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Complete Idiots Guide to Linux

Complete Idiots Guide to Linux
Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux - Table of Contents To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles. Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux (Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing) Author(s): Manuel Ricart Go! ISBN: 078971826x Publication Date: 12/22/98 Keyword Brief Full Advanced Search this book: Search Search Tips Go! 1, 2, 3 Go! About the Authors ----------- Part 1—Working with Linux in a Graphical Environment—The KDE Desktop Chapter 1—The First Login on the KDE Desktop Logging In The KDE Desktop The Panel The Taskbar The Desktop Applications Using the Mouse Basic Mouse Actions Buttons, Menus, and Text Fields Buttons Lists and Menus Text Fields Manipulating Controls with the Keyboard http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ewtoc.html (1 of 11) [1/27/2000 5:48:30 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux - Table of Contents Ending the Work Session Chapter 2—Working with Windows Windows and Panels Window Controls The Active Window Accessing Windows that Overlap Scrollbars Resizing Windows Moving a Window Closing a Window Chapter 3—Navigating through the File System The File System Through KFM The KFM Navigation Toolbar Opening a Folder Opening a File A Tree View A File List What the Listing Means Bookmarks Selecting Files and Folders Chapter 4—Working with Applications Manually Starting an Application Working with Multiple Applications Switching Between Applications Hiding an Application Virtual Desktops Starting Applications Automatically The KDE Workspace Auto-restore Feature KDE Application Help: kdehelp Exiting Applications Chapter 5—Creating, Editing, and Saving Files Creating and Saving Files Creating a New File Opening an Existing File http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ewtoc.html (2 of 11) [1/27/2000 5:48:30 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux - Table of Contents Customizing the Open Panel Open Panel Setting Customizations Saving a New File File Naming Saving Changes to Your Documents Saving a New Version Text Editing Basics Selecting Text Copying and Moving Text Chapter 6—Organizing Your Files Getting Organized: Creating a Folder Copying Files and Folders Copying Files Using Drag and Drop Copying Files Using the Clipboard Moving Files and Folders Linking Files and Folders Replacing a File or a Folder Deleting a File or Folder Moving a File or Folder to the Trash Retrieving a File or Folder from the Trash Emptying the Trash File Properties Renaming a File or Folder Setting File and Folder Permissions Changing the Group of a File or Folder KDE Templates Chapter 7—Working with Disks Configuring the System to Allow Users to Access the CD-ROM and the Floppy Starting a Superuser KFM Session Enabling Regular Users to Access Disk Devices Creating kdelnk Files for the Floppy and CD Copying Files to or from a Floppy Opening and Saving Files to a Floppy Disk Accessing the CD-ROM http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ewtoc.html (3 of 11) [1/27/2000 5:48:30 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux - Table of Contents Preparing a New Floppy Disk Chapter 8—Accessing the Network Connecting to the Network Using a Dialup (PPP) Connection Adding an Internet Connection with Kppp Adding a New Dialup Configuration Configuring the Modem Device Debugging the Connection Connecting via Your Local Network Chapter 9—Communication: Web, FTP, Email, and News Accessing the Web FTP Email Configuring Your Identity for Netscape Messenger Configuring Your Mail Server Reading Email Composing an Email Message News Telnet Chapter 10—Customizing KDE Adding an Application to the Panel or Application Launcher Creating a Kdelnk File that Represents an Application Other KDE Options The KDE Control Center Part 2—Working on the Command Line Chapter 11—Shells and Consoles The UNIX Command Prompt Shell Flavors Graphic Consoles http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ewtoc.html (4 of 11) [1/27/2000 5:48:30 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux - Table of Contents Logging in Through a Console What Shell Are You Running? Command Line Program Syntax Navigating the File System Where Are You?: pwd Listing Files Listing Directories Remotely ls in Technicolor Making Shell Options the Default Changing Directories: cd Relative and Absolute Paths Filename Expansion: Tab Exiting the Console Shutting Down a Linux Box Rebooting a Linux Box Chapter 12—Working with Files on the Shell Working with Files and Folders Creating a New Empty File: touch Removing Files: rm Creating a Directory: mkdir Removing an Empty Directory: rmdir Copying Files: cp Moving Files and Directories: mv Creating Links: ln Reading Files Concatenating: cat Viewing a Page at a Time: less Peeking at the First Few Lines: head Peeking at the Last Few Lines: tail Chapter 13—Text Editing under a Shell An Improved Visual Editor: Vim Interactive Vim Tutorial Vim Basics Accessing the Shell from Vim Other Stuff http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ewtoc.html (5 of 11) [1/27/2000 5:48:30 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux - Table of Contents XEmacs Starting XEmacs and the XEmacs Tutorial Checking Your Spelling: Ispell Chapter 14—Putting the Shell to Work Using More Than One Command at a Time Command Groups and Subshells Redirection