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Introducing the Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase for 18.04

2018-01-15T00:00:00-08:00

Ubuntu’s changed a lot in the last year, and everything is leading up to a really exciting event: the release of 18.04 LTS! This next version of Ubuntu will once again offer a stable foundation for countless humans who use computers for work, play, art, relaxation, and creation. Among the various visual refreshes of Ubuntu, it’s also time to go to the community and ask for the best wallpapers. And it’s also time to look for a new video and music file that will be waiting for Ubuntu users on the install media’s Examples folder, to reassure them that their video and sound drivers are quite operational.

Long-term support releases like Ubuntu 18.04 LTS are very important, because they are downloaded and installed ten times more often than every single interim release combined. That means that the wallpapers, video, and music that are shipped will be seen ten times more than in other releases. So artists, select your best works. Ubuntu enthusiasts, spread the word about the contest as far and wide as you can. Everyone can help make this next LTS version of Ubuntu an amazing success.

All content must be released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike or Creative Commons Attribute license. (The Creative Commons Zero waiver is okay, too!). Each entrant must only submit content they have created themselves, and all submissions must adhere to the Ubuntu Code of Conduct.

The winners will be featured in the Ubuntu 18.04 LTS release this April!

There are a lot of details, so please see the Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase wiki page for details and links to where you can submit your work from now through March 15th. Good luck!

Winners of the Ubuntu 17.10 Free Culture Showcase

2017-10-21T00:00:00-07:00

Every new Ubuntu cycle brings many changes, and the arrival of Ubuntu 17.10, the “Artful Aardvark” release, brings more changes than usual. The default desktop has changed to GNOME Shell, with some very thoughtful changes by the desktop team to make it more familiar. And of course, the community wallpapers included with this exciting new release have changed as well!

Every cycle, talented artists around the world create media and release it under licenses that encourage sharing and adaptation. For Ubuntu 17.10, 50 images were submitted to the Ubuntu 17.10 Free Culture Showcase photo pool on Flickr, where all eligible submissions can be found.

Amid the busy development work being done each cycle, a small group of community members votes on their favorites. These anonymous contributors work hard to make the community and software around Ubuntu even better. But this time around I would like to thank two additional contributors who were asked to look at the photo pool and vote. Their ballots held the same weight as each of the others.

The first is Barton George, who works at Dell and leads Product Sputnik, which produces some really nice Ubuntu-based laptops specifically for developers to use. It was nice of him to take some time to review the entries and give his feedback.

The second is Jane Silber, the outgoing CEO of Canonical, who for many years has helped guide Ubuntu and been very generous to the community with her time and energy. She was the first respondent when requests to vote were sent out—no surprise to anyone who saw her dedication firsthand—and I am happy that she was able to take a little time, during her last Ubuntu release as CEO, to recommend a few images. :)

The results are in, the new release is out, and I’m proud to announce the winning images that are waiting for you right now in Ubuntu 17.10:

Planking is going against the grain by mendhak
Voss by fortuneblues
Lighthouse at sunrise by Frenchie.Smalls
Lily of the Valley by Robert Slotte
Green Island by Radu Galan
Sunrise on the Beach by Luca Ciavatta
Bloom by Victor Madru
Bee on lavender by Martin
Red delight by Rishikesh Gawade
London Eye by Paul Daniell
More Kamikochi by mendhak
Headstock by Bernhard Hanakam
Grand Canyon North Rim by Rihards Vilks

A big congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who submitted a wallpaper. You can find these wallpapers (along with dozens of other stunning wallpapers) at the links above, or in your desktop wallpaper list in Ubuntu 17.10.

Beginning Ubuntu for Windows and Mac Users, Second Edition

2017-08-31T00:00:00-07:00

Where do I begin? That’s the challenge ahead of anyone who tries something new. And the first step of any new experience. Sometimes this can be exciting, like when you sit down to try food at a new restaurant. Other times the question is paralyzing. Taking the first step is difficult when the path is unclear or unmarked.

