Introduction to Linux: Lesson 1 (printer-friendly version) Your Instructor: Richard Blum INSTRUCTIONS:

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1 ntroduction to Linux: Lesson 1 of /1/ :47 AM Introduction to Linux: Lesson 1 (printer-friendly version) Your Instructor: Richard Blum INSTRUCTIONS: To print this page, wait for the page to fully load. Once the document is ready to print, simply click your browser's File menu and choose Print. To save this page, click your browser's File menu and choose Save As. Select a disk drive and folder to receive the file, and change the name of the file to less01.htm. To view the file while you are offline, just go to the drive and folder you selected when you saved the file and double-click the file named less01.htm. Your browser will start and you will have access to the file. Chapter 1 Introduction Hello, and welcome to Introduction to Linux. My name is Rich Blum, and I'll be your instructor for this course. Before I talk about what we'll be doing, let me tell you a little bit about myself. Since 1988, I've been a network and server support person at a large (3,500+ user) organization. For more than a decade, I've worked with Linux-based network servers and desktop computers. My side job is tech writing, and I have written several books about Linux, mostly geared toward the server environment. I have a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's degree in management, specializing in management information systems. Needless to say, I enjoy being around computers! As a network support person, I work extensively with computer users. Every day I see the frustration on people's faces as they try to muddle through various applications to get their jobs done. I've always felt that something is wrong with this picture. Computers are supposed to make our lives simpler, not more complicated. This is why I'm a big fan of Linux. Linux is a software system that is an alternative to Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh. It can help simplify your life. How? Well, most likely, you could find a single Linux package that includes programs for all of the different things you do on your home computer. That would mean no more running around purchasing separate software packages the way you have to with Windows or a Mac. And you won't have to muddle through different programs that may or may not work together. Also, Linux applications are often available for free. That sounds pretty good, doesn't it? The purpose of this course is to help you get comfortable in a Linux environment. I have chosen to use the SimplyMEPIS Linux distribution for all our examples and assignments. This is one of the easiest Linux distributions for beginning Linux users to install and get working. (If you don't know what a Linux distribution is yet, don't worry we'll talk about it shortly.) After the course is over, you'll be able to use what you've learned here to explore other Linux distributions and find the one you like best. Now let me give you a brief overview of what we'll be doing during our time together. Before we start working with Linux, we'll talk about what exactly Linux is and why there are so many different Linux packages available. After that, we'll explore the basics of navigating your Linux computer. While Linux may look similar to the Windows and Macintosh environments, there are a few differences you need to know about. Once you're comfortable with your Linux PC, we'll dive into the software packages available in SimplyMEPIS, seeing how they can solve your everyday tasks. You'll find out how to use the word processor, spreadsheet, presentation graphics, and desktop publishing features provided by one of the most popular free software packages included with Linux OpenOffice. After that, we'll move on to the multimedia world of playing, ripping, and burning CDs and DVDs. Nowadays, it's not uncommon for people to have multiple PCs in their home. So we'll look at how to use your Linux PC on an existing home network, sharing files and printers with other PCs in the house (including Windows and Macintosh). Since virtually everyone wants to connect to the Internet, we'll find out how to do that with your Linux PC. You'll see

2 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 12 7/1/ :47 AM demonstrations of Linux software that you can use for all of your , Web browsing, and Internet chatting needs. Then, we'll end this course by discussing some of the basics of keeping your Linux computer running smoothly. While you may never have to worry about managing a 1,000-user Linux server, it's not a bad idea to know the fundamentals of how to manage your Linux PC things like how to download and install new programs. All right, we'll spend the rest of Lesson 1 exploring exactly what Linux is. Even though I want everyone to use SimplyMEPIS for this course, I also want you to understand why there are so many different Linux packages available. So, today we'll walk through the features that separate the different Linux packages. And though you may already have SimplyMEPIS installed, we're going to discuss the various installation options. This way, the next time you want to install Linux, you'll feel really confident about what you're doing. Note: If you don't have the SimplyMEPIS Linux distribution installed yet and need more information about where to get it and how to install it, don't worry just visit the first link in this lesson's Supplementary Material section. We'll also focus on it in this lesson's assignment. Okay, follow me to Chapter 2, and let's start our adventure! Chapter 2 What Is Linux? So you probably heard somewhere that Linux has many advantages over Microsoft Windows or Apple Macintosh. Now you want to try it. Unfortunately, when you went to the store to buy a copy (or got on the Internet to download one), you discovered that there is more than one Linux. I'm sure you're asking, "What's up with that?" Just like a Windows or Macintosh computer, a Linux computer contains several different pieces of software. Unlike those other computers, though, with Linux you don't have to go out and purchase the individual software applications separately to get a complete computer system. Instead, you get a Linux package that bundles various software pieces together for you. In other words, you purchase (or download) a single package that includes all the software you need. The problem is, different Linux packages bundle different types of software. So how do you know what package to get? Well, the first step is to learn the four basic categories of software that comprise a Linux system. So let's look at them. The Linux Software Again, a Linux system consists of four separate categories of software pieces that interact with each other. They are: The Linux kernel The GNU operating system utilities Windows management software Application software

