Ubuntu how it works. Linux - what is it? Linux OS: review, instructions, reviews

In October 1991. Linux is a generic name for all UNIX systems running on the same kernel. At the beginning of its Linux history was quite demanding on the user's knowledge. A deep understanding of Linux fundamentals was needed, but in the process of evolution operating system Many distribution kits have appeared that simplify working in it.

Differences between Linux and Windows

The basics of working in Linux with a graphical environment are no different from Windows. But for the correct Linux works needs to be configured.

The most significant differences:

1. Linux is intended for advanced users, Windows is a "system for everyone."
2. Linux is superior to Windows in handling streams and data.
3. When using Linux, you don't have to worry about breaking any license agreements.
4. Each application has its own address space, independent of the kernel address space, making it easy to create embedded systems based on Linux.

And this is not a complete list of advantages.

Benefits of Linux

Today, many Linux programmers are improving the system, developing new versions and variations. Among the advantages are:

1. Free - the operating system itself and most programs for it are completely free and fully functional.
2. No viruses - the very configuration of the operating system kernel excludes the operation of harmful programs. This allows you to do without antiviruses that slow down your computer.
3. Open source- which allows you to use and modify the code as you wish. Also thanks to this, a huge number of embedded systems based on Linux are being created.

Linux distributions

In its original form of Linux does not provide such familiar things as a graphical interface, installation and removal of programs.

Distribution is a form of software distribution. They are needed to add additional components to the OS kernel, which will allow users to easily install and configure the operating system.

Thanks to open source, there are hundreds of distributions available, but most of them are not worthy of attention because they differ only slightly from each other. Users need stability without bugs and long-term technical support. The following is a list of distributions that are suitable for beginners to learn the basics of Linux.

List of the best distributions:

1. Debian is stable and undemanding of resources. Has a huge number of packages for installation. Absolutely free.
2. Ubuntu is a less conservative variant of Debian. Considered one of the best for home use.

For beginners getting acquainted with Linux, Ubuntu is best suited, since this operating system is most similar to the familiar Windows.

Installing and Configuring Ubuntu

There are two different versions Ubuntu distributions: LTS and Regular. The main difference between LTS is stability and long-term support. This version comes out once every five years.

Regular versions are released much more often, but at the same time various problems with the compatibility of certain components may appear.

At the time of writing, the latest LTS version is 18.04 Bionic Beaver.

Installation will not cause any difficulties. The user is only required to click the “Next” button at the right moments.

The last step before installation begins, you will be asked to enter information identifying you as a user. This information will be useful not only when starting the system, but also when starting some applications.

Linux Basics

The Ubuntu desktop contains: the control panel, dock panel, and application menu.

The notification panel is a translucent strip at the top of the screen, which contains: the date and time, the system tray with notifications, and the activity menu, which allows you to manage the desktop.

The Dock panel is a kind of analogue of the panel Windows tasks, which displays frequently used and running applications.

The applications menu displays all installed applications.

Supplied with the Ubuntu distribution file manager Nautilus. This file manager allows you to easily manage files and directories.

Most of the manager's interface is occupied by the central panel, where the folders and files themselves are located. On the left is a side panel, which is broadly similar to the similar panel in Windows Explorer.

File and directory names in Linux must follow certain rules. For those who actively use other operating systems (as there may be several differences), here are the rules for naming files and directories:

1. The name must not exceed 255 characters.
2. Linux is a case sensitive system, hence "example.txt" and "Example.txt" are different files even though they may be in the same directory.
3. If the file or directory name begins with "." - such a file or directory will be marked by the system as hidden.
4. Since Linux is based on UNIX, it fully supports UTF-8 encoding, and the use of a national layout is allowed.

Terminals in Linux

Graphical environments provide a convenient and familiar way to work with operating system components. But there are still several tasks that require using a text terminal.

There are two ways to work with the terminal: and the window console. In the first case, the graphical shell is ignored, and the results of the programs are displayed on the screen in the form of text.

To work with the terminal, you do not need knowledge of the basics of programming in Linux, as it might seem at first glance. You just need to know certain commands. Since there are many of these commands, it is very difficult to remember them even for people who are well versed in Linux. Therefore, all these commands can be found on the Internet or you can use the internal help by entering “find --help” in the terminal.

