Open Source Software brought the digital revolution. Are you familiar with any of these software or terms?

• Android, Linux, Debian, Ubuntu, Centos, SuSE, OpenBSD, …
• Openoffice, Quick Office, Libre Office.
• Mozilla Firefox, Chromium (Google Chrome is based on it)
• GIMP, Inkscape
• VLC
• Apache, Nginx, MySQL, MariaDB, PHP, WordPress,
• BitCoin, CAD,

All these software are Free and Open Source software. So what does “free and open source” means?

What is open source software?

Open Source is not a license, it’s a philosophy.

Open Source software follows that philosophy and released under that. The term “Open Source” was suggested by Christine Peterson. It was first introduced by Eric. S. Raymond and Bruce Perens in 1998 to promote the philosophy that promotes free culture to create and share free software.  According to Wikipedia:

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software with its source code made available and licensed with a license in which the copyright holder provides the rights to study change and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose.

For a common person Open Source software is part of their life. We live and work around it even without noticing it, just like electricity, internet, mobile phones, TV. You might be surprised but the all the terms mentioned above like Android, Linux and so on are Open Source software.

What are free and Open Source software aka FOSS?

It is worth to mention that not all open source software are free. Have you heard about Red Hat Linux or premium/commercial WordPress anything like that? These are paid software. Open Source does refers to free software. Sometimes open source software might be a paid one. Free and open source software means you may use the code, edit the code for any reason whatsoever.  E.g Ubuntu is a good example of such software.

A free and Open Source software should be free to use (availability should be free) and the source code should also be available for any purposes as mentioned in the Open Source licenses.

What are Commercial Open Source software?

It is not essential that Open Source software should always be free. Sometimes it could be paid e.g. Red Hat Linux. Many FOSS (Free and Open source software) also have commercially supported version. These are generally maintained by the Founder Company or person. This helps them to generate money for their benefits and the FOSS project both. These are considered as Commercial Open Source Software.

 Why open source matters?

Now the question arises, Is it worth to support open source even they make profit for them? There could be a lot of valid arguments. But in my opinion, If I support for the project It doesn’t means that I am allowing them to make a lot of money. Instead, most open source projects are run by non-profit companies. And even they are profit making company they can’t dictate the project. The project is run by the community and if someone don’t like things or want some changes they want to do they can fork the project and releases on their names. E.g. Libreoffice.

Open Source philosophy is the key changer in the modern computing. Nowadays it is not only an option to keep spending on computers low but also provides affordable managed solutions to enterprises. For personal use it is more or less completely free. Unless you are a big fan of Microsoft and uses their pirated software.

Open source provides flexibility to use. The software can be easily modified for better (and sometimes worse). You may find number of variations of software across the web. Just take Ubuntu an as example.

Official Ubuntu Flavors, backed by Canonical Ltd.

• Ubuntu
• Kubuntu
• Edubuntu
• Ubuntu GNOME
• Ubuntu Kylin
• Lubuntu
• Mythubuntu
• Ubuntu Studio
• Xubuntu

Hey, that’s not like Microsoft Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP.  But it’s like Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprises. The interesting part is Microsoft is going to rid will all these variations and will have only one flavor. On the other hand Ubuntu and all these variations are successfully maintained by Ubuntu Community.

Since you are reading Ubuntu Beginner, you should know that the first bug with Ubuntu was: “Microsoft has a majority market share”. Which actually means: “Non-free software leaves users at the mercy of the software owner and concentrates control over the technology which powers our society into the hands of a few. Additionally, proprietary software stifles innovation, maintains artificial scarcities, and enables malicious anti-features such as DRM, surveillance, and other monopolistic practices”. It was, however, the Android (another FOSS project) who fixed this bug.

To be continued..
1. How Free and Open Source Even Survived in Capitalist Ruled Market?

The post The Concept of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) appeared first on Ubuntu Beginner!.

What is Ubuntu Terminal?

Ubuntu Terminal is command line interface for users which could be used to run text commands. As you know all the activity we do on computers or any digital devices is because of the commands and instruction we give to those devices.

Ubuntu Terminal or just “Terminal” is itself a software package which is developed by GNOME community.

Ubuntu Terminal is, also, commonly known as Shell, Console, Command Prompt, CLI (abbr. of Command Line Interface). These are technically different things but as a beginner we may refer them as a same thing.

