Best products from r/Ubuntu

I will say that you are awesome and continue what you are doing. My favorite uncle also gave me a cheap laptop when I was around that age for school work, but I never had anyone to help or encourage me. Instead, I was always curious with tech and picked things up on my own, mostly by learning from my own mistakes. Countless clean installs later, my knowledge has made my life so much easier. I can share with you some of my experience to help your nephew.

Linux Command is a great resource that helped me learn about Bash scripting. I would start there, because he will need this often with Ubuntu. I never learned easy scripting languages, like python, before I started with Java, so I can't speak to whether they are worth prioritizing first.

I would emphasize then on some web programming. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and MySQL are all really easy to pick up. W3Schools are another excellent resource for this. Even now, I still use this site for their amazing reference section. They even have a tool that puts sample code in a sandbox and lets him edit it and see the result. Very cool and helpful.

Java and C++ are the next major languages I would recommend. I would start him off with Java since it doesn't have as many of the more advanced features such as pointers. Sorry, but I don't know of a good website for Java. I used the book Sams Teach yourself Java in 21 Days. It is the first programming book I ever read and it was excellent.

C++ is great for times when you need control over your programs. CPlusPlus is my favorite tutorial out there. Easy to learn, step by step, and they provide good examples.

Finally, I would encourage teaching him the basics on the hardware of a computer, and what the function for each part is. Since he built the computer himself (which was excellent for you to do for him), he should have a good enough understanding to go into programming. I think this would be the best order for teaching him:

Basic Hardware -> Basic Software -> Advanced Software -> Advance Hardware

He probably won't ever need the Advanced Hardware part unless he is going into Tech as a career, but Advanced Software has helped me greatly in general aspects of life. Good Luck!

> Please tell me you don't expect people's websites to fit into a pixel grid and follow the mockup precisely.

D I do the transfer from mockup to code, so everything fits precisely to my specification hehehe. When I am transferring other people's mockups, I try and follow the mockup as closely as possible. Sometimes the mockups are not precise, themselves so I edit them.

> Where can I actually learn more about how to design from the ground up? I'm working on a site that has no existing analog, so I can't just look at how other people have done the same thing and mimic them. I don't even know what to put on what pages.

Hm, I would need some more information to give you good advice. Try and imagine a scenario where a customer is using your site. What is their main goal when using it? Can you simplify the process of them achieving this goal? Any less important goals? What are your main goals with the site? Where would the most logical place for various elements around the site be?

Read Don't make me think for a great usability primer. PM me if you want any more help.

> I thought Gimp did have adjustment layers. At the very least, you can set the blending mode for a layer in such a way that it effectively adjusts one thing in the overall image.

Can it place for example a Hue and Saturation filter on its own layer like Photoshop? I don't want to copy everything into a new layer, apply filter there and then mask or whatever.

> I think the cited reason for the lack of CMYK in Gimp is that they feel Gimp is specifically for image editing, not printing; Photoshop was originally created specifically for printing.

Right, PS started that way but then it evolved. I think GIMP should mimic a lot of PS functionality if they want to see pros switching.

> The .psd support is really lacking. I don't have any way of testing Krita's .psd support... But I do know that if I export a file as .psd from Krita, it doesn't open correctly in Gimp. Specifically, any text objects simply vanish. That's all I've tested, though. Granted, it doesn't exactly import into Krita perfectly either, even though it was saved from there...

Yep. If I receive a .psd from a client I need to be able to open it without any glitches. Currently it doesn't.

> If 'Blending options' in your post corresponds to this post about 'Blending Modes', yes, and Gimp has had them for a very long time. I refer to them earlier in this post, talking about adjustment layers (since I'm otherwise somewhat not sure what you mean by an adjustment layer).

I'm actually talking about the option titled Blending Options which you can select when you right click on a layer in PS. This brings up a Layer Style dialog box with a ton of options. Now, GIMP might have similar functionality scattered around, but I haven't found it yet and it's very useful as I use that dialog box constantly.

