if you've never used a Linux based
operating system Ubuntu is a great
entry-level Linux distribution that's
user-friendly for beginners especially
for those of you that have been using
Windows or Mac OS and this beginner's
guide I will show you the basics to help
you get started using Ubuntu coming up
next on tech gumbo unlike Windows and
Mac OS the Mbutu is completely free and
open-source whether you plan to use it
as your primary operating system or run
it alongside another you can download
the ISO file directly from the Ubuntu
website in the top bar go to download
and select Ubuntu desktop I recommend
downloading the latest version offering
long term support near the bottom of the
downloads page you will find the
installation guides for both Windows and
Mac OS if you'd prefer to run Ubuntu in
a virtual machine on your computer I've
created a video to install it into
VirtualBox the link to that video is in
the description if you want to check
that out compared to most operating
systems the interface is quite different
let's first take a look at the top bar
clicking on activities in the top left
gives you a search bar to help find
programs files and folders on your
computer on the right side is workspaces
this is where you can create multiple
desktop environments on the same
computer when you have any programs
opened they will show up to the right of
activities this is where you can get
quick access to the settings among other
stuff depending on which program you
have open the date and time appear in
the middle of the top bar clicking on it
brings up a calendar and any
notifications in the top right you'll
see the system indicators selecting any
of them brings up a single menu to
adjust the system volume network
settings lock your screen and you can
restart or power off your computer from
here as well the dock on the left side
of the screen shows your file explorer
your favorite programs along with ones
that are currently running
and in the lower left is the app drawer
this is where you'll find the programs
that are installed on your computer in
the lower middle you can switch between
your most frequently used programs and
all now that you have a general idea of
how to get around a bun - let's dive
deeper into the various features of this
operating system since this is a
beginners tutorial we'll avoid the use
of the terminal window and keyboard
shortcuts I'll cover those in future
videos let's now take a closer look at
the dock which is sometimes referred to
as the launcher or the sidebar to open
any program in the dock left click on it
just like any operating system you can
minimize maximize or close out any
window in the upper right right-clicking
any app icon gives app specific
functions for example with Firefox you
can open a new window open a new private
window remove from favourites or show
details about that app the icons for the
apps can be moved by left clicking and
dragging to its new location if you have
programs that use on a regular basis you
should add those to the dock here's how
you do that go to the app drawer in the
lower left find and open the program
you'd like to add
blender is a good one you'll see that
its icon now appears in the dock
right-click on it and select add to
favorites and that's all there is to it
earlier I showed you workspaces where
you can create multiple desktop
environments to move this window to a
new workspace select activities in the
upper left let's click and drag the
window to a different workspace just use
the workspace selector to switch between
workspaces to workspaces are initially
provided new ones appear automatically
as needed this can be useful if you
multitask working on different projects
within the first couple hours of loading
up a fresh install of an operating
system you will want to install new
programs onto your computer there are
many ways to do this
the Ubuntu software application is a
good place to start it can be accessed
in the dock or in the app drawer click
on it to load it up if you know the
specific program that you're looking for
select the search icon in the upper
right and a search box will appear just
type the name of the program that you're
looking for and it will appear if
available or you could go through the
various categories listed to find new
programs select the drop down arrow to
show more categories most of the
programs here are free and open source
in this example I'll select graphics and
photography if you work with and edit
raw images darktable is a good one so
I'll select that then click on install
when it's finished that program will be
available for use on your computer for
browsing the web Firefox comes
pre-installed with Ubuntu some of you
love it and some of you hate it there
are many alternatives in the Ubuntu
Software app including chromium opera
and brave to name a few or you could go
rogue and get the valdi directly from
their website here are some of the other
default apps that come pre-installed
with Ubuntu that you should know about
the LibreOffice suite provides
alternatives to microsoft word excel
powerpoint and others with many of the
same features thunderbird mail is used
to consolidate and manage all of your
email accounts and contacts rhythm box
helps to keep your music organized you
can also create playlists and listen to
podcasts the Shotwell photo manager is
used to import your photos and keep them
organized and videos which is also known
as totem is the default video player if
you don't like the default video app as
some player and VLC are to others I've
used that I would recommend let's now go
through the settings that you might want
to change to get to these settings menu
left click in the upper right of the top
bar in the system indicator area and
select the Settings icon to change up
the look of your desktop in the
background tab you can select a new
wallpaper for your desktop or your lock
screen selecting either option you'll be
presented with various preset choices
you can select images from your pictures
folder if you have any or you could
select a specific color listed to change
the background pick an image and click
on select in the dock tab just below
background there's a toggle to auto hide
the dock when the window comes in
contact with it if you have a lot of
programs in the dock it might be useful
to reduce the icon size and position on
the screen lets you change the location
of the dock for a more traditional
layout some of you might prefer the dock
to be located at the bottom of the
screen let's
down to privacy if you're not concerned
about others viewing or using your
computer when you're not around go into
screen lock and switch it to off near
the bottom of the left pane is devices
here you can make adjustments to your
displays keyboard mouse and other stuff
in display there's a nightlight that you
can turn on that can help to reduce eye
strain selecting keyboard will show you
the shortcuts that can be used with
Ubuntu many of which are used with the
super key in combination with other keys
odds are likely that you don't have a
key that says super on it on a Windows
keyboard the super key is the one with
the windows logo on it
also known as the Windows key on a Mac
keyboard use the command key and on a
Chromebook it will be the key with a
magnifying glass logo as you get more
familiar with a boon to learning the
keyboard shortcuts will help you to save
time and effort thanks for watching all
links are in the description if this
video is useful for you give it a thumbs
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advanced Linux videos will be coming let
me know in the comments what topics
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