(H2) Linux Download Manager

(Hardware: HP Pavilion g6-2216nr,
Linux distro: Xubuntu 13.10 64-bit version)

There are many possibilities you have with Linux.
The applications you can use with the majority of Linux distros are almost all free and safe to use. If you take an effort and search the web, you might be surprised by how many there is actually to work with. So one way would be to download the soft from the official distributor `s websites (it is enough to google for" Linux applications "- as simple as this).

Linux Software:

However, the simplest way to manage your software installation using a free download manager.
As I am using Xubuntu, it comes with the Ubuntu Software Center by default. This one I personally find to be a very easy and fast.
Click on the tool bar on the left-most interface corner - you will have to select Ubuntu Software Center.

In the search box, type in the application that you want to install.
Most popular ones are LibreOffice (office package, like Microsoft Office), VLC (media player), Inkscape (graphic editor).

Of course, there is much more and if interested enough, you might find an application that fits exactly your needs.

Libre Office:
Type Libre office to the search box, and the manager will give you a list of apps you might want to download. If you are not sure about what to install, you can click on the app, and then on "More info" to find out about the products properties.

Step 1: Find an app

 Step 2: Find out more about the app, if you are not sure. Click on "Install" - the file will start to download. You do not need to take any other actions - once downloaded, the app will automatically show up in your menu bar in an appropriate section.

 Step 3: Make sure the app is working. Always test an app after downloading to find out wether it has full functionality on your Linux distro.

As you can see, Libre Office writer has its primary functions and it is doing just fine. It has a lot in common with MS Word, so there is no need to "learn" anything on the way.

The same pattern we will follow with the other apps.
For VLC (media player):

You can download VLC media player the same way we did with Libre Office Writer.

To test it, a good idea is to download a video from YouTube.
This can be done simply by adding "ss" to the YouTube URL address:
www. SS youtube.this / ismyvideo

Choose the format you want to download it.

Then open the video with the VLC player. As you can see, it works perfectly on my PC.

Inkscape:

This is a standard graphic editor.

The same pattern of actions applies to this one too.

It works really good and fast:

Conclusion:

It is very easy to find, install and run application in Linux with the Ubuntu Software Center.
It takes only 4 steps to actually use the app.

Linux Basics (H1) Very Basics, or Why Most of the Girls Are Afraid of BIOS?

Linux Basics (H1)
Very Basics, or Why Most of the Girls Are Afraid of BIOS?

Now here is the good news -  you do not have to install Linux on your hard drive - just create a Live CD or USB drive and run Linux from it. This is called a Live USB - you can run a Linux distro on literally amy computer just by booting it from your USB flash.
As I am a completely new to Linux - I decided to to this from my own Toshiba 2 GB flash drive and see what happens.

The most helpful thing about it is gooling things, when in doubt. So excuse me being a dummie, WikiHow was what I turned to in the first place. Personally, I have found this article useful , though, it does not explain Xubuntu per se, it covers all the important steps we should take.

The first thing I did was a back-up, of course. In my case (as I do not work with big files and store most of my documents on a cloud storage - mostly Google Drive or Dropbox), a 16 GB Kingston USB was more than enough.

So the idea is pretty simple - upload all your valuable files on an external storage media, and feel free to try Linux.

Especially for me, who never tried such a thing before, this task seemed to be daunting. 

First, we need a  Xubuntu being downloaded. There wasn`t a doubt about the advantages of getting the last Xubuntu 13.10  64-bit version.

Torrent client download was my choice - mirror would be too slow, as I am using free HOAS 2 MB Internet))))

Then I found a link for the USB Ubuntu installer. There is no way we could run Linux from USB drive without it. Installer is actually what forces your computer BOOT from a madia, otherwise a USB stick would only contail a bunch of folders.

A good tip would be to save both apps in the same place/folder, to access them later.

The rest is pretty simple)))

Double click on installer app, and you will see the menu pretty much like here:

Here is my confession: this is not my photo - shame on me, I have forgotten to take screen shots while installing.

But the idea is to agree, select the Ubuntu version and the USB drive where you want to upload (In my situation they were Xubuntu 13.10, Toshiba USB)  it, as shown below.

By clicking Create you agree that all the information on your USB drive is deleted and the Linux OS is installed.

Once installed, select Close and reboot the computer.

Now that was the main problem I encountered: HOW TO ACCESS MY BOIS?

Having read lots of horror stories about Windows 8 vs Linux incompatibility, that part was a hard one.

The most common keys for accessing BIOS (F2 and Delete) didn`t work.

A friend of mine enlightened my at last (just 3 hourd before the assignment deadline):

pressing Esc worked and F10 directed me to Boot Order options (on my PC is was hidden within System Configuration section):

Here I set USB Diskette on Key/USB Hard Disk as UEF1 Boot Order and same for Legacy Boot Order.

F 10 -Save changes, [Yes] + Enter and suddenly  magic happens!

My PC rebooted and a beautiful Xubuntu interface appered on the display.

I selected the  Try Option - maybe the next time I will have more courage to install it.

Conclusion:

For me, the hardest part was to figure our how to set up BIOS settings to make my computer upload OS from a flash drive. That was my very first time I faced work with BIOS, and it was an intimidating experience to some extend. Turned out, it courage comes with practice and experience.