Ubuntu and Linux Command Set

Most of us are here because we want to finally get rid of that OS and use something that does not take ages to learn, does our job, easy to maintain and configure, and does not cost the earth. Ubuntu has simplified Linux in a great way, but even for guys like me who had started from the DOS days, getting used to Linux takes time.

While new GUIs have simplified a lot of work, the Linux Terminal is an essential and indispensable part of UBUNTU. So while we document UBUNTU and keep it well indexed, the documentation should have a section devoted to the Linux Command Set.

The Forum is perhaps the finest I have ever seen, operates on 24/7/365 basis and replies come fast, but we see the same questions again and again. The information is available scattered all over the net, they shall be real useful if put together.

The software you're referring to hardly has anything to do with Linux - it's GNU that rules the command line, supreme.

Learning UNIX (or, rather, GNU) is still best done by reading appropriate books, imo. I don't know of any comprehensive online introduction.

man intro (or info intro, at your option) may be a good point to start out, though.

LOL

Any OS takes time to learn. they all bemcome easier as you gain experience.

For information on the CLI, start here :

http://doc.gwos.org/index.php/CommandLineBeginners

Then :

http://www.pixelbeat.org/cmdline.html

http://www.justlinux.com/nhf/Command_Reference

http://www.ss64.com/bash/

http://www.unixguide.net/linux/linuxshortcuts.shtml

http://www.reallylinux.com/docs/admin.shtml

http://www.reallylinux.com/docs/guru.shtml

Here we can have some information on the basic commands and methods that are very likely to be needed and used. Like editing the fstab.

Is there an ubuntu cheat sheet ? alot of distros have a "cheat sheet" that lists commonly used commands and a brief description, I'm not talking about a full list just a small one a newbie can print out and keep under the keyboard until he/she gets a handle on the basic commands. Maybe somebody could start one and we can all add to it gradually. Just a thought

bodhi.zazen said: LOL

Any OS takes time to learn. they all bemcome easier as you gain experience.

For information on the CLI, start here :

http://doc.gwos.org/index.php/CommandLineBeginners

Then :

http://www.pixelbeat.org/cmdline.html

http://www.justlinux.com/nhf/Command_Reference

http://www.ss64.com/bash/

http://www.unixguide.net/linux/linuxshortcuts.shtml

http://www.reallylinux.com/docs/admin.shtml

http://www.reallylinux.com/docs/guru.shtml

The above, in a nutshell, is the problem. The majority of users do not want to be dragged through a plethora of links. Links that use an alien language that just turn off the person trying to migrate from MS. The very first priority has to be to get the user up and running with the basics. I propose, and challenge the community, to deliver a distro that will install and fire up using an install CD (even using a Windows Installer process for those going dual boot) and deliver the following:

email messenger service office suite web browser CD player DVD viewer

with a single, simple, plain ordinary spoken language, installation process.

THEN we can introduce going further guides, bring in the command terminal, have a well structured database with How To's, applications, etc. We also need to be honest and not go quiet when problems are encountered (Flash plugins for example). The new user doesn't care about who's problem it is, they only need to know that it is being sorted.

Ubuntu is the future. If we want it to be the future for the masses we must make getting the basics up and running very simple. If we want to keep it as a techies 'Sudoku' then it is great for that too. It is a very rich operating system and has a spirit and ethos that the world will warm to. We just need to make it easy for people to change. They are nervous about the need for technical knowledge and imo are quite right to be so too, having spent two weeks myself getting up and running.

I can't code but count me in for documentation authoring, user bug testing, making the tea...

...and a massive thank you to the community for getting me up and running, it is a joy to be allowed to share the same forum as you.

Kind regards Bob

bwallum said: The above, in a nutshell, is the problem....

Really ? My post was in response to :

dptxp said: While new GUIs have simplified a lot of work, the Linux Terminal is an essential and indispensable part of UBUNTU. So while we document UBUNTU and keep it well indexed, the documentation should have a section devoted to the Linux Command Set.

bwallum said: The majority of users do not want to be dragged through a plethora of links. Links that use an alien language that just turn off the person trying to migrate from MS. The very first priority has to be to get the user up and running with the basics. I propose, and challenge the community, to deliver a distro that will install and fire up using an install CD (even using a Windows Installer process for those going dual boot) and deliver the following:

email messenger service office suite web browser CD player DVD viewer

with a single, simple, plain ordinary spoken language, installation process.

I would have to disagree with most of that. Ubuntu, out of the box, does everything on your list, except CD/DVD which is a licensing issue.... CD/DVD is easily enabled or you can look at Mint ...

I have seen several new users accomplish this as on Ubuntu as easy as any new OS. I think familiarity is often confused with easy to use. Children, for example, learn Ubuntu as fast as they learn windows.

The beginners team would like to help new users with the transition process.

bwallum said: THEN we can introduce going further guides, bring in the command terminal, have a well structured database with How To's, applications, etc. We also need to be honest and not go quiet when problems are encountered (Flash plugins for example). The new user doesn't care about who's problem it is, they only need to know that it is being sorted.