3 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 12 7/1/ :47 AM Software parts of a Linux system Every Linux package (including SimplyMEPIS) contains various pieces of software from each of those categories. And, as you will see, the different packages contain many of the same programs from some categories (such as the Linux kernel and GNU utilities). Usually, the biggest difference between Linux packages is in the application software that is bundled. Let's examine each of the four software categories more closely. The Kernel The core of the Linux system is called the kernel. It controls all of the hardware parts of the computer system, such as the disk drive, memory, printer, monitor, and keyboard. A person named Linus Torvalds developed the Linux kernel while he was a student at the University of Helsinki. After developing the kernel, Linus released it to the Internet community and solicited suggestions for improving it. This enabled anyone in the world to suggest programming changes to the kernel. However, allowing just anyone to actually change it would create chaos. So now a core group of people handles change requests to the official release of the Linux kernel. Linus keeps ultimate control over the group and dictates what changes are incorporated into each new kernel release. The Linux kernel contains individual pieces of software (called hardware drivers) that interact with all of the hardware devices in your computer. As you may know from the Windows world, for each hardware device, a computer needs a driver to tell it how to talk to the device. In the Linux kernel, the specific hardware drivers are called modules. Modules can be inserted and removed from the kernel either automatically by the system, as different hardware devices are detected, or manually if the hardware is not autodetected. With the popularity of Linux growing, PC device manufacturers are including more and more Linux drivers for their products. The SimplyMEPIS distribution provides not one, but two different Linux kernels for you to choose from. When the boot screen appears, you have the option of selecting a newer kernel, which supports newer hardware, or an older kernel, which supports older hardware. It is best to try the newer kernel first and see if all of your hardware is supported. The newer kernel also includes some performance improvements, allowing you to work faster with the hardware you have. The System Utilities Besides having a kernel to control hardware devices, a computer system needs utilities to perform standard functions, such as controlling files and programs. While Linus created the computer system kernel, he had no system utilities to run on it. Fortunately for him, at the same time he was working, a group of people was developing a set of standard computer system utilities but didn't have a kernel to run them on.

4 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 12 7/1/ :47 AM The GNU organization (oddly, GNU stands for GNUs Not UNIX) developed a complete set of utilities that mimic the utilities found on the UNIX computer system, which, at the time, was a very popular computer system used mainly in larger computer centers. These utilities were developed under a software philosophy called open source software (OSS). OSS allows programmers to develop software and then release it to the world with no licensing fees attached. Anyone can use the software, modify it, or incorporate it in his or her own system without having to pay anything. Uniting Linus' Linux kernel with the GNU operating system utilities birthed a complete computer system. While the bundle of the Linux kernel and the GNU utilities is often just called Linux, you will see some purists on the Internet refer to it as the GNU/Linux system in order to give credit to the GNU organization for its contribution to the cause. But don't let this confuse you it's still the same Linux system. While a GNU/Linux system might be all that Linux geeks need, we normal users require more software to be able to do useful things with Linux. Windows Management Software If you have been around computers for a long time, you may remember the old Microsoft DOS days. Back then, instead of a fancy graphical interface to start your programs, a simple text command line greeted you and waited for you to type something. This looked similar to the Windows command prompt window you see now in Windows XP. The Microsoft Windows XP command prompt To make computers more user friendly, developers created a graphical environment that allows users to start programs by just clicking icons or selecting them from menus. In the early days of Linux, it looked like Windows back in the DOS days all you had to work with was text command lines. Only computer geeks could have known all of the possible commands that made a Linux system do things. Fortunately for us, it didn't take long for Linux developers to recognize that for Linux to make it big in the desktopcomputing world, it too needed a graphical interface. The software that provides this interface in Linux is called the windows management software. What you see on the screen is usually referred to as the desktop. It contains icons for your currently running programs as well as a menu system for accessing programs on the system. In the true spirit of open source software, several different organizations are working on windows management software for Linux. As a result, some Linux packages often include a few different windows management software packages, allowing you to test each one and decide which one you prefer. The SimplyMEPIS distribution only uses the KDE windows management software, which provides a desktop environment similar to Microsoft Windows. Here's an example of a SimplyMEPIS graphical desktop:

5 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 12 7/1/ :47 AM The SimplyMEPIS KDE desktop Application Software Of course, no operating system is complete without actual programs that do useful tasks. If you've been using Windows or Macintosh computer systems, you're familiar with various application programs for word processing, spreadsheets, graphical illustrations, playing and recording CDs and DVDs, browsing the Web, and reading . Each of these tasks requires some sort of specialized software. In the Microsoft and Apple worlds, many of these applications are sold as separate items (such as the Microsoft Office package for word processing). But as we discussed earlier, in the Linux world, applications are usually included in the same software package as the Linux system. That's right one-stop shopping! This makes life much easier for the beginning computer user. There are programs for the Linux environment for just about every function imaginable from standard office products such as word processing, to exotic digital signal processors. And true to the Linux world, the majority of these applications are open source software, allowing you to obtain and use them for free. Of course, the bad part about choice is that often there are too many things to choose from. This is sometimes the case in Linux. Too many applications can make it difficult to build a proper Linux system. But in the next chapter, we'll delve into how different organizations bundle Linux software together. Once you understand this, you'll find making choices quite a bit easier. Chapter 3 Linux Distributions A complete Linux package bundle containing the kernel, the GNU utilities, one or more windows management software packages, and a set of application programs is called a distribution. As we've discussed, there are many different Linux distributions to choose from. Most distributions are customized for a specific user group such as business users, multimedia enthusiasts, or normal home users and include application software commonly used by them. There are several big-name Linux distributions. These are complete sets that include just about every Linux application known. The following table describes some of them.

