Read this TechRepublic article to learn 10 amazing facts about this great distribution that was compiled for it’s 12th Anniversary.
Read this TechRepublic article to learn how to create desktop shortcuts for different Apps or documents that can be used by themselves or with other launchers.
This softpedia article could prove very helpful and interesting if you ever get carried away and fancy dabbling at writing your own Apps.
Read this ItsFoss article to learn what to do after a fresh installation of Ubuntu. It shows how to use a couple of quick 'terminal' commands to install the GUI tool "Ubuntu After Install".
This automates the customisation of the Ubuntu installation with your favourite packages to save you doing them all manually. You simply nominate your favourite entries {very easily by just ticking / selecting them from a list} and it just gets on and does it all the work for you.
BEWARE:
Everything displayed in the GUI list provided is pre-selected by default [using tick boxes to left of packages] so if you do not de-select those items you don't want the tool will go ahead and install everything on the list - no harm done, but really unnecessary.
It’s always handy to have a 'spare' system you can rely on for back-up or fault finding etc.
On Ubuntu you can use …
The built in "Startup Disk Creator" application
On Windows you can ...
Follow this guide
Get your free copy of the latest version of Ubuntu's download site which by default should go into your ‘Downloads’ folder but you can select any location.
LiveDVD: Put a blank DVD into your CD Drive - then start Brasero and ensure that the paths for in/out files are completed correctly - select input image for the Ubuntu.ISO file in Downloads folder and an empty DVD - then press o.k. to burn image to the disc via button in bottom left corner.
LiveUSB: Similar process to above but use the “StartUp Disc Creator” application, instead of Brasero, and place an empty USB memory stick into a free port.
See this handy overview for more details.
If you click on either of these options on by mistake {which can be a real pain} then check out this HowToGeek article to see how such mistakes can be brought to your attention.
See shared document in Phil's Drive area [move later ?]
If you want to know how your system is performing in real time you can read this guide for details.
First you need to install it using the terminal [Ctrl+Alt+t] command ...
sudo apt-get install conky
Then you can run it with the command …
conky -b
See outline 'insights' plans [@ 12/07/2016] for running Apps on Ubuntu
See this article to learn how you can adjust the settings used to manage your "Dash" history.
See this TechRepublic article to learn how to use Daemon Sync on your local Wi-fi network to automatically synchronise files, or nominated folders, containing pictures; videos etc. between your Android and Ubuntu devices, as well as other multi-platforms.
Get a smarter desktop with 10 Best Indicator Applets @ Ubuntu 16.04 in this handy article from ItsFOSS.
See how to work in a less cluttered way when you have many things open - get organised !
When Long Term Support [LTS] versions of Ubuntu are released [every two years] a new version of the official manual is made available for you to download [free] or purchase hard copy.
In between the two year cycle additional documentation for each non-LTS release is made available in pdf format - as per this example of the 16.04 manual.
Not sure how much you might use the sushi tool, but it looks like it does a good job if you think you would use something like it
On rare occasions one, or more, of the Operating Systems displayed in the Grub menu system may not be available and can cause your computer to hang. This may be caused by some type of file corruption which could take ages to find - to avoid a lot of hassle you should first try fixing by downloading a ‘Grub Repair’ tool as per the instructions in this HowToGeek guide
See this article to learn how to find your way around the system and applications very quickly and become more productive.
This prompt is a really annoying, seemingly unnecessary, security feature for which there does not seem to be an obvious method to turn it off. However it appears it can normally be stopped by setting the Keyring password to "null" as explained in this link by running the seahorse terminal command to do the trick although it does warn [over cautiously] against doing so.
See this HowToGeek guide that shows you how to get more information displayed when you hover your mouse cursor over the control buttons.
See this HowToGeek guide that shows you how to locate your ‘profile’ under different operating systems and the types of things that are stored there to manage how it works.
See this TechRepublic article that gives you the full explanation and steps required to install and run this great time saver.
The above article describes what is truly a brilliant facility in full. You will see that it takes care of a load of maintenance jobs for you. However if you want to skip all the reading, and just want to get on with doing it, then here are the commands you’ll need to follow.
You need to run a few commands in the terminal window to set things up but it's well worth the effort as it's an almost totally automatic process. It takes a couple of minutes to complete and there are screens of progress information displayed - just let it rip and answer the onscreen prompts.
Remember the keyboard shortcut to open a terminal window to execute commands is to press the Ctrl+Alt+t keys together.
What you need to do falls into two parts - the first bit [uses three commands that are a one-off for the installation] - then this is followed by the second bit to ‘do the business’ - remember it can be run at any time later.
Part 1.
Open a terminal and copy and paste these three commands to install ...
1.1. copy and paste ...
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:utappia/stable
then run - [enter password when prompted]
1.2. copy and paste ...
sudo apt-get update
then
1.3. copy and paste ...
sudo apt-get install ucaresystem-core
After a while you will be returned to the ‘command prompt’ and the installation phase is complete.