Why Ubuntu Terminal is important?

Unlike Windows or OSX Ubuntu is still being developed for cent percent GUI users. However, there are still some areas where command line interface is being used for configuring things. Sometimes, It is easy to use the Terminal instead of finding a GUI way.

The good part is, unlike Windows and OSX, the availability of tutorials to get things done. Internet is full of such tutorials and the Linux community especially Ubuntu is full of resources.

If you don’t aware about basic Ubuntu commands then follow the link. I have compiled over 50 basic commands that every beginners should know and a few most dangerous commands you should never use.

How to use Ubuntu Terminal?

How to open Terminal Window?
There are many ways to open a terminal window but for beginners the following methods would be handy.

• Search “Terminal” in unity
  Terminal could be easily find in Ubuntu Unity. Simply open unity and start typing “terminal”. The terminal icon will simply appear on typing halfway.
  
• Use Keyboard
  From anywhere type hit Ctrl+Alt+t to open terminal window.

What are the alternatives of Ubuntu Terminal?

Ubuntu terminal do some simple task i.e. executing text commands you type into it. It is one of the most powerful tool. For any reason if you are looking for an alternative search Guake, Terminator. Actually you may find dozens of such software.

BUT, I will suggest you to stay with Ubuntu’s default terminal.

 Further reading:

• Basic Ubuntu Commands
• Ubuntu Community Doc: Using the terminal
• Wikipedia Article: GNOME Shell

The post Ubuntu Terminal: What is and how to use it. appeared first on Ubuntu Beginner!.

1. apt-get update
   This command will update your package lists. Remember, this will not update software. Run Command #2 or #3 followed by this command. Note that apt-get require root permission. You should add sudo before apt-get.
2. apt-get upgrade
   This command will download and update installed software. But it will not install or remove extra packages.
3. apt-get dist-upgrade
   To upgrade all the packages on your system, and, if needed for a package upgrade, installing extra packages or removing packages
4. apt-get install <package-name>
   You may download and install new packages or software named <package-name> using above commands. E.g. run sudo apt-get install gimp in your terminal to install Gimp image manipulation software. Notice the sudo before apt-get.
5. apt-get -f install
   Sometimes while installing a software it fails. This might happen due to failure in downloading software itself or dependency. To fix broken installation run the above command.
6. apt-get remove <package-name>
   If you don’t like a software you can get rid of that by simply running above command. Don’t forget to change <package-name> with real one. This will uninstall the software but not the dependent packages.
7. apt-get purge <package-name>
   To completely remove a software and it’s dependent packages run the apt-get purge command.
8. apt-get autoclean
   This command will remove all Debian (.deb) files that are no longer installed. You may find this files in /var/cache/apt/archives
9. apt-get clean
   This will empty whole cache files. A lot of space could be freed if you frequently install and uninstall softwares.
10. apt-get automove
    It will remove old dependent files and footprints installed by previous applications.
11. dpkg –configure -a
    configure installed package
12. sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
    display repository source list in nano editor
13. sudo apt-get download <package-name>
    download but not install package
14. Ctrl + c
    It kills process with a signal SIGINT. Don’t confuse with Ctrl+C in Windows or Ctrl+Z. Ctrl+Z is used to suspend a process while In Windows Ctrl+C is copy command.
15. Ctrl + Shift + c
    This is a copy command.
16. Ctrl + Shift + v
    This is paste command like Ctrl+v in Windows.
17. nano <filename>
    nano is command line text editor. In terminal by running the above command you could edit file named <filename>.
18. sudo nano <filename>
    This is same command as we mentioned earlier except it will edit file with privilege of super user.
19. gedit <filename>
    gedit is GUI text editor like notepad in Windows. It will start editing file named <filename> in gedit window.
20. sudo gedit <filename>
    This is again same as above except it will edit files with SU privilege. It is worth to mention this command because many beginners starts editing a file and later they realize they forget to get proper privilege.
21. sudo poweroff
    This will shut down the system as the name suggest.
22. sudo halt
    Halt is supposed to be same as poweroff by many beginners. But it’s not unless you explicitly mention to poweroff using either -p or–poweroff.So if you want to poweroff your system then use sudo halt –p or sudo halt –poweroff.
23. sudo reboot
    This will simply reboot your system.
24. Ctrl + Alt + t
    Open Ubuntu Terminal Window, the command line interface. This is a preinstalled software comes with every standard Ubuntu.
25. pwd
    print work directory: e.g. if you are at your home directory then it will print something like /home/<username>
26. ls
    list directory: This command will list the items of a directory. If you don’t specify a directory then it will list work directory, the place where you currently are.
27. cd
    change directory. It will change your work directly as you specify. You will have to specify a directory.g. cd /home will change your work directory to /home regardless where you are.
28. cd ..
    change directory one level up.
29. cd ~
    change to home directory. Suppose if your username is tom then cd ~ will change your work directory to /home/tom.
30. cp
    Copy Command. It will copy a file or directory. It is similar to Copy-Paste in GUI.
31. mv
    Move or rename files. It is like renaming a file or cut-paste in GUI.
32. rm
    remove file or directory.
33. rmdir
    remove empty directory. This will not remove content of the directory but it will delete a directory if it is empty.
34. mkdir
    make directory. It will create a new directory. We will need to specify a name.
35. man
    Ubuntu will help you instantly and has a built in manual. Simply apend any command with man or type executes man. e.g. man mkdir
36. sudo
    sudo basically allow a standard user to execute a command with root or superuser privilege.
37. adduser <username>
    As the name suggest it will add another user. You may also use useradd, which is a little bit different from the adduser.
38. passwd <username>
    This command will change password for an user named <username>. Root privilege will be require while change other user’s password.
39. time
    time command in Ubuntu will not actually show you current date or time. It will actually run and show the summary system resources usages.Tip: run time gedit in terminal. You will see a new gedit window. After a few seconds close the window and see what appears in the terminal. It will be something like:real     112s
user     0m0.560s
sys        0m0.050sCheck this wikipedia article.
40. date
    This command will show you the current date and time of your system (including timezone).
41. cal
    This will show calender in the terminal.
42. wget
    You can use wget command to download things from Internet or other connected networks.
43. ping
    You may ping websites and other devices with ping command. This is a part of iputils package. Pinging is something like saying hello to someone and that person reply you back. Which means you are connected and the remote person (or system) is replying you back. Try

