Linux sites & information !!!!

Floppix - Linux on 2 Floppies - Based on small subset of Debian/GNU.

Floppyfw - static router with the firewall-capabilities

YARD - Perl scripts for creating rescue disks

DemoLinux - dedicated to production of DemoLinux CDs

Looplinux

The muLinux Project - single floppy distro with lots of features

Coyote Linux - single floppy based on LRP: easy configuration

Tomsrtbt home page

Crash Recovery Kit for Linux

BRaiLleSPEAK.net - The Official BRaiLleSPEAK Web Page - A Braille and Speech Mini-Distribution of GNU/Linux.

LinuxPlanet-Reports Rescuing Linux Systems-GenericandDistribution-Specific Safety Nets - Review article on distribution-independent rescue disks and distribution-specific rescue disks. (August 2002)

RIP Linux Rescue System and RamFloppy Rescue System

SuperRescue CD

KNOPPIX - Live Linux Filesystem On CD

Bootdisk-HOWTO Homepage

LRP2 FAQ - Frequently asked questions Linux Router Project 2 - Materhorn

Welcome to Eagle Linux! - Ideal tool to teach computer science students about Linux, operating systems in general, and how to build a Linux CD.

Phrealon Distribution - Bootable linux CD based on Slackware Linux 8.0.

Movix - Three small, related Linux CD distributions that allow the user to boot from a CD and play multimedia files through the MPlayer.

Knoppix Linux - A resource site for Knoppix users, developers and testers. Has an extensive documentation section.

Dynebolic GNU/Linux Live CD - A live, bootable CDROM with a good selection of multimedia tools, including webcast software.

Knoppix install to hard disk HOWTO

Damn Small Linux, 50 megabytes of penguin power - A Knoppix-based business card-type CD distribution.

GeeXboX HomePage - A standalone media player Linux distribution based on MPlayer and similar to MoviX. Site available in English and French.

Welcome to Gnoppix - A Linux live CD distribution that uses the GNOME desktop.

IBM developerWorks - Open Source Projects - System Recovery with Knoppix - A good article on using Knoppix as a system recovery tool. (2003)

Linux DevCenter Article - "Using and Customizing Knoppix" - A good walk through article on customizing Knoppix. (2003)

Linux Mobile System - A full Linux system within a USB Flash Memory Drive; bootable from any 1386-based PC; site available in English and Spanish.

Oralux - Home - A distribution for the blind or visually-impaired; based on Knoppix and runs from a CD-ROM.

ADIOS Live Linux Boot CD - A Red Hat-based distribution that runs on GNOME, KDE and ICE.

SystemRescueCd homepage - A Linux system on a bootable CD-ROM for repairing systems and data after a crash.

Feather Linux - A distribution based on Knoppix; runs off a CD or a USB pendrive and includes desktop software.

INSERT - Security Rescue Toolkit - A bootable Linux system on a credit card-sized CD-ROM; based on Knoppix.

How to make the transition from Windows to Ubuntu

First let us cover the "why?".

To be honest I got bored with Windows and wanted a new challenge, Ubuntu was the challenge.
Here is a list of things I don't like about Windows.

# I don't like the price, it is far too expensive for what you get.

# I hated the default setup of Windows and it would take a lot of time making Windows work the way I wanted it to work.

# I don't like the fact that you have to keep rebooting after most installations.

# I don't like the way Windows was heading, it was constantly second guessing me in everything I tried to do. For example, I had a corrupt avi (xvid) file that I was working on to make it playable, whenever my mouse passed over the file the Windows OS tried to read it and failed. This caused the Windows explorer to crash. This 'feature' of detecting files and reading them can be turned off but it is not easy to find out how.

# I decided that I had invested enough money in Windows and that if I wanted to stay with Windows it was going to keep costing me more and more money. I didn't want to spend any more money on Windows.

# As a programmer I found wrestling the windows API tedious. If you would like to start programming with the QT4 API then I have made a tutorial that may interest you.
But this page is not here to 'bad mouth' Windows, so let us move on.

So why did I pick Ubuntu?

I didn't, my son threw an Ubuntu disk at me and said "give this a try it is supposed to be good".
I had tried a few Linux distributions before and was always disappointed with them and I didn't expect Ubuntu to be any different.

Initially I wasn't impressed but that is because the Ubuntu install is so slick, simple and quick that you are left thinking that anything this simple cannot be up to much.

