FIGURE 2.10 Use NetworkManager to configure your wireless network connection settings.
NetworkManager can handle WEP and WPA encryption, as well as enterprise variations of WPA. You are advised to use WPA encryption as it is the stronger of the two.
NetworkManager can also connect to Cisco VPN connections. You are able to specify connection settings as appropriate, or if you have access to a predefined configuration (PCF file) you can import it directly into NetworkManager.
CHAPTER 3
Working with GNOME
Imagine a world of black screens with white text, or for those of you who remember, black screens with green text. That used to be the primary interface for users accessing computers. Computing has moved on significantly since then and has adopted the graphical user interface, or GUI, as standard on most desktop and workstation platforms.
Fedora is no different, and its primary window manager is called
GNOME is founded upon the X Window System, the graphical networking interface found on many Linux distributions, which provides the basis for a wide range of graphical tools and window managers. More commonly known as just
The best way to think about how X works is to see it as a client/server system. The X server provides services to programs that have been developed to make the most of the graphical and networking capabilities that are available under the server and in the supported libraries. X.Org provides versions for many different platforms, including Linux and Mac OS X. Originally implemented as XFree86, X.Org was forked when a disagreement broke out over certain restrictions that were going to be included in the XFree86 license. Taking a snapshot of code that was licensed under the previous version of the license, X.Org drove forward with its own implementation based on the code. Almost in unison, most Linux distributions turned their back on XFree86 and switched their development and efforts to X.Org.
In this chapter, you learn how to work with GNOME and also the version of X that is included with Fedora. We look at the fundamentals of X and how to get X to work with any upgrades that might affect it, such as a new graphics card or that new flat-panel display you just bought. We also take a look at some of the other Window Managers that are included with Fedora, including KDE and Xfce.
If you have used earlier versions of Fedora and indeed Red Hat Linux, you will be more than aware of Bluecurve and perhaps also Clearlooks. Fedora has now settled on a consistent style throughout the whole distribution and has finally done away with the slightly older-looking Bluecurve icon set in favor of the Nodoka theme. KDE, another window manager you'll learn about later, has also received some polish, and the two window managers have a consistent look and feel.
The GNOME Desktop Environment
A desktop environment for X provides one or more window managers and a suite of clients that conform to a standard graphical interface, based on a common set of software libraries. When they are used to develop associated clients, these libraries provide graphical consistency for the client windows, menus, buttons, and other onscreen components, along with some common keyboard controls and client dialogs. The following sections discuss the primary desktop environment that is included with Fedora: GNOME.
The GNOME project, which was started in 1997, is the brainchild of programmer whiz Miguel de Icaza. GNOME provides a complete set of software libraries and clients. GNOME depends on a window manager that is GNOME-aware. This means that to provide a graphical desktop with GNOME elements, the window manager must be written to recognize and use GNOME. Some compliant window managers that are GNOME-aware include Havoc Pennington's metacity (the default GNOME window manager), Enlightenment, Compiz, Window Maker, and IceWM.
Fedora uses GNOME's user-friendly suite of clients to provide a consistent and user- friendly desktop. GNOME is a staple feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux distribution and Fedora because Red Hat actively supports its development. GNOME clients are found under the /usr/bin directory, and GNOME configuration files are stored under the /etc/GNOME and /usr/share/GNOME directories, with user settings stored in the home directory under .GNOME and GNOME2.
A representative GNOME desktop, running the removable media preferences tool used for setting actions to events, is shown in Figure 3.1.
FIGURE 3.1 Fedora's GNOME desktop uses the metacity window manager and offers a selection of GNOME themes.
You can configure your desktop in various ways and by using different menu items under the Preferences menu, which can be found as part of the main Desktop menu. With the myriad configuration options, you can tailor every aspect of your system's look and feel. Figure 3.2 shows a selection of the Preferences options available to you.
FIGURE 3.2 You can customize your Fedora desktop by using the Preferences settings that are available in the System, Preferences menu.
AIGLX — Eye Candy for the Masses
Recent development work carried out on X has allowed the introduction of a number of hardware- accelerated effects within Fedora and its window managers. No longer do you have to drool at your Mac OS X-using colleagues when they work; now Fedora has a whole load of 'wow' effects designed to add that professional touch to Linux.
Up until recently, enabling these desktop effects has required a lot of work, including downloading specific packages and using the console to configure some of them. However, with Fedora 8, all of this has been done away with, and there is very little that you need to do to get access to the effects.
If you want the flashy effects, Fedora relies upon the alternate Compiz window manager, which to most end users does not appear any differently than metacity, the standard window manager in use by Fedora. You need to make sure you have the latest version of drivers for your graphics card/chipset; we cover this in Chapter 9, 'Games.'
