cyan yelloW MaGenTa Black panTone 123 c Books for professionals By professionals® The eXperT’s Voice® in open source Companion eBook Available FFuullllyy rreevviisseedd Beginning Ubuntu Linux, Third Edition aanndd uuppddaatteedd ffoorr UUbbuunnttuu 88..0044 Dear Reader, Beginning ((HHaarrddyy HHeerroonn LLTTSS)) Beginning Since its release just a few years ago, Ubuntu has become the world’s most pop- aanndd aabboovvee!! ular Linux distribution. It has now come out in the second Long Term Support U (LTS) edition, which will not change for the next three years. Canonical, the company backing Ubuntu Linux, has committed to supporting this version. So you don’t need to change your Ubuntu Linux, and no one will ask you to b Ubuntu download another Ubuntu version. It’s one of the most user-friendly versions Keir Thomas, author of of Linux yet, and now it’s going to be the rock on which to build your online life, u Beginning Ubuntu Linux, use office applications, and/or administer your home or office network. Second Edition This third edition of Beginning Ubuntu Linux has been thoroughly revised n and updated for the 8.04 LTS release of Ubuntu. The accompanying DVD- Beginning SUSE Linux, ROM contains the complete Ubuntu 8.04 LTS release, as well as the Kubuntu, Second Edition Xubuntu, Edubuntu, and PowerPC (Macintosh) releases. t Beginning Fedora Linux The book begins with an introduction to Linux fundamentals, before providing u an illustrated, completely new, step-by-step installation guide for Ubuntu 8.04. This Linux is followed by a troubleshooting chapter for any problems that may arise. Next, you’ll learn how to configure common hardware components under Ubuntu, such as printers, network cards, and digital cameras. Following this, L we spend time explaining how to secure your new Ubuntu setup. To help you quickly begin using Ubuntu as an all-purpose desktop, we will show i you how to configure your system for listening to audio CDs and MP3s, watching n movies, and editing images. You’ll learn how to create text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and databases using OpenOffice.org, Ubuntu’s powerful office solu- tion. We also introduce Evolution, the enterprise-grade e-mail client. u Finally, we delve into the heart of Linux: the powerful command-line interface. You’ll learn how to take complete control of your system: managing processes, Jaime Sicam installing software, adding and removing users, backing up data, optimizing x your system, and much, much more. The complete guide to Ubuntu—includes Keir Thomas and Jaime Sicam everything you need to take advantage of Third EdiTion the world’s favorite Linux operating system. Companion eBook THE APRESS ROADMAP Beginning Ubuntu Beginning Server Administration Automating UNIX Third EdiTion Ubuntu Linux and Linux Administration Beginning Portable Shell Scripting dVd inCLUdEd See last page for details Beginning Fedora Hardening Linux on $10 eBook version Beginning GIMP Keir Thomas Jaime Sicam ISBN-13: 978-1-59059-991-4 and www.apress.com ISBN-10: 1-59059-991-8 Thomas, 53999 Sicam US $39.99 Shelve in Linux Accompanying dVd includes full versions of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, User level: as well as Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu, and PPC releases! 9 781590 599914 Beginner–Intermediate this print for content only—size & color not accurate spine = 1.443" 768 page count Thomas_991-8FRONT.fm Page i Friday, May 23, 2008 4:13 PM Beginning Ubuntu Linux Third Edition ■ ■ ■ Keir Thomas and Jaime Sicam Thomas_991-8FRONT.fm Page ii Friday, May 23, 2008 4:13 PM Beginning Ubuntu Linux, Third Edition Copyright © 2008 by Keir Thomas, Jaime Sicam All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher. ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-59059-991-4 ISBN-10 (pbk): 1-59059-991-8 ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4302-0650-7 Printed and bound in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Trademarked names may appear in this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Java™ and all Java-based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc., in the US and other countries. Apress, Inc., is not affiliated with Sun Microsystems, Inc., and this book was written without endorsement from Sun Microsystems, Inc. Lead Editor: Frank Pohlmann Technical Reviewers: Daniel James, Keir Thomas, Eric Hewitt Editorial Board: Clay Andres, Steve Anglin, Ewan Buckingham, Tony Campbell, Gary Cornell, Jonathan Gennick, Matthew Moodie, Joseph Ottinger, Jeffrey Pepper, Frank Pohlmann, Ben Renow-Clarke, Dominic Shakeshaft, Matt Wade, Tom Welsh Project Manager: Beth Christmas Copy Editor: Marilyn Smith Associate Production Director: Kari Brooks-Copony Production Editor: Laura Esterman Compositor: Susan Glinert Stevens Proofreader: Linda Seifert Indexer: Broccoli Information Management Artist: April Milne Cover Designer: Kurt Krames Manufacturing Director: Tom Debolski Distributed to the book trade worldwide by Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 233 Spring Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013. Phone 1-800-SPRINGER, fax 201-348-4505, e-mail [email protected], or visit http://www.springeronline.com. For information on translations, please contact Apress directly at 2855 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 600, Berkeley, CA 94705. Phone 510-549-5930, fax 510-549-5939, e-mail [email protected], or visit http:// www.apress.com. Apress and friends of ED books may be purchased in bulk for academic, corporate, or promotional use. eBook versions and licenses are also available for most titles. For more information, reference our Special Bulk Sales–eBook Licensing web page at http://www.apress.com/info/bulksales. The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author(s) nor Apress shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this work. The source code for this book is available to readers at http://www.apress.com. Thomas_991-8FRONT.fm Page iii Friday, May 23, 2008 4:13 PM Dedicated to you, now that you have a choice —Jaime Sicam Thomas_991-8FRONT.fm Page iv Friday, May 23, 2008 4:13 PM Contents at a Glance About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxiii About the Technical Reviewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxvii Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxix Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxxi PART 1 Introducing the World of Linux ■ ■ ■ ■ CHAPTER 1 Welcome! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 ■ CHAPTER 2 A History and Politics Lesson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 ■ CHAPTER 3 The Realities of Running Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 PART 2 Installing Ubuntu ■ ■ ■ ■ CHAPTER 4 Preinstallation Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 ■ CHAPTER 5 Installing Ubuntu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 3 ■ CHAPTER 6 Solving Installation Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 PART 3 The No-Nonsense Getting ■ ■ ■ Started Guide ■ CHAPTER 7 Booting Ubuntu for the First Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 ■ CHAPTER 8 Getting Everything Up and Running . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 ■ CHAPTER 9 How to Secure Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 ■ CHAPTER 10 Personalizing Ubuntu: Getting Everything Just Right . . . . . . . . . . 213 ■ CHAPTER 11 Ubuntu Replacements for Windows Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 ■ CHAPTER 12 Managing Your Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 iv Thomas_991-8FRONT.fm Page v Friday, May 23, 2008 4:13 PM PART 4 The Shell and Beyond ■ ■ ■ ■ CHAPTER 13 Introducing the BASH Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 ■ CHAPTER 14 Understanding Linux Files and Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321 ■ CHAPTER 15 Working with Text Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 ■ CHAPTER 16 Taking Control of the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365 ■ CHAPTER 17 Cool Shell Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 PART 5 Multimedia ■ ■ ■ ■ CHAPTER 18 Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 ■ CHAPTER 19 Movies and Multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413 ■ CHAPTER 20 Digital Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 PART 6 Office Tasks ■ ■ ■ ■ CHAPTER 21 Making the Move to OpenOffice.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 ■ CHAPTER 22 OpenOffice.org Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 ■ CHAPTER 23 In Depth: Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479 ■ CHAPTER 24 In Depth: Calc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491 ■ CHAPTER 25 In Depth: Impress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 ■ CHAPTER 26 In Depth: Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511 ■ CHAPTER 27 In Depth: Evolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521 v Thomas_991-8FRONT.fm Page vi Friday, May 23, 2008 4:13 PM PART 7 Keeping Your System Running ■ ■ ■ ■ CHAPTER 28 Installing and Removing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545 ■ CHAPTER 29 Managing Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 ■ CHAPTER 30 Optimizing Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585 ■ CHAPTER 31 Backing Up Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599 ■ CHAPTER 32 Scheduling Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613 ■ CHAPTER 33 Accessing Computers Remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619 PART 8 Appendixes ■ ■ ■ ■ APPENDIX A Glossary of Linux Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635 ■ APPENDIX B BASH Command Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657 ■ APPENDIX C Getting Further Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671 ■ APPENDIX D Exploring the DVD-ROM and Other Ubuntu Versions . . . . . . . . . . . 681 ■ INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695 Thomas_991-8FRONT.fm Page vii Friday, May 23, 2008 4:13 PM CCoonntteennttss About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxiii About the Technical Reviewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxvii Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxix Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxxi PART 1 Introducing the World of Linux ■ ■ ■ ■ CHAPTER 1 Welcome! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 What Is Linux? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Age of Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Problems with Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The Benefits of Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Fewer Crashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Free and Shareable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 No Annoying Copy Protection or Usage Restrictions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Linux Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 ■ CHAPTER 2 A History and Politics Lesson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 In the Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The GNU Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Proprietary Software and the GPL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 GNU and Linux Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Different Flavors of Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Linux Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Modern Linux Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 vii Thomas_991-8FRONT.fm Page viii Friday, May 23, 2008 4:13 PM viii ■ CONTENTS ■ CHAPTER 3 The Realities of Running Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Learning to Use Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Who Uses Linux? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Getting Hold of Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Using Ubuntu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 PART 2 Installing Ubuntu ■ ■ ■ ■ CHAPTER 4 Preinstallation Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Understanding Partitioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Freeing Up Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Reclaiming Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Removing Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Using Another Hard Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Backing Up Your Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Backing Up E-Mail Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Making Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 ■ CHAPTER 5 Installing Ubuntu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 An Overview of the Installation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Step-by-Step Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Stage 1: Prepare the Windows Partition for Resizing. . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Stage 2: Boot from the DVD-ROM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Stage 3: Choose Language Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Stage 4: Select from the Boot Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Stage 5: Choose a Language for Ubuntu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Stage 6: Select Your Country and Time Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Stage 7: Confirm Your Keyboard Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Stage 8: Repartition Your Hard Disk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Stage 9: Enter a Username . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Stage 10: Import Documents and Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Stage 11: Confirm Installation Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Stage 12: Wait During Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Stage 13: Reboot and Enjoy Ubuntu! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74