Lesson1.Getting Started

Lesson 1. Getting Started

The first lesson we will learn in this book is how to get started using Unix by connecting to and logging in to your Unix system with a set of credentials. We will also cover the concepts behind text-based and graphical-based logins, as well as how to log out.

Unix has been around for a long time; before Y2K and the growth and explosion of the Internet, Unix was used in systems everywhere. Throughout the years, instead of continuing to be known as a difficult and unfriendly system for new users to learn, Unix has grown into a multi-vendor supported, easy to install and use, documented desktop and serverbased operating system, growing each day more powerful than anything ever dreamed of.

This was no overnight phenomenon, of course; Unix has expanded each year thanks to tons of ongoing open source developmental efforts, the continuing development of Linux, as well as the Unix install base growing exponentially yearly. Not only growing is the presence of Unix, but also so has its fan base, which includes users of Unix as well as Unix System Engineers. With this growth rate, more and more people (whether they like it or not) are using Unix at home and in the workplace; perhaps you are reading this book because you are one of them. In order to unleash the power of Unix, you must first understand its foundations. In this chapter, we will cover how to take the most basic steps in using Unix:

• How to log in to Unix both graphically and textually

• How to log out of Unix both graphically and textually

We will also discuss KDE, a graphical user interface (GUI)based login. You will need to know how to connect to your system to properly utilize KDE. We will also cover all the concepts surrounding these steps, such as the differences between text-based and graphical-login, and security. An additional goal of this chapter is to expose you to other new concepts that you will expand on in later chapters.