I just installed Ubuntu. What do?

Hey all.
I just installed Ubuntu 16.04 LTS alongside WIndows 10 on my Inspiron. I want to get used to it and play around but I don’t know the first step; I know the room is big, but all the lights are off.
All I did was get Chrome and the Gdebi package installer.

All I’m asking is for some fun/interesting things, things to make house keeping easier, articles, videos, you name it.

first off you can always check out #ult to learn the command line.

as for fun and interesting things todo? nm until you know WHAT you want out of linux. if you want to just replace windows youre gonna get bored quickly.

maybe compile some code or learn apt

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Start using it as your daily driver for web browsing and such. You will be surprised how little you use Windows except for gaming.

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It’s on my school laptop so I won’t even be running games. I’m mostly just roaming around and poking stuff. I assume that’s the right way to go about it at first.

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Install a free open source word processor and get rid of Windows. Unless there is something on Windows you can’t live without, a complete switch to Linux couldn’t be that hard for this application.

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Speaking of which, I know Libre Office (and probably others) allows you to save those word document files in a file format that Windows can read. So your professors won’t even know the difference when opening it.

Install updated kernel.
Boot to a black screen.
Panic.
Reboot.
Panic.
Reboot, pound space bar.
Stare at grub.
Regret.
Internet, Revert.
Reboot.
Rejoice.

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Yeah I just copied some word and ppt files to my linux machine, opened them, made some .odt files, copied them, and opened them. no problem

Should I start over and do Ubuntu Gnome instead? I see that more than the unity one

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Ubuntu Gnome is my preference. Just load up several distros on a usb and give them a try until you find one you like the most.

I use mkusb to write my live usb’s

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I used rufus, ill probably go throught the same process but with gnome

Rufus is for the doze only.

If you want to familiarize yourself with the linux, use it. You can use mkusb as a gui way to make bootable usb’s, or DD if you want to endure the torture of the terminal.

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uhh, okay…!
should I be worried about shorter support on ubuntu gnome 17.04 versus 16.04?
I dont really know what that means

Start with 16.04, and if you’re feeling adventurous you can upgrade through “Software & Updates” under the updates tab or do a dist-upgrade from terminal.

I upgraded to 17.04 and that broke steam. Luckily it was just a missing lib that needed to be installed.

So be mindful when upgrading the distro, that things may break.

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17.04 will use Gnome by default, so switching De’s is pointless now. If you like Gnome, use 17.04, if not, stay with 16.

Get comfortable with the command line, these videos are a good series,

He covers a wide range of other topics, too.

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Use Etcher on linux, its really well polished and easier to make bootable usb’s in linux this way.

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I use etcher as well, works like a charm an looks beautiful. Goes to see if they have a gtk option

Learn sysadmin.
Learn accounting.
Get some books, and movies.
Learn networking.
Learn programming.
Learn photography.
Learn 3d modeling.
Learn electronics.
Learn CNC.
Learn robotics.

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Don’t forget to install the internet

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