> I looked up adjustment layers. Gimp does not have them, but most people say a lot of their functionality - but not all of it - can be made up for with blending modes applied to layers 'above' the layer you want to adjust.

Hassle!

> Also, the APIs necessary for adjustment layers are coming in 2.10, after which they have the technological capability to make them.

That's good to hear. They have made great progress and I am sure they'll see their numbers rise if they get closer to PS functionality.

Another thing I forgot to mention, a minor gripe I have with GIMP's UI - I think the cursor and the selecting bounding boxes look clunky instead of precise. The tools should look and feel precise (as well as be precise), and I think GIMP is lacking here. Compare PS to GIMP and you'll see what I mean.

In that case, you may want to know about PIXLS.US, which has articles and tutorials for Free and Open Source photography software!

I also wrote a book, Beginning Ubuntu for Windows and Mac Users that provides a pretty broad overview of Ubuntu for desktop users. It doesn't cover the command line (although it does have a bunch of fun/cool command-line-based tasks, just to take away the idea that the terminal is always scary), but has a brief overview of a ton of programs, lots of initial installation walkthroughs, and so on.

It's written for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, but if you can read it as concept-based ("Oh, Ubuntu Software Center is replaced by Ubuntu Software, but it's the same principle" and "Oh, Brasero isn't installed by default, but I can install it from Ubuntu Software and then proceed as described"), you shouldn't have any trouble with using it with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. (Whether to publish a newer edition is a business discussion I'll have with the publisher later this year.)

But as for Ubuntu itself, you're in for a treat. It's a fantastic, world-class desktop operating system that just works, so you can settle in and get productive immediately, and if you're looking to learn server or command line stuff, the terminal's always there, so you can learn and experiment at your own pace.

You may want to use a virtual machine or (even more exciting in my opinion) a LXC container to experiment with server stuff. That way you don't install a ton of software on your main machine that you may not end up using or configuring correctly. But the bright side is that Ubuntu is Ubuntu everywhere, so you can use any Ubuntu computer or device the same way. (Anything you learn on your desktop translates directly to a server--the only different is what is installed by default.)

Good luck!

I have a e450 MSI x370-205, and everything works out of the box, the only thing that doesn't work is bluetooth, which I remedy with a usb dongle when needed. It doesn't have a CD drive, but the external CD/DVDrw only cost me $30. Compared to ThinkPad Edge e450, it's literally the same specs for much less cost. Also, MSI's version comes with a better HDD. I swapped this out of course for a SSD, but regardless, it was nice to swap and have a good size external HDD with my Kingston SSDNOW v+200.

Total spent with this laptop for me was ~450.00

Just thought i'd throw that out there since I'm using something similar.

EDIT: I realized that I was comparing AMD with i3... in that case, I'd go with the i3.. that's actually a pretty decent price. I'll leave this post regardless, because I've had success running Ubuntu 12.04 on the MSI.

I personally have been pretty satisfied with this cheap Acer laptop I installed Ubuntu on:
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-E5-575-33BM-15-6-Inch-Notebook-Generation/dp/B01K1IO3QW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1518625619&sr=8-3&keywords=acer+e15


It doesn't have the nicest build quality (mostly plastic) but the specs are decent enough for just web browsing, AND it has additional free RAM slot so if 4GB isn't enough, you can just add more. It also has a 1TB HDD and a free slot for an m.2 SSD and the battery life is pretty decent. Again, the build quality isn't spectacular but it definitely doesnt feel like it's going to fall apart out of nowhere.

Edit: It also has USB 3.0 and type-C, 15.6" screen at 1080p, HDMI out, and backlit keys.

There's also a slightly higher end model for $600 that comes with 8gb of RAM and a 256gb SSD.

I had to change a couple of things in the BIOS to install Ubuntu, but other than that installation was a breeze and everything works just fine.

