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It occurred to me that, although I encourage people to switch to a free operating system I do not really provide them with a proper introduction. Reason being that they do not really need one, switching from Microsoft Windows to Ubuntu should be pretty smooth, the user interface is intuitive enough to be self explanatory and the over all user experience is built upon pretty solid ideas about how to make things easy to use. A friend recently took an interest in installing Ubuntu Karmic Koala at home on an old machine but didn't really have any direction for beginning to use the operating system once it was installed. So here are some things I thought of that would be good to exercise a person completely new to Ubuntu.

1. Switching Empathy for Pidgin

Since 9.10 Ubuntu has been bundled with Empathy, which is a good IM client but I find that at current, it lacks the stability and richness that Pidgin provides. The switch can be achieved by using Ubuntu's new app-store-like 'Software Centre'. Click Applications -> Ubuntu Software Centre Select 'Installed Software' from the menu on the left. Search for 'Empathy' Select the item named 'Empathy' in the search listing and click the arrow to the right. The next page provides you with some information on Empathy. Click the 'Remove' button and enter your password to remove Empathy. Now select 'Get Free Software' from the menu on the left. Select 'Internet' from the main menu and search for Pidgin. Select the item named 'Pidgin Instant Messenger' from the search listing and click the arrow to the right. The next page provides you with some information on Pidgin a long with a rather unimpressive screenshot. Click the 'Install' button and enter your password and wait whilst Pidgin is installed. Once installed Pidgin will be made available in the Applications menu as well as the notifications area by the clock. I would like to note here that this is in no way a ploy to get people to switch to Pidgin from Empathy. Honestly I use Empathy at work and Pidgin at home, I don't know why. I guess I don't really have an opinion on IM clients.

2. Installing Gwibber and posting a message on Facebook.com

Gwibber is something that I consider to be a productivity tool. I rarely use my computer for anything other than work and believe visiting social websites is a real waste of my time at the keyboard, however, I like to keep in touch and have never ruled the use of social networking out. Gwibber brings all the social noise you have together on your desktop, notifying you of other's updates as well as empowering you to update and reply using a few keystrokes without disrupting your focus. You can install Gwibber in a similar way to how installing Pidgin is described above or use the command line as follows. Hit Alt+F2, enter 'gnome-terminal', hit RETURN. Enter the following commands.

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install gwibber

You will need to enter your password. Once the instructions are completed by your system Gwibber should be available in the Applications menu along with the notification area by the clock. When you start Gwibber you will be prompted to add an account. Once you have added your accounts to Gwibber click the menu item Gwibber > Preferences. Under the Messages Tab in the preferences window you select the option 'Automatically shorten pasted URLs'. This will save you a lot of time when posting a link.

3. Setting up your music library in Rhythmbox

There are a lot of great alternatives to Rhythmbox, like Listen (https://www.listen-project.org/), however I have never had the calling to try another on Ubuntu since Rhythmbox is great. Open Rhythmbox by selecting it from the Application menu. Once Rhythmbox is open, Mac users might notice the layout is similar to iTunes. Select the menu item Edit > Preferences. Select the 'Music' tab and check the option 'Watch my library for new files' Minimise Rhythmbox and select 'Places' next to the Applications menu and from the list select 'Music'. A new file browser window will open. Place your music collection here and Rhythmbox will automatically add it to your library ready for searching and playback.

4. Turning on 'funky' compiz desktop effects.

This one requires an ok-ish graphics card. I have on board Intel chipset graphics built into my laptop and this seems to work quite well. This could possibly add a productivity bonus to your desktop but I am yet to see it as anything more than a bit of fun. From the 'System' menu select Preferences > Appearance. Select the 'Visual Effects' tab. Three simple options are provided here None, Normal and Extra. Select Extra and have some fun dragging your windows around, switching workspaces/windows. If you are feeling a little more confident install CompizConfig Settings Manager. From a terminal window enter:

$ sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

You may need to enter your password again. Once the instructions are complete, a new item should be listed in the System > Preferences menu titled 'CompizConfig Settings Manager' and tweak the options to balance your personal preference against the performance you get from your computer. Hints can appear whilst your mouse hovers over options, these help a lot when using the settings manager for the first time.

more...

There are a lot more ways to start enjoying using Ubuntu. Using it day to day I take a lot for granted which made this entry quite difficult to write. I will add more items here as I think of more interesting ways to get started with using Ubuntu.