I’m starting off with a fresh install of Ubuntu 11.10 inside a VirtualBox on Windows 7. Here are my impressions as a long time Windows user and occasional Mac user.
My last foray into Linux was a brief stint with Suse Linux about 10 years ago. I didn’t really get on with it.
Ubuntu 11, however, seems to be better thought out, and easier to get on with. It bears more similarities to Mac OSX than to Windows, so if you’re used to Mac’s at all then you’ve got a good headstart.
What do you mean there’s no C drive?
If you’ve used a Mac at all this won’t be too strange to you, but if you’re Windows only then this takes a bit of getting used too. Essentially, everything is based of the root of the machine, like a C: drive, but it’s not named. So rather than having C:\MyFolder, in Linux you have /MyFolder.
This continues when you add external devices or network drives. Rather than adding as a lettered drive, they “mount” a device name into the /media folder.
The launcher
Much like the Windows taskbar or OSX dock, this has a bunch of icons in it that launch programs. Easy!
Switching between programs
Alt+Tab works just that same as in Windows and OSX. Lovely!
The terminal
Almost everything I’ve ever read to do with Linux has involved the terminal, which is essentially the Linux version of the Windows command prompt. So I was surprised that it wasn’t immediately obvious and accessible in the default Ubuntu installation.
It’s easy enough to remedy though: from the dashboard start typing a search for ‘terminal’ and the icon will display – you can drag this into the launcher. Or my preferred option – as a fan of keyboard shortcuts – is to press Ctrl+Alt+T to launch the terminal.
Copying and pasting in the terminal
Much like the Windows terminal you can’t Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V to copy & paste. Ctrl+C in fact will cancel the current operation.
But you can right click and select copy/paste. Ctrl+Shift+Insert also works for copy and Shift+insert for paste.
Running a command with Admin priviledges
This one’s simple, put sudo at the start of the command. For example instead of:
usermod -a -G vboxsf yourusername
use:
sudo usermod -a -G vboxsf yourusername
What else? You tell me!
Clearly I’m pretty new to Ubuntu, so please share your tips to help me and other Windows users get the most out of Ubuntu.
All help is greatly appreciated. Thanks 
Good luck with Ubuntu!
I’ve been a satisfied Ubuntu user for a good few years now, currently running 11.04. I guess I’m reasonably positive about the new direction taken with the Unity interface, although there are a few frustrating rough edges. I’m looking forward to a more polished version of it in 12.04.
A good tip for Unity productivity is to familiarise yourself with the keyboard shortcuts – see http://askubuntu.com/questions/28086/what-are-unitys-keyboard-and-mouse-shortcuts
It seems that these will be an ‘overlay hint’ in 12.04: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/12/unity-shortcut-overlay-coming-to-ubuntu-12-04/
Thanks NIck!
That list of keyboard shortcuts is extremely useful – I’m a big fan of keyboard shortcuts; in Windows I run AutoHotKeys to map shortcuts to programs and websites.
I am having web about tips and tricks for Linux mint which is basing on Ubuntu, so use any of my help if necessary.
PS. Welcome to Linux family
Thanks
I had a look around your site a few days ago – some useful stuff there. Keep up the good work!
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