Thunar is the default file manager used in the stripped-back Xfce4 desktop of Xubuntu. It starts quickly, has a low-memory footprint, yet is very powerful and provides all the features you're likely to need. In fact, it beats Nautilus in many departments when it comes to features.
Have you got a vintage camera that won't work under Ubuntu because it's not a removable storage device (which is to say, its contents don't appear in a file browsing window when you attach the camera)?
Start Synaptic and search for clamtk. Put a check alongside the clamtk entry in the results, and click Mark for Installation in the menu that appears. Agree to install the list of dependencies, that includes ClamAVitself, and then click the APPLY button on the toolbar.
Wicd is an excellent swap-in replacement for NetworkManager. NetworkManager is the system software that sits in the notification area and handles network connections.
If Windows is refusing to boot, for whatever reason, you can try repairing the file system from within Ubuntu. Use Synaptic to search for the ntfsprogs package.
You might not realize it but Ubuntu has a very powerful firewall built in. However it isn't activated out of the box. Some firewall configuration tools are provided but aren’t easy to use and definitely aren't recommended for those less-versed in networking fundamentals.
If you don't fancy carrying the delicate Ubuntu installation CD around with you, you can copy its contents to a USB key stick and use that to install Ubuntu onto computers (provided those computers can boot from USB, and most modern computers will be able to).
If you opt to share folders across a network under Ubuntu you'll find they're protected with your username and password, which you might not want to share with others. The Shared Folders dialog box allows you to setup guest access but, at the time of writing, this had a serious
bug that rendered it unusable.
Several of my computers sometimes mysteriously lose minutes when switched off, so that the time they display slowly becomes more and more behind. Luckily I have Ubuntu installed. This can periodically synchronize with the main Ubuntu time server, and thus never let the computers get out of step with the rest of the world.
If you've got a notebook computer, you might be used to edge scroll on the touchpad when running Windows. This is where the right-hand edge of the notebook's touchpad is used as a virtual scrollbar - by running a finger up and down, the currently active window scrolls up and down correspondingly.
Sometimes if you're trying to help somebody fix a problem you'll have to tell them how to install software. Yet for some Ubuntu newbies even this can be confusing. The solution is to create a "software install" hyperlink within a web page (such as a forum posting), new email window or Pidgin message window.
While Zip is the main compression file format used on most desktop computers, some people prefer to use the RAR format.
If you have an external monitor or projector that you occasionally attach to a notebook computer, you might be used to switching resolutions on a regular basis. Unlike with Windows, this isn't just a right-click procedure - you must navigate the System → Preferences menu.
Both Totem and RhythmBox include a funky animation that appears during music playback. Animations such as this are known as visualizations, but out-of-the-box Ubuntu only includes one, rather than the hundreds found on the likes of Mac OS or Windows media players.
The easiest way of setting your own picture as a desktop wallpaper is to click and drag the image to the desktop using the middle mouse button (if the image is already on the desktop then click and drag it a few inches to the left/right). On most modern mice, the middle mouse button is the scroll-wheel, which also doubles as a third mouse button.
When using Windows, you might have come across Device Manager, the handy tool that lists your PC's hardware. Ubuntu offers a similar piece of software, but it isn't installed by default.