Finding Online Documentation

Finding Online Documentation

In addition to the local documents that Ubuntu provides, you can find more help and information online via the Internet. This section outlines some of the most useful resources available on the Internet.

Reading Ubuntu documentation

The Ubuntu Web site — http://help.ubuntu.com — provides a wealth of information for the Ubuntu user. You can browse directly to the Web site from Firefox or from the GNOME menu bar — choose SystemHelpOnline Documentation. Figure 22-1 shows the Web page.

Figure 22-1: Ubuntu's online documentation Web page.

This Web page provides access to essentially the same documents that you can access locally on your Ubuntu computer by choosing SystemHelpSystem Documentation from the GNOME menu bar. The documentation found online, however, might be more up to date than that found on your computer.

Talking to other Ubuntu users: Community support

Ubuntu Linux is all about adhering to the philosophy of one being a better person by being part of and contributing to a community. That's also very much the ideal of the open source movement. Open source and Ubuntu rely on the community of software developers and software consumers — often the two are indistinguishable — helping one another.

You can plug into the Ubuntu community for support and information. Ubuntu, of course, makes it very easy to access this support and even has a "button" for it. From the GNOME menu bar, choose SystemHelpCommunity Support. Figure 22-1 shows the Web page.

Figure 22-1: Ubuntu's support Web page.

This Web page provides links to the following types of support:

• Local Language Support: Click the Local Language Support link under the Free Technical Support heading and a Web page opens with links to Ubuntu help in numerous languages.

• Documentation: Provides another link to http://help.ubuntu.com.

• Community Support Chat: Gives you an interactive IRC (Internet Relay Chat) to communicate with other enthusiasts.

• Web Forums: Delivers you into the very helpful world of Ubuntu-based forums. Register with Ubuntu forums and you gain interactive access to Web-based forums. You can submit questions within numerous threads and receive answers via the forum; you can also search existing threads for answers.

• Mailing Lists: These are similar to Web forums except all interaction is carried out via e-mail. You can submit a question to a list, and someone with an answer can respond to the list; just like with Web forums, you can also search existing threads for answers.

• Tech Support System: Submit questions as well as feature and bug requests directly to the Ubuntu community. Ubuntu provides a Web-based system for responding to community-based requests.

Hiring commercial support

Ubuntu, at its heart, is an open source and community-based Linux distribution. However, Ubuntu also offers a commercial conduit to support and service.

When individuals like myself use Ubuntu, we do so to enhance our own productivity and also for fun and the sheer beauty of the system. Ubuntu works for us as individuals, but it also works for small, medium, and large organizations.

However, commercial organizations often require more in-depth support than individuals require. Ubuntu and its overseer, Canonical, provide such support for a fee through the Ubuntu Marketplace. From the GNOME menu bar, choose SystemHelpCommercial Support. Firefox opens to the Ubuntu Marketplace Web page, where you can find both global and local support providers.

Google, google!

There's lots of additional Ubuntu information beyond that provided by the Ubuntu community. In fact, there's too much to even start to describe. Just submit a search string or phrase to www.google.com (or your favorite search engine) and you'll receive as many links to information sources as you can handle.