I have this Asus: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CXIY468

and a corresponding i3 CPU.

The noise comes from the GPU fan and the CPU fan. You can make the CPU totally silent with this water block: http://smile.amazon.com/Corsair-Series-Performance-Liquid-Cooler/dp/B00A0HZMGA or choose a traditional CPU fan rated for decent noise levels.

The GPU fan is relatively quiet, it does spin up when you're pushing it, but at idle it's pretty much inaudible.

The CoolerMaster110 has a large 120mm fan on the intake which I don't hear often. And of course, the last fan you have to worry about is the power supply; if you're using a modern PSU from a reputable manufacturer shouldn't be a problem, most reviews take noise into account so finding a quiet one is relatively easy.

You could also spend more on things like a fanless power supply: http://1www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151099 but I've not needed to go that far.

It's much quieter than an XBox 360, but I don't have a frame of reference for comparisons to an XBone or PS3/4.

Basically, there are two things at work in a .tar.bz2 archive. The .tar part tells you that it's a "tarball" or tape archive (which is what tar is short for, apparently). It was originally an application for working with tape drives, but it works fine for storing whole directories as a single file and extracting them in various other places.

The .bz2 part is the extension for files compressed with the bzip2 compression algorithm. You'll probably just as often see files with the extension .tar.gz, which are tar files compressed with the gzip algorithm. There are various advantages and disadvantages to both methods of compression, but you probably aren't concerned with that bit.

Here's what appears to be a decent tutorial with more information on how to work with "tarballs". Hope it gives you the details you're looking for:

http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2010/04/unix-tar-command-examples/

Also, it might be useful to note that the Archive Manager program that comes with Ubuntu allows you to create and unpack tar.bz2 or tar.gz archives as well.

Edit: I recall this book having a really good section in chapter 3 on working with tar including background on how to use it with tape drives, even.

yeah, i can't believe I have this old CPU running the cutting edge repos on everything. Unity and compositing work flawlessly. no tearing at all on video playback. here are the specs:

http://www.cnet.com/products/dell-optiplex-gx280/specs/

but with the upgrades I mentioned including this amazing video card my boss gave me for free:

https://www.amazon.com/ATI-FirePro-V4800-2DisplayPort-PCI-Express/dp/B003N19VUS

Kodi runs perfectly now. I'm happy with it.

Stop using the drives immediately. You don't want data to overwrite the data you need to recover.

You're going to want to get your hands on a new drive that you can move your recovered data to. USB / SATA doesn't really matter just make sure you're not recovering data onto the drive you're recovering from.

If you want to be really safe get a write-blocker like this LINK and hook the drive to be recovered from on there. (I used to do onsite forensics and this tool worked well)

Then use recovery software like PhotoRec or TestDisk LINK and allow them to run. Make sure you select options for all file types that you want to recover. Select the most intensive recovery option and let it run overnight if you have to.

Remember, the files you recover likely won't have file names so you'll have to go through everything and sort it yourself.

Good luck!

I recommend [Ubuntu Unleashed] ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0672336936/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1397504650&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40). It is a MASSIVE book if you get a physical copy and will walk you through everything you need to know and give you a great list of additional resources. The author also does a great job of explaining what commands and applications do rather than just giving you the syntax. Above all remember, Google is your friend.

The blank canvas problem. Happens with every painting (software) :). It takes awhile before imagination kicks in. I use Krita almost every day for three years now. I can recommend Scott L Petrovic's Krita book:https://www.amazon.de/Digital-Painting-KRITA-2-9-Masterpiece/dp/0996851704/ref=sr_1_1?s=books-intl-de&ie=UTF8&qid=1464824720&sr=1-1 and the Krita brushes by David Revoy. Great books about drawing and painting in general by: e.g. Andrew Loomis, Jack Hamm and James Gurney. What would you like to paint? Humans, monsters, characters, animals, landscapes, portraits, comics, characters, abstract paintings, film posters...? Start with what ever is important for you and I'm pretty sure that you will get better at it over time. Here is also a great inspiring blog post by Dani Jones: 101 Projects for Artists and Illustrators http://danidraws.com/blog/2007/02/21/101-projects-for-artists-and-illustrators/. I usually avoid video tutorials, but these are inspiring: https://www.youtube.com/user/FZDSCHOOL.

