Contents at a Glance
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02_579371 ftoc.qxd 12/27/04 7:55 PM Page vii Contents at a Glance Introduction ................................................................1 Part I: Getting Your Feet Wet .......................................7 Chapter 1: Getting Acquainted with Linux .....................................................................9 Chapter 2: Prepping Your Computer for Linux ............................................................19 Chapter 3: Installing Fedora Core ..................................................................................39 Chapter 4: Installing Other Linux Distributions ..........................................................65 Chapter 5: Booting and Stopping Linux ........................................................................95 Chapter 6: Checking Out Those Desktops .................................................................105 Chapter 7: Configuring Linux .......................................................................................133 Part II: Internet Now! ..............................................147 Chapter 8: Connecting to the Internet ........................................................................149 Chapter 9: Using the Internet .......................................................................................165 Part III: Getting Up to Speed with Linux ....................191 Chapter 10: Manipulating Files and Directories ........................................................193 Chapter 11: Checking Out the Linux Filesystem ........................................................215 Chapter 12: Adding Software to Linux ........................................................................233 Chapter 13: A Secure Linux Box Is a Happy Linux Box .............................................263 Chapter 14: Working without the GUI .........................................................................277 Chapter 15: Gettin’ Gooey with the GUIs ....................................................................293 Part IV: Getting Things Done ....................................307 Chapter 16: Putting the X in Text ................................................................................309 Chapter 17: Word-Processing and More with OpenOffice.org .................................317 Chapter 18: Multimedia Wow! ......................................................................................345 Chapter 19: Windows-OnlyCOPYRIGHTED Media Formats and MATERIAL Programs ......................................359 Part V: The Part of Tens ...........................................367 Chapter 20: Ten Troubleshooting Tips .......................................................................369 Chapter 21: Ten Cool Uses for Knoppix ......................................................................379 Part VI: Appendixes .................................................393 Appendix A: Common Linux Commands ....................................................................395 Appendix B: About the DVD-ROM ...............................................................................405 Index .......................................................................411 02_579371 ftoc.qxd 12/27/04 7:55 PM Page viii 02_579371 ftoc.qxd 12/27/04 7:55 PM Page ix Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................1 About This Book ...............................................................................................1 How to Use This Book ......................................................................................2 Three Presumptuous Assumptions ................................................................3 How This Book Is Organized ...........................................................................4 Part I: Getting Your Feet Wet .................................................................4 Part II: Internet Now! ..............................................................................4 Part III: Getting Up to Speed with Linux ...............................................5 Part IV: Getting Things Done .................................................................5 Part V: The Part of Tens .........................................................................5 Part VI: Appendixes ................................................................................5 Icons Used in This Book ..................................................................................6 Where to Go from Here ....................................................................................6 Part I: Getting Your Feet Wet .........................................7 Chapter 1: Getting Acquainted with Linux . .9 Is Free Really Free? ...........................................................................................9 Linux: Revolution or Just Another Operating System? .............................10 Anatomy of an Open Source Software Project ............................................13 GNU who? ..............................................................................................13 Who’s in charge of Linux anyway? .....................................................15 Einstein was a volunteer ......................................................................15 Packaging Linux: The Distribution ...............................................................16 Chapter 2: Prepping Your Computer for Linux . .19 Installation Considerations ...........................................................................19 Preparing to Use Linux and Microsoft Windows Together .......................20 Partitioning from scratch for a dual boot ..........................................21 Peeking at your partitions from Windows .........................................22 Peeking at your partitions in Windows 2000 and Windows XP ......22 Checking your partitions in Windows 98 ...........................................24 Making space .........................................................................................26 Working with Disk Partitions ........................................................................28 Choosing a partitioning tool ...............................................................28 Getting and resizing partitions with qtparted ..................................28 Gathering Information about Your Machine ...............................................33 Finally, Finally, Before You Get Started ........................................................37 02_579371 ftoc.qxd 12/27/04 7:55 PM Page x x Linux For Dummies, 6th Edition Chapter 3: Installing Fedora Core . .39 Things to Consider Before You Begin Installation .....................................39 Making a Boot Floppy (if Needed) ................................................................41 The Installation Process ................................................................................43 Your First Boot ................................................................................................60 Chapter 4: Installing Other Linux Distributions . .65 Kickstarting Linux with Knoppix ..................................................................66 Living Large with Linspire .............................................................................66 Installing Linspire .................................................................................67 Recognizing some special Linspire features .....................................70 About the various Linspire versions ..................................................71 Maxin’ Out the Fun with Mandrake ..............................................................71 Installing Mandrake ..............................................................................72 About the various Mandrake versions ...............................................77 Starting off with SuSE .....................................................................................78 Installing SuSE .......................................................................................78 About the various SuSE versions ........................................................85 Zapping Frustration with Xandros ...............................................................85 Installing Xandros .................................................................................86 About the various Xandros versions .................................................91 Using LiveCDs .................................................................................................92 Finding Even More Linux ...............................................................................92 Chapter 5: Booting and Stopping Linux . .95 Giving Linux the Boot ....................................................................................96 Step 1: Power-On Self-Test (POST) leads to BIOS .............................96 Step 2: The BIOS passes the baton to the boot loader ....................97 Step 3: The boot loader (GRUB or LILO) loads the system kernel into memory ..........................................................................98 Step 4: Control is handed over to init ................................................99 Don’t Just Turn Off the Machine! ................................................................102 Removing Linux from Your System ............................................................103 Chapter 6: Checking Out Those Desktops . .105 Introducing the Interfaces ...........................................................................105