Ubuntu is the world’s third most popular operating system. It powers twenty million desktop computers, and untold servers. But for even more people who grew up using Windows or OS X, their operating system is the computer. Ubuntu’s Linux and Unix heritage are no longer its greatest strength, but its biggest drawback. But it doesn’t have to be. For new Ubuntu users, the first challenge to surmount is familiarity. Ubuntu thinks and behaves in different ways from the computing experience they’ve gained over the years. And those years of experience are an enemy at first. But using a new operating system is much like visiting a foreign country. Everything’s different, but after a chance to acclimate, it’s not that different. The trick is finding your way around until you know what’s the same. The differences aren’t that vast and soon everything is manageable.

My new book, Beginning Ubuntu for Windows and Mac Users was written to help speed that process along, and has been fully updated for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS in this second edition. Ubuntu is the perfect operating system for every day business, casual, and entertainment use. The book explains key concepts and helps users adapt to their new operating system. It’s a reference guide to the best software in Ubuntu that can get tasks done. And it teaches how to use Ubuntu so that any computer user can get started and learn from there.

Beginning Ubuntu for Windows and Mac Users expects readers to want to use Ubuntu graphically, and prefers this over command line shortcuts. When the command line is introduced in Chapter 5, it’s from the perspective of a window into an older period of computing history, and after a short overview, it walks the user through specific tasks that demonstrate exactly why one would use the command line over the graphical tools. Simple information lookup, text-based browsing, and even games gives the command line a practical purpose and makes the chapter a handy reference.

The book finishes up with power user advice that shows simple yet powerful ways to make an Ubuntu system even more powerful, from enabling multiple workspaces to installing VirtualBox and working with virtual machines.

If you’ve been wanting to try Ubuntu but don’t know where to begin, this book is for you. It explains the origins of Ubuntu and walks you through the install process step by step. It talks about dual-booting and installing graphics drivers. It even helps you find the right “translation” as you learn the Ubuntu desktop. Looking for the Start Menu or Spotlight? The Dash icon provides the same functionality.

If you’re already an Ubuntu user, you may benefit from the clear instructions and format of the book. But you can also buy the book for friends. It’s a friendly, gentle introduction to Ubuntu that any Windows or Mac user will enjoy, and the perfect gift for anyone who could benefit from using Ubuntu.

Beginning Ubuntu for Windows and Mac Users is available today from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine booksellers around the world. Best of all, the companion ebook is only $5 through Apress when you buy the print version (even if you didn’t buy it from the publisher), and the ebook is available DRM-free in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI (Kindle) formats. Not only is that an incredible bargain that offers all 150+ screenshots in full color, but the DRM-free files respect you and your investment.

Whether you’ve already taken the first steps into experiencing Ubuntu for yourself, or you’ve hesitated because you don’t know where to begin, this book is for you. We’ll walk through the first steps together, and your existing Windows and Mac experience will help you take the next steps as you explore the endless possibilities offered by Ubuntu.

We’re looking for Ubuntu 17.10 wallpapers right now!

2017-06-01T00:00:00-07:00

Ubuntu is a testament to the power of sharing, and we use the default selection of desktop wallpapers in each release as a way to celebrate the larger Free Culture movement. Talented artists across the globe create media and release it under licenses that don’t simply allow, but cheerfully encourage sharing and adaptation. This cycle’s Free Culture Showcase for Ubuntu 17.10 is now underway!

Big changes for Ubuntu mean we want 12 big desktop images. Your photo or illustration can be the first thing an Ubuntu user sees when they sit down to use their computer.

Submissions will be handled via Flickr at the Ubuntu 17.10 Free Culture Showcase - Wallpapers group, and the submission window begins now and ends on March 5th.

More information about the Free Culture Showcase is available on the Ubuntu wiki at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuFreeCultureShowcase.

I’m looking forward to seeing the 10 photos and 2 illustrations that will ship on all Ubuntu 17.10 desktop systems on October 19th!

Winners of the Ubuntu 17.04 Free Culture Showcase

2017-03-26T00:00:00-07:00

Spring is here and the release of Ubuntu 17.04 is just around the corner. I’ve been using it for two weeks and I can’t say I’m disappointed! But one new feature that never disappoints me is appearance of the community wallpapers that were selected from the Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase!

