Ubuntu Chicago Local Community Team Page - New Members |
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Next IRC Team Meeting Whether you are new to Ubuntu, or just new to the Chicago Loco, this page is for you. Here you will find information on the team's various methods of communication and how you can use them, how to get and install Ubuntu, and where you can find answers to your questions.
What is a LoCo Team?
A LoCo Team is a Local Community of (in our case) Ubuntu users. A LoCo can involve a lot of things such as local promoting, support in the local language, general support to local users and much more. Most importantly however, it lets people find other Ubuntu users near them!
There are lots of benefits and fun to be had getting involved with a LoCo team, not only in terms of spreading awareness about Ubuntu, but also helping to develop free software in your community, improve Ubuntu and more.
See the LoCoFAQ page for even more information.
Loco Contact Methods
There are many ways the Chicago Loco uses to communicate. You can find all of these methods on our 'Contact Us' page. They are explained here in a bit more detail for clarification.
Wiki page: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ChicagoTeam
The wiki is where the ChicagoTeam keeps most of it's dynamic content: development ideas, current projects, logs, and other things. Here you will find subpages for each team as well as information about the team in general and our many activities.
Website: Ubuntu-Chicago.org ( also http://chi.ubuntu-us.org )
The website is currently undergoing some changes, but this is the place where we will be keeping some of the more generic content intended to be "publicized", like team news (in blog form!) and event information.
Mailing list: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-chicago
The mailing list is used much like the forums, for quicker discussion and dissemination of team news, although it is more support-oriented than the forums.
LaunchPad: https://launchpad.net/people/ubuntu-chicago
Our LaunchPad site is used by some members for keeping track of projects in the development stage. As a new member though, don't worry about it too much, right now LP is mostly used for keeping track of how many members we have.
Get Ubuntu
If you feel capable of installing Ubuntu yourself, you may go to Ubuntu.com to download it yourself or see the Community Documentation for more guidance.
If you would like to have one of us help you install Ubuntu for you, come to one of our next Meetings, or if it's urgent, get in touch with the Loco Team by one of the methods on the 'Contact Us' page and we'll be glad to help you through installation.
Install Ubuntu
To install Ubuntu on your current machine, visit Ubuntu.com to find various ways by which you can get Ubuntu.
Torrent Ubuntu (preferred method for those familiar with torrents)
Purchase Pre-installed
If you would like to purchase a new computer or server with Ubuntu pre-installed, look into the following vendors:
Finding Support
The Ubuntu Chicago Loco team is committed in helping you find answers! There are plenty of places you can find help, from adding your printer, to installing new applications, to just about any other issue you may have.
Ubuntu Documentation
Ubuntu has a vast and expansive documentation collection that has answers to many questions. Documentation is the first place you should look for support.
System Documentation
From the menu at the top of the screen, click on System > Help and Support
- In the search field, type in a word in reference what you are looking for, such as printing, email, or installing programs
- Click on a topic in the window with information that you need
Online Documentation
Ubuntu Doc pages - The Ubuntu Doc pages are a great source of information. Simply go to: https://help.ubuntu.com/ and use the search bar in the top-right of the page to search for what you are having troubles with.
Ubuntu Wiki pages - The Ubuntu wiki pages are very similar to the doc pages, in that they hold vast amounts of useful information. Simply go to: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ and again, look for your topic using the search-bar at the top of the page.
Online Support
The best way to reach members of the Ubuntu-Chicago team is through our mailing list. Please subscribe to our (low-email volume) list, and then send your question or problem details to the mailing address: ubuntu-us-chicago@lists.ubuntu.com. Someone will usually be able to respond to your inquiry within a few hours.
You can also visit the Ubuntu Forums, and post your questions for anyone in the Ubuntu community to answer
If you have a question that is local in nature, there is also the Illinois forum on UbuntuForums.org
Immediate Support
The Chicago Loco uses IRC (Internet Relay Chat) for instant chatting and communication. If you are unfamiliar with IRC, but would like to setup a client so that you can join us online, please see this excellent page on how to get an IRC client setup on your computer: XChat How-to
After you go through this guide, you will be connected to the Ubuntu chat servers, from which you can have two options:
- You can join the generic Ubuntu channel, where hundreds of people are available willing to help you
To do this, type /join #ubuntu once you are connected
- The #ubuntu channel is frequently very busy, so please be patient and give other users time to respond to your questions
- You may also join the Chicago Team channel if you want more local support
For the Chicago chat channel, type /join #ubuntu-chicago once connected
The #ubuntu-chicago channel usually has people in the channel, but we may be at work, eating a sandwich, or otherwise occupied with hacking tasks.
Please do stop in and say hello, though!
Videos
There are many videos available to help guide you through processes you may not be familiar with. Some great video resources are: