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><H1
><A
NAME="NEWBIES"
> If you are new to Linux/UNIX</A
></H1
><P
> One of the goals of GNOME is to make your system easy to use,
    without requiring you to learn the syntax of most UNIX commands.
    However, there are some basic UNIX notions that you have to be
    familiar with, even while using the easy graphical interface
    provided by GNOME. For the convenience of new users, these basics
    are collected in this appendix. If you need further information on
    UNIX, you should read the documentation which came with your
    system; there are also a number of books and on-line guides
    available for all versions of UNIX. 
  </P
><P
> The following guide applies to all versions of UNIX and UNIX-like
    operating systems, including both the commercial Unices such as
    <SPAN
CLASS="SYSTEMITEM"
>Solaris</SPAN
> and open-source operating systems such as
    <SPAN
CLASS="SYSTEMITEM"
>FreeBSD</SPAN
> and <SPAN
CLASS="SYSTEMITEM"
>Linux</SPAN
>. Some of
    the material here is based on <I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>Linux Installation and Getting
    Started</I
> guide, by Matt Welsh, Phil Hughes, David Bandel, Boris
    Beletsky, Sean Dreilinger, Robert Kiesling, Evan Liebovitch, and Henry
    Pierce. The guide is available for download or online viewing from the
    <A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org"
TARGET="_top"
>Linux Documentation
    Project</A
> or from the <A
HREF="http://www.oswg.org"
TARGET="_top"
>Open Source
    Writers Group</A
>.
  </P
><DIV
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><A
NAME="NEW-USERS"
>Users</A
></H1
><P
> UNIX is a multiuser operating system: it
      was designed to allow many users to work on the same computer,
      either simultaneously (using several terminals or network
      connections) or in turns. Under UNIX, to identify yourself to
      the system, you must log in, which entails entering your
      <I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>login name</I
> (the name the system uses to identify
      you) and your <I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>password</I
>, which is your personal key
      for logging in to your account. Because only you know your
      password, no one else can log in to the system under your user
      name. Usually people choose their first or last name or some
      variation of it as their login name, so that if your real name
      is Sasha Beilinson, your login might be <SPAN
CLASS="SYSTEMITEM"
>sasha</SPAN
>.
    </P
><P
> Each user has a separate place to keep his files (called
      his <I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>home directory</I
>). UNIX has a system of
      permissions (see <A
HREF="permissions.html"
>the section called <I
>Permissions</I
></A
>), so that on a
      properly configure UNIX system a user can't change other users'
      or system files. This also allows every user to customize
      various aspects of the system &#8212; in particular, GNOME
      behavior &#8212; for himself, without affecting other users.
    </P
><P
> On any UNIX system there is also a special user, called
      <I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>system administrator</I
>, with the login name
      <SPAN
CLASS="SYSTEMITEM"
>root</SPAN
>. He has <I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>full</I
>
      control over the system &#8212; including full access to all the
      system and users' files. He has the authority to change the
      passwords of existing users and add new users, install and
      uninstall software, and so on. The system administrator is
      usually the person responsible for proper functioning of the
      system, so if you have some problems, you should ask him.
    </P
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>IMPORTANT</B
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>	Even if you are the only user on your computer (for example,
	if the computer is your personal workstation), so that you are
	also the system administrator, it is important that you create
	a user account and use it for daily work, logging in as root
	only when necessary for system maintenance. Because root can
	do anything, it is easy to make mistakes that have
	catastrophic consequences.  Picture the root account as a
	magic hat that gives you lots of power, with which you can, by
	waving your hands, create or destroy entire cities.  Because
	it is easy to wave your hands in a destructive manner, it is
	not a good idea to wear the magic hat when it is not needed,
	despite the wonderful feeling.
      </P
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