Hey, would you mind sharing which exact converter you have? I've been thinking about buying a Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player I don't have any use for HD right now since I have a 24" TV from the 90s, but I like being able to play a bunch of formats on my TV. Right now I have to watch everything on a laptop, but it'd be nice to use the TV again.

Not really Ubuntu tweaks but I run Ubuntu onthis...

Couple years ago I bought a Lenovo w540 (i7 CPU)

Added RAM to Max it out at 32GB

Since I don't use CD/DVD any more I took out the DVD tray, bought a HD tray for the DVD slot ($30 on eBay new). It's simple to remove (1 screw)

Bought 2. 500GB Enterprise Intel SSD used/refurbished on eBay (maybe it was Newegg) for $100 each.

Replaced the W540 HD with 1 SSD and put the other into the new drive carrier in the former DVD slot... giving me 1TB of SSD.

These Intel Enterprise SSD are rated at 2 Million hours of use so they will/should long Outlast this laptop.

One last cool thing I found my W540 had and maybe your Lenovo does too is a SATA Express card slot. Mine was covered by a punch-out plastic cover on the left side of my laptop near the front.

I bought this...

Amazon.com: Sonnet Tempo SATA Pro 6Gb Expresscard/34 Storage Controller - Plug-In Module Components Other TSATA6-PRO2-E34: Computers & Accessories

https://www.amazon.com/Sonnet-Tempo-Expresscard-Storage-Controller/dp/B0082FI3C2

It was cheap and is a simple push-in to install/remove it from the laptop.

It has a USB 3 connector which I plug into a 2 bay thermaltake BlackX external drive bay (about $40).

[best buy BlackX](
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/thermaltake-blacx-duet-hard-drive-enclosure-docking-station-black/9062073.p?skuId=9062073&cmp=RMX&extStoreId=1453&ref=212&loc=1&ksid=10d13a00-28fd-4352-9572-46de3abd9f11&ksprof_id=3&ksaffcode=pg269160&ksdevice=m&lsft=ref:212,loc:2&gclid=CjwKCAiAt8TUBRAKEiwAOI9pAEj-lVOGvJyeJFkvh1pM2E3rLVZvCUxK_GHNNoAIjzAVaH5TWvAfXRoChQoQAvD_BwE)

I bought a bunch of 250GB 7200 rpm 2 1/2 Seagate drives for about $30-40 each to plug into/out of the BlackX bays.

Now my Lenovo has 32GB ram, 1 TB internal SSD virtually unlimited external hard drives.

If I need win10 for some reason... I installed it on one of the 250GB external drives & at boot press F12 on the Lenovo to choose boot device.. and pick the external drive w win10 on it.

No need for dual booting off a single drive

I'm w you though. Lenovo laptops are built like tanks, easy to customize like I did and the fortune 50 tech company I just retired from has only used Lenovo for past 15 years.

My scanner is on an HP all in one ink jet printer that just works with great support by Ubuntu.

My laser printer is a Pantum P2502W it's am inexpensive laser printer ($40) that the manufacturer provides .deb files for the drivers. It also supports network printing but not Google cloud print. I share the printer through an Ubuntu box for my wifes Chromebook to print.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N517VDK

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828731010

Driver info, top answer gives a good walk through:
http://askubuntu.com/questions/573839/how-can-i-install-a-pantum-2502w-laser-printer-on-ubuntu

A good way to gauge compatliablity is looking at Amazon reviews by using their keyword search.

