The Ubuntu Linux operating system is one of the most popular Linux distributions, if not the most popular. When this book was listed among the books available to be reviewed, I selected it because I had installed Ubuntu on a machine at home. Like many other users, I chose Ubuntu because it (and other Linux distributions) gives additional life and usefulness to older computers that cannot run contemporary Microsoft or Apple operating systems. The book discusses Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, the same release that I installed. This release is the current long-term support (LTS) release that will be succeeded by 18.04 LTS at the end of April 2018. I was curious to discover what I may not have learned from reading the online resources. When any distribution of Linux is installed, there is a flood of software items put onto the computer. The installation process is fast, and it is virtually impossible to identify all of the programs and what they do. Ubuntu is no exception.

The reader targeted by this book is the Windows or Mac user who uses a computer as a platform for applications. It is not oriented to developers. It presents the author’s favorite applications, some of which may not be well known to many users. There are six chapters in this book plus an appendix giving the details of the schedule for releases of the Ubuntu operating system.

The first chapter is on installation of the system. It treats the principal Ubuntu release as well as a few of the Ubuntu flavors--Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu-Gnome, and Ubuntu-MATE. There are other flavors available, but they are not mentioned until the last chapter. The installation chapter also discusses issues related to partitioning a disk for dual boot installation, the installation of Ubuntu server, and a minimal Ubuntu release. The second chapter is a short introduction to the Ubuntu desktop with comparisons to the Windows environment and the Mac environment for users accustomed to either platform. It also discusses issues related to acquiring and installing additional programs from the Ubuntu store, updating the Ubuntu operating system and applications, installation of WINE to run Windows applications, and saving files in appropriate formats in LibreOffice (which is included when Ubuntu is installed).

Chapter 3 describes software tools that the author particularly likes. They are all unfamiliar to me, except Calibre, the e-book manager and reader. Among them are FocusWriter (a simple word processor), Homebank for personal finances, Evolution for managing contacts, and Tellico for cataloging collections. The focus of chapter 4 is on media and entertainment. Among the programs discussed are VLC media player (which is also available for Windows and Mac), Rhythmbox for organizing recorded music collections, Brasero for backing up and creating music CDs, Audacity for audio editing, Stellarium (a planetarium application), and software for creating video DVDs and photo archives. Several applications for obtaining and running legacy games are also presented. Many of the programs are automatically installed in the Ubuntu Studio flavor, which is focused on audio and video processing.

Chapters 5 and 6 are the most technical chapters. Chapter 5 is on using the command line. It is not a comprehensive presentation of Linux/Unix command line instructions, but it covers several that are important, especially navigating through the file and directory structure, adding and managing additional users (which also can be done from the desktop), and testing communication to networks and servers. Chapter 6 is on “power tools” with particular attention to managing workspaces, installing additional desktop environments, and creating virtual machines, which is perhaps the most powerful way of continuing to use older software incompatible with current releases of Windows or MacOS. As long as the user has installation disks of the old operating system, he can create a virtual machine to run these programs.

This is a useful book and still has shelf life. Even though Ubuntu 18.04 LTS will be released at the end of April 2018, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS will be supported until 2021. Many users will continue using 16.04 for the next three years. Chances are that users who go directly to 18.04 LTS will also find this book useful.

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