I think the manual will be very useful as it will make Ubuntu even easier to use.

Ubuntu keeps getting better and better.

Great, I've been needing this for some time!

I like using Ubuntu ... cannot wait 'til April.

"(it appears that only in English, but no one stops you to translate it)"
... this is either brilliantly self referential or terribly ironic.

Regardless, hurrah for a coherent, legible, updated reference!

This is a great idea. Many newbies come to a Linux OS knowing very little and usually there is no one around to help them when something does not work. Most new users will not want to go anywhere near a command line until they are more familiar with Ubuntu. When new users visit the community forums for the first time they are put off by the high level tech speak they see. Having an OS free of bugs will go a long ways to winning over more new users. The new manual is just icing on the cake.

I like the sound of this, should help many newcomers. I think this is also a major step in putting Ubuntu (and Linux) mainstream.

Yes, at last, this is good news. This is one of the basic requirements for increased adoption.

Ubuntu is great, it makes my computer into a maintenance free useful tool.

..All I need is some decent hardware to replace my Dell which sounds like a vacuum cleaner in summer because of high room temp, forcing me to use the Mac Mini which is whisper quiet. One of the requirements for new PC: it has to be quiet.

Hi,

I'm Benjamin Humphrey, head of this project :)

I'd just like to thank you for posting an article and advocating the project. We need as much help as we can get to make this manual really awesome.

Regarding the translations, we are working very hard to get translation support ready as soon as possible. The problem is that we are using LaTeX to handle our branch, and LaTeX doesn't have great UTF-8 support for special characters that are found in languages such as Chinese and Arabic.

Luckily, we have found a way to work around this difficulty and it's just a matter of getting the Launchpad Translation branch ready for our project.

For people who want to translate, there is a list to add your name to:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-manual/Help#Translations

Kind Regards,
Benjamin Humphrey

Ubuntu Manual Project Leader
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-manual

You're welcome! :)

Thanks for this. I hope this turns out great. Ubuntu rocks!!

I think this is great, i am windows user (my computer on sale I bougth came with windows vista) but maybe the next will be with one of this free operating system and if it comes with useful intructions to a rookie like me it will be perfect

i always hated windows now guy it time for new world of ubuntu the open world and the free world bye bye windows and forever

I am an absolute beginner when it comes to Linux but I find Ubuntu 9.10 very easy to install and use. I have been searching for it's manual and am elated to hear that it should be out soon.
However, from my experience, it will take at least a week to really get it to work properly as it is being very helpful by checking for updates and their installations may take a few hours at a time!
It will be nice if the following software can be incorporated into 10.4:
Google Earth,
Skype and
TVU Player.

Thank you for the excellent work so far.

This is a really great idea for beginners :)

By the way, the Dutch translation team is going to translate the manual :)

I don't think proprietary software should be included with Ubuntu.

I bought a big fat manual when I first installed Ubuntu (9.4). Since then I've never needed to look at it. I find it's all fairly straightforward and when it isn't the Ubuntu Forums are a great place to find all the information I need. However, if, like me you feel the weight of a manual is somehow correlated with the power it will give you, then you'll welcome a new 10.4 version.
Unlearning Windows was pretty easy since most things are done the right way in Linux, rather than the wrong way (just one example - installing applications via trusted repositories instead of from any old web site. If you can type sudo apt-get install you can do it, and there's even a graphical option for people who would rather point and click).

The manual idea is a good one and what I've read so far indicates that a good deal of thought has gone into its production to this point. Several questions though, that come to mind.
1. is there a means of community involvement whereby some editing could be done? e.g. a wiki.
2. will there be a final draft for community review before the final product?
3. how would one go about volunteering to help with the documentation production?
4. what is the time line for completion?

I really like this idea of having a manual for beginners for Ubuntu since I am a newbie for Linux and it is great news to hear that the manual for Ubuntu next release is coming too.

This is a great and wise idea as it will lessen the headache of Linux newbies especially those using Ubuntu.

Good Luck to U all!!

This is awesome. Ubuntu is getting better all the time and with companies capitalizing on the market more people will be able to take advantage of it. On this topic I know ThinkPenguin (.com) is marketing at a local level in several states directly to the masses just like Dell and Apple were doing for years. The company even has computer repair operations and support. Nobody in the GNU/Linux world knows about them though! It is so unbelievable. The guy who started it was at LinuxCon in 2009. Greatest company ever. They get free software too and are really pushing it. Nobody else cares any more and the users suffer. When computers don't work with GNU/Linux the problems generally are proprietary components so we really need a company who sells systems that are designed for GNU/Linux rather than systems designed for MS Windows- but sold with GNU/Linux. As much as I like what system76, LinuxCertified, and EmperorLinux do they just don't get it. I've bought systems from all of them and they aren't seamless out of the box. If you don't run into problems right away you will eventually. Between the proprietary video drivers being discontinued or the suspend to ram not functioning the systems just suck.