# New to Ubuntu?

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If you are new to Ubuntu, this section will help you to familiarize yourself with the desktop, perform some common tasks, and point you towards getting further help if you need it.

## Welcome to Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a community developed operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. Whether you use it at home, at school or at work Ubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need.

The key promises of Ubuntu are:

- Ubuntu will always be free of charge, and there is no extra fee for the "enterprise edition".

- Ubuntu includes the very best in translations and accessibility infrastructure that the free software community has to offer, to make Ubuntu usable for as many people as possible.

- Ubuntu is released regularly and predictably; a new release is made every six months. Each release is supported for at least 18 months.

- Ubuntu is entirely committed to the principles of open source software development; we encourage people to use open source software, improve it and pass it on.

For more information about Ubuntu, see About Ubuntu.

## Getting around the desktop

Ubuntu's desktop experience is designed to be as efficient and usable as possible. Here is a short introduction to the different areas:

- The menubar is found at the top left of your screen and is where you go to start applications, find files and customise settings. It is made up of three menus:

  1. Applications - start applications and find new ones in Software Center

  2. Places - find files and folders on your computer

  3. System - customise Ubuntu's settings and find help

- The notification area is found in the top right hand corner of your screen and displays the status of different applications. You can use it to change the volume, change your online status in different applications, and shut down your computer.

For further reading about getting around your desktop, see the Desktop Overview.

## Applications for different tasks

Ubuntu has a wide range of applications included by default. They include:

- Browse the internet with &firefox;

- Manage email and calendar with &evolution-mail;

- Instant messaging and video calls with &empathy;

- Import, manage and edit photos with &f-spot;

- Complete office suite Openoffice.org at &open-office;

- Import, buy and manage music with &rhythmbox;

- Backup and synchronise files with &ubuntu-one;

You can find and add more applications at the touch of a button. See for details.

## Connecting to the internet

It's easy to manage your internet connection with Network Manager.

The Network Manager icon in the notification area in the top right corner of your desktop tells you the status of your network connection and allows you to connect or disconnect. Click on the icon for options.

- Disconnected

- Wired Network Connected

- Wireless Network Connected

For further reading or troubleshooting see Internet and Networks.

## Adding applications

Ubuntu makes it easy to add new applications.

There is no need to download applications from websites. Simply open the Software Center and you have thousands of applications ready to install at the click of a button from Ubuntu's archive of applications.

Any applications installed in this way can be easily and safely updated or removed.

You'll find the Software Center in the menu at &software-center;

For more instructions about using Software Center, see the Software Center help. Further reading on how applications are managed in Ubuntu can be found in Adding, Removing and Updating Applications.

## Playing music and videos

Ubuntu includes applications for playing and managing music and for playing and editing video.

Music and video files require special software to play them, called codecs. Some codecs (for example those required to play MP3s) are not included by default in Ubuntu because they are proprietary. You will be prompted to add support for the necessary codec if you try to play a music or video file which is not supported.

To add support for all frequently used music and video files, install the ubuntu-restricted-extras package. This will also add support for websites which use Flash video.

For more instructions about playing music and videos, see Music, Video and Photos.

## Keeping updated

Ubuntu delivers security and other updates to your software automatically.

When security updates are available, the Update Manager automatically starts up. For other updates you will be prompted once a week. To install updates, just click Install Updates and enter your password when prompted.

Depending on the software which has been updated, Ubuntu may prompt you to restart your system.

For further reading on keeping your computer up to date and other computer safety tips, see Keeping Your Computer Safe. Further reading on how applications are managed in Ubuntu can be found in Adding, Removing and Updating Applications.

## Getting more info/help

Ubuntu comes with an extensive help system. Click &yelp; to access it.

If you don't find the answer there, you may find the community contributed documentation website helpful.

If you can't find the answers in the documentation, there is an extensive community of volunteers who provide free support. See the Ubuntu website for the different options.

If you want professional support, Canonical provides commercial technical support.