6 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 12 7/1/ :47 AM Popular Linux Distributions Distribution Name Slackware Red Hat Fedora Mandriva SuSe Debian Comments One of the original Linux distribution sets, popular with Linux geeks. Business distribution used mainly for Internet servers. A spin-off from Red Hat but designed for home use. Designed mainly for home use (previously called Mandrake). Different distributions for business and home use (now owned by Novell). Popular with Linux experts and commercial Linux products. In the old days (the early 90s), a distribution was released as a set of floppy disks. You had to download groups of files and then copy them onto disks. It would usually take 20 or more disks to make an entire distribution. Needless to say, this was a painful experience. Nowadays, with home computers having CD and DVD players built in, Linux distributions are released as either a CD set or a single DVD. This makes installing Linux much easier. But beginners still often run into problems when they install the main Linux distributions. Here's why. To cover just about any situation in which someone might want to use Linux, a single distribution has to include lots of application software. So they include everything from high-end Internet database servers to small home systems used for game playing. Plus, they often include software in a variety of languages for international audiences. Because of the quantity of applications available for Linux, a complete distribution often takes four or more CDs. While having lots of options available in a distribution is great for Linux geeks, it can become a nightmare for beginning Linux users. Most distributions ask a series of questions during the installation process to determine which applications to load by default, what hardware is connected to the PC, and how to configure the hardware. Beginners often find these questions confusing. As a result, they often either load way too many programs on their computer or don't load enough and later discover that their computer won't do what they want it to. Fortunately for beginners, there's a much simpler way to install Linux. Customized Linux Distributions A new subgroup of Linux distributions has started to appear. These are typically based on one of the main distributions but contain only a subset of applications that would make sense for a specific area of use. Besides providing customized software, customized Linux distributions also attempt to help beginning Linux users by autodetecting and autoconfiguring common hardware devices. This makes installing Linux a much more enjoyable process. The following table shows some of the customized Linux distributions available and what they specialize in. Customized Linux Distributions Distribution Name Linspire Xandros Comments A commercial Linux package configured to look like Windows. A commercial Linux package configured for beginners.

7 ntroduction to Linux: Lesson 1 of /1/ :47 AM SimplyMEPIS Ubuntu PCLinuxOS dyne:bolic Puppy Linux A free distribution for home use. A free distribution for school and home use. A free distribution for home and office use. A free distribution designed for audio and MIDI applications. A free small distribution that runs well on older PCs. That's just a small sampling of Linux subdistributions. More are popping up all the time on the Internet. No matter what your specialty, you'll probably find a Linux distribution made for you. Notice that the SimplyMEPIS distribution is a customized Linux distribution for home users. It's based on the Debian big-name Linux distribution. It uses the same files as Debian but packages only a small fraction of a full-blown Debian system. This allows you to concentrate on using Linux rather than getting stuck trying to install and understand a massive Linux distribution. Obtaining Linux Distributions There are two common methods for obtaining Linux distribution sets. Obviously, one way is to purchase a set of CDs or DVDs. If you don't have access to a high-speed Internet connection, this is the best route to take. You can buy the disks either as a stand-alone boxed set or by purchasing a Linux book that includes CDs (yes, many Linux books include a complete Linux distribution CD or DVD). On the other hand, if you do have access to a high-speed Internet connection, you can freely download most Linux distribution CDs to your PC. The files are actually CD image files (they have an.iso extension). Once you download the files, you can burn them onto CDs using standard CD burning software. Note: You must be careful when burning the.iso CD image files. Don't just copy them to a new CD as you normally would when you burn files to a CD. The.iso image file is a copy of a CD, so you have to do it differently. Most CD burning software has a feature to create a CD directly from a CD image file. This is the option you want to use to create the distribution CDs. When you're finished burning the new CD, you should see files and folders on it instead of just the.iso file. If you see the.iso file on the CD, you did not burn it properly. Purchasing vs. Downloading There are two business models for companies that produce Linux distributions. Some companies sell their Linux distribution sets. You pay them for CDs (or a DVD) of the distribution either as a boxed set in a bookstore or by downloading the product. The purchase price usually includes a period of time during which you can get customer support. Novell, Xandros, and Linspire Linux fall into this category. Other companies allow you to download their Linux distribution for free but offer customer support for a price. Mandriva and MEPIS fall into this category. Finally, many organizations offer their Linux distribution as a free download but don't provide any formal customer support. Instead, you must browse various user forums and newsgroups to get answers to your questions. Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, and Puppy Linux are in this category. For the beginning Linux user, there are advantages to purchasing a Linux distribution rather than just downloading a free one from the Internet. For one thing, beginners often find that having someone available to help smooth out installation problems is a lifesaver. Also, by purchasing a Linux distribution from a company, you are helping contribute to the Linux cause. While the open source software community is all about sharing, there are still operation costs involved. Most Linux companies also use

8 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 12 7/1/ :47 AM the money to invest in more development work in open source software. So, once you find a Linux distribution that you enjoy, consider contributing to the cause either by purchasing the distribution or by helping other Linux beginners in user forums and newsgroups. Chapter 4 Linux Live CDs A relatively new phenomenon in the Linux world is the bootable Linux CD distribution. This lets you see what a Linux system is like without actually installing it. Most modern PCs can boot from a CD instead of the standard hard drive. So some Linux distributions create a bootable CD that contains either a complete or a sample Linux system (called a Linux live CD). The result is, you can boot your PC from the CD and run a Linux distribution without having to install anything on your hard drive! This is an excellent way to test various Linux distributions without having to mess with your PC. Just pop in a CD and boot! All of the Linux software will run directly off the CD. In fact, you could do all of the assignments in this course directly from a bootable Linux CD, without having to actually install Linux! There are lots of Linux live CDs that you can download from the Internet and burn onto a CD or DVD. (As with Linux distributions, remember to burn the CD image using the proper burning software to create the CD directly from the image.) Also, many Linux books now come with Linux live CDs, so you can follow the book directly on the CD Linux system without having to install Linux on your PC. Here's a table of some popular Linux live CDs: Popular Linux Live CDs Distribution Name Knoppix SimplyMEPIS PCLinuxOS Ubuntu Slax Puppy Linux Comments A German Linux, the first Linux live CD developed. Designed for beginning home Linux users. Full-blown Linux distribution on a live CD. A worldwide Linux project, designed for many languages. A live Linux CD based on Slackware Linux. A full-featured Linux designed for older PCs. You may notice that many Linux distributions also have a Linux live CD. Some Linux live CDs, such as SimplyMEPIS and PCLinuxOS, allow you to install the Linux distribution directly from the live CD. This enables you to boot with the live CD, test drive the Linux distribution, and then, if you like it, install it onto your hard drive. This feature is extremely handy and user-friendly. Linux Live CD Issues As with all good things, Linux live CDs have a few drawbacks. Since you access everything from the CD, applications run more slowly especially if you're using older, slower computers and CD drives. Also, since you can't write to the CD, any changes you make to the Linux system will be gone the next time you reboot. But there are advances being made in the Linux live CD world that help to solve some of these problems. These advances include the ability to: Copy Linux system files from the CD to memory Copy system files to a file on the hard drive

9 ntroduction to Linux: Lesson 1 of /1/ :47 AM Store system settings on a USB memory stick Store user settings on a USB memory stick Some Linux live CDs, such as Puppy Linux, contain a minimum number of Linux system files and copy them directly into memory when the CD boots. This allows you to remove the CD from the computer as soon as Linux boots. Not only does this make your applications run much faster (since applications run faster from memory), but it gives you a free CD tray to use for ripping audio CDs or playing video DVDs from the software included in Puppy Linux. Other Linux live CDs use an alternative method that allows you to remove the CD from the tray after booting. It involves copying the core Linux files onto the Windows hard drive as a single file. After the CD boots, it looks for that file and reads the system files from it. The dyne:bolic Linux live CD uses this technique, which is called docking. Of course, you must copy the system file to your hard drive before you can boot from the CD. A very popular technique for storing data from a live Linux CD session is to use a common USB memory stick (also called a flash drive and a thumb drive). Just about every Linux live CD can recognize a plugged-in USB memory stick (even if the stick is formatted for Windows) and read and write files from it. This allows you to boot a Linux live CD, use the Linux applications to create files, store them on your memory stick, and then access them from your Windows applications later (or from a different computer). How cool is that? The SimplyMEPIS distribution we'll be using allows you to use a USB memory stick for your personal data. This means you can boot any PC using the SimplyMEPIS live Linux CD and then work with your personal files from the USB memory stick. This is great for people who travel and use different PCs. Note: If you have a Dell computer, are using the SimplyMEPIS live Linux CD, and your screen resolution is stuck at 600 x 480, please see this lesson's FAQs for a solution to the problem. That's enough ground to cover for today. Let's move on to Chapter 5 and quickly summarize what we've learned. Chapter 5 Summary I hope you feel up to speed now on the basics of the Linux world. We discussed a number of important major concepts. Linux is an operating system that can simplify your life because you can get a single package that contains all the software you'll need. Many Linux applications are even available for free. While there are lots of Linux distributions around, they all have four components in common: the Linux kernel, the GNU utilities, one or more windows management software packages, and a set of applications. When choosing a Linux distribution, be sure you look for one that includes the applications you will be using most. If you choose a complete Linux distribution, it will include just about every possible application and hardware driver available for Linux. This means you have to be sure to answer all the installation questions properly so that the right applications and hardware drivers get installed. To avoid having to make decisions during installation time, you can choose a customized Linux distribution. The customized distributions include a subset of the complete distributions, customized for specific types of use. Customized Linux distributions can also help make your life simpler by autoconfiguring hardware found on your PC. In this course, we'll be using the customized Linux distribution called SimplyMEPIS. By far, the simplest way to test Linux is to use a Linux live CD. By booting your PC from one, you can run all of the Linux applications without having to mess with your hard drive. In our next lesson, we'll dive into the world of Linux windows management software packages. As mentioned in this lesson, there are lots to choose from. Lesson 2 will help take some of the mystery out of them and show you how to use and customize the KDE package included with SimplyMEPIS.