STDOUT STDERR Command Groups and Redirection Pipes: One Program’s Output Is Another’s Input Getting the Needed Input: Input Redirection Regular Expressions Match Anything: * Match Any Letter: ? Match in a Range: [] Negating a Range: ! Command History Jobs: Working on Multiple Things Using a Shell Suspending a Job Killing a Job Chapter 15—Help Please UNIX Manual Pages Searching for a Tool: apropos Getting a Brief Command Description: whatis Searching Standard Locations: whereis Built-in Command Information Online Help via /usr/doc More about HOWTO documents Mini HOWTOs LDP—Linux Documentation Project Reading Compressed Documentation: zless Info Pages Usenet: Internet Newsgroups Useful Books http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ewtoc.html (6 of 11) [1/27/2000 5:48:30 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux - Table of Contents Chapter 16—Permissions: Protecting and Sharing Your Work How Does Permissions Work? The Effective User Id Substitute User: su Beware of the Powers of Root! Changing Groups: newgrp Special Users Home Directories Changing File Permissions Permissions by the Numbers: 4, 2, 1, and 0 Permissions Using Symbols: u, g, o, r, w, and x Using chmod to Change Permissions Setuid, Setgid, and Sticky Bits The Default File Mode: umask Group Ownership and User Private Groups Chapter 17—Command Toolbox: Useful Shell Commands and Shortcuts User Utilities Changing Your Password: passwd Changing Your Shell: chsh Changing Personal Information: chfn Who’s on the System: who and w Viewing and Setting the Date and Time: date Getting a Calendar: cal Finding Files Finding Files by Name: find Locating Files: locate Finding Files that Contain a Word or Pattern: grep Text and File Utilities Counting Lines, Words, and Characters: wc Sorting Lines of Text: sort Formatting Text: fmt Splitting Files into Smaller Files: split Accessing a Computer Through the Network: telnet http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ewtoc.html (7 of 11) [1/27/2000 5:48:30 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux - Table of Contents Working on the Console: setfont UNIX Printing Primer UNIX Text Processing Part 3—Essential System Tasks Under Linux Chapter 18—Users, Groups, and Passwords Adding Users adduser Useradd Modifying Users: usermod Moving a Home Directory Changing a Login Name Changing Secondary Group Memberships Deleting Users: userdel Adding, Modifying, and Removing Groups Groupadd Managing Group Memberships: gpasswd Users and Passwords Password Don’ts Password Do’s Linux and Shadow Passwords Chapter 19—Backups: Safeguarding Your Work Media Are Just Devices Backup Media What to Back Up Simple Backups Tape Archive: tar Making a tar File Extracting Files from a tar Archive Extracting a File into a Device A Backup Strategy The dump Command dump Examples http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ewtoc.html (8 of 11) [1/27/2000 5:48:30 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux - Table of Contents restore Examples Graphical Backup Programs BRU2000 Chapter 20—Installing Programs and Applications RPM: The Red Hat Package Manager Installing, Upgrading, Downgrading, and Removing Software Installing Upgrading Downgrading Uninstalling A Database of Installed Software Finding Information About the Package Finding the Package that Owns a File Finding Files that are Owned by a Package Finding Documentation Related to a Package Verifying Your System Graphical Front Ends to RPM Non-RPM Packages Tar UNIX Compressed Archives: Gzip and Compress Windows Compressed Archives: Zip Chapter 21—LISA: Linux Installation and System Administration Utility Basic Functions of LISA Verbose System Analysis Software Package Administration System Configuration Hardware Configuration Area System Configuration Area Network Configuration Area Host Table Configuration Network Access Configuration General Network Services Configuration http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ewtoc.html (9 of 11) [1/27/2000 5:48:30 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux - Table of Contents Boot Manager Configuration Chapter 22—System Monitoring: Keeping an Eye on Your System Monitoring Memory How Much Memory: free Procinfo Monitoring Processes Listing the Current Top Processes: top Process Status: ps ”Nicing” a process: nice and renice Monitoring Your Disk Finding out How Much Disk Files Consume: du Finding the Amount of Free Disk Space: df Log Files Monitoring Logins: last Monitoring Bad Logins: lastb Chapter 23—Sharing Files over the Network NFS Exporting an NFS Volume Mounting an NFS Volume FTP Connecting to an FTP Site Hosting an FTP Service HTTP Configuring an Apache Server Controlling Access SMB: Sharing Disks and Printers to PCs Accessing a PC Network Drive from Linux: smbclient Chapter 24—Customizing Your Linux Kernel Customizing Your Linux Kernel with LISA Customizing Your Linux Kernel by Recompiling Getting Started Configuring the New Kernel Compiling the Kernel and Necessary Modules http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ewtoc.html (10 of 11) [1/27/2000 5:48:30 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux - Table of Contents Installing the New Kernel Installing the New Modules Configuring LILO Configuring the New Modules and Rebooting Appendix A Appendix B Index Products | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy | Ad Info | Home Use of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is prohibited. http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ewtoc.html (11 of 11) [1/27/2000 5:48:30 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux:1, 2, 3 Go! To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles. Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux (Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing) Author(s): Manuel Ricart Go! ISBN: 078971826x Publication Date: 12/22/98 Keyword Brief Full Advanced Search this book: Search Search Tips Go! Table of Contents ----------- 1, 2, 3 Go! Welcome to Linux! It’s the software that is grabbing the world’s attention as a reliable and powerful operating system (OS). At the time of this writing, Linux and Windows NT are the only OSs gaining market share. Most other OSs are either stagnant or are losing their share to Linux or Windows NT. How to Use This Book This book is a gentle introduction to Linux, and as such, it is not intended as a comprehensive guide. On the contrary, great effort has gone into this book to keep it from becoming yet another comprehensive reference guide. I’ve been selective about covering the topics you are most likely to use early in your Linux hacking career. One of the interesting things about Linux, and UNIX in general, is that learning new ways and tools is almost an endless task. There are many tools—too many to cover even in several “comprehensive” volumes. Much of the comprehensive and exhaustive reference for Linux is readily available in various forms, some of which will be installed into your computer as part of the installation process. In contrast, this book focuses on how to make you self-sufficient. It teaches you two ways of working with Linux: using the X graphical environment (with KDE) and using the shell, the command line interpreter so closely associated with UNIX. And, if you are managing your own Linux computer, there are some administrative tasks that you need to learn how to do. http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/about.html (1 of 5) [1/27/2000 5:48:32 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux:1, 2, 3 Go! So how is this book organized? Installation and first-time configuration instructions are located in Appendix A, “Linux Installation.” Appendix B, “OpenLinux Compatibility Guide,” provides you with an up-to-date list of the ever-growing and ever-changing list of hardware that is known to be compatible with Linux. While mapping your installation plan, you should verify that your hardware is listed and known to be compatible with OpenLinux. After your initial Linux installation and configuration, start with Part 1, “Working with Linux in a Graphical Environment—The KDE Desktop,” and read the chapters in order. (We’ve structured the chapters counting on you doing so.) Part 2, “Working on the Command Line,” introduces similar concepts as Part I, this time using a shell instead of a graphical user interface. Last, Part 3, “Essential System Tasks Under Linux,” focuses on various administration tasks that you’ll need to do occasionally. Keep in mind that while you are learning Linux, you are also learning UNIX. What you learn here will transfer with little modification into other UNIX environments. Have fun getting to know your new operating system! Why Linux? So why all the attention? UNIX has been around for a number of years, and although believed by some to be the only choice among real OSs, it has remained in the vertical market arena until very recently. But what does this mean? UNIX (or Linux, which is based on UNIX) provides a very robust environment in which to run and deploy applications. By design, it offers the following features: • Multiuser support • Security • Full multitasking • Networking support for client and server applications • Source code These are features that some of the PC OSs available today don’t offer, or they have been added as an afterthought. These are all very important features, especially in the context of today’s networked environments where computers share information. Unlike Windows-based systems, UNIX is able to support multiple users concurrently. A single UNIX/Linux computer can have multiple users working on it (running programs, accessing files, and other services) at the same time, either seamlessly across a network or through a directly attached console (a screen and keyboard). As a result, UNIX and Linux offer an environment where many (hundreds) of users can simultaneously access a system, if the system has enough resources. With so many potential users, how do you protect important files from unauthorized access? Linux’s UNIX roots handle security transparently, not as an afterthought, but as part of the Linux way of life. In order for you to work on the computer, you have to sign in. http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/about.html (2 of 5) [1/27/2000 5:48:32 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux:1, 2, 3 Go! Security isn’t Linux’s only kudo. It’s also an expert juggler! How else could you simultaneously support multiple users? Linux is a multitasking OS. It juggles multiple programs and users at the same time, creating the illusion that each user is working on his or her own computer. Obviously, only a little tiny bit of work can be done in a slice of time, but the illusion is well maintained. Other OSs that claim to be multitasking usually don’t scale well. When a few users are accessing the services, performance rapidly decreases. The juggling illusion becomes reality for platforms that support multiple processors. The computer can, in fact, juggle multiple things at the same time. The Linux OS takes advantage of these hardware configurations and makes use of the additional processing power to increase performance to new levels—usually with better results than the original OS the hardware was designed for. Many of today’s computers rely on a networked environment. “The network is the computer”SM is the famous slogan for Sun Microsystems, a large UNIX vendor. The network is indeed the computer. Information exchange via email, the Web, and other mechanisms is an everyday fact. Linux can not only participate as a client for such services, but it can also offer them to other PCs and workstations. Linux, in fact, powers many Internet service providers (ISPs) and the users who access the ISP’s services. It is well tested and reliable. Not many commercial environments provide the source code to how they work, and then do so freely. That’s where Linux steps out from the crowd! Having the source code allows information service (IS) departments, or hackers as well, to customize the particular behavior of the OS or a program distributed with it to fit a particular need. Companies concerned about security issues can examine how the software really works and make their own evaluations and adjustments. In the event of a problem, someone with the right background can generate a fix, usually within hours of a problem or security issue being discovered. Compare that to waiting for days, weeks, or months for bug fixes—the norm that most of us have come to expect with other OSs. For the student, having access to the source code provides insight into how systems are made and built. On the downside, UNIX and UNIX-like OSs have lacked ergonomics on the surface, providing confusing interfaces that vary from program to program and vendor to vendor, and generally aren’t intuitive for nonexpert-type users. Mainstream application developers not seeing profitability with these environments have chosen to keep their wares on other, more profitable OS platforms. But that attitude is rapidly changing in the Linux market. With its newfound popularity, Linux has encouraged big software developers such as Oracle, Sybase, Corel, and many others to develop versions of their applications for Linux systems. The world is beginning to take Linux seriously—and a little sponsoring goes a long way! This in itself has generated additional media interest, and Linux coverage has changed from a curiosity in obscure publications to a viable business option and alternative to heavyweight products from other companies. This is great news, because the more developers entering the Linux arena, the more popular and accessible this OS environment becomes! http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/about.html (3 of 5) [1/27/2000 5:48:32 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux:1, 2, 3 Go! With the advent of Linux, the infrastructure (the guts of what makes UNIX so robust) suddenly is available free of charge. In a world where a desktop license for the average commercial UNIX is several thousands of dollars, this is indeed a very good breakthrough. It has eased Linux into environments where UNIX would never have been considered due to price constraints. No doubt much of its popularity starts with it being available for its nice price: free for the download or for under $50 if you want it packaged into a CD—or if you bought this book, you got an even better deal! It most definitely is priced to sell. Commercial distributions of Linux include additional commercial software that further enhances its value for resolving additional business-type problems. Also helping with the Linux craze is the advent of the Internet. Many people requiring a robust environment to handle their Internet services, such as the World Wide Web, email, and others, have traditionally considered UNIX to be the natural for this. From the beginning, most of the things you hear about today were available and developed there first. Macintosh and Windows-based machines only recently (in UNIX terms) have become networked. But even today, they still don’t have the same robustness when playing server roles. UNIX machines have been participating in networks since almost the inception of networks. Linux is a new concept for UNIX. It is freely available and supports cutting edge hardware, not to mention it’s much easier to use than the UNIX systems that preceded it. That’s not saying that rough edges are not to be found, however. Although Linux is not particularly difficult to learn, any difficulty comes with the increase in functionality. All powerful and flexible things are usually complicated; to say that Linux isn’t powerful would deny its flexibility and complexity. New desktop environments, such as the K Desktop Environment (or KDE for short), are promising high-quality user interfaces that provide cutting-edge features previously unavailable to UNIX-like systems. Revitalized ergonomics provide a price-feature comparison not previously possible. Included with this book is Caldera’s OpenLinux 1.3. Caldera has positioned its Linux distribution as the commercial strength, reliable version of Linux. Some of its features are very nice when compared with the other popular distribution (RedHat). The additional add-ins provided by Caldera (Sybase, NetWare support, and so on) make it easy for OpenLinux to migrate to your workplace. Recently, the city of Medina, Washington (population 3,082) selected OpenLinux to implement its document management system. The reason for this move was related to the 40,000+ construction permits, blueprints, change orders, and other documents related to the construction of the $53 million home that Microsoft’s Bill Gates built there. The city’s choice came at the realization that there was no more room for any future paperwork, and it would be required either to build a new town hall or to install a document management system. Naturally, Microsoft Windows NT was looked into as a potential solution, but after realizing that the OpenLinux solution would cost less than 10% of the NT solution, OpenLinux won the city’s business. Talk http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/about.html (4 of 5) [1/27/2000 5:48:32 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux:1, 2, 3 Go! about irony! After such a persuasive argument about Linux being an up-and-coming OS, aren’t you ready to get started? That’s just what this book is designed to help you do—get started with Linux. If you are experienced with other OSs, this book will develop your Linux basic skills. One goal has been to make you productive right from the start. This book will take you from installing Linux to doing basic things and even to doing some system administration things. Conventions The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Linux is designed to help you get up and running with your new Linux OS. In doing so, this book uses the following conventions: • Bold indicates text that you type, items you select, click and press, and text that you see on your screen. • You’ll see monospace text for URLs, onscreen messages and command output. • Any words that are being defined or emphasized will appear in italics. Also, be sure to watch for these features: Check This Out: You’ll find “Check This Out” sections throughout the book. I’ll use them to point out things that are noteworthy, stuff to be leery of, great tips—basically, they’ll be full of information that will add to your understanding of Linux and maybe even make you say, “Wow!” Techno Talk: Everyone knows that technical subjects sometimes leave you scratching your head wondering what that long-winded explanation just meant. Well, have no fear. I’ll turn to “Techno Talk” boxes to let you know when to read carefully. This is where I’ll highlight terms, methods or brainy stuff that you don’t necessarily need to know, but that certainly helps you make more sense out of Linux. Note: The “Note” boxes will be used to pass along cross-references pointing you to other parts of the book or for anything that I feel is something you should take a look at. Table of Contents Products | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy | Ad Info | Home Use of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is prohibited. http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/about.html (5 of 5) [1/27/2000 5:48:32 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux:About the Authors To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles. Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux (Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing) Author(s): Manuel Ricart Go! ISBN: 078971826x Publication Date: 12/22/98 Keyword Brief Full Advanced Search this book: Search Search Tips Go! Table of Contents ----------- About the Author Manuel Alberto Ricart is a trainer and engineer for Paradigm Research, Inc. (http://www.pri.com), a Silicon Valley–based training company. Alberto develops instructional materials for Java and Internet programming technologies. Paradigm Research, Inc. delivers its training materials to a number of Fortune 500 and notable high-tech companies, including Hewlett-Packard, MCI, Ford, and Netscape Communications, Inc. Alberto has been involved with computers since the late 1970s, when he was introduced to programming on a then–state-of-the-art IBM system 32, which had a whopping 32KB of RAM and a tiny hard disk. Since then, he has developed a number of software products for the Macintosh operating system (OS), the NEXTSTEP OS, and, more recently, Java. Alberto has also provided UNIX and Internet networking support to a wide range of clients since the mid-1980s. He holds both bachelor’s (1987) and master’s (1989) degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In 1992, he founded a software company, SmartSoft, Inc., that developed a wide range of commercial object-oriented software tools for the NEXTSTEP/OPENSTEP (UNIX) OS. His products were sold worldwide. In 1995, he cofounded a second firm dedicated to building Internet solutions that enabled companies to harness the Internet for business. His specialty is dynamic content-driven intranets and electronic commerce solutions. He has developed custom technologies used by notable companies such as Oshkosh B’Gosh and Warburg Pincus Funds. http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/about_author.html (1 of 3) [1/27/2000 5:48:33 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux:About the Authors Alberto specializes in the invention and design of software products and tools. His focus is Internet and Web core technologies such as the Apache and Netscape Web servers, Perl, JavaScript, Java, and all the other technologies required to support them, such as UNIX network connectivity and administration. Since 1996, Alberto has used Linux extensively in the development and deployment of