I am a Windows user who has begun experimenting with Ubuntu. Ubuntu seems great, but for all the things it seems like I CAN'T do.

How do I get to advanced administration stuff, like the list of drivers, all of the installed software, and something equivalent to Windows' Device Manager.

I always heard that Linux was supposed to be very raw, and you had to have lots of computer experience to make it work. This seems just the opposite. Ubuntu seems very modern and user friendly, better in some regards than any operating system I have seen.

Unfortunately, I can't find any of the guts of this system beneath all of the user friendly frosting... gunk... crap... stuff. I'm reminded more and more of an Apple computer (except Linux is more affordable :).

So how do I peel back this layer and start using the computer?

A solution other than installing Gnome 3 would be appreciated.