10 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 12 7/1/ :47 AM Next Steps When you feel like you understand the material we've covered in this lesson, I'd like you to take a short multiple-choice quiz. To access it, click the word quizzes at the top or bottom of any page in this classroom. When the quiz form comes up, select Quiz 01, and then click the Submit button. Once you've taken the quiz, I have a short assignment for you. To access it, click assignments at the top or bottom of any page in the classroom. Then, scroll down to the section for Lesson 1. (While all the assignments in this course are optional, I strongly encourage you to do them. They will reinforce and expand upon the many things you'll learn during our time together.) You'll find the link that goes to this lesson's Frequently Asked Questions by clicking the resources link at the top or bottom of any page in this classroom. Finally, be sure to come introduce yourself in the Discussion Area. Tell us why you're interested in Linux, and let us in on any struggles you're having with it. I'm hoping that throughout this course, you will post any difficulties you're having and also share solutions with each other. You can get to the Discussion Area by going to the top or bottom of any page in this classroom and clicking the discussion link. Supplementary Material Installing SimplyMEPIS Tutorial 0/Installing_SimplyMEPIS.html Here are some directions for obtaining and installing the SimplyMEPIS Linux distribution. Linux Distribution News Get up-to-date news on all Linux distributions. FrozenTech's Live CD List This is a regularly updated list of Linux Live Cds that are currently available for download. Don't take the popularity rankings too seriously, though many of them come from Linux geeks! MEPIS Linux Download SimplyMEPIS Linux, and find out what's new in the latest versions of it. MEPIS User's Forum Discuss SimplyMEPIS problems with other SimplyMEPIS users and developers. FAQs Q: You mentioned a new kernel in the lesson. How often does Linux change its kernel? A: Linus is always modifying the Linux kernel to keep up with new developments as well as adding support for various hardware features. Different Linux distributions include different versions of the Linux kernel. If you are just starting out with Linux, it's best to stay away from beta versions of the kernel. These versions are still under development and may

11 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 12 7/1/ :47 AM contain bugs. Q: I can't get my Linux distribution to install properly. What can I do? A: Nearly all Linux distributions have user forums on their Web sites. The SimplyMEPIS user forum is located at First try searching the forum for your particular problem. It's possible that it is a well-known problem and the answer is already there. If not, try asking the question yourself on the forum. Most Linux communities respect beginners as long as they do their homework first. As a last resort, if a particular distribution doesn't work on your PC, try another one. Sometimes one distribution won't detect hardware that others can. Q: I'm using the SimplyMEPIS Linux live CD on my Dell computer. My screen resolution is set to 600 x 480 and I can't change it. How do I solve this problem? A: Here's how: Start your computer, and then while it's still displaying the boot-up screen, press F2 to enter the Bios setup. Then go to Integrated Devices > Onboard video buffer, and change it from the default setting to 1Mb to 8Mb. If you have a computer made by a manufacturer other than Dell and are having this problem, please see your manufacturer's Web site. Assignment As you know, for this course you need to have the SimplyMEPIS Linux distribution working as your PC's operating system. So, your assignment for this lesson is to get that set up (if you don't already have it). Your first step is to download or purchase the distribution from For instructions on how to do that (and more in-depth installation instructions than those below), please see the first link in this lesson's Supplementary Material section. Once you have your copy of the SimplyMEPIS live Linux CD, you can boot it from your CD drive. This usually requires that you start your PC and let it boot into Windows; then place the SimplyMEPIS CD in the CD tray, and then reboot the PC. When SimplyMEPIS starts, you must select which Linux kernel to use at the boot screen (remember to try the newest one first). After that, you will see SimplyMEPIS attempt to autodetect your hardware and start the KDE desktop login screen. If you choose, you can install SimplyMEPIS on your hard drive so you don t need to use the CD every time. Here's how: Important: Be aware that with certain types of installations, you could lose all the files, documents, and data that the hard drive contains. So before you start installation, make sure that you have a backup copy of everything on the computer that you could not afford or stand to lose! At the login screen, log in as the demo user (the password is demo). Once logged in, click the Install Me icon on the desktop to start the SimplyMEPIS installation process. Then follow the instructions in the installation window, first by preparing your hard drive for Linux and then by copying all of the Linux system files onto the hard drive. You will find there are three different options for installing SimplyMEPIS on your hard drive. You can either: Replace the existing system on your hard drive with Linux. Share the hard drive between your existing system and Linux.

