Linux Desktop Hacks

xvi

|

Preface

How to Use This Book

You can read this book from cover to cover if you want, but each hack

stands on its own, so feel free to browse and jump to the different sections

that interest you most. If there’s a prerequisite you need to know about, a

cross-reference will guide you to the right hack.

Although you do not have to proceed through the beginning chapters

sequentially, they are ordered the way in which a user approaches a Linux

system: from the boot process to various methods of logging in, using the

graphical X11 system, and exploiting the power of KDE and GNOME. Each

chapter covers different approaches to enhancing each step in the chrono-

logical sequence, so you can construct an entirely personal desktop experi-

ence as you choose the alternatives you like best from each chapter. In the

end, you will undergo an original experience—one that does not resemble

anyone else’s experience from reading these same chapters.

Linux Desktop Hacks also covers some basic instructions, such as how to

build a Linux kernel so that even ambitious newcomers can learn how to

benefit from some of the more difficult hacks.

How This Book Is Organized

The book is divided into several chapters, organized by subject. The first

chapters are organized in roughly the same order a user will experience the

topics when starting a Linux computer: booting, a console, a login man-

ager, X11, and a desktop environment. ...