Being new to Linux, there's a lot you'll need to learn. If you can, try dual-booting a physical machine with Ubuntu, and use it for day-to-day computing as much as is practical - that's the easiest and quickest way to pick it up, especially since working in a VM is a bit of a bother. If you Google "free Ubuntu books", or some thing like that, you should find some eBooks that will get you started with Ubuntu, and for more technical guides about the kernel, the shell, scripting, etc, try The Linux Documentation Project. If you want to quickly get your feet wet in Ubuntu itself, UbuntuCat has a wealth of good newbie guides and cheatsheets to get you familiar with concepts like package management, and other things that are different from Windows. Start there, and work your way up. Learn as you go, find tutorials, and use the OS as much as you can. I'm sure you're a bit impatient to get going, but you're much better off trying to get a good handle on Linux before trying to code on it - it'll save you a lot of frustration. If you've looked and you can't find what you need - ask. Maemo Talk is friendly, and the Ubuntu Forums are as well. Above all, have fun learning Hope this helps,