Ubuntu

How do you change your password in Ubuntu? Well, using the command line, it's actually quite easy...

I'm going through a process of changing my various computer and web passwords. After the much publicised vulnerabilities with Google and MSN a few weeks ago, I thought it might be a good time to change my passwords.

Now, to change your password through the command line, you simply type in passwd and hit return. You'll be prompted to enter your current password first, then your new password twice. It's that easy.

A GUI Password Change?

I decided to do a little digging around to see if there was a GUI option to change your password. After all, how much use if Ubuntu for regular users if they can't accomplish basic security tasks?

Surprisingly, the GUI to change password can be found in System -> Preferences -> About Me. When you bring up this dialog, there's a Change Password button in the right hand corner. Follow the prompts and you'll achieve exactly the same thing as if you'd used the command line.

In the Windows environment, keyboard shortcuts help us get things done more efficiently, without wasting time using the mouse to navigate. Part of the difficulty in migrating to Ubuntu is that many of the old Windows shortcuts don't work anymore. In this post, I've hunted out some useful keyboard shortcuts to help you navigate Ubuntu more professionally.

1. Lock the screen

You'll want to lock your screen when you're away from your machine for any length of time - it's common sense security. Simply press CTRL+ALT+L and the screensaver will activate, requiring your password to unlock.

If another user wants to use the machine, they can log on without affecting your session.

2. Flip between workspaces

Ubuntu allows you to use virtual workspaces, so you can arrange different applications between these workspaces. Possibly most useful whenever you want to work on something confidential or you want to keep your web browser/IM tools seperate from your wordprocessing and office applications.

Because Ubuntu is a free operating system, they don't feel the need to shove the version in your face in quite the same way their commercial counterparts do. So, when you're on the threshold of doing an upgrade, it's nice to know what version you're upgrading from.

There's a quick, command based way to discover what version of Ubuntu you're using:

cat /etc/issue

Alternatively, for a more detailed output, try this command:

cat /etc/lsb-release

This will return the version of Ubuntu that you're currently using. I used it prior to upgrading, and also after the upgrade to verify that everything had been successful.

Sweet! A new version of Ubuntu is always an exciting occassion: the release schedule is always way more frequent than Windows, and there's always some fascinating development that makes the upgrade worth your while.

So, tonight I'm upgrading my older version of Ubuntu from 8.10 to the latest release, which is 9.04. Otherwise known as Jaunty Jackalope, although the emphasis on animal names seems to be significantly played down on this version.

With this edition, the upgrade process is its easiest ever. Here's a quick step-by-step showing you how to upgrade your version of Ubuntu over the Internet:

I installed a dual-boot configuration during a system rebuild recently and stuck the latest and greatest version of Ubuntu 8.10 on a sizeable partition. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that I'm constantly questioning whether Ubuntu Linux is a viable Windows replacement.

One of the key things for me in making a transition of this magnitude is finding a desktop blogging client compatible with Linux and it also being as fully featured as Windows Live Writer - my blogging client of choice and perhaps the leading blog client software. The thing is, the latest version of Live Writer Beta has some pretty hot features, including a link gloassary which allows you to autolink to a page previously linked to: you enter the last anchor text as previously and it automatically creates the link for you.

There isn't a single other blog editor that I know of that can replicate that functionality.