Linux Workshop References and Notes

A lot goes on in the Linux Workshop. It always seems like we run out of time before we run out of topics. This workshop is run like a seminar, with various people demoing their latest Linux discovery. We routinely review a "Distro of the Month," to keep track of what is going on in the Linux ecosystem. Often there is an open source application or command-line "goodie" that we demo and share. Folks will bring in a computer to have Linux installed or to have some problem diagnosed. Newcomers are welcome and we will always take the time to answer questions and get new users up to speed.

The following information is presented to help you also have fun with Linux. All these tidbits are without warantee and open to correction, addition or improvement, but offered in the hope that you may find them useful.

This set of shells will "improve" a new Linux installation (or a live cd!) in ways that you may find useful.

Download the TAR file to a convenient directory and do:

$ tar xvzf sys_init042613.tar.gz

Then browse the sub-directories to see what it does before you run it. Several "readme" files are included.

The sub-directories each have an installation script that installs the contents of that directory. You can use the master script on a "live CD" and have all the new scripts temporarily available. It is a good way to try them out.

This is a collection of odds and ends that I have found useful over years of Unix and Linux use and programming. There are a few others that I will clean up and add "Real Soon Now" :-)

Written by award-winning author Keir Thomas, Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference is a totally unique and concise guide for everyday Ubuntu use. It's the world's most popular Ubuntu book. And it is free. A must-own for any serious Ubuntu enthusiast.

These slides, titled "Linux Basics," were presented at the May 18, 2012 general meeting of BCUG. The Open Document version has notes in addition to the slides themselves.

These slides were originally presented at a general meeting of the BCUG in March of 2006. They were half of a Linux presentation, and were accompanied with sidebars of live demonstrations of many of the applications mentioned.

This talk gives an overview of the Linux file system and some of the commands for exploring and manipulating it. It was first presented to the BCUG Linux workshop in January of 2005, and was revised, updated and extended in October of 2010 to make it current.

This set of slides gives an overview of hard disk partitioning, both the constraints and advantages. Some guidelines and war stories are presented. This was first used in September, 2007 at the BCUG Linux Workshop. It was updated in January of 2012 to bring it up to date and add some information about "GUID Partition Tables."

This presentation was motivated by a Windows user asking, "Where is the Linux Registry?" After my initial shock, I figured there has to be the functional equivalent in there somewhere. This is the result, and was presented at the BCUG Linux workshop in January of 2008.

This presentation introduces the bash shell and the use of the Linux command line. It is not a heavy-duty short course in programming. Some of the shell's features are explained, so the casual user can get a feel for the things that can be accomplished. It then goes through a couple of examples. [note: Some of these are in the "sys_initxxxxxx.tar.gz" file referenced above.]

This talk was originally presented at the BCUG Linux workshop in March of 2008.

Ubuntu can be installed in a large file under Windows, almost as if the file was a partition. For those who are just not ready to actually re-partition their disk.

From the May, 2008 Linux Workshop.

Wine is an implementation of the Windows Application Programing Interface (API) library. It acts as a bridge between a Windows executable program (.exe) and Linux.

This presentation, given at the Linux Workshop on October 7th, 2008, is only a sketchy introduction to the functionality that Wine provides. It served for that workshop, where we actually had some success getting windows applications to run, and it may be an inspiration for your future exploration.

Google's "Chrome" web browser appears to be designed in a way that would be an excellent fit for the Linux architecture. At this time it is only available on Windows, but we explored running it under WINE, and are awaiting the release of a native Linux version.

Presented in November, 2008.

How to get laptop-wireless connection to the Internet from your Ubuntu Linux. Sometimes it works "out of the box." In those situations, you probably don't need this information. But on the other hand...

Presented first at the March workshop (postponed from January because two meetings in a row were cancelled.)

This presentation scratches the surface of some basic Linux and Unix administrative organization. This includes users and groups, file ownership and protection, session initialization, important files, and the GUI environment. Advertized as "Part 1," there is more to follow.

Originally presented at the Linux Workshop on April 7. 2009

This short presentation introduces open source, or "free" software licenses and why they are of value to both the user and the developer. Several common licenses are described, and some web links to additional information are provided.

Originally presented at the Linux Workshop on September 9, 2011