Getting Started with Linux

User Interfaces

The way a computer looks when you use it is a function of its "Graphical User Interface" (GUI), which defines the "look and feel" of the operating system. A GUI is the visual way you interact with a program. Typically, a GUI would include visual things like:

and also includes basic behaviors of the interface, such as:

In Windows and Mac OS, you don't have a lot of say in the GUI you use, and you're pretty much stuck with the way the computer looks when Microsoft / Apple makes it. In Linux, however, there are a bunch of vastly different interfaces. Your account is set up to use a popular environment called "GNOME" by default, but there are others you can use instead by playing with the "Session" menu on the login screen. The other common environment is called "KDE," but everything in this tutorial assumes you're sticking with GNOME for now.

Overview of GNOME

Here's the way a typical screen might look. It probably didn't look exactly like this when you logged in, but we'll try to explain the major sections.

Screenshot of sample GNOME desktop

Here's a quick explanation of the numbered areas:

  1. Desktop: Like Windows and Mac OS, GNOME has the concept of a "desktop" that can be used to store files or links (called "shortcuts" in Windows and "aliases" in Mac OS). By default, you start out with a few links, but you can add more. We'll get back to that.
  2. Terminal or Shell: This screen is one of the ways you'll be communicating with the computer. More on that in the next few pages.
  3. Firefox: This is almost exactly the same Firefox web browser that's available on Windows and Mac OS, but for legal reasons it's called "Iceweasel" instead, and has a different icon.
  4. Menu bar: These menus have links to many of the programs on the computer, as well as basic commands like logging out, etc. Click on them to see what's available.
  5. Task bar: This acts the same as Windows — use it to control which is the "active" program, and to see what programs you're running.
  6. Virtual desktops: Linux will let you use a desktop that is bigger than your physical monitor. These are called "virtual desktops," and some people find it easier to manage a lot of windows with them. Surf the web or ask a TA or consultant to learn more.

Click around in the menus to see what's there. The command to log out is probably what you'll use the menus for the most. Search online for more information about the virtual desktops, if you like.

OK. Let's learn a little about Terminals...