Fedora uses the UNIX method of assigning a home directory to every end user. The directories are collectively stored under the /home directory, so you may see entries for /home/andrew or /home/bernice. However, Fedora also creates a shortcut icon for each user that appears on her desktop when she logs in. This shortcut icon takes the user directly to her home directory, where she can store documents and files that are specific to her. All your personalized settings are stored under the home directory because they are specific to you.
So we said that all your personalized settings are stored in your home directory, but when you open it up you find that you can't see anything but the default directories. This is because all your personalized settings are stored in hidden folders, commonly prefixed with a period. Simply go to the View menu and select Show Hidden Files and suddenly you'll see all the folders related to your settings.
In older releases, Fedora left the home directory pretty much empty (with the exception of the personalized settings, which are hidden), but now there are seven folders to help you organize your files. You don't have to keep any of them, but they are there as a helping hand in your move to Fedora.
When you double-click a folder, the icon changes to denote that the folder's contents are open in another window, as shown in Figure 2.4.
FIGURE 2.4 Keep track of which folders are open by looking at the folder icons.
If you find that you are working with a lot of folders, Nautilus has a handy feature that lets you close all folders, or just the parents of the folder with which you are currently working. Just select the File menu within the Nautilus window and select your desired option.
Accessing the Command Line
Throughout this book, you will see references to the command line, also known as the terminal. This is your way to execute commands directly, using a text-based input rather than a GUI utility.
Earlier versions of Fedora kept the Terminal application in the Applications, Accessories menu. Fedora 8 has changed this so that the Terminal now appears under Applications, System Tools, reflecting its status as a tool for accessing system settings and carrying out administration. You can use several terminal applications, but Fedora defaults to gnome-terminal, and unless you have a really good reason for switching, you should find it does everything you need.
Available Applications
If you have installed Fedora using the DVD supplied with this book, and used the default selection of packages (Productivity), congratulations; you now have a fully functional operating system, complete with word processor, spreadsheet, email client, calendar, instant messaging client, and other programs that will enable you to work with Fedora.
This section touches briefly on the different applications installed when you use the Productivity package set that is defined during the installation.
Office Suite
The office suite of choice for Fedora is OpenOffice.org. If you have hung around any Linux geeks for long enough, you are bound to have heard of this increasingly popular open source office suite. It comprises several components, but Fedora delivers word processing (Writer), spreadsheet analysis (Calc), and presentation delivery (Impress) out of the box. Chapter 6, 'Productivity Applications,' looks at OpenOffice.org in more depth. You can access Writer, Impress, and Calc by clicking the shortcut icons in the top panel.
Internet Workstation
Linux was designed with communication in mind, and it is fitting that Fedora comes with a suite of Internet tools, including the popular Firefox web browser, Evolution PIM (
Multimedia
Multimedia is a big thing these days, with many different people carrying USB flash drives full of music, photos, and other media types. Fedora itself includes the GIMP, a powerful graphic manipulation package, along with gThumb for managing your photo collections. It is also well served in the music department, offering a CD player, CD ripper, and media player to handle various free codec-based files. You are also able to obtain software to watch DVDs and other proprietary video formats, although this may be illegal in your country.
Fedora doesn't ship with MP3 support as standard, nor does it include support for many of the standard formats found within Windows or Mac OS X. This is down to the patents that are used in the development of these formats, more commonly known as codecs. Inclusion of these codecs in Fedora is prevented due to the legality of the licenses and patents involved. However, all is not lost. Some third-party repositories offer plug-ins for the multimedia applications bundled with Fedora, which allow them to use additional codecs.
Games
Because Windows 386 included Reversi, it's kind of been a given that most operating systems include some simple games. Fedora follows in this tradition with a selection of games and puzzles to provide a momentary distraction. We don't actually cover the default selection of games because they're pretty straightforward, but Chapter 9, 'Games,' takes a look at some of the better known games available for Fedora.
