Translations by Jared Norris

2010

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If you are new to Ubuntu, this section will help you to familiarize yourself with the desktop, perform some common tasks, and point you towards getting further help if you need it.

Welcome to Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a community developed operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. Whether you use it at home, at school or at work Ubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need.

Ubuntu will always be free of charge, and there is no extra fee for the "enterprise edition".

Ubuntu includes the very best in translations and accessibility infrastructure that the free software community has to offer, to make Ubuntu usable for as many people as possible.

Ubuntu is released regularly and predictably; a new release is made every six months. Each release is supported for at least 18 months.

Ubuntu is entirely committed to the principles of open source software development; we encourage people to use open source software, improve it and pass it on.

The key promises of Ubuntu are: <placeholder-1/>

For more information about Ubuntu, see <ulink url="ghelp:about-ubuntu">About Ubuntu</ulink>.

Getting around the desktop

Ubuntu's desktop experience is designed to be as efficient and usable as possible. Here is a short introduction to the different areas:

<guilabel>Applications</guilabel> - start applications and find new ones in <application>Software Center</application>

<guilabel>Places</guilabel> - find files and folders on your computer

<guilabel>System</guilabel> - customise Ubuntu's settings and find help

<emphasis>The notification area</emphasis> is found in the top right hand corner of your screen and displays the status of different applications. You can use it to change the volume, change your online status in different applications, and shut down your computer.

For further reading about getting around your desktop, see <ulink url="ghelp:user-guide#overview">the Desktop Overview</ulink>.

Applications for different tasks

Ubuntu has a wide range of applications included by default. They include:

<placeholder-1/> Browse the internet with <menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guisubmenu>Internet</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>Firefox Web Browser</guimenuitem></menuchoice>

<placeholder-1/> Manage email and calendar with <menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guimenuitem>Office</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Evolution Mail</guimenuitem></menuchoice>

<placeholder-1/> Instant messaging and video calls with <menuchoice><guimenuitem>Applications</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Internet</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Empathy IM Client</guimenuitem></menuchoice>

<placeholder-1/> Complete office suite <application>Openoffice.org</application> at <menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guimenuitem>Office</guimenuitem></menuchoice>

<placeholder-1/> Import, buy and manage music with <menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guimenuitem>Sound &amp; Video</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Rhythmbox Music Player</guimenuitem></menuchoice>

<placeholder-1/> Backup and synchronise files with <menuchoice><guimenu>System</guimenu><guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Ubuntu One</guimenuitem></menuchoice>

You can find and add more applications at the touch of a button. See <xref linkend="add-applications"/> for details.

Connecting to the internet

It's easy to manage your internet connection with <application>Network Manager</application>.

The <application>Network Manager</application> icon in the notification area in the top right corner of your desktop tells you the status of your network connection and allows you to connect or disconnect. Click on the icon for options.

Disconnected

Wired Network Connected

Wireless Network Connected

For further reading or troubleshooting see <ulink url="ghelp:internet">Internet and Networks</ulink>.

Adding applications

Ubuntu makes it easy to add new applications.

There is no need to download applications from websites. Simply open the <application>Software Center</application> and you have thousands of applications ready to install at the click of a button from Ubuntu's archive of applications.

Any applications installed in this way can be easily and safely updated or removed.

You'll find the <application>Software Center</application> in the menu at <menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guimenuitem>Ubuntu Software Center</guimenuitem></menuchoice>

For more instructions about using <application>Software Center</application>, see <ulink url="ghelp:software-center">the Software Center help</ulink>. Further reading on how applications are managed in Ubuntu can be found in <ulink url="ghelp:add-applications">Adding, Removing and Updating Applications</ulink>.

Playing music and videos

Ubuntu includes applications for playing and managing music and for playing and editing video.

Music and video files require special software to play them, called <emphasis>codecs</emphasis>. Some codecs (for example those required to play MP3s) are not included by default in Ubuntu because they are <ulink url="ghelp:add-applications#restricted-software">proprietary</ulink>. You will be prompted to add support for the necessary codec if you try to play a music or video file which is not supported.

To add support for all frequently used music and video files, <ulink url="apt:ubuntu-restricted-extras">install the ubuntu-restricted-extras package</ulink>. This will also add support for <ulink url="ghelp:musicvideophotos#video-playback-flash">websites which use Flash video</ulink>.

For more instructions about playing music and videos, see <ulink url="ghelp:musicvideophotos">Music, Video and Photos</ulink>.

Keeping updated