This month we bring to you something special: an encyclopedic DVD with 3,000 pages of practical Ubuntu knowledge.

It's been 25 years since Linus Torvalds sparked a revolution with his famous message to the comp.os.minix newsgroup that he was "… doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, …)." Linux's silver jubilee merits something special, so we compiled a DVD that contains all the articles ever published in Ubuntu User. That's more than 600 articles on everything Ubuntu-related, from games you can play, to servers you can run, to detailed instructions on how to build your own apps with tools available in Ubuntu's comprehensive repositories.

For instance, you can learn how to compile shell scripts to make them blazingly fast (issue 21) or take advantage of the several cores in your computer and have your programs execute processes in parallel (issue 18). You can also get a handle on systemd and get it working for you instead of the other way around (issue 26). Don't forget to check out our articles on security, privacy, and backups – the best recipe for keeping you data safe (issues 26 and 27). Or, explore your hobbies and learn how to publish your own e-book (issue 24), retouch photos (issue 23), compose music (issue 14), design in 3D (issue 22), and much more.

Enjoy!