Yes, that is the whole point of the wiki.

It is unreasonable to type/copy-paste the same information again and again in the forums. Thus I anticipate links. Do you have a more viable solution?

bwallum said: Ubuntu is the future. If we want it to be the future for the masses we must make getting the basics up and running very simple. If we want to keep it as a techies 'Sudoku' then it is great for that too. It is a very rich operating system and has a spirit and ethos that the world will warm to. We just need to make it easy for people to change. They are nervous about the need for technical knowledge and imo are quite right to be so too, having spent two weeks myself getting up and running.

I can't code but count me in for documentation authoring, user bug testing, making the tea...

...and a massive thank you to the community for getting me up and running, it is a joy to be allowed to share the same forum as you.

Kind regards Bob

If one is going to migrate to a new OS it takes longer then 2 weeks :lolflag:

dptxp said: Most of us are here because we want to finally get rid of that OS and use something that does not take ages to learn, does our job, easy to maintain and configure, and does not cost the earth. Ubuntu has simplified Linux in a great way, but even for guys like me who had started from the DOS days, getting used to Linux takes time.

While new GUIs have simplified a lot of work, the Linux Terminal is an essential and indispensable part of UBUNTU. So while we document UBUNTU and keep it well indexed, the documentation should have a section devoted to the Linux Command Set.

The Forum is perhaps the finest I have ever seen, operates on 24/7/365 basis and replies come fast, but we see the same questions again and again. The information is available scattered all over the net, they shall be real useful if put together.Thanks for posting exactly what I have been looking for for the past week. I thought I was dumb for not finding the command set as you say. I want to try and not search through thread upon thread to fix my own problems. I would love to try and figure things out on my own but nothing makes sense when I don't understand the language. I want to learn the lanuage of the linux command set. The whole type this here and it will fix your problem is a problem to me. When I don't know what I did and why what command I put in did what it did. That really throws me off. For all I know I am talking out my butt. I am so new to linux that I don't know what it is i'm talking about. I'm starting to miss XP though on my laptop.

If I go into the support tab and type wiki in to the search, this is what I get:

highlight=%28wiki%29

This page does not exist yet. You can create a new empty page, or use one of the page templates. Before creating the page, please check if a similar page already exists. Create new empty page

Page templates:

Existing pages with similar names:

* Accessibility/Testing/TaskTemplate * Artwork/Archives/ArchiveTemplate * Artwork/Specs/ProcessPhaseStatusTemplate * CategoryTemplate * ColombianTeamHomePageTemplate * DapperLocalisationTemplate * DebuggingTemplate * DerivativeTeam/DerivativesTemplate * DevelTeamMeetingTemplate * EdubuntuWeeklyUpdateMeetingTemplate * EventPlanningTemplate * HomepageTemplate * LaptopTestingTeamTemplate * MainInclusionReportTemplate * MainInclusionXubuntuReportTemplate * MarketingTeamAgendaTemplate * MinutesTemplate * PNWTeam/projects/OverviewTemplate * ReleaseScheduleTemplate * ScribesTeam/MeetingTemplate * ServerTestingTeamTemplate * SpecTemplate * TeamPageTemplate * UKTeam/MeetingNotes/MeetingTemplate * UKTeam/MeetingNotes/UKTeamMeetingTemplate * UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/IssueTemplate * Xubuntu/Artwork/PageTemplate * ubun2design/u2PageTemplate

Now you can be defensive and pretend this is good guidance or you can try and improve it.

Two weeks to learn an operating sytem is a lot different than two weeks to get up and running. Again, you can elect to change this or pretend that it is ok.

You can equally dismiss my comments in a defensive way or you can look at the experience of a two week newbie in the constructive manner in which it was offered. I reckon that for every one that gets as far as I do you lose a hundred or so that have a look, get charred off, and move on.

It really depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you really want to make Ubuntu a user friendly OS so that more people take it up then you need to think it from a general user's perspective.

As far as what needs to be done to improve things for the new user then my suggested simple, first to run, list stands. You may think they currently work out of the existing box but I can assure you they don't in my experience.

You need a well structured and obvious progression path for the user. After the basics, when they are up and running, offer them a single source manual (I know you have one but try searching 'supported hardware' and see what you get). That manual should have a language that uses words the new user will understand, iPod would be a good example in my case. gtkpod might as well be martian when one starts out.

You can structure this manual with a number of indexes, adding a technical index would be an obvious choice.

I want to help. If you want to stay in your techy oriented world then you cannot blame the majority if they stick to Windows because it is less hassle to get on with (and I am not a MS fan I can assure you).

Equally you (plural here, don't take it personally) cannot moan about the MS specific implementations of web sites and MS bias plugins (I'll mention Flash again here) because the people behind these sites are merely catering for the majority. Ubuntu has to prove itself to the majority before you will persuade all those web designers and code writers to walk down your path.

Don't waste your energy in shooting down a newbie, anybody can do that. Try to work out where you want to be with Ubuntu and the first choice must be alone the lines of niche operating system or mass market operating system. Then declare your position clearly. You will then be entitled to shoot the newbies you don't want.

And.. as I said before, I would like to help.

Kind Regards Bob

If I go into the support tab and type wiki in to the search, this is what I get:

highlight=%28wiki%29

This page does not exist yet. You can create a new empty page, or use one of the page templates. Before creating the page, please check if a similar page already exists. Create new empty page

Page templates:

Existing pages with similar names:

* Accessibility/Testing/TaskTemplate * Artwork/Archives/ArchiveTemplate * Artwork/Specs/ProcessPhaseStatusTemplate * CategoryTemplate * ColombianTeamHomePageTemplate * DapperLocalisationTemplate * DebuggingTemplate * DerivativeTeam/DerivativesTemplate * DevelTeamMeetingTemplate * EdubuntuWeeklyUpdateMeetingTemplate * EventPlanningTemplate * HomepageTemplate * LaptopTestingTeamTemplate * MainInclusionReportTemplate * MainInclusionXubuntuReportTemplate * MarketingTeamAgendaTemplate * MinutesTemplate * PNWTeam/projects/OverviewTemplate * ReleaseScheduleTemplate * ScribesTeam/MeetingTemplate * ServerTestingTeamTemplate * SpecTemplate * TeamPageTemplate * UKTeam/MeetingNotes/MeetingTemplate * UKTeam/MeetingNotes/UKTeamMeetingTemplate * UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/IssueTemplate * Xubuntu/Artwork/PageTemplate * ubun2design/u2PageTemplate

Now you can be defensive and pretend this is good guidance or you can try and improve it.

Two weeks to learn an operating sytem is a lot different than two weeks to get up and running. Again, you can elect to change this or pretend that it is ok.

You can equally dismiss my comments in a defensive way or you can look at the experience of a two week newbie in the constructive manner in which it was offered. I reckon that for every one that gets as far as I do you lose a hundred or so that have a look, get charred off, and move on.

It really depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you really want to make Ubuntu a user friendly OS so that more people take it up then you need to think it from a general user's perspective.

As far as what needs to be done to improve things for the new user then my suggested simple, first to run, list stands. You may think they currently work out of the existing box but I can assure you they don't in my experience.

You need a well structured and obvious progression path for the user. After the basics, when they are up and running, offer them a single source manual (I know you have one but try searching 'supported hardware' and see what you get). That manual should have a language that uses words the new user will understand, iPod would be a good example in my case. gtkpod might as well be martian when one starts out.

You can structure this manual with a number of indexes, adding a technical index would be an obvious choice.

I want to help. If you want to stay in your techy oriented world then you cannot blame the majority if they stick to Windows because it is less hassle to get on with (and I am not a MS fan I can assure you).

Equally you (plural here, don't take it personally) cannot moan about the MS specific implementations of web sites and MS bias plugins (I'll mention Flash again here) because the people behind these sites are merely catering for the majority. Ubuntu has to prove itself to the majority before you will persuade all those web designers and code writers to walk down your path.

Don't waste your energy in shooting down a newbie, anybody can do that. Try to work out where you want to be with Ubuntu and the first choice must be alone the lines of niche operating system or mass market operating system. Then declare your position clearly. You will then be entitled to shoot the newbies you don't want.

And.. as I said before, I would like to help.

Kind Regards Bob

bwallum said: If I go into the support tab and type wiki in to the search, this is what I get:

highlight=%28wiki%29

This page does not exist yet. You can create a new empty page, or use one of the page templates. Before creating the page, please check if a similar page already exists. Create new empty page

Page templates:

Kind Regards Bob

This might be a stupid question, but why on earth would you go to the Support tab and type wiki in the search box when two tabs to the right of the Support tab is the (Ta Da!) Wiki tab?

No offense intended, but after reading each of your posts in this thread, it just sounds like you're trying to over-complicate solutions that already exist.

A Question. What is the most obvious place to find support? The Support tab or the Wiki tab? I suggest that a new user looking for support would go for the support tab.

This result is symtomatic of the communication schism, the seasoned users have by trial and error found the appropriate places, and now comfortable with that knowledge, accept the status quo as ok. The new user however, just sees a plethora of largely unstructured information.

All my comments are from a new users experience. That is all I have.

Kind regards, Bob

colo said: The software you're referring to hardly has anything to do with Linux - it's GNU that rules the command line, supreme.

Learning UNIX (or, rather, GNU) is still best done by reading appropriate books, imo. I don't know of any comprehensive online introduction.

man intro (or info intro, at your option) may be a good point to start out, though.

Being a beginner forum, getting into things like GNU and Linux, and how Linux is not really a full OS, and Ubuntu installs software that makes it more full such as GNOME, and all of that, is reallt unnessicary.