Since I’m in Day 4 of my Ubuntu 14 day trial, I had to do this week’s tip as another Ubuntu tip. I’m learning much about the Ubuntu…some things I like, some I don’t, but overall it’s working pretty well. One visitor this week asked about backup in Ubuntu and since that is one of my favorite soap box topics, I researched it for Ubuntu. I found a program called “Simple Backup”. It works and the “how-to” can be found in this week’s video tip below:
One knock that I read about Ubuntu is the poor wireless support for laptops/wireless Internet. I took this laptop (a Compaq Presario 2100) on a short family vacation in June and had no problems connecting to wireless networks all along the way. I will say that the procedure wasn’t as smooth as the wireless utility built into Windows XP (which I also like better than Vista’s utility). It did work, however.
I’m still smarting from not having my great spam filter on my PC, but I’m giving the spam filter in Evolution a chance to work. It turns out that in order to get the spam filter working properly in Ubuntu’s Evolution, you have to do the following:
I haven’t touched my Windows’ machine all day and won’t for the next 14. However, one program I already miss from my Windows’ computer is my wonderful anti-spam software called Cloudmark Desktop. Adam and I talk almost weekly about Cloudmark Desktop. We have both used it since we discovered it at the old Comdex computer show five or six years ago. Currently, they don’t have a Linux version of the software and don’t plan on it anytime soon. The Evolution program that comes with Ubuntu works very well, and I will test its anti-spam solution that is built-in and learn to tweak it over the next two weeks.
If anyone reading this knows of a fast, accurate anti-spam software for Evolution in Ubuntu, please let me know.
Today will be my last post from a Windows machine for at least two weeks. I decided that in order to really test out Ubuntu Linux (which I have been glowing about for the past few months), I will use the machine as my sole computer for the next two weeks. I’m going to leave my Windows machine cold turkey and rely soley on my laptop running Ubuntu. I will access files, as needed, on my Windows’ machine, but only via my network through Ubuntu.
Yesterday, we mentioned Ubuntu Linux quite a bit so I wanted to pull out our Introduction to Ubuntu video again for you to see if you haven’t seen it yet.
Two of my favorite tips (tricks) to teach Windows users is the use of the Quick Launch bar. See:
Create a new toolbar in Windows – Video Tip
Create a docked Quick Launch bar in Windows Vista – Video Tip
As I make my way into the Ubuntu world, which I think has the potential to whole heartedly change the computing landscape as we know it, I learn how to duplicate skills with it that I learned and utilized with Windows. As with the navigation tip I posted earlier today, I think Ubuntu came up with a more clever, faster, and more flexible way to access our commonly used computer tools. Watch my new tip below to see how it is done in Ubuntu.
One more day left in our first annual "Ubuntu Week", and I have another great tip for all of us Ubuntu beginners. In Ubuntu, there is no "Start" button like Windows. Instead, I think the Ubuntu creators came up with a more elegant and intuitive format for accessing programs we use, navigating our saved files, networks and operating system options and preferences.
Watch the video below for a video and audio tour of Ubuntu's navigation options.
In our ongoing "Ubuntu Week" series of articles, today's tip focuses on computer safety. No matter what operating system you may use, the most important skills you can learn for your computer's safety is updating the operating system. All operating systems, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Solaris, BeOS, etc. offer security and system updates from time-to-time. These updates fix problems found in the software and shore up security holes found through research or hackers.
Ubuntu Linux implementation of Automatic Updates works quite well and is painless to maintain. Today's video tip shows you the steps to take to make sure your Ubuntu system is running the latest in system and security updates.
This week, I will be posting and using only my Ubuntu laptop. Expect some short how-to videos from the Ubuntu world all week long culminating with our interview on Saturday with David Overcash from the Colorado LoCo Ubuntu team . An Ubuntu LoCo team is a regionally established group of Ubuntu experts who promote and support Ubuntu users in their region. We look forward to talking with David on Saturday, and the how-to videos for this week will give you further insight into the world of Ubuntu Linux.
If you missed my introductory video of Ubuntu Linux, click here to watch the video.