Introduction

Welcome to the Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide!

By now, you should have read the Official Red Hat Linux x86 Installation Guide and successfully installed Red Hat Linux. This manual will help new and intermediate users navigate Red Hat Linux and perform common tasks.

This manual is task-oriented. You will find useful tips, hints, warnings, and screen shots interspersed throughout. First, you will learn the basics of using Red Hat Linux, such as customizing a desktop, configuring a printer, and getting online. Once the basics are covered, the tasks covered in this manual become progressively more advanced.

Most users choose to work within either the GNOME or the KDE graphical desktop environments. The Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide focuses primarily on how to perform tasks in these two environments.

Topics discussed include:

After conquering the basics of your Red Hat Linux system, you may need information on more advanced topics. You can find this information in the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide and the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide. All of our manuals are available in HTML and PDF formats at http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals.

Introductory Terms

When you learn about a new operating system, you will also need to learn new terminology. Here are a few basic terms to become familiar with before you continue reading this manual. You will see these terms often: