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Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
Desktop Programs
Hacks #55–69
This truly is an odd collection of hacks that represents the diversity of things
a user might do with her desktop. It is not an attempt to be a definitive solu-
tion to any particular set of common problems a Linux user might experi-
ence. You won’t find any KDE-, GNOME-, or X-specific hacks here, as
those were covered in the previous three chapters.
The first hack covers how to load the OpenOffice.org office suite faster, and
the last hack explains how to create a PPTP connection to a Microsoft VPN.
The rest of the hacks focus primarily on things you can do over the Internet.
Half of the hacks deal with your email or web browser, while a couple of
others cover how to make free long-distance phone calls or set up a video
conference call.
HACK
#55
Reduce OpenOffice.org Startup Time Hack #55
Preload some of the OpenOffice.org office suite so that you can launch any of
the OpenOffice.org applications without the typically long startup times.
OpenOffice.org might seem like it is composed of separate productivity
applications, such as a word processor and spreadsheet, but it actually is
closer to being a single large application with different faces, one being a
word processor, another a presentation manager, etc. That’s why it takes so
long to start the first OpenOffice.org application you decide to use. When
you launch the first OpenOffice.org application, ...