Every cycle, talented artists around the world create media and release it under licenses that encourage sharing and adaptation. For Ubuntu 17.04, 96 images were submitted to the Ubuntu 17.04 Free Culture Showcase photo pool on Flickr, where all eligible submissions can be found. But now the results are in, and the top choices, voted on by certain members of the Ubuntu community, and I’m proud to announce the winning images that will be included in Ubuntu 17.04:

A star has fallen (Una estrella ha caído) by Juan Pablo Lauriente
Candy by Bernhard Hanakam
Espaciolandia by Nando.uy
Forest by Moritz Reisinger
Mushrooms 3 by moritzmhmk
Pink and Blue by Ashwin Deshpande
Purple Daisy by Maria Scotto
Road to Nowhere by Matt Bailey/Forsaken Media
Seebrücke Graal-Müritz by Oliver_hb
Some Light Reading by Brandilyn Carpenter
Passion by Vilia Majere
there is something human in that stuff by Pierre Cante

A big congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who submitted a wallpaper. You can find these wallpapers (along with dozens of other stunning wallpapers) today at the links above, or in your desktop wallpaper list after you upgrade or install Ubuntu 17.04 on April 13th.

UbuCon Summit Comes to Pasadena this Week!

2017-02-26T00:00:00-08:00

Once again, UbuCon Summit will be hosted by the Southern California Linux Expo in Pasadena, California on March 2nd and 3rd. UbuCon Summit is two days that celebrate Ubuntu and the community, and this year has some excitement in store. Thursday’s keynote will feature Carl Richell, the CEO and founder of System 76, a premium source of Ubuntu desktop and laptop computers. Entitled “Acrylic, Aluminum, Thumb Screws, and Heavy Machinery at System 76,” he will share how System 76 is reinventing what it means to be a computer manufacturer, and talk about how they are changing the relationship between users and their devices. Don’t miss this fascinating peek behind the scenes of a computer manufacturer that focuses on Ubuntu, and keep your ears peeled because they are announcing new products during the keynote!

We also have community member Amber Graner who will share her inspiring advice on how to forge a path to success with her talk “You Don’t Need Permission to Contribute to Your Own Destiny,” and Elizabeth Joseph who will talk about her 10 years in the Xubuntu community.

Thursday will wrap up with our traditional open Ubuntu Q&A panel where you can ask us your burning questions about Ubuntu, and Friday will see a talk from Michael Hall, “Sponsored by Canonical” where he describes the relationship between Canonical and Ubuntu and how it’s changed, and Sergio Schvezov will describe Ubuntu’s next-generation packaging format in “From Source to Snaps.” After a short break for lunch and the expo floor, we’ll be back for four unconference sessions, where attendees will come together to discuss the Ubuntu topics that matter most to them.

Ubuntu will be at booth 605 during the Southern California Linux Expo’s exhibition floor hours from Friday through Sunday. You’ll be able to see the latest version of Ubuntu, see how it works with touchscreens, laptops, phones, and embedded devices, and get questions answered by both community and Canonical volunteers at the booth.

Come for UbuCon, stay for SCALE! This is a weekend not to be missed!

About SCaLE:

SCALE 15x, the 15th Annual Southern California Linux Expo, is the largest community-run Linux/FOSS showcase event in North America. It will be held from March 2-5 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California. For more information on the expo, visit https://www.socallinuxexpo.org

We’re looking for Ubuntu 17.04 wallpapers right now!

2017-01-28T00:00:00-08:00

We’re halfway to the next LTS, and we’re looking for beautiful wallpaper images that will literally set the backdrop for new users as they use Ubuntu 17.04 every day. Whether on the desktop, phone, or tablet, your photo or can be the first thing Ubuntu users see whenever they are greeted by the ubiquitous Ubuntu welcome screen or access their desktop.

Submissions will be handled via Flickr at the Ubuntu 17.04 Free Culture Showcase - Wallpapers group, and the submission window begins now and ends on March 5th.

More information about the Free Culture Showcase is available on the Ubuntu wiki at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuFreeCultureShowcase.

I’m looking forward to seeing the 10 photos and 2 illustrations that will ship on all graphical Ubuntu 17.04-based systems and devices on April 13th!

UbuCon Summit at SCALE 15x Call for Papers

2017-01-19T00:00:00-08:00

UbuCons are a remarkable achievement from the Ubuntu community: a network of conferences across the globe, organized by volunteers passionate about Open Source and about collaborating, contributing, and socializing around Ubuntu. UbuCon Summit at SCALE 15x is the next in the impressive series of conferences.

