Hi

[fussyeater]

I'm a newbie to Ubuntu community and to Ubuntu in general, so, could you tell me what to start with my study of Ubuntu?

[slickymaster]

Hi fussyeater, welcome to the forums.

Thread moved to Ubuntu, Linux and OS Chat since it's not a support request.

[grahammechanical]

Ask yourself these two questions: What do I want to do? and What do I need to know to do it? Then search for answers. This site might help you

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Home

When I need to find some Ubuntu documentation I do an internet search of the type

wiki ubuntu subject

For example

wiki ubuntu installation

comes up with, among other things

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation

Do you want to learn how to do things using the command line? Programming? Testing the next version of Ubuntu under development?

I learned a lot browsing through the questions and answers in this forum.

Regards.

[guiverc]

I'll just add some thoughts.

Personally I like reading, so when I wanted to force myself to use GNU/Linux, I bought some books (mostly second hand and/or library), then went and read... But I'm just weird.

What I'd recommend you do now is if you've got a box (machine) you can give to your exploration, install Ubuntu or flavor of Ubuntu on it, and experiment. Try and use it for general things, more unusual things, and then experiment to make changes & in time you'll be blowing the system up (or executing a command incorrectly or something, causing the blow-up then you have to fix it).

I suspect most of us learn more by the fixing (after our experiments go wrong)

Tutorials - Firstly try Ubuntu..
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/try-u...stall-it/14014

After download you need to verify the download was perfect
https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutoria...erify-ubuntu#0

Next write to media
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/creat...n-ubuntu/14011
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/creat...-windows/14020
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/creat...on-macos/14016
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/how-t...-windows/14008
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/how-t...on-macos/14015
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/how-t...n-ubuntu/14022

Then you're at the try mode (already covered) or install

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/insta...esktop/13618/2
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/insta...u-server/13949
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/creat...n-ubuntu/14270
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/how-t...berry-pi/14660

Where you go from here is up to you. Don't be afraid of trying things.. It doesn't take very long to clean re-install (the lazy fix using format), dirty re-install (fast, no format, less is lost but it's possible for some issues to remain), or the long route of fixing it properly (reverse whatever you did).

Also when I say "blow up" I'm not being literal. I'm saying it may not boot, you may not be able to login (to GUI for example, so you use terminal.. or correct via a 'live' system)..

A separate box is easiest, as any "blow ups" won't cause you to lose the other DUAL BOOT OS if present, and you can afford to be less careful, fixes are faster etc. In the end it's fun

[TheFu]

Good advice above. if you don't/won't use discourse, there are thousands of other options. Many typical end-user settings are documented in the "Ubuntu Desktop Guide". There is also an "Ubuntu Server Guide." Those are task/solution based.

if you want a little deeper understanding, there are a number of books. Don't get too hung up about ubuntu. 95% of all Linux systems are very similar. All of those are about 90% similar to Unix, so hit the used book store and grab a few $0.50 Unix books from the mid-1990s. The shell tools are all basically the same. Look for O'Reilly books with animals on the cover. Some companies provide online access to the complete O'Reilly book catalogue.
http://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php is a good Linux primer for non-GUi stuff. LPI has some free training resources too.
https://wiki.lpi.org/wiki/Free_Training_Materials

Be careful following online how-tos. Seek out reputable guides that are specific to the release of Ubuntu being run. Guides for 16.04 often do not apply for 18.04 or 20.04, so beware. However, some shell-only admin tools seldom change much, so instructions from 2005 are still valid. Usually by the time someone needs to use those tools, experience would provide an understanding. in the beginning, the simple way to find reputable guides is to look for ubuntu in the domain name. There are reputable sites that don't have ubuntu in the name too.

[oldrocker99]

Also, Google University will work for practically any Linux (not at all just Ubuntu) system's problems. It is Your Friend.

For the more technically-minded, there is https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Main_page

The Arch wiki is visited by Linux users of all systems.

[TheFu]

<snip>
The Arch wiki is visited by Linux users of all systems.

Very true. Sometimes we need a slightly lower-level explanation and how-to than what the point-n-click Ubuntu Guides often provide.

The hardest part of being new is that Windows knowledge has missed about 80% of what Unix systems can do, so people with that background alone are handicapped by not knowing the correct questions to ask.

For example, someone from Windows might ask how to setup an FTP server. But that is the wrong question. Someone may actually answer it and you'd likely have a very hackable system. The better question would be, "how do I transfer files over the internet securely between two system?" BTW, FTP is the wrong answer, almost always. SFTP could be the correct answer, but it depends on the users. rsync, scp, sftp, dropbox, nextcloud, owncloud, seafile or wormhole are all options. Just depends on the users, client machines, and technical skills involved. There are probably 50 other answers too.

Anyways, asking goal oriented questions from a high-enough level is hard for detail oriented computer people.

[kevdog]

Also, Google University will work for practically any Linux (not at all just Ubuntu) system's problems. It is Your Friend.

For the more technically-minded, there is https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Main_page

The Arch wiki is visited by Linux users of all systems.

I love the Arch wiki, but if read this when I was new to Linux ..... whew... that would be a tough read.