12 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 12 7/1/ :47 AM Add a second hard drive for Linux. For beginners, I strongly recommend getting an older PC and using the first option replacing the existing system with Linux. You won't even have to worry about getting a PC that has a Windows license since you will be removing Windows (this will save you lots of money). This is by far the easiest of the three options. If you are a more advanced computer user, you may be able to play around with partitioning your hard drive and allowing the Windows and Linux systems to coexist (if you don't know what partitioning a hard disk is, I recommend you don't try it). One tip though: Before partitioning your hard drive, make sure you defragment your existing system. This ensures you have the maximum space available for Linux. Please post any problems, questions, or interesting discoveries in this lesson's Discussion Area. And if you haven't already done so, stop by the Discussion Area to introduce yourself and tell us why you're interested in Linux. Copyright Education To Go. All rights reserved. The material on this site cannot be reproduced or redistributed unless you have obtained prior written permission from Education To Go. Education To Go and ed2go are registered trademarks of Education To Go, a part of Cengage Learning.

13 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 11 7/1/ :47 AM Introduction to Linux: Lesson 2 (printer-friendly version) Your Instructor: Richard Blum INSTRUCTIONS: To print this page, wait for the page to fully load. Once the document is ready to print, simply click your browser's File menu and choose Print. To save this page, click your browser's File menu and choose Save As. Select a disk drive and folder to receive the file, and change the name of the file to less02.htm. To view the file while you are offline, just go to the drive and folder you selected when you saved the file and double-click the file named less02.htm. Your browser will start and you will have access to the file. Chapter 1 Introduction Hello again, and welcome to Lesson 2. So far we've talked about the different ways Linux is packaged and the various methods you can use to run it. I hope you've been able to get SimplyMEPIS Linux working on your computer (either by installing it on your hard drive or by running it from a Linux live CD). Today we'll start off by learning how to customize your Linux installation to your liking (after all, what good's a Linux system if you can't make it look the way you want it to). The first thing to customize is the desktop the screen you see when you first log in to your system (and from which you launch all of your programs). That will mean talking about Linux windows management software. As we discussed in Lesson 1, there are many different windows management software packages available for Linux. The SimplyMEPIS Linux distribution uses one called KDE, so we'll mostly focus on it. But we'll explore some of the other windows management software packages, too, and find out what they all have in common. By going through this lesson, you might discover a Linux windows management software package that suits your needs even better than the one used by SimplyMEPIS. Are you ready to start? Let's get going. Chapter 2 The Linux Graphical Environment After you log in to your SimplyMEPIS Linux system, a screen greets you with a background image, various icons for programs and devices, and a menu icon. This is your desktop the gateway to your Linux system. It allows you to use your system's resources simply by clicking your mouse. To get to this point, though, your computer has to do a lot of things behind the scenes. Most of the time they happen automatically, so you don't have to worry about them. Unfortunately, sometimes they don't. So it helps to know a little about what goes on back there. Let's talk about your PC video environment and what enables Linux to work with it. The X Windows System There are two basic elements that control your video environment: the video card in your PC and your monitor. To run your computer, Linux software needs to know how to talk to both of them. What teaches it how to do that is something called X Windows software. The X Windows software operates underneath Linux. It's responsible for controlling your computer's graphical

14 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 11 7/1/ :47 AM environment. This low-level program informs Linux what kind of video card and monitor you have, telling it just what it needs to do to present fancy windows and graphics on your computer. Linux isn't the only operating system that uses X Windows. There are versions for many different operating systems. But in the Linux world, there are only two software packages that can implement it. That's right now we're talking about a software package that implements the X Windows software, which in turn allows your Linux system to run. Right about now, you might feel like running. So let me remind you, you probably won't ever have to worry about this stuff it's just a good idea to know a little bit about it. The XFree86 software package used to be the only X Windows package available for Linux. As its name implies, it's a free open source version of the X Windows software. XFree86 is notorious for being extremely hard to get working properly. It uses a cryptic configuration file to define the video features. However, since it was the only way to produce graphical windows on Linux PC's it quickly became quite popular. Recently, a new package called X.org has come onto the Linux scene. It too provides an open source software implementation of the X Windows system, but in a more user-friendly way. It is becoming increasingly popular. Many Linux distributions are starting to use it instead of the older XFree86 system. SimplyMEPIS now uses the X.org package to produce the graphical X Windows you see for your desktop. Both packages work the same way controlling how Linux uses your video card to display content on your monitor. To do that, they have to be configured for your specific system. That's supposed to happen automatically when you install Linux. At that time, Linux is supposed to detect your video card and monitor and then create an X Windows configuration file that contains the required information. During installation you may notice a time when it scans your monitor for supported video modes. Sometimes this causes your monitor to go blank for a few seconds. Because there are lots of different types of video cards and monitors out there, this process can take a little while to complete. This is where many of the customized Linux distributions can be lifesavers. Most of them take great effort to automatically detect video hardware and settings without asking you any technical questions. SimplyMEPIS automatically detects most standard PC video cards and even quite a few nonstandard ones. Unfortunately, sometimes the installation can't autodetect what video settings to use especially with some of the newer, more complicated video cards. And some Linux distributions will fail to install if they can't find your specific video card settings. Others will ask a few questions during installation to help gather the information. Still others default to the lowest common denominator and produce a screen image that is not customized for your video environment. Many PC users have fancy video cards, such as 3-D accelerator cards, so they can play high-resolution games. In the past, this caused a lot of problems if you tried to install Linux. But lately, video card companies are helping to solve this problem by providing Linux drivers. And many of the customized Linux distributions now include drivers for specialty video cards. In fact, now SimplyMEPIS can autodetect the three most popular brands of 3-D accelerator cards Intel, nvidia, and ATI. If your PC uses one of these three brands of 3-D accelerator cards, you can use the Beryl 3-D desktop feature (more on that later). Screen Resolution During a Linux installation, you might get asked what screen resolution you want to use. This can be a confusing issue for Linux beginners. Depending on the quality of your video card and monitor, you may have several choices. Here are the most common ones: Common Screen Resolutions Resolution 1024 X X 600 Comments Best screen resolution for displaying programs or Web sites on your screen, but produces small icons and fonts. Larger icons and fonts, but less screen space for applications.

