Absolute Linux
GETTING STARTED


Welcome to Absolute!
This page should help you get started if you are new to Absolute.



  1. the Control Panel

  2. Things to do RIGHT AWAY

    The 5 things you should absolutely, positively do the FIRST TIME you log on!

  3. Set Language

  4. Creating User Accounts

  5. Multimedia Files

  6. Screen Size, Refresh Rate and Fonts

  7. Set Default Web Browser

  8. Printer Setup

  9. Software Instalation and System Configuration

  10. Add software from CD2
        (includes kernel source)

  11. Install NVIDI proprietary driver
        (If you have an nvidia graphics chip and want speed.)

  12. Mail Notification
        (if you use GMail)



Control Panel
Easy way to get at all the system utilities:






Things to do RIGHT AWAY



Set Language
English - USA is the default language.
If you speak a language other than English, setting the default language while you are logged in as root user should make things easier. The utility lets you quickly change the language (nicely labeled) and also set the keyboard mapping if needed. The setting shown are all UTF8.

Setting the language is the only time it is really necessary to reboot your machine to make everything work properly. So when you are done with the utility below, go to the menu and choose Shutdown > Reboot



The two window managers (pcmanfm and rox-filer) are both language-enabled, so navigation within the filesystem, once you set your native language, should be comfortable. Many of the default applications are also multi-lingual: GIMP, gFTP, AbiWord, brasero, Gcstar, Inkscape, HDR imaging utility . . .  

Recently some developers have helped out by language-enabling the utilities written for Absolute and including a couple translations -- hopefully others will follow to increase translatrions to more apps and a greater number of languages.





Making Users
Absolute starts up as root user. You have to create any new user accounts you need, and you need at least one -- as it is considered IMPERATIVE that you don't get into the habit of running as root user. [Big security risk, and easy to mess up the system with one sloppy command . . .] 

[ RANT ] - skip to read something useful
my dirty little secret...

Big confession here, I ONLY run as root user. But I have 2 good excuses:
  1. I backup fanatically
    I have 2 hard drives connected and everything of any importance gets backed up immediately. Basically, whenever I save anything I save it twice.
  2. I hack the system constantly
    When I code, tweak and test utilities I write. And I play like that a lot.
    When I download and test software, install new libraries, etc. I find it a BIG waste of time to use other distros and type in passwords constantly.
    I know that last one sounds lame, and many, many folks have admonished me for my "lazinesss" -- but if you set things up so that you have to type in passwords 40-50 times in a day, I'd say THAT behaviour is stupid.
    So flame me if you want to, but there is a time and place for responsible users to run as root. And building in system mechanisms for ordinary folks to easily escalate their priviledges and run programs and utilities meant only for the root user -- well, if you think that's great, don't come to me claimning I am naive concerning security. 
[ END OF RANT ]


Absolute has a utility to create user accounts quite painlessly.

As root you see the utility in the control panel under:
SYSTEM > ADD USER
In the system Menu under:
MENU > SYSTEM TOOLS > CONFIGURATION > CREATE NEW USER
Also available to root in a term, type: absAdduser.py

This utility will prompt you for a new user name and password (and confirm password), setting up the proper permissions and putting the user into the proper, necessary groups for normal running on the machine.

If you want to tweak things by hand for special permissions, home directories, group adding, etc, -- the usual Slackware commandline utilities are available. (useradd and adduser) Below is a screenshot of the little utility to create a new user account:








Tweaking Screen Size and Fonts
Sometimes the screen size is not what you would like it to be -- everything too tiny or not enough real estate. If such is the case you can use the Set Screen Size utility. You can find it in the control panel under DISPLAY > DISPLAY SETTINGS. Also available for all users from an xterm by typing:
abscreen.

The possible settings are what is returned from the Xorg xrandr utility, so if they are listed they should work. As a precaution, if you do not "OK" a setting you try, it will automatically return to the original setting. The utility should look like below:




After resizing the screen, the fonts are often "whack" -- so you might want to set the font explicitely with the Set System Font utility:



DejaVu Sans is a safe bet, but go ahead and play . . .

Note:
Screen adjusting can leave the background and fonts for some apps a bit "out of phase", so when you have decided on a screen size it is advisable to log off and log back on to restart X. (Log off and on restarts the X server -- there is no need to reboot.





Multimedia (MP3s, DVDs and Online Videos)
Lots of media files can be played out-of-the-box, but playing DVDs and videos online that use patent-encumbered codecs cannot. Some audio conversions will not work either if MP3s are involved.