Installing and removing programs using Synaptic

Synaptic is a program with graphical interface, used in Debian and Ubuntu distributions, and is designed to search, install and remove programs.

Synaptic allows you to search for programs using special filters. They are in the lower left corner and are divided into criteria. also in top corner There is a quick search field, the entered text will be searched in the program name.

Once the desired program has been found, you can install it. To do this, right-click on the program name and select "Install". Programs are removed and updated in the same way.

Whether you are a beginner Linux user or you have been using Linux for a long time, you should use a terminal in your work. I want to help you start working with the terminal.

The Linux terminal is not something you should be afraid of.

The terminal is a powerful tool with enormous potential, which actually makes it easier and, if necessary, does all the routine work for you. Through the terminal you can very quickly:

• add new repositories (program storage)
• install programs
• run programs (to see possible errors)
• configure the distribution or individual programs via configuration files
• and much, much more

By reading this article you will not be able to learn all the wisdom that beginners need to know about the Linux terminal. You need experience working with the terminal.

Basic use of the Linux terminal

Launch the terminal from the desktop, applications menu and you will see the bash command shell running. There are other shells, but most Linux distributions use bash by default.

You can try to launch a program by entering its name in the command line. Through the terminal, you can run everything that runs on Linux: from graphical applications such as Firefox to console utilities. Unlike Windows, you don't have to enter the full path to the program to launch it. For example, let's say we want to open Firefox through a terminal. On Windows, you need to enter the full path to the Firefox exe file. On Linux, just type: firefox

Opening Firefox from the Linux terminal

Press Enter after entering the command and it will run. Note that you don't need to add an extension or anything like that to the end of the name, like in Windows .EXE, files in Linux don't have an extension.

Terminal commands can also accept arguments. The types of arguments you can use depend on the program. For example, Firefox accepts web addresses as arguments. To launch Firefox with open tab, you can run the following command:

Firefox website

Any other programs can be launched in the terminal, and they will work exactly the same as Firefox. There are programs that only know how to work in the terminal. They do not have graphic view, do not have a graphical interface in the form of an application window.

Installing Software via Linux Ubuntu Terminal

One of the most effective actions in the terminal is setting software. To install software, there are graphical managers, for example in Ubuntu “Application Center”. Ubuntu's Application Center is a graphical shell for the few terminal commands it uses in the background. If you know what you need, then instead of clicking all these buttons and searching, you can easily install the program from the terminal with one command. You can even install multiple apps with one command.

I will use the example on Ubuntu / Linux Mint or other Ubuntu-like distributions (all other distributions have their own package management systems). So here is the command to install a new software package:

Sudo apt-get install package_name

It may seem a little complicated, but it works, just like the aforementioned Firefox. The shorthand word sudo runs a program that asks for the root (administrator) password before running apt-get. The apt-get program in turn reads the install arguments of the package name and installs the package you requested.

An example for installing several packages at once through the terminal.
For example, to install the Chromium web browser and manager instant messages Pidgin run this command:

Sudo apt-get install chromium-browser pidgin

I use the above mentioned command after I install the “newly made” Ubuntu. I installed the new release of Ubuntu and added all my favorite programs with one command. You just have to know the package names of your favorite programs. As you can see, the names of the packages are quite easy to guess. You can also refine your guesses using tab, trick below.
I have dozens of programs I need in my working distribution, but I won’t enter the names of all the programs in the terminal on the new one. installed Linux. And so I use a more automated method. Which is that before installing a new Linux distribution, I first old installation, using the terminal, I export the names of all installed packages to a text file.

And then, after the reinstallation, in the new one, through the terminal, I import this test file, which informs the distribution about all the programs that need to be installed. This way, these commands are very small, unlike if I entered them manually, and a lot of time is saved. You will find this advice and other, more in-depth instructions in.

Working with Directories and Files in the Linux Terminal

The shell always operates in the current directory unless you specify a different directory. For example, NANO is an easy-to-use console text editor. Team:

Nano document1

will say that you need to run text NANO editor With open file under the name "document1" from the current directory. If you want to open a document that is located in another folder, you need to specify the full path to the file, for example:

Nano /home/pavel/Documents/document1

If you specify a path to a file that doesn't exist, nano (like many other programs) will create a new one empty file in this place and open it.