many Internet Web sites and intranet projects. His book Apache Server Survival Guide (published by sams.net, ISBN 1-57521-175-0) has been published in hard copy and included in two other electronic publications relating to the RedHat LINUX OS. Alberto can be reached at [email protected], where he can usually be found tinkering with technologies all day long. Dedication To Diana, Julisa, Isabella, and Viviana: You make it all possible. Acknowledgments Writing a book is a monumental task that touches on the lives of many people. As usual, my personal monumental tasks get in queue during those times I tend to have more than enough to do. I am still trying to figure out a way of making the process easy on me and my family. Ideals are nice things. To my beautiful and wonderful wife, Diana, and my three beautiful girls, Julisa, Isabella, and Viviana, this book is for you. I know I blew a summer for the second time. I think I know how you feel. Knowing that single individuals cannot accomplish monumental tasks, many thanks are also needed for people whom I have never met in person, yet their periodical emails and phone calls made them seem closer than they are: Laura Bulcher for making sure that I wrote what I meant to say. Grace Buechlein for facilitating the many opportunities and making it all possible. Aron Hsiao and Jeff Perkins for playing the reader’s role and verifying that my writings are not fiction and that what I said works exactly how I say it does. (Any discrepancies are their fault and not mine A.) All others, anonymous editors and formatters whose names I have no idea of, for making the production of this book a reality. And, finally, Mr. Zero, Stephen Asbury—a friend since the NeXT days, with whom I share the unique pragmatic understanding of the good and evil in technology—for patiently listening to my colorful complaints while developing the “uphill” portion of this book. Note: Linux is an evolving operating system. That’s why it’s all the more http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/about_author.html (2 of 3) [1/27/2000 5:48:33 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux:About the Authors important for you to check the Caldera Systems Web site regularly for company announcements and software patches. Here’s where you can find information specific to the release of Linux included with this book: http://www.calderasystems.com Be sure to take a look at the “News & Features” section for news, reviews and product updates. Tell Us What You Think! As the reader of this book, you are our most important critic and commentator. We value your opinion and want to know what we’re doing right, what we could do better, what areas you’d like to see us publish in, and any other words of wisdom you’re willing to pass our way. As the Executive Editor for the Operating Systems team at Macmillan Computer Publishing, I welcome your comments. You can fax, email, or write me directly to let me know what you did or didn’t like about this book—as well as what we can do to make our books stronger. Please note that I cannot help you with technical problems related to the topic of this book, and that due to the high volume of mail I receive, I might not be able to reply to every message. When you write, please be sure to include this book’s title and author as well as your name and phone or fax number. I will carefully review your comments and share them with the author and editors who worked on the book. Fax: 317-581-4663 E-mail: [email protected] Mail: Executive Editor Operating Systems Macmillan Computer Publishing 201 West 103rd Street Indianapolis, IN 46290 USA Table of Contents Products | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy | Ad Info | Home Use of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is prohibited. http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/about_author.html (3 of 3) [1/27/2000 5:48:33 PM] Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux:The First Login on the KDE Desktop To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles. Complete Idiot's Guide to Linux (Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing) Author(s): Manuel Ricart Go! ISBN: 078971826x Publication Date: 12/22/98 Keyword Brief Full Advanced Search this book: Search Search Tips Go! Previous Table of Contents Next ----------- Part 1 Working with Linux in a Graphical Environment—The KDE Desktop Okay, so you’ve installed Linux (Part 4 walks you through that), and you’re ready to face the beast. Guess what: You’re in for a surprise! Part 1 gives you a look at the kindler, gentler side of Linux—the K Desktop Environment, or KDE. The chapters in this section walk you through working with applications, teaching your files who’s boss, and communicating on the Web. We even take a look at how to customize KDE so that it looks and works the way you want it to. Are you ready to get this adventure started? Slide into your walking shoes, grab some snacks for the trip, and let’s get moving! Chapter 1 The First Login on the KDE Desktop This section assumes that you have already installed Caldera OpenLinux. If you didn’t read the introduction, I recommend that you do so now, as the introduction explains the logical order for this book and some of the conventions used throughout. In This Chapter • Getting into Linux http://www.itknowledge.com/reference/standard/078971826x/ch01/007-012.html (1 of 4) [1/27/2000 5:48:36 PM]
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