    ping -c 4 ubuntubeginner.com

    When you execute this command your system will say ubuntubeginner.com‘s server ‘hi’ 4 times. -c 4 stands for 4 times.

44. ftp
    ftp (file transfer protocol) is used to transfer files for one system to another system.
45. ssh
    ssh (secure shell) is used to log into remote system or server. By default Ubuntu comes with SSH program preinstalled.
46. fdisk
    fdisk command is used to manipulate (add, remove, delete, change) partition of your system. NOTE: Don’t use this command unless you are sure about the consequences.
47. df
    df is a very handy command which show the storage used/free on your the storage drives connected to your system.
48. chmod
    chmod is very useful command for beginners. It is used to change file permission. chmod stands for change mode in Linux.
49. chown
    chown is used to change owner of a file or directory (or further more). Beware about using chown or chmod commands
50. sudo su
    superuser in Ubuntu Desktop is disabled by default. But if you want to act as a superuser (or root) then use this command. You will be asked for password. sudo su will allow the terminal session to run all commands and activity with superuser privilege.Don’t forget to close the root session by using exit command.
    WARNING: Acting as su or root could be dangerous. Beginners should consider using sudo.
51. clear
    Clear Screen: Use clear command to clear the terminal screen.
52. exit
    exit from terminal.

You may print this list and save it for future use. Don’t forget to share on social media to encourage our work.

A few tips for safe computing:

• You should avoid acting as root or superuser. For Beginners if could be very dangerous.
• If root permission is required or getting permission denied you may run the same command prefixing sudo. It will be safe.
• -r stands for recursive. When you do something recursively, you should know that your computer will execute commands that many times. If you didn’t defined the number of times then I will be forever (or if nothing remains to do)

These tips are not complete safeguard but at some point you will be using it. So, it is better to know before anything goes wrong. If you think I missed anything please mention them.

If you have any question related to Ubuntu you may ask them in AskUbuntu, Ubuntu Forums or discuss them at Ubuntu Discourse. These Ubuntu Community is very active and supportive.

The post 50+ Basic Ubuntu Commands Every Beginners Should Know appeared first on Ubuntu Beginner!.

Lets get inside of a freshly installed Ubuntu System and explore what softwares are installed.