But rather than just tell you how things went why don't you download Ubuntu and let me help you get it installed and running so you can find out how good it is for yourself.

The Ubuntu website is http://www.ubuntu.com, take a look and a read by all means, the Ubuntu servers are ultra fast and you can normally download the Ubuntu CD in less than 30 minutes. To make life easier for you just click hereto download the desktop version of Ubuntu from the UK server.

Once downloaded you can create what is called a "live CD" by writing the iso image file to a CD.
If you boot your computer with the CD in the drive then your computer will boot to the Ubuntu Gnome Desktop. This relies on a couple of minor details explained here.

To be honest I was not very impressed with the desktop but just trust me for a while because you can make your desktop look and feel like anything you can imagine. There are people that have made the Ubuntu desktop look like Apple's OSX and Windows. How your desktop looks is up to you.

Here are a few screen shots of various Ubuntu Gnome Desktops to whet your appetite.

Ubuntu comes with a host of 'bells & whistles' just like Windows does, the only difference with Ubuntu is that most of the 'bells & whistles' are turned off by default. I prefer a whole host of features but I also prefer to have them all turned off by default, allowing me to activate the things I want when I want. Perhaps I just like to feel like I am in control and making the decisions as opposed to the computer making the decisions for me.

Booting to the Ubuntu CD will NOT affect your current operating system(Windows or whatever).
The Ubuntu CD is a "Live CD". What is a "Live CD"? This just means that the CD is a complete and working version of Ubuntu on a CD. When you allow this CD to boot you will end up with a basic Ubuntu desktop.

Now I am on the Ubuntu desktop, what next?

If, like me, you are curious you will without doubt start poking around the menus and looking at things. At this point I encourage you to do just this. Just remember that you are running Ubuntu from a CD and as such it will appear a bit slow and sluggish. It will also be slow due to the fact that Ubuntu is running in a very generic way and things like the proper display drivers are not installed.

Personally I do not like the basic Gnome desktop, I prefer a single task bar and I am not too keen on the colour brown that is used. But do not worry about all that, it can all be changed very easily but we will get to that a bit later.

The important thing here is that you have just learned how to boot to a Linux(Ubuntu) live CD. So pat yourself on the back and have a cup of coffee or tea to celebrate before we move on to installing Ubuntu.

Why is it sometimes called Linux and sometimes called Ubuntu?

Linux is a kernel, a kernel is the backbone of an operating system. So Linux is the backbone or if you like the brains that does all the clever stuff behind the scenes that allows the OS(operating system) work correctly.

Many organisations and companies have used the Linux kernel as a basis for an OS, these OS's are called distributions(distros for short).

Ubuntu is a distribution based on the Linux kernel and it is being built and maintained by a company called Canonical Ltd.

Canonical Ltd is run by a guy called Mark Shuttleworth.

Mark Shuttleworth is a guy that made a lot of money from the dot com boom back in the late 1990's. He paid the Russians a lot of money to take him into space for 10 days and this is what most people associate him with.

Mark decided to do some good with his money and decided to put together a version of Linux and make it FREE, totally free for all and it will ALWAYS be free.

There is a lot of information available about Mark Shuttleworth and Canonical Ltd. available on the internet if you are interested in understanding the man behind Ubuntu. Mark Shuttleworth has put together a very dedicated and professional team of people to maintain Ubuntu, so you can be sure of future improvements and support.

Anyway, like I say there are lots of distributions of Linux available and they go under a variety of names like Redhat, CentOS, Mandriva, Slackware, Fedora Core, Debian and SUSE to name just a few.
Ubuntu has been built using Debian as a base, so it is worth remembering that Ubuntu is a Debian based distribution of Linux.

Okay if you are up for it let's install Ubuntu.

Before we move on it is important that you understand that although Ubuntu can install and coexist quite happily with other OS's like Windows, Ubuntu will be changing and writing information to your HDD's, there is always a possibility of damage to your existing OS. Having said that, I have installed Ubuntu at least 10 times on a Windows PC and never had a single problem. If the computer you are about to install Ubuntu on is your only computer then I strongly recommend that you backup any data in your Windows before proceeding.

Installing Ubuntu is probably the easiest install of an OS you will come across. You will have noticed that on the desktop there is an icon called 'Install'.

You just need to double click it to start the install process.

First you will need to select your language and then your location. To select your location just click on the map in the area where your country is and the map will zoom in. Now you can click on one of the main cities to select you location. I actually live 180 miles north of London in England but for the purposes of Ubuntu London is plenty close enough. So if like me you live in England just select London as your location.

