Ubuntu Unleashed 2010 Edition

863 Pages·2009·13.62 MB·English

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Andrew Hudson
Paul Hudson
Matthew Helmke
Ryan Troy
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Ubuntu
U N L E A S H E D
2010 Edition
Covering 9.10 and 10.4
800 East 96th Street,Indianapolis,Indiana 46240 USA
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Ubuntu Unleashed 2010 Edition: Acquisitions Editor
Covering 9.10 and 10.4 Debra Williams
Copyright © 2010 by Sams Publishing Cauley
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced,stored in a retrieval
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system,or transmitted by any means,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,
or otherwise,without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is Michael Thurston
assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every
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precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book,the publisher and author
assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for Patrick Kanouse
damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
Project Editor
ISBN-13: 978-0-67233-109-1
Jennifer Gallant
ISBN-10: 0-67233-109-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file. Copy Editor
Printed in the United States of America Paula Lowell
First Printing January 2010
Indexer
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction 1
Part I Installation and Configuration
1 Installing Ubuntu..........................................................................................11
2 Post-Installation Configuration....................................................................25
3 Working with Gnome...................................................................................51
4 Command Line Quickstart...........................................................................79
Part II Desktop Ubuntu
5 On the Internet...........................................................................................113
6 Productivity Applications...........................................................................133
7 Multimedia Applications............................................................................153
8 Printing with Ubuntu.................................................................................185
9 Games..........................................................................................................197
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Part III System Administration
10 Managing Users...........................................................................................209
11 Automating Tasks........................................................................................233
12 System-Monitoring Tools............................................................................289
13 Backing Up..................................................................................................301
14 Networking..................................................................................................325
15 Remote Access with SSH and Telnet...........................................................371
Part IV Ubuntu as a Server
16 File and Print...............................................................................................381
17 Apache Web Server Management...............................................................407
18 Remote File Serving with FTP.....................................................................439
19 Handling Electronic Mail............................................................................471
20 Proxying and Reverse Proxying..................................................................489
21 Administering Database Services................................................................499
22 LDAP............................................................................................................525
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Part V Programming Linux
23 Using Perl....................................................................................................537
24 Working with Python.................................................................................561
25 Writing PHP Scripts.....................................................................................579
26 C/C++ Programming Tools for Ubuntu......................................................613
27 Mono...........................................................................................................625
Part VI Ubuntu Housekeeping
28 Securing Your Machines.............................................................................639
29 Performance Tuning....................................................................................651
30 Command Line Masterclass........................................................................663
31 Managing Software.....................................................................................689
32 Kernel and Module Management...............................................................701
Part VII Appendixes
A Ubuntu Under the Hood............................................................................727
B Installation Resources.................................................................................737 ptg
C Ubuntu and Linux Internet Resources.......................................................759
Index...........................................................................................................769
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Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Part I Installation and Configuration
1 Installing Ubuntu 11
Before You Begin the Installation.................................................................11
Researching Your Hardware Specifications.........................................12
Installation Options.............................................................................12
Planning Partition Strategies...............................................................12
The Boot Loader..................................................................................13
Installing from CD or DVD.................................................................13
Step-by-Step Installation...............................................................................13
Starting the Install...............................................................................14
First Update..........................................................................................20
Wubi—The Easy Installer for Windows..............................................22
Shutting Down....................................................................................24 ptg
Reference.......................................................................................................24
2 Post-Installation Configuration 25
Troubleshooting Post-Installation Configuration Problems........................26
The sudo command......................................................................................27
First Update...................................................................................................28
Configuring Software Repositories...............................................................30
Installing Graphics Drivers...........................................................................33
Changing Ubuntu’s Look and Feel...............................................................34
Changing the Desktop Background....................................................34
Changing Colors..................................................................................35
Modifying System Fonts......................................................................36
Changing How Menus Look...............................................................36
Visual Effects........................................................................................37
Preferred Behaviors.......................................................................................37
Preferred Applications.........................................................................37
Removable Drives and Media..............................................................39
Input Devices................................................................................................39
Keyboard Shortcuts..............................................................................40
Keyboard Layout..................................................................................40
Mouse...................................................................................................41
Detecting and Configuring a Modem..........................................................42
Configuring a Serial-Port Modem.......................................................42
Configuring WinModems for Laptops................................................42
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vi Ubuntu Unleashed 2008 Edition
Configuring Power Management in Ubuntu...............................................43
Setting the Date and Time............................................................................44
Using the date Command...................................................................45
Using the hwclock Command............................................................45
Changing the Time and Date..............................................................46
Configuring and Using CD, DVD, and CD-RW Drives................................46
Checking Drive Assignment................................................................47
Configuring Wireless Networks....................................................................48
Reference.......................................................................................................49
3 Working with Gnome 51
The Gnome Desktop Environment..............................................................52
Gnome: The GNU Network Object Model Environment...................52
Eye Candy for the Masses.............................................................................54
Basic X Concepts...........................................................................................55
Using X..........................................................................................................56
Elements of the xorg.conf File............................................................57
Configuring X......................................................................................62
Starting X......................................................................................................64 ptg
Using a Display Manager.....................................................................65
Changing Window Managers..............................................................73
KDE—The Other Environment.....................................................................77
XFce...............................................................................................................78
Reference.......................................................................................................78
4 Command Line Quickstart 79
What Is the Command Line?.......................................................................79
Navigating Through the File System...................................................83
Managing Files with the Shell.............................................................85
Working with Compressed Files..........................................................86