To work with files and directories, you need to know several basic commands:

cd - command to change directory

~ (tilde) represents your home directory (/home/you), which is the default starting point in the terminal. To change to another directory, you must use the cd command.
For example:

you will be taken to the root directory

cd Downloads
move to the "Downloads" directory inside your user's current directory (the exact path, in my case, would be /home/pavel/Downloads), to move to your home directory /home/you/ from anywhere you need to command like this:

command to navigate up a hierarchical directory system.

ls - lists files in the current directory

mkdir - command to create a new directory

By command:

Mkdir newfolder

a new directory will be created in the current directory named newfolder, and:

Mkdir /home/pavel/Downloads/test

will create a new directory called test in my home "Downloads" directory (pavel needs to be changed to your username).

rm - command deletes a file

For example:

Rm testfile

deletes a file named test in the current directory, and:

Rm /home/pavel/Downloads/testfile

deletes a file named testfile in the /home/pavel/Downloads directory.

cp - the command copies a file from one location to another

For example:

Cp testfile /home/pavel/Downloads

copies a file named testfile from the current directory to /home/pavel/Downloads.

mv - the command moves a file from one folder to another

mv works exactly like the cp command above, but it moves the file rather than creating a copy. mv can also be used to rename files. For example:

Mv /home/pavelz/Downloads/testfile /home/pavelz/Documents/testfile1

moves a file named testfile from /home/pavel/Downloads to the /home/pavel/Documents directory under the name testfile1.

This may seem a little scary at first, but there is nothing complicated here. These are the basic commands that you need to master to effectively work with files in the terminal. Navigate file system with cd, view files in the current directory with ls, create directories with mkdir, and manage files with rm, cp, mv commands.

Secrets to speed up work in the Linux terminal

Auto completion on Tab key

Tab is a very useful trick. When you enter a command, a file name, or some other type of argument, you can auto-fill the command using tab. The terminal will simply finish printing for you.
For example, if you type fir in the terminal and press tab, firefox appears automatically. This will save you from having to type all the way through. You can press Tab and the shell will be ready to complete the command for you. This also works for folders, file names, and package names.

In any case, when I don't know what a command looks like in its entirety, I press the Tab key and see the command or a list of possible matches. If you continue and enter a few more letters, you will narrow down the matches when you press the Tab key.

You will find more tricks in this book.

So: download, share any articles from this site and send me an e-mail: a letter containing the address, web page where you have placed links, preferably several links to different pages this site. This way, I can find that page of yours and respond to you with an email with the archive password.

This kind of payment for a book will help develop this site.

Conclusion:
I hope that after reading and putting this article into practice, you will feel a little more comfortable using the terminal. To learn more about the terminal—and ultimately master it—continue your journey with this book.

In this generalized article, I will describe the main advantages of the Linux operating system. I’ll tell you why it’s best for beginners to use the Ubuntu distribution. I will also tell you about the disadvantages and limitations of Linux that may hinder you when switching to Linux.

By Linux in this article, unless otherwise noted, I mean any Linux distribution (for example, Ubuntu).

Stability

Linux is a very reliable and stable system. It’s not for nothing that it is used on highly loaded servers. Linux is very difficult to freeze; if some application freezes, then it is enough to kill the process this application, the system continues to operate stably. Linux does not require constant reboots of the computer, even after system updates (except for updating the kernel [in the future, this will not require a reboot]). Installing and uninstalling programs and drivers also does not require a system reboot.

Linux doesn't eat up memory. I have noticed many times that if Windows is left without rebooting for a week, sooner or later it starts to slow down a lot. Linux worked great for me for a month and a half without rebooting. Of course, a lot in this case depends on which programs “eat up” the memory, but the fact remains a fact.

Safety

Linux systems do not require antiviruses, and in order to pick up a Linux virus somewhere you need to try very hard. In my several years of using Linux, I have never encountered a virus. I have long forgotten about what Anti-Virus is and only remember it when I occasionally reboot into Windows.

Free

Linux is a free operating system. Here it is necessary to make a reservation that by Linux in this case I mean the kernel of the operating system, and in a more general sense, Linux distributions. Eat paid versions Linux distributions, but most distributions are free. For example, Ubuntu can be freely downloaded from the Internet and used for free on any number of computers. Linux apps are also free. No need to look for any cracks or keys. Installation of most applications occurs in two clicks.

