Ubuntu is a great distribution for anyone from the beginner, all the way to the advanced level. Canonical, the company that works on and hosts releases for
Ubuntu releases a new distribution every April and October. The first two numbers in the release version relate to the year that the distribution was released, and the second two numbers after the “dot” relate to the month of the release.
The most current release as of this post is Ubuntu 10.10 named Maverick Meerkat. The next version is expected in April of this year (2011) and will be Version 11.04 named Natty Narwhal.
- Better Clipboard Package
Clipboard packages are very linear in use, but why do they have to be BORING… Change up your default Ubuntu clipboard package by opening your terminal and typing: “sudo apt-get install glipper” - Archive Creation and Management Options
Ubuntu 10.10 provides many different options for creating, extracting, and managing archives. With over a dozen different archive formats available, Ubuntu provides amazing control and flexibility over this sometimes tedious and confusing process. By default, Ubuntu provides support for .zip and .tar.gz without purchasing winrar or other insignificant costly software. To make your Ubuntu distribution more flexible, open your terminal and type: “sudo apt-get install unace rar unrar arj zip p7zip-full p7zip-rar sharutils mpack lha unzip file-roller” without quotes. Follow the onscreen instructions and you will be able to open any type of archive imaginable! - Fully personalize visual effects
Ubuntu 10.10 is a very flexible operation system with an almost unlimited selection of options for expansion. For example, one can personalize visual effects that would make any Mac OS X user envious with Compiz Fusion. To install Compiz Fusion, select Applicatons>Ubuntu Software Center or if you are a power user, open your terminal and type: “sudo apt-get install ccsm” without quotes. - Drivers are hardware flexible
Drivers included with Ubuntu allow for support of most computing equipment right out of the box. I have a dell laptop and I once had to reinstall Windows XP. Windows did not support any hardware on my laptop out of the box, I had to browse to the dell website (with another computer) just to download a driver for my WIRED Network controller. I installed Ubuntu on the same laptop and everything worked right out of the box: wired and wireless networking, graphics card, usb connections, printers (most will just work, extra feature s scanning/photos/etc, may require digging for drivers), I connected an epson All-In-One and used the built in scanner. The scanner just worked, no hassle, no drivers, no popups. - Windows Dual Boot Installation is Simple.
The same laptop referenced to above is a system that I installed a dual-boot environment – Here is an earlier post I made for “How to Dual Boot Ubuntu 10.10 and Windows XP Professional”. The installation was easy and flawless, providing me with an ultra flexible system.
These are just some high points of using Ubuntu Linux. Remember, you don’t have to completely switch over, you can install a dual boot installation and take advantage of the speed, power, and flexibility of Ubuntu by still keeping Windows.
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