The Graphical Environment

The Graphical Environment

The underlying graphical system is based on the X Window System, also known simply as X (but not the X-Files), maintained by the X.Org Foundation. The graphical desktop environment — the look and feel — is based on the GNOME (pronounced guh-NOME) system. Both X and GNOME are open source software, of course, and I describe them in more detail in Chapters 11 and 12. For now, all you need to know about X and GNOME is that they give you an attractive and functional place to work.

GNOME is attractive, highly customizable, and provides links to all of the software described in this book. I describe and explain the applications in later chapters.

There's plenty more to discover about Ubuntu, and the rest of this book is dedicated to showing how.

• If you want to use live Ubuntu now, Chapter 5 starts with the basics.

• If you want to permanently install Ubuntu on a hard drive, Chapters 3 and 4 show you how to prepare a PC and install Ubuntu.

It's your choice. Read on!