brand spankin' new

[Integral Void]

so i've never ever used linux before, completely clueless. i used to think of myself as someone who is computer savvy but the illusion is clearly gone. i could reinstall windows xp on my laptop but i'm not going to. sick of windows, why do people purchase products that fail when free solutions exist? probably ease of convenience. i guess i was under that veil for some time now. but i'm here now and i enjoy the feel and look of ubuntu. i'm curious about the other blends of linux and some of the features of this build. i was trying to browse through the help files from liveCD but they weren't very helpful. i didn't understand what i had to do from reading them. took awhile to get my wireless driver to work but after i wired in my connection and updated some drivers everything is gravy train.

anyways, i'm just rambling on i guess, but does anyone here have any good websites/books/documentation for absolutely new users to the realm of linux (specifically ubuntu for now)

i'd like to figure out how to mute individual applications and get the start-up splash screen to stop looking all discombobulated.

Thanks,
The New Guy

[Eisenwinter]

http://www.linuxcommand.org

[Ocxic]

Ubuntu Guide (http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Hardy#Howto:_Tweak_and_maximize_your_bandwi dth_in_Ubuntu.2FLinux_via_sysctl.21)

[jmszr]

Integral Void,

This sticky by ugm6hr is most helpful: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=801404 .
The Free Ubuntu Pocket Guide by Keir Thomas and the Psychocats Ubuntu Guide are of particular interest (opinion) but the entire sticky has a lot of good information.

[monkeyKata]

Hello and welcome to the forums.

I switched to Ubuntu from windows not too long ago (well last summer) and these forums have been the website that has served me the best whenever I needed help. I've bookmarked a handful of different Linux help sites but I never visit them and always come here instead. If you search your problem you'll often find that is has already been discussed and resolved, though if not the community on these forums is very helpful.

Here's a site where you can download things to change the appearance:
http://gnome-look.org/

To find system-wide themes click on GTK 2.x on the left-hand side. Download a theme and drag it into your Appearance Preferences window under the Theme tab to add. You can do the same for icon and mouse pointer themes.

EDIT: Gtk themes do not exactly theme everything, as the windows borders can be themed differently by either Metacity or Emerald. If you search the two you should find some explanations.

[hyperdude111]

For me a combination of Google and these forums have provided the answers to all my problems.

[speedwell68]

For me a combination of Google and these forums have provided the answers to all my problems.

Yup.:D

[Chemical Imbalance]

Check out the free pdf guide in my signature. It's very comprehensive.

[missbliss]

Hi, welcome. I've been using Ubuntu exclusively going on 4 months and am super happy.

I felt somewhat computer savvy until I finally started delving deeper. I now enjoy (and sometimes hate!!) figuring things out with Linux. It's a great learning experience and ALL of my experiences on this board have been positive!

[Vadi]

http://www.ubuntupocketguide.com/

[JK3mp]

The wiki is a great place for answers to questions, between them and forums i've never really had an issue i couldn't figure out. Just explore, read posts you don't even know the answer too just so later on when the question comes up you know how they worked out the problem etc. I find it a useful technique ;)

[liamnixon]

I heartily recommend the Linux Bible (http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Bible-2009-KNOPPIX-openSUSE/dp/0470373679/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240106557&sr=8-1). I learned a lot about the basics of Linux, as well as other distributions, by reading it. It also comes with a DVD with a bunch of distributions that you can check out as well.

Aside from that, the various forums and google will be useful tools along the way! ;)

[Integral Void]

you guys been a real help, the pocket guide is near epic quality, i'm loving ubuntu atm, find myself running things in the terminal quite often (especially to install packages) i have a hard time finding what i need using the synaptics manager but the terminal accomplishes what i need 100% of the time......... I LOVE IT!!! might just make my wife give up vista on the desktop, if she gives me permission =D

[toupeiro]

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781934356227/ <-- Ubuntu Kung Fu Guide

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596529833/ <-- Vi and VIM: The quintessential text editor for all flavors linux/UNIX

http://www.amazon.com/Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-Douglas-Adams/dp/0345391802 <-- Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Because everyone should have a copy of this book handy, along with a towel.

Welcome, and enjoy!

-T.