15 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 11 7/1/ :47 AM 640 X 480 Extremely large icons, but even smaller screen space for applications. The 800 x 600 screen resolution often provides a happy medium for users. But if you're into games, you'll probably want to allow the maximum screen area for the display by choosing 1024 x 768 settings. To help you see the differences, here are screen shots of the same Linux desktop running at 800 x 600 and at 1024 x x 600 screen resolution Notice that just one open application takes up almost the entire screen. It wouldn't take much to have a mess of windows piled up on your desktop x 768 screen resolution

16 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 11 7/1/ :47 AM As you can see, the application window is smaller when you use the 1024 x 768 resolution, but you can fit more things on the screen. Unless you're running an application that specifies a screen resolution, it's up to you to decide what resolution you prefer. Windows Management Software Now that the background info is out of the way, we can start the fun part: customizing your desktop. But before we actually begin working with the system we'll be using, I want to tell you a little about the wealth of options in the Linux world. Linux windows management software packages range from those that look amazingly similar to Windows to those with bare-bones graphical displays. For older PCs, it's nice to run a bare-bones windows management software package because it will take much less memory and thus run faster. The fancier packages can be memory hogs, often requiring as much memory as Windows XP. Here are some of the more popular packages: Linux Windows Management Software Packages Package Fluxbox Fvwm Fvwm95 KDE GNOME Comments A bare-bones desktop ideal for older PCs. Another common bare-bones desktop. Derived from fvwm, but made to look like Windows 95. A full-featured desktop environment, modeled after Microsoft Windows. Another full-featured desktop environment, made popular by Red Hat Linux. As mentioned in Chapter 1, SimplyMEPIS uses the KDE package. It provides a high-quality graphical interface that simplifies almost every task. The downside to KDE is that it's a memory hog. It's definitely not for older PCs. If you ever need to run Linux on an older PC, you'd be better off avoiding Linux distributions that use KDE or GNOME. You'd do better with fluxbox or fvwm95, both of which are commonly found on Linux distributions geared to older PCs. One of my favorite smaller Linux distributions, Puppy Linux, is designed specifically for old PCs. It uses fvwm95. But since most of us have computers that are new enough to do well running KDE or GNOME, I chose to use SimplyMEPIS and its KDE environment for this course. It has lots of great features we can use. So let's move on to Chapter 3 and start playing with the KDE Desktop. Chapter 3 The KDE Desktop As we talked about already, the KDE windows management software package is popular with Linux beginners because it provides a Windows-like interface for your desktop. When it was released in 1996, KDE stood for Kool Desktop Environment. These days, according to the KDE Web site, it just stands for K Desktop Environment. The KDE window consists of several parts, shown below.

17 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 11 7/1/ :47 AM The default KDE desktop from SimplyMEPIS The bar at the bottom of the desktop is called the panel. The panel contains (from left to right): The KDE Panel Panel Item Icon(s) The K Menu Program Shortcuts Virtual Desktop list The taskbar Applets Let's take a quick look at each of these parts on the panel. Note: You'll find the rest of this lesson easiest to follow if you read from a print version of this text and have the KDE desktop showing on your screen. KDE Panel Items On the far left of the panel is the K Menu. It's designed to look like and behave similarly to the Microsoft Windows Start menu. When you click the K Menu, a menu appears (not too surprising). It allows you to scroll through the different items, just like in Microsoft Windows. From there you can access just about every function you'll need in your Linux system starting programs, viewing disks, managing users, even configuring your system settings.