Next you need to select your keyboard, there is a small box available allowing you to type into it to test that the correct characters are displayed to suit your keyboard.

Next you need to supply your name and a login name and password, you can also give your computer a name, this can be anything you like.

Remember your password, you will NOT be able to login to your computer without it.
Next you will be asked how you want to partition and format your HDD so that Ubuntu can be installed onto your HDD.

Unless you are a bit of a computer wizard I suggest you let Ubuntu do this part for you automatically. If you want to partition and format your HDD's manually then do so but be aware that you may inadvertently erase or damage your existing OS(like Windows).

Depending on the speed of your computer the install can take anything from 10 minutes to 30 minutes and eventually you will be prompted to restart your computer. Ubuntu should eject the CD for you as it restarts but if it doesn't then you will need to remove the CD. If you don't remove the CD then your computer will just boot the the "Live CD" again.

GRUB and I am not talking about food.

When you reboot your computer you will see some messages you have not seen before, these messages are produced by an application called Grub. Grub is a boot loader, Grub will look for whatever operating systems you have installed and allow you to select what operating system you want to boot into. This allows you to select to boot into your previous operating system (Windows) or into your new Ubuntu.

In reality Grub will default boot into Ubuntu but it will display a message asking you to press the Esc key to display a menu of operating systems. If you want to boot into Windows just press the Esc key and select Windows from the list.

So now I have Ubuntu Installed how do I change its look and feel?

Well this obviously depends on how you want it to look and feel. I will go over the things I do to my own Ubuntu and it should at least give you an idea of what can be done.

First I will explain the way I describe the navigation of menus and check boxes, I use the > key to make this simple, for example if I wanted you to click on 'Save' in the 'File' menu of some application I will write it like this.... click File>Save.

Nautilus.
Nautilus is the default file browser and it is the first thing I like to setup, so on the Ubuntu desktop main menu click on Places>Home Folder and Nautilus will open up. Perhaps the first thing to do is to resize it, you do this by moving the mouse to the bottom right corner and holding down the left mouse button and dragging the window to the size you want.

I prefer my file browser to show a detailed list of files rather than the huge icons it displays by default and I also like the left hand panel to show me a tree view of the folders, to do this click Edit>Preferences and change "View new folders using" to "List View". Next change Icon view defaults zoom level to 50% and List view defaults zoom level to 25% and check the box "show only folders" under tree view defaults.

Next select the "Behaviour" tab and if you would like a file delete option that bypasses the trash can then you can check that box.

Next select the "List Columns" tab and activate any items you would like, I like to include the owner and permissions but it is up to you.

Now you can close the preferences dialog.

At the top of the left hand pane of Nautilus there is a drop down box that is currently set to "Places", click this and select "Tree", you can also resize the left hand pane by placing your mouse over the dividing line and clicking and dragging the dividing line.

Just above where you selected "Tree" is a button and this allows you to toggle between a "Button" and "Text" based location bar, again it is up to you as to which you prefer.

Desktop Panels.
The Gnome desktop comes by default with a panel at the top and another at the bottom of the display. I don't like having two panels, I prefer just the one with all the things on it I require at the bottom of the display. Gnome does not force you into any particular layout, you can four panels if you want and they can be anywhere on the display, it is all up to you.

I find it easier to delete the top panel and then right click on the bottom panel and select "New Panel", a new empty panel is created ready for us to populate it with whatever we want.

Right click on our new empty panel and select "Add to panel", a new window pops up that has a large selection of items we can place on our panel.

I am not going to tell you what to place on your panel, that is up to you, I will just tell you how to add a trash can to the panel, all the other items are added in a similar fashion and you can add whatever you like.

From the selection of items click on the "Deleted items" and click the "Add" button. To move the item to where you want it on the panel right click it and select "Move". Drag the item with the mouse to where you want it and click the left mouse button to stop the move. Now right click the trash can icon and select "Lock to panel".

Some items that you add to the panel have preferences or options that can be set, these are available from a right click.

You can also drag items from the main menus onto the panel creating quick launch icons.

System Preferences.
There is a whole host of system preferences and as you would expect they are available from the desktop menu by selecting System>Preferences.

I am not going to explain or walk you through any of these items but I advise you to go through each item on the menu and see what each one allows you to change.

You can change the system default fonts and desktop wallpaper to mention just two.

