Abstract
Welcome and thank you for choosing Mandrakelinux! This manual was written in order to give you a better understanding of the Mandrakelinux system. In it we will focus on graphical applications which will allow you to perform your daily tasks, such as writing documents and e-mails, surfing the web and listening to music. We will also show you how to configure your desktop to your liking, install software, and finally, we'll give you some tips and tricks to help you fix common and not so common problems.
This book is divided into 5 parts. We start off with Installing Mandrakelinux, where you will learn what you need to know before you actually install Mandrakelinux onto your system (see Chapter 1, Installation Warning, and Chapter 2, Before Installation); and how to correctly install and configure your Mandrakelinux distribution (Chapter 3, Installation with DrakX) by describing the preparation, installation and post-installation procedures.
The next part (Discover) is an introduction to Linux basics. We discuss the Linux paradigm by comparing it to other OSes in Chapter 4, Migrating to Linux from Windows® and Mac OS® X. In order to help new users, we wrote Chapter 5, Linux for Beginners. In it we describe the first steps a new user must master and we explain concepts such as “logging in and out”, security tips, and more. The following chapter (Chapter 6, Where to Get Documentation) will guide you through a fairly exhaustive list of documentation sources which you can consult in order to attain a better understanding of Linux. A Mandrakelinux-specific section points to numerous in-house resources which you can find on the Net. We close this part by speaking about the popular KDE graphical environment (see Chapter 7, Using KDE).
In the next part (Using the Internet) we show you how to browse the web (Chapter 8, Surfing with Mozilla) and send e-mails (Chapter 9, Sending E-mail with Mozilla) using the Mozilla suite.
The next part of this manual (Use) deals with everyday applications. We discuss the OpenOffice.org suite (see the section called “Word Processor”, and the section called “Spreadsheet”), file managers (see the section called “Managing your Files”) and printers (see the section called “Printing and Faxing from Applications”). We then tackle the world of multimedia by reviewing audio and movie applications (see the section called “Audio Applications”, and the section called “Movie Applications”), as well as CD burning (see the section called “CD Burning”).
Finally we go through more technical aspects of the Mandrakelinux system (Advanced Uses):
Mandrakelinux Control Center. This is your main graphical configuration tool (see the section called “MCC's Components”). With it you can configure your boot options (Chapter 13, Boot Device Configuration), your hardware (Chapter 14, Hardware Setup), your mount points (Chapter 15, Parameterizing your Mount Points), and your network (Chapter 16, Setting up your Network and Accessing the Web). It can also help you secure your system (Chapter 17, Securing your Linux Box) and set up your general system settings (Chapter 18, Personalizing your System) such as customizing your menus (see the section called “Customizing your Menus with MenuDrake”) and your start-up services (see the section called “Configuring Start-Up Services through DrakXServices”).
Package Management. Mandrakelinux offers you two ways to update your system with normal software updates and security fixes. This can be done through the Rpmdrake Software Manager (Chapter 19, Package Management through Rpmdrake) which allows you to install and remove software packages, set up Mandrakeupdate sources as well as other media such as Cooker. The urpmi program (combined to its counterpart urpme) allows the same functionalities but through the command line.
Troubleshooting. For most users, switching to GNU/Linux is a challenging experience. And this manual wouldn't have been complete without a chapter (Chapter 21, Troubleshooting) dedicated to helping you solve what might go wrong during your GNU/Linux experience. It will give you tips and tricks if “all hell breaks loose”: needless to say, this chapter cannot be exhaustive.