Use Essential Commands from the /bin and /sbin Directories..........87
Use and Edit Files in the /etc Directory..............................................87
Protect the Contents of User Directories—/home..............................87
Use the Contents of the /proc Directory to Interact
with the Kernel..................................................................................87
Work with Shared Data in the /usr Directory.....................................89
Temporary File Storage in the /tmp Directory....................................89
Access Variable Data Files in the /var Directory.................................89
Logging In to and Working with Linux.......................................................90
Text-based Console Login....................................................................90
Logging Out.........................................................................................90
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Contents vii
Logging In and Out from a Remote Computer..................................91
Using Environment Variables..............................................................92
Using the Text Editors..................................................................................95
Working with vi...................................................................................96
Working with emacs............................................................................97
Working with Permissions............................................................................99
Assigning Permissions.......................................................................100
Directory Permissions........................................................................101
Understanding Set User ID and Set Group ID Permissions..............103
Working as Root..........................................................................................104
Creating Users....................................................................................105
Deleting Users....................................................................................106
Shutting Down the System...............................................................106
Rebooting the System........................................................................107
Reading Documentation.............................................................................108
Using Man Pages................................................................................108
Reference.....................................................................................................110
Part II Desktop Ubuntu ptg
5 On the Internet 113
Getting Started with Firefox.......................................................................114
Choosing an Email Client..........................................................................115
Evolution...........................................................................................116
Mozilla Thunderbird..........................................................................118
KMail..................................................................................................120
Other Mail Clients.............................................................................120
RSS Readers..................................................................................................120
Firefox................................................................................................122
Liferea.................................................................................................122
Instant Messaging with Pidgin...................................................................123
Internet Relay Chat.....................................................................................124
Usenet Network Newsgroups......................................................................127
The Pan News Client Newsreader...............................................................128
Videoconferencing with Ekiga....................................................................130
Reference.....................................................................................................132
6 Productivity Applications 133
Introducing OpenOffice.org.......................................................................134
Configuring OpenOffice.org.............................................................136
Working with OpenOffice.org Writer...............................................137
Working with OpenOffice.org Calc...................................................140
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Office Suites for Ubuntu.............................................................................144
Working with Gnome Office.............................................................146
Working with KOffice........................................................................149
Productivity Applications Written for Microsoft Windows.......................150
Reference.....................................................................................................152
7 Multimedia Applications 153
Sound and Music........................................................................................153
Sound Cards.......................................................................................154
Adjusting Volume..............................................................................155
Sound Formats...................................................................................156
Listening to Music.............................................................................157
Graphics Manipulation...............................................................................163
The GNU Image Manipulation Program...........................................163
Using Scanners in Ubuntu................................................................164
Working with Graphics Formats.......................................................166
Capturing Screen Images...................................................................168
Using Digital Cameras with Ubuntu..........................................................168
Handheld Digital Cameras................................................................168 ptg
Using F-Spot.......................................................................................169
Burning CDs and DVDs in Ubuntu............................................................170
Creating CDs and DVDs with Ubuntu’s Graphical Clients..............172
Creating CDs from the Command Line...........................................174
Creating DVDs from the Command Line.........................................176
Viewing Video.............................................................................................178
TV and Video Hardware....................................................................178
Video Formats....................................................................................180
Viewing Video in Linux.....................................................................181
Personal Video Recorders..................................................................181
DVD and Video Players.....................................................................182
Reference.....................................................................................................182
8 Printing with Ubuntu 185
Overview of Ubuntu Printing.....................................................................185
Configuring and Managing Print Services.................................................187
GUI-Based Printer Configuration Quickstart....................................187
Managing Printing Services...............................................................188
Creating and Configuring Local Printers...................................................189
Creating the Print Queue..................................................................190
Editing Printer Settings......................................................................192
Reference.....................................................................................................195
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9 Games 197
Linux Gaming.............................................................................................197
Installing Proprietary Video Drivers..................................................198
Installing Games in Ubuntu.......................................................................199
DOOM 3............................................................................................200
Unreal Tournament 2004..................................................................201
Quake 4..............................................................................................202
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory...........................................................203
Battle for Wesnoth.............................................................................204
Playing Windows Games with Cedega.......................................................204
Reference.....................................................................................................205
Part III System Administration
10 Managing Users 209
User Accounts.............................................................................................209
The Super User/Root User.................................................................210
User IDs and Group IDs....................................................................212
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File Permissions.................................................................................212
Managing Groups.......................................................................................213
Group Management Tools.................................................................214
Managing Users...........................................................................................216
User Management Tools....................................................................216
Adding New Users.............................................................................218
Monitoring User Activity on the System..........................................219
Managing Passwords...................................................................................220
System Password Policy.....................................................................220
The Password File..............................................................................220
Shadow Passwords.............................................................................221
Managing Password Security for Users..............................................223
Changing Passwords in a Batch........................................................224
Granting System Administrator Privileges to Regular Users......................224
Temporarily Changing User Identity with the su Command..........225
Granting Root Privileges on Occasion—The sudo Command.........227
Disk Quotas.................................................................................................229
Implementing Quotas.......................................................................230
Manually Configuring Quotas..........................................................230
Reference.....................................................................................................232
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