1. Linux Kernel (Isn’t it stupid to mention? NO, It’s not.)

Linux kernel is probably one the best thing we have seen around. It has changed the way of information technology and computer science. Not just Ubuntu but all other linux which is also known as Unix-like operating system has changed the world. Believe it or not If you have never uses Linux on your PC or Mac but you already have somehow using it. Right now you are reading this blog which is iteself hosted on Ubuntu Server. Not just this blog but the 60% of the wole webhosting industry is using Linux

Now, come to the point what will we get with freshly installed Ubuntu System. Generally on Linux system we don’t have to worry about viruses and other malwares which we see most commonly on Windows and OSX. Kernel of an Operating System is like the sole of it. This is why listing it matters.

2. Web Browsing: Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is the most popular web browser in the world after Google Chrome. Apart from this there is a simple browser also dubbed as “browser” will be installed. You may also option to install popular softwares like Google Chrome, Chromium, Arora, Midori. There are more than 20 web browsers available from Ubuntu Apps Directory alone.

3. Office Application: LibreOffice

It is a fork of OpenOffice project once owned by Sun Microsystem. Some core developers created LibreOffice when Oracle acquired Sun Microsystem, back in 2010. However, OpenOffice is now given to Apache (known for Apache web server). Apart from LibreOffice and OpenOffice you may use Microsoft 365 and plenty of other tools.

4. PDF Reader: Evince PDF Viewer

PDF Viewer is a portable PDF reader which allows you to view PDF Files and create bookmarks, Zoom In-Out and a few other essential features. It do now allow users to edit PDF files.

5. Social Media: Empathy, Pidgin

Empathy and Pidgin will fulfil your social media and chat need. Pidgin is a popular IM client and even if you are a Windows user then I am sure you are aware of. These software will also connect you to Ubuntu IRC channel so you can get instant help from other Ubuntu Users.

6. Email: Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird is the most popular Email Client. It is an open-source project backed by Mozilla Foundation. This application is comes as a core application since a very long time.

7. Photos Shotwell Photo Manager

Shotwell Photo Manager will allow you to organise your images. This is of course better than the Windows Photo Viewer app. It allows you to tag, export and share.

8. Music and Videos: Rhythmbox Music Player, GNOME Video player (based on Totem)

The audio and video player are not very rich feature and proprietary codecs are required to play various popular formats including MP3. These codecs are available for free to download from Software Center.

But at some point you would like to install VLC media player or other player.

9. Games and Apps:

Ubuntu comes with two popular games Sudoku and Solitaire. These are some games to kill your free time. Hey, you always have option to install large games from various place. There was a time when there were very limited games for Linux platform. But not the scenario has changed.

10. P2P file sharing: Transmission (torrent client)

Transmission is “utorrent” for Ubuntu. It is most popular among Ubuntu Community and provide all essential for personal torrenting.

What is missing then..

• Codecs like mp3 and other properitories.
• Cloud Storage App like Dropbox (sadly Ubuntu One gone but hey you may install Dropbox)

Check this to know few things you should do right after installing Ubuntu OS on your system.

Let me know if you think particular app should be listed here.

The post What’s in the freshly installed Ubuntu OS? appeared first on Ubuntu Beginner!.

So, if you want to retain brightness level in Ubuntu even after reboot then follow these simple steps to get things done. Make sure that you have a file named “brightness” in /sys/class/backlight/acpi_video0/; otherwise this tutorial will not help you. If you have questions related to brightness level then ask your problem in AskUbuntu.

Step 1: Check your current brightness level:
run the following command in terminal:
cat /sys/class/backlight/acpi_video0/brightness
The result will be brightness level in percentage. Well, it will be just the number.

Step 2:create a file named rc.local in /etc/
Run the following command to create the file rc.local:
sudo gedit /etc/rc.local

Step 3: Define the brightness level:
Now it’s time to define the brightness level in the file. Simply copy-paste the following, right above the line exit 0

echo YOUR_VALUE_HERE > /sys/class/backlight/acpi_video0/brightness

Ah, don’t forget to change the YOUR_VALUE_HERE with the brightness level you want. It could be from 0 to 95 (yeah, the value worked for me).

Now save and close the gedit window.

Once you did this and reboot your Ubuntu your system LCD brightness level will be bring back to the level you specified. If you want to change the brightness level again repeat the steps mentioned above.

NOTE: While editing the gedit window, do not close the terminal window.