18 ntroduction to Linux: Lesson 2 of /1/ :47 AM You can customize the K Menu entries by adding or removing items. To do that, you'll use the K Menu editor. To access the editor, right-click the K Menu and select Menu Editor. The menu items appear, allowing you to remove items you don't want in your specialized menu. Just be careful when you remove preset menu items because you can't get them back automatically. As an alternative to using a menu, you can use Program Shortcuts. Program Shortcuts are icons on the panel for applications you use frequently. Since space on the panel is limited, you won't be able to add too many icons (which is why the ability to create a new menu can be handy). You should already have some program shortcuts on your panel. You can add more by right-clicking an empty place on the panel and then selecting Add Application to Panel. A list will appear, showing the standard programs installed in SimplyMEPIS. Select the one you want to add to your panel. You can remove existing Program Shortcuts by rightclicking on the Panel and selecting Remove from Panel > Application, then selecting the application you want to remove from the panel. Let's add a shortcut for the KMahjongg game: Right-click an empty space on the panel; select Add Application To Panel. Scroll through the standard menu items list, and find and select KMahjongg. Now you should have a new icon on your panel. When you click the icon, the KMahjongg game starts! You can move the button to a different location on the panel by right-clicking it and selecting Move KMahjongg Button. To remove the icon from the panel, you would just right-click the button and then select Remove KMahjongg Button. The Taskbar shows running applications, and it functions much like the taskbar in Microsoft Windows. You can minimize applications to the taskbar and then click the application's icon in the taskbar to maximize the application again. You can also press ALT and TAB to switch between running applications. Applets are quick tools and utilities that run on the panel itself. You may see different applets running on your default desktop, depending on your Linux distribution. SimplyMEPIS loads a few handy applets by default. These include the Kmixer program, which appears as a speaker on the panel, and the system clock, which shows the time and date on the panel. You can customize the applets to suit your needs. To do that, you right-click an empty space on the panel and then select Add Applet to Panel. A menu appears, showing the applets available for you to add. To remove an applet icon from the panel, click Remove From Panel > Applet. If you're removing an applet, a list of installed applets appears, allowing you to select the one to remove from the panel. If you decide to add it back later, it'll appear in the list of applets you can add from the Add Applet to Panel menu. KDE Desktop Items Above the panel, you should see a background image, along with several icons. The desktop shortcuts allow you to access applications, URLs, and devices directly from your desktop. Most Linux distributions automatically create shortcuts to your home folder and any removable media that the system uses (such as a CD or USB memory stick). There's one thing you have to be careful with in the KDE dekstop by default you activate the icons on the desktop by single-clicking them. If you're used to the Windows environment, you will probably double-click them at first. But in KDE, that will launch an application twice. You can add new desktop shortcuts by right-clicking an empty space on the desktop. When you do that, a menu with several options appears. To create a shortcut, you'll want to choose the Create New option. But remember that this just creates a shortcut to the item; the item itself will not actually move to your desktop. You can also save files and folders directly on the desktop. While this can be useful if you need quick access to them, it can quickly lead to desktop clutter. So I wouldn't recommend putting too much on the desktop if you can avoid it. To create a new folder on the desktop, right-click an empty space, and then select Create New > Folder. A dialog box appears, asking you to name the new folder. After you do that, an icon for the folder will appear on the desktop. Clicking it opens the folder (in which you can then put files).

19 ntroduction to Linux: Lesson 2 of /1/ :47 AM Let's experiment by creating a new folder on the desktop: Right-click an empty space on the desktop. Select Create New. Select Folder. In the New Folder dialog box, type Test Folder for the folder name. Click OK A new folder icon should appear on your desktop with the name Test Folder. You can click the folder to open it (of course, there aren't any files in it yet). To remove the folder, you'd just right-click the folder icon and then select Delete. Chapter 4 Configuring Your KDE Desktop Every Linux distribution configures KDE with specific settings that determine how your desktop looks and behaves. But you can change them by using the System Configuration tool, shown here. The System Configuration tool The System Configuration tool incorporates the KDE Control Center. The KDE Control Center provides a single place to configure all of your desktop properties. Linux distributions that use the KDE environment always include the KDE Control Center. But how you get to the control center can vary. (Most distributions place a link to it in the K Menu, under the System section. Some also create an icon on the panel so you can access it directly from there.) In SimplyMEPIS, it's part of the System Configuration tool, which you access by clicking the System Menu and then selecting System Configuration (Settings). Once the System Configuration tool starts, you should see a list that shows things you can configure. To change how your desktop looks and behaves, you click the plus sign next to Desktop item. The Desktop entry produces a new sublist of items specifically for the desktop that you can configure Clicking Behavior from this list produces a configuration window. It lets you do many things, such as select which icons

20 Introduction to Linux: Lesson of 11 7/1/ :47 AM automatically appear on your desktop or create a separate menu bar to appear at the top of it. Clicking Panels in the System Configuration tool allows you to configure the behavior of the panel. You can select where the panel is located on your desktop and how big it appears. By clicking the Hiding tab at the top, you can configure the panel to disappear when you're not using it. If you do that, it'll reappear whenever you move your mouse to the panel area. The System Configuration tool Panels configuration page The Appearance and Themes section of the System Configuration tool allows you to customize the colors and layouts of windows, change the screensaver, and modify many other items. The Appearance and Themes page