the command line which we covered in the previous chapter, it is common to create scripts which can perform simple jobs. Scripting is normally used to automate administrative tasks. Let’s create a simple script using the following steps. The script will be used to display the IP address assigned to the machine. Step 1 − Open the editor. Just like notepad in Windows, Ubuntu has a text editor. In the search dialog box, enter the keyword of editor. Then double-click on the Text Editor option. The following editor screen pops up. Step 2 − Enter the following text in the editor. originalAddress=@(ifconfig | grep “inet addr” | head –n 1 | cut –d “:” –f 2 | cut –d “ “ –f 1) echo $originalAddress Step 3 − Save the file as write-ip.sh. Now once you have saved the file, we need to assign the file some execute rights. Otherwise, we will not be able to execute the file. Step 4 − Go to the command prompt, navigate to the Desktop location and issue the following command. chmod a+x write-ip.sh The above command will provide execute permissions to the file. Step 5 − Now, we can execute the file by issuing the following command. ./write-ip.sh The output will be the IP address assigned to the machine as shown in the following screenshot. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Ubuntu – Media Players ”; Previous Next Ubuntu provides some options when it comes to Media Players. Rhythmbox By default, it contains a music player called Rhythmbox. We can search for it, and launch it as shown in the following screenshot. The general user interface of Rhythmbox is as shown in the following screenshot. It can be used to play music from the computer or even download and listen to songs from the Internet. To add music, click the File menu option and choose the Add Music option. To listen to radio stations, click on the Radio option on the left hand side of the screen, click the desired radio station, and click the play button. Shotwell Shotwell is the default application for managing photos. This application does a good job in offering the users all the possible options required for managing photos and photo albums. We can search for the application and launch it as shown in the following screenshot. The general user interface of the application is as shown in the following screenshot. To import the existing folders, choose the menu option of File → Import from folder. Then choose the location to which the photos are to be imported and click the OK button. It now gives an option to either copy the photos from the place or to Import in place. Let’s choose the option to copy the photos. Once done, the photos will then be visible in the source location. Enhancement tools can be used to enhance the picture. To do so, just click the picture and choose the Enhance option from the left-hand context menu. We can then enlarge the picture, auto correct it, remove red-eye along with many other adjustment features. VLC VLC is the most widely used video player and this is also available in Ubuntu. To get VLC installed, following are the steps. Step 1 − Go to the Software Center and choose the Video option. Step 2 − Choose the option of VLC media player as shown in the following screenshot. Step 3 − Click the Install button in the following screen to begin the installation of VLC media player. Step 4 − Once complete, click the Launch button. VLC media player will now launch. The media player can be normally used as on a Windows machine. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Ubuntu – Messaging ”; Previous Next The default messaging software used on desktops today is the Skype software. This software is distributed by Microsoft. Skype by default does not come with Ubuntu installation. It will not be present in the Software Center. We have to download and install it from the official Skype site. Following are the steps to get this in place. Step 1 − Go to the official download site for Skype − https://www.skype.com/en/downloadskype/skype-for-computer/ Step 2 − The site will automatically understand that we are working from a Linux distribution and provide options for downloading the Linux version of Skype. We will choose the Ubuntu 12.04 version, as this will work on the later distribution. Step 3 − Once the package is downloaded, it will open in the Software Center. Choose the Install option to install the package. Step 4 − Once Skype is installed, we can search for it and launch it accordingly. Step 5 − Click the ‘I Agree’ button in the following screenshot. Skype will now launch. Step 6 − Enter the required credentials to start using Skype. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;