Managing software packages
No two computer users are alike, so why should two computers be? The stock collection of software that’s included with the default Ubuntu installation is a great place to start, but inevitably you’ll want to try out some of the other applications found on the install media or the Ubuntu servers -- not to mention patching any newfound bugs or security vulnerabilities. Ubuntu provides a number of tools for these purposes.

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The process of applying updates to your software is mostly automated, provided your system is connected to the Internet. You can also launch it manually by choosing Update Manager from the System > Administration menu. It’s a good idea to apply any new updates regularly, because they may correct important security vulnerabilities. Thankfully, unlike Windows, Linux software updates rarely require a restart.

If you want to add new software or remove existing applications, there are two ways to do it. The easiest method is to use the Add/Remove utility from the Applications menu, which automates the process of installing the most popular desktop applications. If you need finer-grained control of your software, you can use Synaptic, the Ubuntu package

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manager, which you’ll find under the System > Administration menu.

If you explore using Synaptic, you’ll see that a stock Ubuntu system contains literally hundreds of software packages. You needn’t worry about most of them. If you’d like to install new software for a specific purpose, Synaptic’s search tools can help you locate a suitable package.

When only Windows will do
Modern open source applications offer a broad range of capabilities, but it’s only fair to say that, being relatively late to the game, they are often less polished than their proprietary cousins. Occasionally you will find a Windows application for which there is simply no open source substitute. One choice is to use the Ubuntu boot menu to boot into Windows and use the

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application like you always would. If you’d like to remain in Linux as much as possible, you still have a couple of options.

One is virtualization. Linux’s Xen virtualization engine can’t yet boot Windows, but VMware’s products can. With VMware you can have an entire Windows environment, applications and all, running in a window on your Linux desktop. It’s strictly proprietary software, but VMware makes some versions of its products free for personal use.

The other alternative is Wine, a Windows compatibility layer for Linux. Wine comes with its own reverse-engineered versions of the Windows APIs, which means it lets you execute Windows binaries under Linux without having Windows installed. If you think that doesn’t sound easy, you’re right -- it only works on a select number of applications.

Index of "Switching to Linux" stories
Windows to desktop Linux in three easy steps
Which Linux should I choose?
Getting connected with Ubuntu
Making the most of Linux multimedia
Don't panic! (Seven ways to troubleshoot Ubuntu)