Finding applications to do the job.
Probably the hardest part of moving to Ubuntu from Windows is finding applications that you like and there is a tendency to compare what you try with whatever you got used to in Windows. For me this was the hardest part of moving to Ubuntu and it took me a few months before I had found replacements for the Windows applications I used on a daily basis. I can safely say that all the applications I now use in Ubuntu are superior to the applications I used in Windows. I am still learning how to use some of them but in the main they are simple and easy to use.

Here is a list of the applications I used in Windows and the application I now use in Ubuntu.

Windows	Ubuntu
Virtualdub	Avidemux
RazorLame	soundKonverter
Nero	K3B
VLC Media Player	VLC Media Player
Winamp	Xmms
AudioGrabber	Grip
SoundForge	Audacity
Azereus	KTorrent
LimeWire	Gtk-Gnutella
ACDSee	gThumb
PaintShopPro	The Gimp
Editpad (Lite/Pro)	Gedit
CoreFTP	Nautilus
Windows Explorer	Nautilus/Xfe
Download Manager	Aria
WinVDRPro	XDTV
Firefox	Firefox
Thunderbird	Thunderbird
Front Page Editor	Nvu

Notes about the listed applications.
Xmms is virtually a clone of Winamp and I use the Winamp 5 skin for Xmms as I like the look of it, if Xmms has one failing it's the open file dialog, it is hideous but other than that Xmms is an excellent mp3 player.

I think K3B is far superior to Nero and I have never yet had a fail on disk writing and I have pushed K3B to its limits.
Avidemux is probably the best mpeg4(avi, xvid, divx) editor on the planet, it is much faster in operation than Virualdub and I was a big fan of Virtualdub.

I must admit that I have not yet found an audio editor that is as good as SoundForge but I feel confident there is one out there somewhere, I just haven't found it yet. Audacity is a good application but it just doesn't do things they way I like.

In every other case I find Ubuntu application superior to the Windows alternative.
What is important to note is that some of the Windows applications listed cost money.
All of the Ubuntu applications listed are free.

Common Misconceptions.
If you want to use a Linux distribution then you will need to understand lots of bash commands and like using the terminal window. WRONG.

You can install Ubuntu and set it up just how you like it and never once see or use a terminal window. If you don't know what a terminal windows is that is fine, stay as you are, you do NOT need to know.

Installing software is a nightmare and seldom works. WRONG.

This is probably true for a number of other Linux distributions but it is not true for Ubuntu. The bulk of applications you will require are available from the "Add/Remove" on the main menu or via the System>Administration>Synaptic Package Manager.

Even if you do go looking on the web for something that is not available in Ubuntu then as long as you remember that Ubuntu is a Debian based Linux distribution and you get Debian packages (denoted by the fact that they have a .deb extension to the file name) then they will in general install without problem just by double clicking the file in Nautilus.

Free applications are full of bugs and never work correctly. WRONG.

Programmers work just as hard on free applications as they do on proprietary applications. I am a programmer and I have produced commercial and free software and to be honest the free applications tend to be 'pet projects' and get a lot more attention to detail.

Also if an application is "open source" then bugs tend to be solved much faster than with proprietary applications because there is generally a large group of users of those applications that are also programmers.

Finally.
At the time of writing this document I have been using Ubuntu for about 5 months.
I will NEVER go back to Windows. Ubuntu does everything I want and then some.
My hat is off to Mark Shuttleworth and his team, they have done a brilliant job so far and I can hardly wait for the next version of Ubuntu in April 2007.

I am probably one of the hardest people to convert from Windows to Ubuntu. I have been using and programming computers since 1978 and I learned a lot of my skills in the early days of DOS and I used Windows 3.1 when it first came out. So my background is filled with Microsoft products.
So if I can make the change to Ubuntu and be able to say that I find it superior to the Microsoft alternative then it must be pretty good.

The Last word.
If you install Ubuntu and you don't like it, change it until you do, Ubuntu is versatile.

Directory Structure

/ - This is the root directory. The mothership. The home field. The one and only top directory for your whole computer. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING starts here. When you type ‘/home’ what you’re really saying is “start at / and then go the the home directory.”
/root - this is where the root user lives. The root user is the god of your system. Root can do anything, up to and including removing your entire filesystem. So be careful using root.

/bin - Here’s where your standard linux utilities (read programs) live. Things like ls and vi and more. Generally this directory is included in your path. What this means is that if you type ‘ls‘, /bin is one of the places your shell will look to see if ‘ls‘ means anything.

