Hands on: Get connected with Ubuntu Linux

Network connections

Ubuntu’s Gnome desktop doesn’t have the sophistication that KDE’s has when it comes to network and virtual filesystem transparency. However, a useful option exists when connecting to a Windows network share or an FTP server. You can set up a permanent or temporary link to a server, then access that as a standard folder.

Let’s say we have a website and need to transfer files to it by FTP. The made-up server in this example is ftp.wherever.com and the user ID is myftpid. All the files for the website need to be within the htdocs directory structure.

To set up a link select File -> Connect to Server from a file browser window’s menu, or select the same option from the top-level menu. A window asks which sort of connection you want, so choose FTP.

Next comes a configuration window to set up the connection ( see screen 3 ). Here we can see the details have been filled in; we’re using the standard FTP port, so that’s left blank, and we’ve given the connection a user-friendly name.

Click the Connect button and enter your password. You can choose to save the password for the session or in the key-ring; the latter means you can access this connection at any time. Once done, an icon appears on the desktop for this connection giving one-click access.

A clever feature allows you to use this connection like a regular local folder ( see screen 5 ). Here we’re saving a screenshot of the desktop, and when we click the ‘Save in folder’ option, some shortcuts appear in the dropdown menu.

Included is the FTP connection. If we select this, it automatically saves it to the remote server. Or you can browse the remote FTP server in the Save dialogue, to choose a different directory.

Dapper Drake

You may have heard of the next Ubuntu release codenamed Dapper Drake. Each Ubuntu release is given a numeric version and a codename (involving an animal); Breezy Badger being 5.10 and Dapper Drake 6.04.

In the release numbers, the first digit represents the year and the number after the point the month of release. Ubuntu has a new release every six months, so the next version will be 6.10.

Dapper Drake should be available as a release candidate by the time you read this. It carries on from Breezy Badger and upgrades a few packages, such as Firefox 1.5 and Open Office 2.0.1, but its overall aim is to polish the desktop rather than introduce new features.

This may disappoint some, but overall it’s a good thing: popular applications receive updates to new versions for extra features and stability, but the release concentrates on ensuring everything works smoothly, leaving time to add exciting features for version 6.10.

The official main release of Ubuntu is based on the Gnome desktop. An alternative version is Kubuntu, which is Ubuntu with a KDE desktop. There’s nothing to stop you installing Ubuntu then the KDE packages; the result should be the same. There’s also Edubuntu, which has educational software for children and a child-friendly desktop.

These alternatives haven’t received the same attention as the primary Ubuntu release; Dapper Drake should help raise their profile.