Part 2
After installation you can run a single command [at any time] by copying and pasting this into a terminal window ...
sudo ucaresystem-core
Run as often as required - it is a great tool that keeps your system in good order and saves a lot of time and effort :-))
Occasionally Ubuntu may have problems with printing that can be caused for a variety of reasons. To clear a blocked print queue of any unwanted entries you need to use the "Printer" icon and the tool it runs. The icon can be found using the 'lens' [for ‘Search your computer’] found, by default, in the top left corner of desktop. To locate the icon click on the corner and type 'print' into the search bar. When the Printer icon appears click on it to make it run and notice that it is now listed in the quick launch menu. If you wish the icon can be pinned to this area for easy access by right clicking it and selecting the ‘Lock to launcher’ option. To view the Print Queue right click on the printer icon that appears in the window on the desktop and select the option to ‘Display Print Queue’ and it will list all entries present. Any unwanted entries can now be removed if they are no longer required. The queue will now be empty, or contain only any entries you want to keep. Close the dialogue box, ensuring the 'enabled' option is set and printing will resume as normal..
See this guide for a closer look at how the Personal Package Archive (PPA) mechanism is used for access [and automatic updates] to additional software that is not included with a basic Ubuntu installation.
The Ubuntu 16.04 upgrade introduced a new way of installing certain types of software packages. The use of these Snappy packages will be limited at first but these types of update will become more common later. See this HowToGeek article and this TechRepublic article for two brief overviews and an update in this Insights article from August 2016.
If you could use a handy 'sticky note' for your desktop reminders then just open a terminal [Ctrl+Alt+T] and enter the following command, followed by your password ....
sudo snap install stickynotes
Click here to read the full article about it.
See this link for a really good article, written in plain English, that explains the way "Software Updater" works. Note that there are also some more useful links at the end under "Summary".
To get all the information about the internals of a Linux machine using the single command “neofetch” follow this TechRepublic guide that will show you how to do it.
If you are feeling 'geeky' and want to increase the system information that is displayed automatically when you open up a terminal window then this document shows you how to set up a modified terminal display easily.
Occasionally failures occur when trying to use "Software Updater" which could be a temporary bug as reinstalling the product does not get rid of the issue.
It typically reports a 'download error' - just ignore this and click on the "Settings" button [bottom left corner of the error message window] and then when it opens up new tabbed display window just click on "Close" button. It then resumes o.k. and goes on to complete its’ check properly with any downloads now being available.
If the "SYSTEM PROGRAM PROBLEM DETECTED" error message appears on booting up the Ubuntu desktop then this article explains how to stop it happening.
Quick delete solution - use a terminal [Ctrl + Alt +t] command ....
sudo rm /var/crash/*
You can optionally take a look first using …
cd /var/crash/*
dir
... which will list any entries present
Full details can be found in this ItsFOSS article.
This entry was updated following the Yaketty Yak installations of Ubuntu that was released 13/10/2016.
The option to update a current system will appear in “Software Updater” as part of the 'system update' dialogue following the installation of all outstanding 'normal updates'.
Fujitsu [64 bit] laptop. Phil went for an 'upgrade' to 16.04 and unless there are issues {like removing old PPAs etc.} won't bother doing a full 'clean' install and will run with the upgraded system.
Tower PC [64 bit] desktop. Phil tried the standard ‘upgrade' method but had some unusual issues so decided to go for a full 'clean' install.
Download the 64 bit version and used "Startup Disc Creator" to write it to a new USB thumb drive [64 Gig] which can be used on recent systems.
Also downloaded the 32 bit version and used "Startup Disc Creator" to write it to an older San Disc Cruze USB thumb drive [32 Gig ] for installing on older laptops.
See full details in shared Gdoc.
See this ItsFOSS article for a list of all the available flavours of Ubuntu and an explanation of what differentiates them for users.
See this TechRepublic article to learn how to work with, and manage, the Scopes facility when using Ubuntu Touch.
Have to say from a 'desktop' point of view it's nothing to get excited about yet !
This TechRepublic article lists 10 things you need to know.
This introduction tells you how things stand with the preview version made available in 16.10.
The following is an extract from FossBytes ...
The Ubuntu 16.10 comes with a limited option developer preview of the Unity 8 graphical shell. On the login screen, you can choose between the Unity 8 or the normal one. The Unity 8 comes with system settings, command line, web browser, and some applications.
The graphical shell has been in development for the last 3 years and resembles fundamentals with the Unity Touch used on smartphones and tablets. But the interface is different.
It borrows the Launcher and Scopes from the Ubuntu Touch. The ‘developer preview’ offers an insight to how the Scopes work in the Unity 8 with a revamped command line. There are Snappy Apps which make the update process easier for the developers. Unity 8 also enhances the experience by saying goodbye to the laggy desktop effects which have haunted the Ubuntu users.
Great tool for easily manipulation your Unity Settings.
Install using the Ubuntu Software Centre tool - locate package by searching for "Unity Tweak Tool"
Caution: Some users complain of having problems when using this on their desktop [possibly on ‘upgrades’ rather than ‘clean installs’] but if they occur they can be fixed ...
1. remove any old bits:
sudo apt-get purge unity-tweak-tool && sudo apt-get autoremove
2. install package again:
sudo apt-get install unity-tweak-tool
If you want to make configuring and using the ‘Wine’ [Windows emulator] for Linux a lot simpler then check out this OMG_Ubuntu article to show you the easy way.