PS: This tutorial works on Ubuntu 14.04 to 12.04.

The post 3 easy steps to retain brightness level in Ubuntu after reboot appeared first on Ubuntu Beginner!.

If you are an absolute beginner then here is the first step to get into the world of Ubuntu. I am listing a few things to do right after installing Ubuntu. But before starting anything first run the following command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

It will update all the installed software package. Remember, Updating Ubuntu regularly is an essential task for all kind of Operating Systems specially Linux. It will patch security holes and improves the performance of your system. Believe me at some time you will regret if you don’t do so.

The post Things to do right after installing Ubuntu for first time. appeared first on Ubuntu Beginner!.

For the very first post on UnuntuBeginner.com you have waited a very long time; sorry for that. Before getting our hand *dirty* I thought it would be better to share some of the best free eBooks for Ubuntu Beginners. These books are written by various reputable persons and bloggers. Let’s take a look on the list.

1.     Getting Started with Ubuntu

Getting Started with Ubuntu is one of the most popular downloads from Ubuntu beginners. It provides us basic information about latest Ubuntu Release, Which also makes it most frequently updated eBook of the list. These series of eBooks are written by the Ubuntu Manual Team.

This book is a good source to get started with Ubuntu system. The book not only explains about basic installation but also includes some advanced topics like securing and backing up your system. We may also refer this book firewall settings and encryption.

A chapter is also dedicated to Troubleshooting. So, these books must be read by all the Ubuntu beginners.
Download Here (Page count: 149) (Version reference: Latest) (My rating: 4.5/5)

2.     Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference

This 170 pages long book is written by Keir Thomas, a well know English Tech Journalist. This free version is quite old but still useful.

This book is really good written and anyone can enjoy reading it. Since this book is quite old and thus many times you will be in problem because most of the things has been changed.

Download Here (Page count: 152) (Version reference: 8.04 & 8.10) (My rating: 3/5)

3.     Ubuntu: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide

This book is tiny 30 page eBook is written by Courtney Loo. This is simply for Absolute beginner who knows nothing about Ubuntu. This book will introduce you to Ubuntu and some basics about it.

Download Here (Page count: 30) (Version reference: 8.04 & 8.10) (My rating: 2/5)

Buy A Book:

However, except first other two are quite old or not perfect as first one but you will get some of the best Ubuntu eBooks if you are comfortable to spend a few bucks.

Here is a list of such few books (aff links):

• Beginning Ubuntu Linux by Keir Thomas
• The Official Ubuntu Server Book (3^rd Edition)
• A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux (3rd Edition)

The post Best Free E-Books for Ubuntu Beginners appeared first on Ubuntu Beginner!.

Let me introduce me myself. I am Anand Kumar, founder of this blog. This blog is dedicated to Ubuntu Beginners.

Our approach is to provide a platform to all Ubuntu beginners, who have never had Ubuntu earlier of have very little knowledge about the world’s most popular free operating system. As Ubuntu is one of the best, Unix like operating system, Linux flavour. Here at UbuntuBeginner.com we will try to make it more easier to noobs.

At UbuntuBeginner blog, we will share the easiest way to install, customize and fun diy guides, even if you are a beginner. However, Linux is known for its’ command-line interface, previously. Now with latest version of Ubuntu and other Unix like OSes, GUI (Graphical User Interface) is getting better day by day. Now, Installing Apps on Ubuntu is much easier.

With a little effort anybody could be proficient with Ubuntu. There are a number of great sites available to you to learn about Ubuntu, Like Ubuntu Official Site, Library and Forums. Ask Ubuntu is a really good place for questions. Webupd8 & OMG! Ubuntu! are our most favourite unofficial Ubuntu blogs. These sites are already plying their role. We are new to this, but I am sure You will also love our blog.

Since Social Media is a two-way communication between you and us (readers and publishers), your comments, suggestions and complaints will help us, a lot. Please send all your mails to our team. Our email is team@ubuntubeginner.com. If You want to reach me directly mail to:contact@anandkumar.net. Once again your mails are really important to us.

You may also contact via social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Ah, one more thing. Today is Diwali here in India. Happy Diwali to all of you. May this diwali bring you happiness and joy in your life. FYI, Diwali is a festival in India.

The post Welcome to UbuntuBeginner.com appeared first on Ubuntu Beginner!.