Ubuntu Kung Fu: Tips, Tricks, Hints and Hacks

by Keir Thomas

Ubuntu's rise to power has been rapid, historic and well-deserved. It's the best Linux distribution ever, but most people only use a fraction of its power. Award-winning Linux author Keir Thomas gets down and dirty with Ubuntu to provide over 300 concise tips that enhance productivity, avoid annoyances, and simply get the most from Ubuntu. You'll find many unique tips here that can't be found anywhere else. You'll also get a crash course in Ubuntu's flavor of system administration. Whether you're new to Linux or an old hand, you'll find tips to make your day easier.

Ubuntu builds on a solid base of Debian Linux to create an award-winning operating system that's light-years ahead of its competitors. Ubuntu consistently tops lists of the most popular Linuxes amongst professionals and enthusiasts; Dell recently embraced Ubuntu in its product lines after a user survey indicated overwhelming public support.

Ubuntu Kung Fu provides hints, hacks, tweaks and tricks for every level of user. Guaranteed to be free of the usual dross that fills tips books, Ubuntu Kung Fu is written to be entertaining and, above all, readable. Its 300+ concise tips utilize and exploit hidden or lesser-known features to boost day-to-day productivity. You'll also find tips on tweaking Ubuntu, wrangling the system into shape, optimizing, enhancing security, and lots more. Learn what extraordinary things can be done with Ubuntu.

Written with the migrating Windows or Mac OS X user in mind, Ubuntu Kung Fu avoids the usual Linux/Unix folklore that can send most of us to sleep. The tips have one aim--to produce results as quickly as possible, in an environment where the reader can polish their skills as they read. This is the Linux book for the rest of us.

Genres: Nonfiction

367 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2008

About the author

Keir Thomas has nearly two decades experience as a magazine journalist and author, working largely in the home computing field but also covering leisure. In recent years he’s also written fiction.

His most recent computing books are iPad and iPhone Kung Fu and Mac Kung Fu (Second Edition), and his novel The Rock & Roll Beers is now on sale as Kindle, Kobo, Android and iBook eBooks.

He has written over 10 other best-selling computing books, one of which won a Linux Journal award and one of which has been read by more than 1,000,000 people worldwide. His $0.99 Kindle computing ebooks, written as a “publishing experiment”, consistently top Amazon’s sales charts — beating titles by the world’s biggest publishers.

Prior to book authoring he edited several computer magazines in the United Kingdom and continues to write for many other titles. He blogs professionally for publishing giant IDG and in the past has written for several high-profile independent sites.

His work has been translated into many languages, including German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Polish.

Are you still reading? Wow. Good for you. Keir lives in Manchester with two cats and one woman. His hobbies include walking and cycling. There. That’s everything.

Reviews

[Wgarider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me first level-set on my Linux experience and skills..... I am a relative beginner to Ubuntu. I've been using it for about 18 months and I'm on the third version since I started. I am a Windows Sys Admin by profession, but Ubuntu is what I use at home and outside of work.

The first thing I should say about "Ubuntu Kung Fu", is that it really was a pleasant surprise. This book is loaded with tips, tricks and hacks. While I read it cover to cover, you don't have to - it is an excellent collection of practical tips and is going on my desk for future reference. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced Ubuntu user, there are 315 very useful, well detailed shortcuts, hacks and little-known facts presented for easy reading.

I dog-eared many pages and have already implemented a few, and they worked just as described! Many have been marked for use on my next Ubuntu install. I definitely recommend this book - there is value for users at all levels. The author's style is light, thoughtful and well researched. I highly recommend "Ubuntu Kung Fu" for anyone interested in wanting to get more out of Ubuntu and their computer.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this if you use Ubuntu or Gnome though it might be helpful for any Linux distro. It contains lots of quirky hints and suggestions that I never would have figured out on my own.

[Zico]

Good one for ubuntu users!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good tips and tricks... I didn't read it from start to finish, but it's got a lot of useful solutions.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lot's of interesting recipes. Saves me time hunting things up on Google.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book for learning about Ubuntu. A book I'd show to a noobie so they can get a handle on how to do different things.

[Madhav Nikam · Rating 4 out of 5]

i just know about and i want knowledge about linux.

[Jakub · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book provides a lot of useful tips it is now completely outdated.