Huge selection of free programs

A huge number of various programs have been developed and distributed for free under Linux. The required software can be found for any user request. But there are some restrictions. In particular, there is no advanced software for multimedia processing (video, animation and audio editors). There is no software for designers, for example, graphics editor Gimp doesn't fit the bill and falls short of Photoshop in many ways.

Appearance

I admit, I have always been attracted to Linux by its appearance. There are thousands of themes available for Linux. You can change icons throughout the system. Linux supports many graphical effects. You can set transparency for objects, the effects of opening and closing windows, you can change the design of individual elements (buttons, scroll bars, fonts, etc.). Each system can be made individual and very beautiful in the truest sense of the word.

Installation in two clicks

Complexity Linux installations depends on the distribution. For example, Ubuntu developers strive to make the installation of the system as simple and straightforward as possible. With each new version of the system, installation becomes easier and easier. The main incomprehensible place for most users is the partitioning of disks when installing the system. But in fact, there is nothing complicated about it, it’s enough to figure it out once. Ubuntu, by the way, also offers automatic disk partitioning.

After installing most popular distributions, you get a completely ready-to-use system. Drivers for the hardware are installed automatically. The main software is installed immediately.

Automatic update

Linux and Linux programs are constantly updated. Most Linux distributions offer automatic updates that can be performed in just two clicks. Also, some distributions allow you to update the entire system (upon release new version distribution).

High performance

Linux is a fairly fast system that does not require computer resources. It all depends on the specific build of Linux, on the specific distribution.
Ubuntu, for example, is quite resource-demanding, but I myself compared it on many (!) computers and Ubuntu worked significantly there faster than Windows(Vista, XP). And there are distributions that are compiled for a specific computer and work very quickly.

Why is Ubuntu better for beginners?

Ubuntu is best for beginners.

Installing Ubuntu is very easy. It is so simplified that you actually only need to click Next, not counting, as I wrote above, the process of partitioning the disks.

Ubuntu immediately after installation contains all the basic necessary software. You can start using the system immediately.

Installing programs in Ubuntu is done through a special package manager called Synaptic, which is very easy to use. It allows you to view the description, rating, and reviews of the program.

Ubuntu allows you to use the system without resorting to the command line at all. For those who are not in the know, I’ll explain that you can perform thousands of actions through the command line in Linux, and previously that’s all they used. And no matter what, you will someday encounter the fact that you will have to work on the command line. But Ubuntu allows you to isolate yourself as much as possible from command line and use only the graphical interface.

Disadvantages and Limitations

Now let's move on to the disadvantages of Linux and what may prevent you from switching to Linux.

No required program for Linux

Perhaps you are using some specific software that has no analogue for Linux. If you need this software for work, then you definitely won’t be able to completely abandon Windows. But I note that there is Wine emulator, which allows you to run Windows programs directly into Linux.

Few games

If you compare the number of games for Linux with the number of games for Windows, Windows will be far ahead. Moreover, both in terms of the number of games and quality. There are games for Linux, but Linux is not suitable for avid gamers. To some extent, the problem of the lack of games can be solved by using the PlayOnLinux emulator or Wine. In fact, PlayOnLinux is based on Wine and makes it very easy to install and run Windows games in Linux.

Hardware problem

Linux has drivers for almost any hardware and, as a rule, these drivers are installed automatically when you install the system. But you need to take into account that some of these drivers are developed not by equipment manufacturers, but by third-party programmers, and this leads to the fact that some functions may not work at full capacity or not work at all. Or for some device a standard (general) driver will be used, which is not specific to specific model devices. A serious problem can be the complete absence of a driver for some equipment, so I advise you to always inquire in advance about its drivers for Linux before purchasing any device.

Sometimes you need to ask for help

I can’t say that this is a disadvantage of Linux, but if you have never used it, then you will read about some things one way or another. For example, you are already reading this article. But 99% of all problems have most likely already been solved and you just need to find the necessary information on the Internet.

Take action

Linux is not Windows or MacOS. This is a different operating system. It is impossible to say which system is worse or better. They're all good. You should definitely try Linux. That's why I'm writing this guide.

There are many instructions on the Internet on how to install Linux on a computer, how to install it with several other systems, how to configure certain aspects of the work, how to do certain actions, but there is no practical article on how to use Linux, what actions and when it is worth doing, why it is needed and how to do everything correctly.