UbuCon Summit at SCALE 15x takes place in Pasadena, California on March 2nd and 3rd during the first two days of SCALE 15x. Ubuntu will also have a booth at SCALE’s expo floor from March 3rd through 5th.

We are putting together the conference schedule and are announcing a call for papers. While we have some amazing speakers and an always-vibrant unconference schedule planned, it is the community, as always, who make UbuCon what it is–just as the community sets Ubuntu apart. Interested speakers who have Ubuntu-related topics can submit their talk to the SCALE call for papers site. UbuCon Summit has a wide range of both developers and enthusiasts, so any interesting topic is welcome, no matter how casual or technical. The SCALE CFP form is available here:

http://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/15x/cfp

Over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing more details about the Summit, revamping the global UbuCon site and updating the SCALE schedule with all relevant information.

http://www.ubucon.org/

About SCaLE:

UbuCon Europe 2016

2016-12-07T00:00:00-08:00

If there is one defining aspect of Ubuntu, it’s community. All around the world, community members and LoCo teams get together not just to work on Ubuntu, but also to teach, learn, and celebrate it. UbuCon Summit at SCALE was a great example of an event that was supported by the California LoCo Team, Canonical, and community members worldwide coming together to make an event that could host presentations on the newest developer technologies in Ubuntu, community discussion roundtables, and a keynote by Mark Shuttleworth, who answered audience questions thoughtfully, but also hung around in the hallway and made himself accessible to chat with UbuCon attendees.

Thanks to the Ubuntu Community Reimbursement Fund, the UbuCon Germany and UbuCon Paris coordinators were able to attend UbuCon Summit at SCALE, and we were able to compare notes, so to speak, as they prepared to expand by hosting the first UbuCon Europe in Germany this year. Thanks to the community fund, I also had the immense pleasure of attending UbuCon Europe. After I arrived, Sujeevan Vijayakumaran picked me up from the airport and we took the train to Essen, where we walked around the newly-opened Weihnachtsmarkt along with Philip Ballew and Elizabeth Joseph from Ubuntu California. I acted as official menu translator, so there were no missed opportunities for bratwurst, currywurst, glühwein, or beer. Happily fed, we called it a night and got plenty of sleep so that we would last the entire weekend long.

UbuCon Europe was a marvelous experience. Friday started things off with social events so everyone could mingle and find shared interests. About 25 people attended the Zeche Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex for a guided tour of the last operating coal extraction and processing site in the Ruhr region and was a fascinating look at the defining industry of the Ruhr region for a century. After that, about 60 people joined in a special dinner at Unperfekthaus, a unique location that is part creative studio, part art gallery, part restaurant, and all experience. With a buffet and large soda fountains and hot coffee/chocolate machine, dinner was another chance to mingle as we took over a dining room and pushed all the tables together in a snaking chain. It was there that some Portuguese attendees first recognized me as the default voice for uNav, which was something I had to get used to over the weekend. There’s nothing like a good dinner to get people comfortable together, and the Telegram channel that was established for UbuCon Europe attendees was spread around.

The main event began bright and early on Saturday. Attendees were registered on the fifth floor of Unpefekthaus and received their swag bags full of cool stuff from the event sponsors. After some brief opening statements from Sujeevan, Marcus Gripsgård announced an exciting new Kickstarter campaign that will bring an easier convergence experience to not just most Ubuntu phones, but many Android phones as well. Then, Jane Silber, the CEO of Canonical, gave a keynote that went into detail about where Canonical sees Ubuntu in the future, how convergence and snaps will factor into future plans, and why Canonical wants to see one single Ubuntu on the cloud, server, desktop, laptop, tablet, phone, and Internet of Things. Afterward, she spent some time answering questions from the community, and she impressed me with her willingness to answer questions directly. Later on, she was chatting with a handful of people and it was great to see the consideration and thought she gave to those answers as well. Luckily, she also had a little time to just relax and enjoy herself without the third degree before she had to leave later that day. I was happy to have a couple minutes to chat with her.

Microsoft Deutschland GmbH sent Malte Lantin to talk about Bash on Ubuntu on Windows and how the Windows Subsystem for Linux works, and while jokes about Microsoft and Windows were common all weekend, everyone kept their sense of humor and the community showed the usual respect that’s made Ubuntu so wonderful. While being able to run Ubuntu software natively on Windows makes many nervous, it also excites others. One thing is for sure: it’s convenient, and the prospect of having a robust terminal emulator built right in to Windows seemed to be something everyone could appreciate.