/etc - Here’s where the administrative and system configuration stuff lives. For instance, if you have samba installed, and you want to modify the samba configuration files, you’d find them in /etc/samba.

/dev - here’s where files that control perhipherals live. Talking to a printer? Your computer is doing it from here. Same goes for disk drives, usb devices, and other such stuff.

/home - Here’s where your data is stored. Config files specific to users, your Desktop folder (which makes your desktop what it is), and any data related to your user. Each user will have their own /home/username folder, with the exception of the root user.

/tmp - This is the temporary folder. Think of it as a scratch directory for your Linux system. Files that won’t be needed by programs once their used once or twice are put here. Many Linux systems are set to automatically wipe the /tmp folder at certain intervals, so don’t put things you want to keep here.

/usr - Here’s where you’ll find extra utilities that don’t fit under /bin or /etc. Things like games, printer utilities, and whatnot.

There are a few other directories you may find as well.

/opt - Here’s where optional stuff is put. Trying out Firefox 2 beta? Install it to /opt where you can delete it without affecting other settings.

/media - Some distros use this folder to mount things like usb disks, cd or dvd drives and other filesytems.

15 of the most useful Linux resources available

[ 21-02-2007 ]

As someone who has dabbled in Linux a little here and there I've always found it useful to have a batch of handy links available. I've therefore taken it upon myself to compile some of the most useful resources on the net and shall present them in this article.

Introduction Links
Here are some resources based on introducing the topic and developing an initial understanding.

Introduction to Linux
A guide covering the basics of what Linux is, including the history, processes, the file system and a lot of other fundamentals.

tux

Introduction to Linux (2)
Another article outlining the basics of what it is.

What goes where in Linux
A nice tutorial explaining the structure of the Linux directory structure.

Installation and hardware
Some guides based on the installation of Linux and the compatability issues surrounding it.

The complete beginners guide to installing Linux
A nice walkthrough for the total beginner from deciding whether it's right for you, to finding support to the process of installation.

Linux hardware incompatability list
A project to try and document all hardware incompatabilities with Linux - a very useful read if you've not tested your rig.

Software
Resources on obtaining and installing software.

The Linux Equivalent Project
An ever increasing list of Windows applications and their Linux alternatives - very useful if you're a Windows user and unsure of what you can get to meet your open source needs.

Top 10 killer applications for Linux
A nice list covering the cream of the crop for Linux.

How to install anything in Ubuntu
A nice guide to troubleshoot the installation of anything in the popular Distro.

Top 10 free Linux games
Fairly obvious topic, don't you think?

How to bridge the gap between Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org
A guide to making the move from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice.org.

WINE gaming tutorial
Explains the use of Steam, Half Life 2 and Counter Strike: Source in WINE under Linux. A nice tutorial explaining that gaming under Linux is a possibility.

The uber tutorial list
This section is dedicated to one resource that houses more links to more resources...

20 must read Linux How-To's
A compilation of useful how-to's for Linux users. Covered in this set are:
Advanced Bash Scripting
Bluetooth on Linux
Introduction to Linux
IPTables
Linux Administration Made Easy
Linux Complete Backup and Recovery
Linux Dictionary
Linux Encryption
Linux Gamers
Linux IPv6
Linux on the Road
Linux Security
Linux System Administrator’s Guide
Networking Overview
Online Troubleshooting Resources
Printing in Linux
Qmail & ClamAV
Unix Hardware Buyer
Wireless Networking
XWindow User

Other stuff, tools and more 'advanced' things
Ultimate Boot CD
A free, downloadable boot CD that has all the tools you could possibly need. Anti-viruses, hard drive analysis tools from different manufacturers, networking, bios tools, benchmarking and more. Very useful (although watch out for incompatabilities with stuff like SATA drives).

Full List of Linux BASH commands (A-Z)

Ultimate Ubuntu Guide
A massive guide covering how to do just about anything in one of the most popular distros in the world. Fundamental for Ubuntu users of any level.

Contribute
These are just some of the more useful resources I've stumbled across but if you've found something useful please either email me to let me know or post it into a comment for all to see.

Other Stuff

Other Stuff

Linux sites & information !!!!

Linux

Linux - Download

Linux - Google Calendar

Linux - Moonlight

Linux - Music

Windows Vista (Aero) VS Linux Ubuntu (beryl)

Directory Structure

15 of the most useful Linux resources available