if you've never used a Linux based operating system Ubuntu is a great entry-level Linux distribution that's user-friendly for beginners especially for those of you that have been using Windows or Mac OS and this beginner's guide I will show you the basics to help you get started using Ubuntu coming up next on tech gumbo unlike Windows and Mac OS the Mbutu is completely free and open-source whether you plan to use it as your primary operating system or run it alongside another you can download the ISO file directly from the Ubuntu website in the top bar go to download and select Ubuntu desktop I recommend downloading the latest version offering long term support near the bottom of the downloads page you will find the installation guides for both Windows and Mac OS if you'd prefer to run Ubuntu in a virtual machine on your computer I've created a video to install it into VirtualBox the link to that video is in the description if you want to check that out compared to most operating systems the interface is quite different let's first take a look at the top bar clicking on activities in the top left gives you a search bar to help find programs files and folders on your computer on the right side is workspaces this is where you can create multiple desktop environments on the same computer when you have any programs opened they will show up to the right of activities this is where you can get quick access to the settings among other stuff depending on which program you have open the date and time appear in the middle of the top bar clicking on it brings up a calendar and any notifications in the top right you'll see the system indicators selecting any of them brings up a single menu to adjust the system volume network settings lock your screen and you can restart or power off your computer from here as well the dock on the left side of the screen shows your file explorer your favorite programs along with ones that are currently running and in the lower left is the app drawer this is where you'll find the programs that are installed on your computer in the lower middle you can switch between your most frequently used programs and all now that you have a general idea of how to get around a bun - let's dive deeper into the various features of this operating system since this is a beginners tutorial we'll avoid the use of the terminal window and keyboard shortcuts I'll cover those in future videos let's now take a closer look at the dock which is sometimes referred to as the launcher or the sidebar to open any program in the dock left click on it just like any operating system you can minimize maximize or close out any window in the upper right right-clicking any app icon gives app specific functions for example with Firefox you can open a new window open a new private window remove from favourites or show details about that app the icons for the apps can be moved by left clicking and dragging to its new location if you have programs that use on a regular basis you should add those to the dock here's how you do that go to the app drawer in the lower left find and open the program you'd like to add blender is a good one you'll see that its icon now appears in the dock right-click on it and select add to favorites and that's all there is to it earlier I showed you workspaces where you can create multiple desktop environments to move this window to a new workspace select activities in the upper left let's click and drag the window to a different workspace just use the workspace selector to switch between workspaces to workspaces are initially provided new ones appear automatically as needed this can be useful if you multitask working on different projects within the first couple hours of loading up a fresh install of an operating system you will want to install new programs onto your computer there are many ways to do this the Ubuntu software application is a good place to start it can be accessed in the dock or in the app drawer click on it to load it up if you know the specific program that you're looking for select the search icon in the upper right and a search box will appear just type the name of the program that you're looking for and it will appear if available or you could go through the various categories listed to find new programs select the drop down arrow to show more categories most of the programs here are free and open source in this example I'll select graphics and photography if you work with and edit raw images darktable is a good one so I'll select that then click on install when it's finished that program will be available for use on your computer for browsing the web Firefox comes pre-installed with Ubuntu some of you love it and some of you hate it there are many alternatives in the Ubuntu Software app including chromium opera and brave to name a few or you could go rogue and get the valdi directly from their website here are some of the other default apps that come pre-installed with Ubuntu that you should know about the LibreOffice suite provides alternatives to microsoft word excel powerpoint and others with many of the same features thunderbird mail is used to consolidate and manage all of your email accounts and contacts rhythm box helps to keep your music organized you can also create playlists and listen to podcasts the Shotwell photo manager is used to import your photos and keep them organized and videos which is also known as totem is the default video player if you don't like the default video app as some player and VLC are to others I've used that I would recommend let's now go through the settings that you might want to change to get to these settings menu left click in the upper right of the top bar in the system indicator area and select the Settings icon to change up the look of your desktop in the background tab you can select a new wallpaper for your desktop or your lock screen selecting either option you'll be presented with various preset choices you can select images from your pictures folder if you have any or you could select a specific color listed to change the background pick an image and click on select in the dock tab just below background there's a toggle to auto hide the dock when the window comes in contact with it if you have a lot of programs in the dock it might be useful to reduce the icon size and position on the screen lets you change the location of the dock for a more traditional layout some of you might prefer the dock to be located at the bottom of the screen let's down to privacy if you're not concerned about others viewing or using your computer when you're not around go into screen lock and switch it to off near the bottom of the left pane is devices here you can make adjustments to your displays keyboard mouse and other stuff in display there's a nightlight that you can turn on that can help to reduce eye strain selecting keyboard will show you the shortcuts that can be used with Ubuntu many of which are used with the super key in combination with other keys odds are likely that you don't have a key that says super on it on a Windows keyboard the super key is the one with the windows logo on it also known as the Windows key on a Mac keyboard use the command key and on a Chromebook it will be the key with a magnifying glass logo as you get more familiar with a boon to learning the keyboard shortcuts will help you to save time and effort thanks for watching all links are in the description if this video is useful for you give it a thumbs up and share it with others more advanced Linux videos will be coming let me know in the comments what topics you'd like to see covered and if you're new to this channel subscribe and hit the bell icon so you don't miss out on the latest tutorials and other tech related stuff from tech gumbo