How to add the Universe & Multiverse repositories from the command line

Enabling the Universe & Multiverse repositories will give you access to tons of software that your Ubuntu system doesn’t give you access to by default. Here is how to enable them.

Open a Terminal. Applications > Accessories > Terminal
Type in:

sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.bak

This makes a copy of the file we’re going to modify, in case [...]

Shortcut to root command line access while logged in as un-privileged user

Let’s say you’re logged into your Ubuntu machine as an unprivileged user, meaning that you don’t have permission to use the sudo command on the command line. As such, you cannot update the system, install a program, or perform other tasks in the terminal that require the sudo command without logging out and then back [...]

How to find out which version / release of Ubuntu you have

Have you ever asked yourself, “How do I find out exactly which version, or release, of Ubunut I have?” There are a few ways of doing this.

The easiest, and most basic, is to open the System Monitor.You do this by going to System > Administration > System Monitor. You then click on the System tab. [...]

How to lock your screen from the command line

This could be very useful to you if you’re working in the terminal and need to step away for a moment. You can achieve a locked screen, just like when you do it the graphical way, with this command entered at the command line, or cli…