It's has a couple reviews with Ubuntu users. Older reviewers (2013-2014) had problems. More recent reviews (2015-2016) seem to indicate it works fine. I'd imagine it's gotten improved kernel support since its release.

Edit: It's shipped and sold by Amazon. So if you do come across issues they'll refund and pay for return shipping within 30 days of purchase. So it's a good way to test it out without too many worries.

btw. I got 2 DisplayLink chipset adapters from Amazon (over night shipping because I'm impatient) and they work beautifully. I have 3 screens running of my desktop now (Gigabyte Brix, 1 hdmi and 2 usb->vga adapters).
I didn't have to update kernel either.

Link to adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015SD4W5M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This could be any number of things specific to the version of Linux and/or the hardware. A quick thing to try would be a USB WiFi adaptor. Such as the one below.

Edimax EW-7811Un N150 Wireless USB Adapter Nano https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003MTTJOY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_0W1CzbNX5N30Z

Otherwise, I'd recommend posting on forums specific to the version of Linux and the laptop manufacturer (or trying to find someone that has had the same issue with the same hardware and software). The more details you can give the better.

To give you an example of how specific this could be, I recently installed a flavour of Ubuntu on a friend's old netbook. It would install fine but then freeze after the first reboot. Turns out the specific model of netbook didn't have an illuminated keyboard but for some reason reported that it did. Luckily someone had had the same issue and figured out that editing a few lines of the kernel fixed the problem. I would never in a million years have been able to figure that out!

My of course. But, it's a discontinue model now. It works 100% don't matter what Linux distro I use.

​

U12-41943 Ultra Wireless N nano Receiver v2.

​

Just look at the most popular ones being use for Raspberry Pi that are still exists.

​

https://www.wirelesshack.org/top-10-wifi-dongles-for-the-raspberry-pi-2016.html

​

I would recommend the first choice.

​

Edimax EW-7811Un 150Mbps 11n Wi-Fi USB Adapter

I have several of these floating around works in everything I've thrown it in.

Edimax EW-7811Un 150Mbps 11n Wi-Fi USB Adapter, Nano Size Lets You Plug it and Forget it, Ideal for Raspberry Pi / Pi2, Supports Windows, Mac OS, Linux (Black/Gold) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MTTJOY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_kutExb2MV5KDY

I've purchased three of these over the last couple months. Excellent, fast, and fully compatible with Linux and windows.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EQT0YK2

From what I am seeing it uses broadcom, so I would think it would work. I would check drivers and see if you just have to enable 3rd party driver.

Have you tried to run off cd/USB in live mode to see if it works there?

Edit: you could also get this for $8 and it will work. I use on my Raspberry Pi running Raspbian. Just have to plug it in, so should be same with Ubuntu. Only thing is monitor mode not available (if you need)

You should look for Wifi adapter which at the very least explicitly lists "Linux" as compatible OS. There are enough of them out there, for example this one. If you want to be 100% sure just use UTP cable, it's the ultimate trouble-free solution.


Haven't heard about trouble with AMD cpu, but if you are looking to do gaming with that integrated Radeon HD 7540D, I've always heard gaming on Linux (at this moment) is a bit better/easier on nvidia. Though from what I can see that 7540D is not "great" for gaming anyway (529 passmark score), which is about the same as Intel HD4400.

This Edimax card is the one I use. It's 2.4GHz only, but it works fine for my purposes.
https://www.amazon.com/Edimax-EW-7811Un-150Mbps-Raspberry-Supports/dp/B003MTTJOY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1511825569&sr=8-5&keywords=usb+wireless+network+adapter+linux

Lol, yeah I'm aware that it's in dire need of replacement. I'm looking forward to eventually replacing it with this thing.

... But I'll check out $100 machines too.

Next step would be to spend 8 dollars on a kernel native adapter.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003MTTJOY/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1510511910&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=edimax+linux&dpPl=1&dpID=31ChKj3dl7L&ref=plSrch