We'll talk about system setup, security, updates, logs, cleanups, backups, and other such things. I don't claim to be an expert in this area. I do this in my system and suggest you do it, but this is just my opinion, you and other users may think differently. The article using linux is aimed at ordinary users, not system administrators and programmers. But I think you may find something useful in this article.

The first thing we need to figure out is why we need the system. For me, the operating system on a computer is a tool for performing certain tasks, work that needs to be done every day. Therefore, the stability of my system, ease of setup, so that everything can quickly return to normal is very important to me. appearance in case of problems, performance and security.

If the system breaks down, it is very unpleasant, you cannot do your work, you lose data and start to get nervous. Therefore, I choose and recommend that beginners choose stable distributions. Not ArchLinux, which is not known how it will behave with the next update, but Ubuntu, Mint, OpenSUSE and other distributions of that kind. For experiments, you can install an additional operating system or use a virtual machine, but the main system must be working. Always. Now let’s go through the points on how to achieve this, except, of course, that you will use a stable distribution.

1. System setup

Many users spend weeks tweaking GUIs, configurations, and other parameters of their system. I understand them, I was like that myself, remember the same work with Gentoo, when the first installation to a minimally working state with a graphical interface took up to two days with a slow Internet, or my attempts to set up the Awesome window manager. But it takes too much time. And if any unforeseen situation happens, you will have to do it all again or you will simply feel wild discomfort from working in an unusual environment.

If we give an example with an entire system, then an update can easily break all your work by disabling support for one function or replacing it with another, the same transition to Systemd, or if we continue the analogy with Awesome, then the developers will update the version of Lua, the language in which you wrote configuration file and you will have to rewrite it again.

In short, the further you go from the default settings, the greater the risk that you will have to spend time maintaining your configuration in working order. No, of course, you can change the theme, icons, fonts, or even tweak a few configuration files, but without fanaticism. For the same reason, I choose Gnome instead of KDE, the shell looks quite nice without any additional configuration.

2. Update

Updates are also a very important thing, with them you get new software (sometimes) and most importantly fixes security problems, and also possibly system problems. But as practice shows, if you update often enough, even very often, then the risk of breaking the system when updating is much lower, especially in a stable distribution. And you don’t want to miss a software update, do you? Therefore, update the system as often as possible, you can even configure it using the ucare-systemcore utility if you are interested in using a Debian-based Linux OS.

3. Software and drivers

As you already know, Linux does not have such a huge problem with viruses as Windows does. Of course, it is advisable to install programs from the official distribution repositories or third-party developer repositories. But you can also search for packages on the Internet. There are several special sites for this, and you can trust all of them; these sites are described in more detail in the article. Regarding software, it is only necessary to note that the less unnecessary stuff is installed on your system, the better for its security, especially for services on the computer that are accessible from the Internet. Vulnerabilities are constantly found in software, and it is better that the program is not installed and launched if it is not needed.

Regarding drivers, the story is a little different. All open source drivers are already built into the kernel, so you don't need to install them separately. But some hardware manufacturers don't want to open source their drivers. Such drivers are installed separately. This applies most of all to video cards. It must be said that if you do not play games, then an open source driver developed by the community will completely suffice. Gone are the days when you could notice a difference when using the system interface.

But to receive better performance In games, proprietary drivers will have to be installed. But then you need to forget about the newest kernel. If you are going to install the latest versions of kernels from kernel.org or ppa or other sources, then note that they will not work with proprietary drivers, because the drivers are not yet designed for this version of the kernel. So it's either one or the other.

4. System cleaning

The system needs to be cleaned from time to time. Of course, it is not filled with all sorts of garbage, like Windows, but over time, the number of log files, the size of the package manager cache, the number of dependencies that are no longer needed, files that are no longer needed by any program, and so on, grow. For each distribution, the cleaning process is different, because there is a package manager and others additional utilities. The main thing you need to do:

• Clear package manager cache;
• Remove unnecessary logs;
• Remove dependencies that are no longer needed;
• Remove unnecessary files.

If you are interested, then there is already a more detailed article about this. How often should cleaning be done? Not good. The system gets clogged very slowly, I think once or twice a year will be enough if there is enough memory on the hard drive.

