Linux® for Dummies®, 9th Edition

Linux® for Dummies®, 9th Edition

by Richard Blum
Released August 2009
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9780470467015

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Book description

One of the fastest ways to learn Linux is with this perennial favorite

Eight previous top-selling editions of Linux For Dummies can't be wrong. If you've been wanting to migrate to Linux, this book is the best way to get there. Written in easy-to-follow, everyday terms, Linux For Dummies 9th Edition gets you started by concentrating on two distributions of Linux that beginners love: the Ubuntu LiveCD distribution and the gOS Linux distribution, which comes pre-installed on Everex computers. The book also covers the full Fedora distribution.

  • Linux is an open-source operating system and a low-cost or free alternative to Microsoft Windows; of numerous distributions of Linux, this book covers Ubuntu Linux, Fedora Core Linux, and gOS Linux, and includes them on the DVD.

  • Install new open source software via Synaptic or RPM package managers

  • Use free software to browse the Web, listen to music, read e-mail, edit photos, and even run Windows in a virtualized environment

  • Get acquainted with the Linux command line

If you want to get a solid foundation in Linux, this popular, accessible book is for you.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. About the Author
  3. Author's Acknowledgments
  4. Publisher's Acknowledgments
  5. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. How to Use This Book
    3. Three Presumptuous Assumptions
    4. How This Book Is Organized
      1. Part I: Getting Your Feet Wet
      2. Part II: Getting Up to Speed with Linux
      3. Part III: Getting Things Done
      4. Part IV: Junior Administrator Boot Camp
      5. Part V: The Part of Tens
      6. Part VI: Appendixes
    5. Icons Used in This Book
    6. Where to Go from Here
  6. I. Getting Your Feet Wet
    1. 1. Getting Acquainted with Linux
      1. 1.1. Is Free Really Free?
      2. 1.2. Linux: Revolution or Just Another Operating System?
      3. 1.3. Anatomy of an Open-Source Software Project
        1. 1.3.1. GNU who?
        2. 1.3.2. Who's in charge of Linux anyway?
        3. 1.3.3. Einstein was a volunteer
      4. 1.4. Packaging Linux: The Distribution
        1. 1.4.1. Core Linux distributions
        2. 1.4.2. The Linux LiveCD
        3. 1.4.3. Specialized Linux distributions
    2. 2. Prepping Your Computer for Linux
      1. 2.1. Choosing the Right Installation Approach
        1. 2.1.1. Replacing an existing operating system
        2. 2.1.2. Using a second hard drive or partitioning a hard drive
        3. 2.1.3. Other installing scenarios
      2. 2.2. Preparing to Use Linux and Microsoft Windows Together
        1. 2.2.1. Installing a second hard drive
        2. 2.2.2. Partitioning from scratch for a dual boot
        3. 2.2.3. Partitioning an existing hard drive for a dual boot
          1. 2.2.3.1. Peeking at your partitions in Windows Vista
          2. 2.2.3.2. Peeking at your partitions in Windows 2000 and Windows XP
          3. 2.2.3.3. Peeking at your partitions in Windows 98
          4. 2.2.3.4. Making space
          5. 2.2.3.5. Defragmenting files
      3. 2.3. Double-Checking Hardware Compatibility
      4. 2.4. Finally, Before You Get Started
    3. 3. Installing Linux
      1. 3.1. Things to Consider Before You Begin Installation
      2. 3.2. Installing from an Ubuntu LiveCD
      3. 3.3. Installing Fedora
      4. 3.4. Your First Fedora Boot
    4. 4. Examining the GNOME Desktop
      1. 4.1. Breaking Down the GNOME Desktop
        1. 4.1.1. The menus
          1. 4.1.1.1. Applications
          2. 4.1.1.2. Places
          3. 4.1.1.3. System
          4. 4.1.1.4. The panels
          5. 4.1.1.5. Quick-launch icons
          6. 4.1.1.6. Applet area
          7. 4.1.1.7. The bottom panel
        2. 4.1.2. Playing with GNOME desktop icons
      2. 4.2. Customizing Your Panels
        1. 4.2.1. Adding an applet to the panel
        2. 4.2.2. Configuring an applet
        3. 4.2.3. Ditching an applet
        4. 4.2.4. Adding a program to the panel or the desktop
        5. 4.2.5. Removing a program from the desktop or the panel
      3. 4.3. Configuring Your Desktop Appearance
        1. 4.3.1. The desktop theme
        2. 4.3.2. The background
        3. 4.3.3. Fonts
        4. 4.3.4. Interface
        5. 4.3.5. Visual Effects
      4. 4.4. Enabling Accessibility Features
    5. 5. Examining the KDE Desktop
      1. 5.1. The KDE Desktop Basics
        1. 5.1.1. Menu, please!
          1. 5.1.1.1. Favorites
          2. 5.1.1.2. Applications
          3. 5.1.1.3. Computer
          4. 5.1.1.4. Recently Used
          5. 5.1.1.5. Leave
        2. 5.1.2. The panel
        3. 5.1.3. The desktop
      2. 5.2. Using Widgets
        1. 5.2.1. Adding widgets
        2. 5.2.2. Getting more widgets
      3. 5.3. Adjusting the Desktop Settings
        1. 5.3.1. Look & Feel
        2. 5.3.2. Personal
        3. 5.3.3. Network & Connectivity
        4. 5.3.4. Computer Administration
  7. II. Getting Up to Speed with Linux
    1. 6. Getting to Know the Linux Filesystem
      1. 6.1. Putting Together the Pieces of the Puzzle
      2. 6.2. Touring the Linux Filesystem
        1. 6.2.1. The root of the tree
        2. 6.2.2. The importance of being /etc
        3. 6.2.3. Where temporary media lives
        4. 6.2.4. Where the computer is the /usr
      3. 6.3. Managing Your Filesystem without a Net (Or Mouse)
        1. 6.3.1. Viewing information about files on the command line
        2. 6.3.2. Understanding file listing information
        3. 6.3.3. A permissions primer
          1. 6.3.3.1. Checking out the triplets
          2. 6.3.3.2. Beware of owners
          3. 6.3.3.3. Hanging out in groups
    2. 7. Using the Filesystem
      1. 7.1. Choosing a File Manager
      2. 7.2. Sailin' through Folders with Nautilus
        1. 7.2.1. Setting how much detail you see in a folder
        2. 7.2.2. Creating files and folders
        3. 7.2.3. Opening files and running programs
        4. 7.2.4. Copying and moving files
        5. 7.2.5. Deleting files and folders
        6. 7.2.6. Taking out the trash
        7. 7.2.7. Viewing and changing permissions
      3. 7.3. Swimming with Dolphin
      4. 7.4. All Hail the Konqueror
      5. 7.5. Using CDs and Other Removable Media
        1. 7.5.1. CDs, DVDs, and USB flash drives
        2. 7.5.2. Floppy drives
      6. 7.6. Accessing Windows Drives on This Computer
      7. 7.7. Accessing Network Drives
      8. 7.8. Burning Data CDs and DVDs
        1. 7.8.1. The K3b package
        2. 7.8.2. Our friend, Nautilus
        3. 7.8.3. Brasero
      9. 7.9. Finding Things
        1. 7.9.1. KFind
        2. 7.9.2. File Searcher
    3. 8. Connecting to the Internet
      1. 8.1. Getting Information You Need from Your ISP
      2. 8.2. Configuring Your Connection
        1. 8.2.1. Dialin' out
          1. 8.2.1.1. Setting up GNOME-PPP
          2. 8.2.1.2. Setting up KPPP
        2. 8.2.2. Network Manager
          1. 8.2.2.1. Playing with cards
          2. 8.2.2.2. Look Ma, no cables!
      3. 8.3. It's All Fun and Games Until Something Doesn't Work
  8. III. Getting Things Done
    1. 9. Using the Internet
      1. 9.1. Browsing the Web with Firefox
        1. 9.1.1. Configuring Firefox
          1. 9.1.1.1. General preferences
          2. 9.1.1.2. Privacy preferences
          3. 9.1.1.3. Content preferences
          4. 9.1.1.4. Advanced preferences
        2. 9.1.2. Expanding your universe with add-ons
        3. 9.1.3. Surfing the Web
      2. 9.2. Taking Advantage of Instant Messaging
        1. 9.2.1. Using the Pidgin Instant Messenger
        2. 9.2.2. Checkin' out Kopete
        3. 9.2.3. Troubleshooting your IM connections
      3. 9.3. Downloading with BitTorrent
      4. 9.4. Dealing with Old-Fashioned File Transfers
      5. 9.5. Talkin' on the Phone
        1. 9.5.1. Using the default: Ekiga
        2. 9.5.2. Talking with Skype
      6. 9.6. Working with Other Internet Tools
    2. 10. E-Mailing the World
      1. 10.1. Looking Before You Leap
      2. 10.2. Evolving into E-Mail: Evolution
        1. 10.2.1. Setting up Evolution
        2. 10.2.2. Sending and checking e-mail
      3. 10.3. Working with KMail
        1. 10.3.1. Setting up KMail
        2. 10.3.2. Customizing KMail
        3. 10.3.3. Eating spam
    3. 11. Putting the X in Text
      1. 11.1. Going with gedit
        1. 11.1.1. Entering and editing text in gedit
        2. 11.1.2. Saving your work
        3. 11.1.3. Setting preferences
          1. 11.1.3.1. View
          2. 11.1.3.2. Editor
          3. 11.1.3.3. Font & Colors
          4. 11.1.3.4. Plugins
      2. 11.2. Editing Text in the KDE Desktop: KWrite
    4. 12. Word Processing and More with OpenOffice.org
      1. 12.1. Installing the OpenOffice.org Suite
      2. 12.2. Word Processing with OpenOffice.Org Writer
        1. 12.2.1. Taking a tour of OpenOffice.org Writer
        2. 12.2.2. Working with Writer files
      3. 12.3. Spreadsheets with OpenOffice.Org Calc
        1. 12.3.1. Taking a tour of OpenOffice.org Calc
        2. 12.3.2. Working with Calc files
      4. 12.4. Presentations with OpenOffice.Org Impress
        1. 12.4.1. Using the Presentation Wizard
        2. 12.4.2. Taking a tour of OpenOffice.org Impress
        3. 12.4.3. Working with Impress files
      5. 12.5. Fine Art with OpenOffice.Org Draw
        1. 12.5.1. Taking a tour of OpenOffice.org Draw
        2. 12.5.2. Working with Draw files
      6. 12.6. Managing Data with OpenOffice.org Base
        1. 12.6.1. Getting help from the wizard
          1. 12.6.1.1. Creating a new database file in the Database Wizard
          2. 12.6.1.2. Opening an existing file in the Database Wizard
        2. 12.6.2. Taking a tour of OpenOffice.org base
        3. 12.6.3. Sitting down at the table
      7. 12.7. Layout with OpenOffice.Org Math
        1. 12.7.1. Menu bar
        2. 12.7.2. Standard toolbar
        3. 12.7.3. Commands window
    5. 13. Messing with Audio
      1. 13.1. What Sound? I Don't Hear a Thing!
      2. 13.2. Listening to CDs
        1. 13.2.1. Rhythmbox
        2. 13.2.2. KsCD
      3. 13.3. Listening to Downloaded Music
        1. 13.3.1. Amarok
        2. 13.3.2. Rhythmbox revisited
      4. 13.4. Ripping Music Tracks from CDs
      5. 13.5. Burning Audio CDs and DVDs
    6. 14. Messing with Video and Graphics
      1. 14.1. Watchin' Those Silly Web Clips
        1. 14.1.1. Checking your plugins
        2. 14.1.2. Adding a plugin
        3. 14.1.3. Getting even more video support
      2. 14.2. Viewing Movie Files with Totem
      3. 14.3. Watchin' DVDs
      4. 14.4. Creating and Modifying Graphics
        1. 14.4.1. The GIMP basic tools
        2. 14.4.2. Capturing screenshots
        3. 14.4.3. Editing an image file
        4. 14.4.4. Using The GIMP scripts
      5. 14.5. Playing 3-D Games
    7. 15. Playing with Google Gadgets
      1. 15.1. Finding Google Gadgets with gOS
      2. 15.2. Installing Gadgets in Other Distributions
        1. 15.2.1. Installing the Gadget package with Fedora
        2. 15.2.2. Gadgets for all
      3. 15.3. Using Gadgets
        1. 15.3.1. The default gOS Gadgets
        2. 15.3.2. Customizing Gadgets
        3. 15.3.3. Adding more Gadgets
      4. 15.4. Using Google Apps
  9. IV. Junior Administrator Boot Camp
    1. 16. Adding Software to Linux
      1. 16.1. Opening Downloaded Files
      2. 16.2. Compressing and Packaging Files to Share
      3. 16.3. Keeping Linux Up to (Up)date
        1. 16.3.1. Updating Fedora with PackageKit
          1. 16.3.1.1. Automated updates
          2. 16.3.1.2. Manual updates
        2. 16.3.2. Updating Ubuntu with Synaptic
      4. 16.4. Installing New Software
        1. 16.4.1. Adding complete applications
          1. 16.4.1.1. Adding applications in Fedora
          2. 16.4.1.2. Adding applications in Ubuntu
        2. 16.4.2. Adding individual packages
          1. 16.4.2.1. Installing with PackageKit
          2. 16.4.2.2. Installing with the Synaptic Package Manager
      5. 16.5. Finding More Software
      6. 16.6. Upgrading Your OS
    2. 17. Working without the GUI
      1. 17.1. Playing the Shell Game
        1. 17.1.1. Getting a shell
        2. 17.1.2. Using the shell prompt
        3. 17.1.3. Opening a virtual terminal window
      2. 17.2. Understanding bash Command Syntax and Structure
      3. 17.3. Starting Programs from the Shell
      4. 17.4. Putting Wildcard Expansion to Good Use
      5. 17.5. Working with Long Commands
        1. 17.5.1. Asking Linux to complete a command or filename for you
          1. 17.5.1.1. Completing a command
          2. 17.5.1.2. Completing a filename
        2. 17.5.2. Accessing your command history
      6. 17.6. Working with Variables
        1. 17.6.1. Variables versus environment variables
        2. 17.6.2. Checking out commonly used environment variables
        3. 17.6.3. Storing and retrieving variables' values
      7. 17.7. Using Redirection and Pipes
        1. 17.7.1. Redirecting command output
        2. 17.7.2. Laying pipes
      8. 17.8. Using Help
      9. 17.9. Clearing the Screen
    3. 18. Basic System Administration
      1. 18.1. Managing Users and Groups
        1. 18.1.1. Adding new users
        2. 18.1.2. Modifying existing users
        3. 18.1.3. Deleting a user account
        4. 18.1.4. Adding new groups
        5. 18.1.5. Modifying groups
      2. 18.2. Setting Up Printers
        1. 18.2.1. Printer server settings
        2. 18.2.2. Adding a new printer
        3. 18.2.3. Modifying printer properties
          1. 18.2.3.1. Settings
          2. 18.2.3.2. Policies
          3. 18.2.3.3. Access Control
          4. 18.2.3.4. Printer Options
          5. 18.2.3.5. Job Options
      3. 18.3. Checking Out the System Monitor
        1. 18.3.1. Processes
        2. 18.3.2. Resources
        3. 18.3.3. File Systems
    4. 19. A Secure Linux Box Is a Happy Linux Box
      1. 19.1. Updating Your Software
      2. 19.2. Keeping Your Network Secure
        1. 19.2.1. Controlling your services
        2. 19.2.2. Controlling and adjusting your firewall
      3. 19.3. Keeping an Eye on Your Log Files with the System Log Viewer
    5. 20. The Virtual World
      1. 20.1. Understanding What Virtual Servers Are
      2. 20.2. Installing VirtualBox
      3. 20.3. Creating a Virtual Server
      4. 20.4. Setting Up Your Virtual Server
        1. 20.4.1. Changing settings
        2. 20.4.2. Loading an OS
      5. 20.5. Working with the Sandbox
        1. 20.5.1. The Machine menu
        2. 20.5.2. The Devices menu
  10. V. The Part of Tens
    1. 21. Ten Steps to Setting Up a Samba Server
      1. 21.1. Dancing the Samba
      2. 21.2. Step 1: Plan a Sharing Policy
      3. 21.3. Step 2: Create Linux Groups
      4. 21.4. Step 3: Create Folders to Share
      5. 21.5. Step 4: Set Advanced Folder Permissions
      6. 21.6. Step 5: Install and Start Samba
      7. 21.7. Step 6: Configure Samba
      8. 21.8. Step 7: Create Linux User Accounts
      9. 21.9. Step 8: Create Samba User Accounts
      10. 21.10. Step 9: Create Shared Folders in Samba
      11. 21.11. Step 10: Map to Shared Folders
      12. 21.12. Troubleshooting
    2. 22. Ten Troubleshooting Tips
      1. 22.1. Tip #1: "The Linux Installer Froze"
      2. 22.2. Tip #2: Checking Your Distribution Burns
      3. 22.3. Tip #3: "I Told the Installer to Test My Graphics, and They Failed"
      4. 22.4. Tip #4: "The Installer Tested My Graphics Fine, but My GUI Won't Start"
      5. 22.5. Tip #5: "I Think I'm in Linux, but I Don't Know What to Do!"
      6. 22.6. Tip #6: "I Don't Want to Boot into This!"
      7. 22.7. Tip #7: Changing Your Boot Environment "Permanently"
      8. 22.8. Tip #8: "I Want to Change Screen Resolutions"
      9. 22.9. Tip #9: "My GUI Is Hung, and I'm Stuck!"
      10. 22.10. Tip #10: "Help, My Machine Hangs During Boot!"
      11. 22.11. "Aaargh! I Forgot My Root Password! What Do I Do?"
  11. VI. Appendixes
    1. A. Common Linux Commands
      1. A.1. Linux Commands by Function
        1. A.1.1. Getting help
        2. A.1.2. Archiving and compressing
        3. A.1.3. Built-in bash commands
      2. A.2. Files and the Filesystem
        1. A.2.1. File organization
        2. A.2.2. File attributes
        3. A.2.3. File locators
        4. A.2.4. File viewers
        5. A.2.5. Filesystem commands
        6. A.2.6. mtools
      3. A.3. System Control
        1. A.3.1. Administration
        2. A.3.2. Kernel-module handling
        3. A.3.3. Processes
    2. B. About the DVD-ROM
      1. B.1. System Requirements
      2. B.2. Using the DVD-ROM
      3. B.3. If You've Got Problems (Of the DVD-ROM Kind)

Product information

  • Title: Linux® for Dummies®, 9th Edition
  • Author(s): Richard Blum
  • Release date: August 2009
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9780470467015