To make these things work:
You must be root to see/use the utility. -- Look for the Multimedia Installer under the Multimedia section of the control panel. Also available to root user from an xterm, type:
mmInstaller



Click on Install Multimedia Files
and subsequently click "Yes" to the following prompt if you are both:
  1. connected to the internet
  2. confident that installing the software is legal for you.





You may also notice an "About Multimedia Extra" item in the control panel. This gives a more detailed version of the above disclaimer.

If you choose to continue the install, the installer will download, unpack and install the packages for lame, ffmpeg, libdvdcss and the mplayer video codecs. It does this without any more user interaction, unless you have no internet connection -- in which case it will ask you if you wish to continue installing lame and ffmpeg, without libdvdcss and the codecs, or simply skip the install for the time being.

If something is installed that you don't want, simply uninstall it by choosing the package in SOFTWARE > ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS.

If you want to make sure the installer is not run at a later time, simply delete the folder /usr/src/restricted



Set the default Web Browser
Most folks will leave this with the default of Chrome.
To change, open the control panel, click on Network, then click on Browser, at which point a little dialog will appear and offer you the choices of whatever Browsers you have installed. (Firefox and Midori are available from the Absoluite repositories in CD2 folder.) Mozilla-Firefox and Midori (or, if you have another browser such as Opera installed, it will list that also.) Choose Midori, click set, you're OK.







Printer Setup
There are three items in the root version of the control panel printer section.



These are all nice and easy, especially the HP setup. Last install I just choose the one the HP software selected and choose as default. Took a look at my ink levels...

What can be a BIT confusing is the Gutenprint setup for printing well with the GIMP.


GUTENPRINT (for GIMP)

When you choose (from GIMP) to PRINT WITH GUTENPRINT, you will have to set up the printer gutenprint uses the first time. (Make sure to SAVE your settings when done.)
Couple quick notes about gutenprint setup:



  1. Click New Printer -- give it a name and click OK.

  2. Click Setup Printer



    -- from here you can select from the make/model lists or, what is much easier, click on Browse. I have altered the Gutenprint code to begin the search in the folder /etc/cups/ppd, which is where both the HP Tools puts the PPD file, as well as where cups puts it. In other words -- if you have already installed your printer, browse will open up and show just the one PPD file that is for your printer. Choose it, say OK.



  3. Set the Print Queue Command



    -- This is the one I've forgotten several times myself. The cryptic letters in the box below are almost always perfectly OK. It is the printer listed at the end of the STANDARD COMMAND that you have to choose. Don't leave it on "Default Printer" -- click the drop-down arrow and choose the model of printer you just installed. (It gets it's name from the PPD file, not what you named the printer earlier.)

    Do that, Save your settings. Done.

    Done





Software installation and system cofiguration
Is meant to be done only as root user.
Absolute targets parents, IT guys and fearless (crazy?) power users.
Every other user just uses what they're given and lives with it.
If you want to do something reserved for the root user,
then log in as the root user. That's what a root account is for.

If you can't, then I guess you're not supposed to...




CD2 - extra software
Due to size contraints many applications and libraries are on "CD2". These also include the kernel source package. So if you are a developer or need to compile modules (such as the nvidia mod) -- then be sure to install the kernel source package.

The repositories with the additional sotware are:
http://www.slackware.org.uk/absolute/
ftp://ftp.slackware.org.uk/absolute/
ftp://ftp.absolutelinux.org/

.



Nvidia Proprietary Drivers
Those with an Nvidia graphics chip can use the default setup, or they can install Nvidia's proprietary kernel drivers, which will avail the user of greater speed (fps) and 3D capability. To run with Nvidi Proprietary drivers you must compile them. This is NOT difficult but requires a couple downloads and takes a few steps. First, what you need to download:


Downloads




Preparation

You have to compile/install the driver as root user. You also have to start up without the X interface running (which means logging on in a text-console.)


Installation




Mail Notification (for GMAil)
Gmail notifyer is a tiny taskbar app that is installed by default on Absolute, but not run unless set to do so. From the installer package note: 

Gmail Notifier
Tray applet to notify of new gmail

To run on startup, set:
~/.icewm/rc.gmail
to executable. On next login the notifier
will prompt you for username (full gmail address)
and password. Henceforth the notifier will run in 
your taskbar.

Here is a shot of the configurtion screen that comes up automatically the first time you login with the notifyer enableed:



Enter your full gmail address as username, and your password. I also check the option to have it remember my name/password. All the other settings are already correct for default Absolute usage.