While Mac OS X garners pundits' praise, and Windows XP attracts all the viruses, Linux is quietly being installed on thousands of desktops every year. For
programmers and system administrators, business users and computer enthusiasts, desktop Linux is a breath of fresh air and an appealing alternative to other operating systems. Linux Desktop Pocket Guide is your introduction to GNOME and KDE-the most-used desktop environments on Linux. The book also covers the most popular GUI programs for web surfing, emailing, music playing, video watching, and CD burning. And, since picking a version of Linux to run is a daunting task for new users, this guide reviews, and gives useful instructions on managing, five of the most popular distributions: Fedora, Gentoo, Mandriva, SUSE, and Ubuntu.
No operating system truly "just works," and Linux is no exception. Although Linux is capable of running on most any PC hardware, you sometimes need to tweak it just a little to make it work the way you really want. To help you with this task, Linux Desktop Pocket Guide covers essential topics, such as configuring your video card, screen resolution, sound, and wireless networking. And laptop users are not left out-an entire chapter is devoted to the laptop issues of battery life and sleep and hibernate modes.