5. Backup

We want to make an operating system that is as fault-tolerant as possible. Only then using Linux will be as pleasant as possible. But even in the most stable distribution something can go wrong, so it is advisable to do a complete backup copy the root partition of your system. Then, in case of serious problems, you will not have to reinstall the system and all programs, or spend several days searching for the package that caused the problem. You can restore the system to its previous state in a few minutes.

For backup There are many utilities, but it is best to use a tool that is independent of the system being copied, for example, . This is a Live image with a pseudo-graphical interface that boots separately from the operating system and allows you to do everything you need. There is no need to copy very often either, I think one copy every few months for home computer quite enough. Another precaution is to write the Grub bootloader onto a USB flash drive if you are afraid that Windows will overwrite it during the update.

conclusions

In this article, we looked at how to use Linux to get the most stable and reliable system. As you can see, not only Windows can provide excellent reliability, Linux is much better in this regard. The system can work without breaking for years if it is not broken. We can conclude that Linux is quite suitable for home use. I hope this information was useful to you.

A few days ago I (hereinafter - the author of the original article - Note per.) wrote about books that beginners can download and read to learn Linux on their own. Today in the Linux section we have something for advanced users as well. Here are some tips that you should try if you are an experienced user. Ubuntu Linux

1. Manage your command line quickly and smartly
You can use keyboard shortcuts and other command line features to make entering commands easier and faster. You should already know about the "tab" key, which ends part of a command or even file and directory names.
Here are some keyboard shortcuts you can use in the terminal:
Ctrl-a - move to the beginning of the line
Ctrl-e - move to the end of the line
Alt-] x moves the cursor directly to the next x spawn location
Alt-Ctrl-] x moves the cursor back to the previous location where x appeared
Ctrl-u delete everything from the cursor to the start of the line
Ctrl-k delete from cursor to end of line
Ctrl-w delete from cursor to beginning of word
Ctrl - y pastes text from the clipboard
Ctrl - l clears the screen by moving the current line up the screen
Ctrl-x ctrl-u cancel latest changes. ctrl-__
Alt-r undoes all changes to a line
Alt-Ctrl-e expand command line
Ctrl-r incremental reverse search in history
Alt-p non-incremental reverse history search
!!! execute the last command from history
!abc execute the last command in history starting with abc
!n execute the nth command from history
^abc^xyz replace the first occurrence of abc with xyz in the last command and execute it
Also be sure to check out 4 sites where you can find cool command line tricks.

2. Launch Ubuntu Linux applications using hotkeys.
This can be done in two ways:
* Use applications like Launchy or Gnome-Do, which allow you to quickly launch applications by typing just a few letters from the application name.
* Or you can open the gconf editor (press Alt+F2, then type gconf-editor and press enter) and go to apps > metacity > global_keybindings. There you need to double-click on any of the run_command_N and specify the hotkeys that will launch the application you need. Remember this number N, go to apps > metacity > keybinding_commands, double-click on the corresponding command_N (where N is the number you remembered earlier) and enter the name of the application that will be launched. For example, if you want to run Firefox, just specify firefox.

At the same time, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with the hotkeys used by default in Ubuntu.

3. Continue work from where you left off.

You can configure Ubuntu to remember the applications that were open the last time you logged off. When you start a new session, all these applications will already be running, and you can continue where you left off.
To enable this feature, go to System > Preferences > Startup Applications, go to the settings tab and check the box next to “Automatically remember running applications when logging out”.

4. Create a separate partition for your Ubuntu Linux home directory.


New Ubuntu version is published every 6 months. Although you can update your system to the latest version using the update manager, sometimes the update may not complete correctly, and some users prefer a clean installation in this case.
The disadvantage of this option is that all data in the home directory will be lost. To avoid this problem, you can create a separate partition for your home directory when you first install Ubuntu and allocate the required amount of disk space according to your needs. During next installation Ubuntu just point this partition to your home directory (specifying /home as the mount point).
In this case, all your files and data will be saved even in case of a clean installation.

5. Update and install applications for Ubuntu Linux without an Internet connection.

There are several ways to do this, but the simplest one is to use APTonCD. APTonCD allows you to create a CD or DVDs, containing all the packages you need, which you can later install on computers without an Internet connection.
For creating installation media APTonCD requires a network connection (or pre-loaded packages). However, after preparing the media, you will not need to connect to the network of the machines on which the applications will be installed. Insert the desired CD/DVD and use apt-get as usual.

6. Install new fonts, Microsoft fonts and improve font display

Ubuntu doesn't offer much choice when it comes to fonts. However, you can easily include Microsoft fonts such as Arial, Verdana, impact and many others. You can browse various sites and choose the font that suits you best.

7. Use PPA, install latest versions software.
Before software becomes part of the Ubuntu distribution or becomes available through repositories, it has to go through a number of steps. Of course, these extra steps guarantee additional stability, but it also means that you don't get the latest versions of the software when it becomes available.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you can find Personal Package Archives for your favorite software on Launchpad and add them to your system. using PPA only briefly. If this option is too much trouble for you, you can download the latest deb packages and install by double clicking (You will not receive automatic updates for software installed this way).
Using the latest versions, you may encounter a couple of difficulties, but most often they are not critical. You can always visit the Ubuntu Forums and quickly find help.

8. Work as root.
The root user is locked in Ubuntu by default to minimize the possibility of performing unauthorized actions. However, if you "promise to be careful", you can unlock root user in the following way:

1. Type sudo passwd root and specify New Password for root.
2. Go to System > Administration > Login Window, open the Security tab and check the box “Enable local system administrator login”
Now you can log in as root from the login window. You can also enter “sudo su”, specify your password and switch to the root user.

9. Launch Windows apps and games.

Who wouldn't want to play Counter Strike on Ubuntu (if you're into gaming, of course) or even run Photoshop? With Ubuntu (English).

10. Reduce loading time using profiling.
The Ubuntu Linux developers have done a great job of reducing boot times, Jaunty is fast and Karmic will be even faster. However, there is another opportunity for improvement - boot profiling. Profiling allows Ubuntu to list all the files used during boot and sort them according to their location on the hard drive. Due to this, these files will be read faster during subsequent system startups.
To profile boot, follow these steps:

* In the grub menu, highlight the kernel boot option that you use most often.
*Press "e" to edit.
* Highlight the line starting with “kernel” and press “e” again. Add the word "profile" to the end of the line.

Press "Enter" and then "b" to continue loading.
Please note that during profiling the system boots slower for the first time, but on subsequent boots you will see an increase in speed. Also note that the increase depends on the specific machine and the location of the files on the hard drive, so the acceleration may not be significant or even absent in some cases.

11. Try other Ubuntu desktop environments.
If you need something other than the standard Gnome shell, you should check out alternative desktop managers. If you are looking for a complete environment replacement, then KDE4, which has a long history, is now very convenient and beautiful. To get your hands on KDE, you just need to do "sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop".

12. Create a media center or media server.

It would be great if you could easily browse and manage your huge collections of music, videos and photos. Fascinated by the interface Windows Media Center? Wait, you haven't seen all the cool features yet. You can even access media through your phone, PSP or other computer if you install a media server on your Ubuntu.

13. Share Firefox profile with Windows.
Many people use Windows and Linux on the same computer. If you are one of them, then you have already had occasions when you could not find your bookmarks because they were made in Windows. Find out how you can Firefox between multiple OSes without syncing over the internet (guaranteed if you have the same versions of Firefox). For different computers you can of course use Weave.

14. Customize Nautilus to suit your tastes.

Nautilus is the standard file manager in Ubuntu. You can be content with what you have, but you can make him do more. to improve features or even add new features to Nautilus.

15. Compile your own kernel.
If you don't know what to do this weekend and want to spend some time configuring something, how about building your own kernel configuration to meet your specific requirements? Actually, it's more about educating yourself. Someone might tell you that this allows you to use only those drivers and functions that you specifically need, although if everything works fine with the standard kernel and you have no interest in the Linux kernel, then just skip this point.
But if you need some experimental features of the kernel or need to compile it in a special way, you can always find guidance in the Ubuntu documentation.

16. Change the Usplash screen and create a custom background for GRUB.

Didn't you defend the previous advice for yourself? Here's another one. The Usplash screen is the text and Ubuntu ticker logo that you see when the system boots.

If you want to change them to something more interesting, run . What could it be the best way show your Linux-fu, how to customize the first boot screen? You can create your own loading screen using one of your photos, GIMP and a little skill.

Know other features and hacks available Ubuntu users? I'm sure you know. Share them in the comments.

P.S.: Other articles are offered for translation, which are indicated in the links in this article.