After that, I ate lunch and gave my talk, Advocacy for Advocates, where I gave advice on how to effectively recommend Ubuntu and other Free Software to people who aren’t currently using it or aren’t familiar with the concept. It was well-attended and I got good feedback. I also had a chance to speak in German for a minute, as the ambiguity of the term Free Software in English disappears in German, where freies Software is clear and not confused with kostenloses Software. It’s a talk I’ve given before and will definitely give again in the future.

After the talks were over, there was a raffle and then a UbuCon quiz show where the audience could win prizes. I gave away signed copies of my book, Beginning Ubuntu for Windows and Mac Users, in the raffle, and in fact I won a “xenial xeres” USB drive that looks like an origami squirrel as well as a Microsoft t-shirt. Afterwards was a dinner that was not only delicious with apple crumble for desert, but also free beer and wine, which rarely detracts from any meal.

Sunday was also full of great talks. I loved Marcos Costales’s talk on uNav, and as the video shows, I was inspired to jump up as the talk was about to begin and improvise the uNav-like announcement “You have arrived at the presentation.” With the crowd warmed up from the joke, Marcos took us on a fascinating journey of the evolution of uNav and finished with tips and tricks for using it effectively. I also appreciated Olivier Paroz’s talk about Nextcloud and its goals, as I run my own Nextcloud server. I was sure to be at the UbuCon Europe feedback and planning roundtable and was happy to hear that next year UbuCon Europe will be held in Paris. I’ll have to brush up on my restaurant French before then!

That was the end of UbuCon, but I hadn’t been to Germany in over 13 years so it wasn’t the end of my trip! Sujeevan was kind enough to put up with me for another four days, and he accompanied me on a couple shopping trips as well as some more sightseeing. The highlight were a trip to the Neanderthal Museum in the aptly-named Neandertal, Germany, and then afterward we met his friend (and UbuCon registration desk volunteer!) Philipp Schmidt in Düsseldorf at their Weihnachtsmarkt, where we tried the Feuerzangenbowle, where mulled wine is improved by soaking a block of sugar in rum, then putting it over the wine and lighting the sugarloaf on fire to drip into the wine. After that, we went to the Brauerei Schumacher where I enjoyed not only Schumacher Alt beer, but also the Rhein-style sauerbraten that has been on my to-do list for a decade and a half. (Other variations of sauerbraten—not to mention beer—remain on the list!)

I’d like to thank Sujeevan for his hospitality on top of the tremendous job that he, the German LoCo, and the French LoCo exerted to make the first UbuCon Europe a stunning success. I’d also like to thank everyone who contributed to the Ubuntu Community Reimbursement Fund for helping out with my travel expenses, and everyone who attended, because of course we put everything together for you to enjoy.

Winners of the Ubuntu 16.10 Free Culture Showcase

2016-10-05T00:00:00-07:00

It’s an exciting time for Ubuntu fans because next week will see the release of Ubuntu 16.10 and some interesting new features. But today we’re going to talk about one exciting user-facing change: the community wallpapers that were selected from the Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase!

Every cycle, talented artists around the world create media and release it under licenses that encourage sharing and adaptation. For Ubuntu 16.10, hundreds of such wallpapers were submitted to the Ubuntu 16.10 Free Culture Showcase photo pool on Flickr, where all eligible submissions can be found. But now the results are in, and the top choices, voted on by certain members of the Ubuntu community, and I’m proud to announce the winning images that will be included in Ubuntu 16.10:

Alien Wing by Ralph Crützen
Classic Guitar Detail by Sten Jørgen Pettersen
DSC3907 by Todor Velichkov
Haukland Beach view by Michele Agostini
larung gar by night by Geza Radics
IMG_0081 by Jobin Babu
IMG_7632 by Jobin Babu
P1310728 by Ferran Reyes
ubuntu16_10 by Khoir Rudin
ubuntu_wallpaper_16_10_02 by screen_name_007
Wanaka Tree by Stephane Pakula
Yala mountain by Geza Radics

A big congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who submitted a wallpaper. You can find these wallpapers today at the links above, or in your desktop wallpaper list after you upgrade or install Ubuntu 16.10 on October 13th.