Dissimilarities in Ubuntu and Windows
What is different in Ubuntu than Microsoft Windows
There is no reason why you won’t love using Ubuntu…after all, it comes for free and you get almost everything that you can expect from a reasonable operation system. However, like almost everyone, if you have been using Microsoft Windows previously and have just shifted to Ubuntu or are using it as dual-booting options, here are few features that you will find different in two of these operating systems.
- While you use Mozilla for Ubuntu, you will notice that you can’t press “Backspace” and go to the previous page of the website that you have opened. You will need to press the “back” button of the browser with the mouse of tough-pad of your laptop, which is located at the top left corner of the Mozilla browser. This is very difficult irregularity or dissimilarity because we are too much used to apply “Backspace” for going to the previous page. Personally, I find it very irritating.
- Secondly, if you want to see your desktop by minimizing the programs that you might have opened, you can’t use the short-cut key of “windows+d”. This is again very irritating because you are used to apply it in Microsoft Windows. I am not sure if Ubuntu has a short-cut key for lowering all the programs and seeing the desktop.
- If you right click the mouse or toughpad of your laptop while on the desktop, you won’t get the “refresh” option. You will have to use the “F5” key to do it.
- Then, there are some obvious dissimilarities like the task bar is at the top of the computer screen rather than at the bottom. The “start menu” button of Windows also does not work to display the “start menu”. So sort of handicaps while you want to operate Ubuntu through short-cut keys and keyboard.
Apart form these, there is no IE :). If you are used to work through that browser, you will have to go for its alternative.
1. Alt + Left Arrow will go back on all browsers I tested (Chrome, IE7 and FF) in all operating systems. “Backspace” was a one-off and something I never starting using in favor of the “standard” Alt+Left. Made my Windows -> Ubuntu switch effortless in that regard 😉
2. Ctrl + Alt + D will minimize all open programs. Ctrl and Alt are on either side of the “Windows” button so the switch should come naturally 😉
3. Umm… is that an annoyance or a plus? Seems like a nice carryover of browser to desktop (F5 refreshes most browser pages as well)
4. It’s easy to just drag the top bar to the bottom (Right click top bar, select “Allow panel to be moved” and drag ‘er down).
5. If people absolutely must have the windows key launch the applications menu, this guide shows you how: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/use-the-windows-key-for-the-start-menu-in-ubuntu-linux/
I understand that point of your post and I do not mean to detract from it! I think we both agree that the great thing about Ubuntu that is similar ENOUGH to windows to make a switch, but dissimilar enough to … well, not be windows!
Alt+F1 brings up the applications menu, Alt+F2 brings up the run dialog box. I personally like the deskbar applet instead of the standard run dialog box and you can easily bind this to Windows+R. The built-in calculator is my favorite feature of the deskbar applet.
I’m not sure that I’d want the Windows key bringing up the applications menu. I’m a power user and find that feature useless. I’d prefer to use a direct shortcut.
I use Compiz, and have Windows+D shows me the desktop, Windows+E show me the file explorer.
In Firefox, Alt+Left Arrow and Alt+Right Arrow make more sense to me for back and forward… but yeah, I can see how one would need to take time switching to that shortcut. If you really want to use the backspace option, type “about:config” and change browser.backspace_option to 0.
i especially missed the windows+e shortcut for the file browser, so i configured compiz to fire up nautilus when i press that combo. and while i was at it, i added also:
win+d for show desktop
win+t for terminal
win+r for the calculator ("rechner" in german 😉
win+f for firefox
win+g for googlizer (awesome tool)
and maybe a few other i already forgot…
i would be interested in a way to use the win key alone to bring up the gnome menu, but with that the other shortcuts won't work anymore…
Well, that's really a great configuration. I will miss that anyhow and would love to try them. Thanks for providing this detail.