uname -r<enter>
The return will will show your kernel number.
Editor's Note: I've used the word "enter" in angle brackets, like so <enter> to indicate instances where you should type (i.e. strike or press) the "Enter" key.
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I don't use the default Mozilla browser because I like Firefox (which can be downloaded from the repository with Synaptic). Just click on "Search" and type in "firefox" to find it in the repository.
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To set up sound in Debian stable: Open Synaptic (which, of course, requires your root password), click on "Search", type in "alsa". Locate alsa-base, alsa-oss, alsa-utils, and the alsa-modules for your kernel, mark them for install, and click on "Apply".
Once the download is complete, open a terminal, type
su<enter>
(type in your root password)<enter>
type
alsaconf<enter>
Stay with the defaults where there's any doubt and follow the instructions on the screen. You can repeat this step *grin* as often as is required to get it right (voice of experience). In one instance the onboard sound wasn't recognised so I plugged in a PCI sound card (which Debian was able to find and use) and on another occasion I found a system that had no sound card at all so I had to add one. Prior to getting into Linux I'd only had the covers off of my computer chassis once, when I expanded the ram but I've since acquired a nice collection of assorted computer parts.
In order to confirm that I have the sound set up properly I normally go to Pandora.com where I first download the flash plug-in for Firefox (it's necessary to "approve" it first), which conveniently gets flash up and running, and then listen to some music for a few minutes, just to confirm that the sound is working.
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To set monitor resolution:
By default, Debian tries to run the monitor with 32 bit color. If the computer has 4 MB, or less, of video RAM this will result in a monitor resolution of 640 X 480 (or smaller). If the video card has 8 to 12 MB of RAM it your monitor resolution following the installation is likely to be 800 X 600. If you want 1024 X 768 monitor resolution with 32 bit color, you'll need a video card which has a minimum 16 MB of RAM.
I expect there's an easier way to reset the video resolution than the one I've found but this is the only way I know. If you learn an easier way, please, let me know about it. To get 800 X 600 resolution with 4 megs or less of video ram, or to get 1024 X 768 resolution with 8 megs of video ram, you'll have to select 16 bit color. In most cases this won't make a great deal of visible difference in your screen.
This is the procedure I've found:
Open a terminal, type
su<enter>
(root password)<enter>
dpkg-reconfigure -plow xserver-xfree86<enter>
Stay with the defaults unless you have specific contradictory information and really know what you're doing. When it gets to the color depth, select 16 bit.
32 bit color, apparantly, has eight "dummy" bits and is thus actually 24 bit color so it's referred to, in Linux, as 24 bit color.
I normally designate only the monitor resolution I want and one lower value when the software asks.
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In Apps/Editors you'll find a lot of choices with various degrees of sophistication but for ordinary plain text I like gedit which is a tabbed text editor. If you've got Unix experience Gvim, in the default install, is the Gnome version of Vim, the Linux version of Vi.
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You can change the default applications for specific file types with Kcontrol.
Apps/System/Kcontrol
It will also let you set keyboard shortcuts for your favorite applications and, unlike Windows, you can use the Windows key in your shortcuts if you like.
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I use Konqueror as a Windows Explorer analog. It has a very cool feature that you might like. Right click on the bottom bar of it's window and select for split screen (I prefer vertical). Navigation applies to whichever window you last clicked in, i.e. click inside whichever window you wish to navigate before using the address bar or navigation tools.
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CDs will automount if you navigate to them in Konqueror. Floppy disks usually won't. To mount/unmount floppy disks or to unmount CDs use the File Manager on the toolbar (the actual app is xffm). Xffm can almost always unmount the CD or floppy drive; Konqueror, almost always, cannot. This won't matter much with a floppy disk but the CD drive can't be opened until it's unmounted. If you can't get a CD or floppy drive to unmount, close all applications (Konqueror, file manager, or any app containing a file opened from the CD or floppy), then reopen Konqueror or the file mananger and try unmounting it again.
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Most tutorial information I found on the web refers to the CD drive as being located at /mnt/cdrom but in Debian the path is /media/cdrom
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We've tried several email clients in Linux and finally settled on Kmail because it's very easy to configure, multiple identities can all be checked at once and share a single inbox (unless you set it up differently) and it will reply from the recipient address by default (unless you set it up differently). Beyond the fact that it's highly configurable, the settings are relatively simple to understand and the user interface resembles Outlook Express closely enough to give the program an intuitive feel in use while being, in our opinion, far more user friendly than Outlook Express.
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The easiest way for me to install Debian has been to use the Net Install CD. The desktop version of a Net Install comes with Gnome by default and KDE installed so that you can switch if you wish. You can also download XFce, IceWM, Fluxbox (and others) with Synaptic.
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By default, XFce shows no programs in it's menu. To populate the XFce programs menu, open a terminal and type
update-menus<enter>
after a few seconds, when the cursor prompt returns, you can close the terminal, the menu is populated. Any time you add new applications from the repository you'll need to repeat this step.
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You can switch to any installed windows manager from the GDM Login screen under the "Session" selection at top left. Once you select an environment the GDM will ask if you wish to reset this as your default environment or use it for a single session.
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If, like me, your Debian system is exclusively yours, unshared with anyone, it can become cumbersome to be required to log in every time you boot up. This can be easily changed by running "GDM Setup".
Apps/System/GDM Setup
(you'll be required to enter the root password to open this application)
Once GDM Setup is open, you'll see a tabbed window labeled "Login Screen Setup". Under the "General" tab, midway down the window, check the box labelled "Login a user automatically on first bootup" and make sure that your user-name appears in the text box (click the button and set it if necessary).
By default, the GDM won't permit you to log in as root but I've found it very convenient, when a number of privileged procedures are to be performed at the same time, to be able to log in as root. Under the "Security" tab in GDM Setup, check the box at the top, labelled "Allow root to login with GDM".
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It's easy to add apps to the XFce bar. Most apps "live" in /user/bin/ but a few are in /user/sbin/. Right click on either extreme end of the XFce bar, scroll to "Add a new item", across to, and click on, "Launcher". At the top of the window, click the browse folder and navigate to the app (I usually find it with Konqueror first so I already know where to look), add an icon and type in a Tool Tip that makes sense to you (this is the text which appears when you hover over the icon).
I'd like to add Synaptic to the XFce bar but when I tried it, clicking the icon returned an error (this app requires root privileges). I think it can be done by adding the proper syntax to the link, in the launcher, but I haven't tried to sort that out yet.
Right click on any icon and select properties to set where it appears on the bar by setting it's numerical "Position" number.
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Setting the XFce and the Task bars to autohide makes for a very attractive desktop, with no clutter, that really shows off your wallpaper. The Task bar can also be set at the bottom of the screen (it's at the top by default). XFce doesn't come with very many icons so I made a few of my own which you're welcome to snag if you can use them. You can find them here.
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You can access some more up-to-date software and other multimedia apps by adding some sources to Synaptic. Open Synaptic, click on Settings/Repositories and, on the resulting screen, click on New. Type in the following data:
URL: http://www.debian-multimedia.org/
Distribution: sarge
Sections(s): main
URL: http://www.backports.org/debian/
Distribution: sarge-backports
Sections(s): main
