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Ubuntu. “Linux For Human Beings”, as Cannonical dubbed it. This is a Linux distribution that, is very unique. Linux users often were identified as the prodigy computer users, the intense hobbyists, or extreme open source evangelists. Nobody ever dared to mess with Linux, and when they did, they often found themselves running back to Microsoft Windows, or Apple OS X. Not to mention there were even more separations (And still are) among Linux users themselves. Extreme ‘Elitists’ as they’re called, would use distributions such as Slackware, Gentoo, or Debian. Mandriva, SuSe, Linspire, Xandros, and other distributions were for noobs, or newcomers to linux. However, everyone’s enjoying their reign in Linux, and out of nowhere, rises Ubuntu.

Ubuntu was and still is a huge success. Ubuntu came out of nowhere, and in no time it has grown and matured faster than many other distributions, and has developed a huge community that sustains it. Financially backed up by Cannonical and the first African into space, Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu has been enjoying nothing else other than success. This can, however, create some envy in other distributions. Some people who see it being this successful often bash it because they think that it’s only for noobs, envying Ubuntu for its success and rapid fame. However, at the same time, those who try before they bash, have found it to be an excellent distribution. Linux users from many distributional backgrounds have switched to Ubuntu, amazingly. People from Gentoo, Slackware, Debian, SuSe, and many, many more. Those who haven’t switched most likely have a reason not to, yet those who continue to bash it after having tried it are usually those who try it with the intent of them not liking it in the first place. So, they planned out their conclusion, them not liking it, before they even tried it. So while trying it, they did everything possible for them not to like it. So, aside from being a favorite among newcommers to Linux, it’s also very popular among experienced Linux users. One typical bashing point of Ubuntu haters is it’s default disabled root account [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RootSudo]. What this means is that the root account in Ubuntu is, by default, disabled. To accomplish tasks that require root privileges, users are required to issue the sudo command (Or gksudo or kdesudo), this still lets users do everything they need, without the risk of having to run in root mode. Despite this, regular Linux users complain about the abstinence they must face when note allowed to log into root. Some have even enabled it, not that this is not recommended, and can sometimes break things in the distribution. Because of this, many people complain. However, one must note that in this case, root isn’t really that necessary and there are alternatives (The sudo command) that still allow you to run in root mode.

Ubuntu has developed an inmense community in the shortest time. Newcommers can often find great support anywhere in IRC, the wiki, or forums, among other media. Take a look at where and how you can get help:

IRC - Internet Relay Chat

Server: irc.freenode.net

Channels:

#ubuntu - Main ubuntu help
#kubuntu - Main kubuntu help
#ubuntu+1 - Main help for the version above the current version (At the time of this writting, Dapper Drake)
#ubuntu-xgl - Main help for ubuntu with Xgl (OpenGL powered desktop)
#ubuntu-offtopic - Off topic talk
#ubuntu-server - Main ubuntu server help

This is the one of the most popular forms of getting help, aside from the forums. IRC is a realtime, instant way to get support about almost any product, in this case, ubuntu. Even better, there’s an IRC Bot in all the ubuntu channels which responds to and can help anyone in a matter of split seconds. For example, say you have a question about ATI, just say “!ati”, and it will give you all the information you want on ATI drivers with ubuntu. Nvidia, same thing. How about mp3? DVDs? Java? “!mp3″, “!dvd”, “!java”, respectively, and much much more. Whenever you know what keyword leads to what response, you can simply join the channel and say it to get the proper information if you forget it. For more information on this miracle, take a look at [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbotuUsage].

Ubuntu Forums

In this forum, there are many many many topics for which to talk about, from programming to beta testing the latest version, to gaming and multimedia. Any problems or things you’d like to talk about, check here!

Ubuntu Wiki

Have you ever used WikiPedia or any wiki related site? This is Ubuntu’s very own wiki. This contains many things from Setting up Ubuntu so that you can play MP3 files, watch DVDs, and other restricted formats, to Setting up Java and even install KDE, everything is so easy to follow that all you have to do is basically type what you see in the page and it does everything for you, it’s great, almost every single question is answered in there.

With these three main means of free support, you’ll never have a problem. All you need is patience and be good at explaining things exactly how they are. If you have a problem don’t go in saying “0mg my c0mp 1znt w0rkin, sum1 h3lp m3″, you know? Imagine someone told you that, how the heck would you help them? Instead, give the most information you can, say what errors you get, why you think it’s happening, the last significant change you did to your system that you think might’ve triggered this, everything, as much as you can. This way, you’ll never have a problem, promise. If you can’t get help in IRC, go to the wiki, if not there, then the forums. Although the forums are probably the slowest means of getting help, it’s not exageratedly slow, hundreds of people visit the forums each day and they’re bound to see your post at the top of the ‘recent messages’ thing. If you still can’t get help (Which I almost absolutely doubt), there’s always other resources, many other linux help groups/forums/IRC channels/wikis. So there’s never a problem. And remember, you might be thinking, why would I go through all the trouble of getting something fixed? I could just use windows instead! Well, you could, and it’s totally up to you. But also remember that each time you fix a problem you have, no matter of what magnitude, you learn something in return. Next time that you have that problem (If you ever do) you’ll know how to expertly fix it, and in the process of all of this you’re learning a plentitude of other things.