The Ubuntu Manual Project

The Ubuntu Manual project has set out to create a complete beginners manual for Ubuntu, featuring comprehensive guides, howto's and information about anything you will need to know after first installing Ubuntu.

The manual will be available as a .PDF file and there will be a new revision released every six months there will coincide with each new release of Ubuntu. The work will of course be released under the CC-BY-SA license. The plan is to have the final version suitable for mainstream consumption ready in time for the Ubuntu 10.04 release.

At the moment the project has ten chapters and is translated into 20 languages and it has over a hundred contributors. Take a look at this very early release: Ubuntu Manual 0.1

If you want to contribute the easiest way for both you and the team is to follow these steps:

• Join the Ubuntu Manual Team and the mailing list.
• Check out the blueprints and find something that is unassigned that you think you might be able to handle.
• Assign yourself to that blueprint, and read up on it in the blueprints section of this wiki.
• If you can't find anything that you think would suit you, then scroll down a bit more and have a look at the "To Do List" or email the mailing list and ask for help, or join #ubuntu-manual on irc.freenode.net and ask someone what you can do.
• If there is something that you think is right up your alley, but is already assigned to someone else, then contact them and ask them if they would like any help - chances are they would love an extra pair of hands.
• If all else fails, then contact Benjamin Humphrey and he can find something for you to do!

Fluent in more than one language? Consider translating!


A Proposed Title Page

Source:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-manual/
http://launchpadlibrarian.net/37759660/ubuntumanual.pdf

Ubuntu's Karmic Koala Bible .. 50 Page Guide Released

In simple copy/paste steps and detailed over 25 sections, the "Karmic Koala Bible" appeals to both Linux initiates and intermediates alike, stepping out key procedures such as partition planning and with a raft of system tweaks. It manages also to simplify use of the often-daunting terminal for greater user efficiency, even for new users.

Guvnr's founder Olly Connelly said of the guide:

The latest Ubuntu release is superbly user-friendly. At last Linux is giving Windows a serious run for its money. This guide gives newbies all the start-up knowledge they need while helping intermediates to attain a truly enhanced system setup.

The closest-to-perfect all-in-1 guide .. all-on-1-site! This guide belongs in the virtual library of every Linux user!

Web version here: http://guvnr.com/pc/karmic-koala-bible/ 

PDF version here: Download the Ubuntu Karmic Koala Bible in PDF, or read it online on Scribd!

Give Gnome A More Modern Look

click image to view in full size
When compared to KDE 4, OSX or Windows 7 the default Gnome desktop looks… let’s face it… old. Here are a few steps I took to make my desktop look more modern:

- Change the theme:
I’m using the Dust theme which is included in Ubuntu 9.04 (also available for earlier releases).
- Change the icon set:
I find the Oxygen icon set to be one of the best set’s out there, I really do love the upcoming Breathe icon set. Although Breathe is still work in progress you can already take it for a test drive.
- Change the wallpaper:
Of course I use the photo wallpapers from my Ubuntu Wallpaper Photo Pack, which recently was updated and now holds eighteen photographs (43 MB).
- Adjust panel properties:
Transparent panels look very modern and makes the panels more integrated with the desktop background. Under panel properties I also set the size to 34 pixels.
- Add custom system sounds:
The sounds I’m currently using are the Rhodes system sounds I created myself.

If you like to rock out with your dock, I would recommend that you try Gnome Do.