OReilly exploring the JDS linux desktop sep 2004 ISBN 0596007523

Students, software developers, and computer experts from around the world have used Linux and open source software foryears.. Finally, Tom Adelstein and Sam Hiser have written a book to

It enters into great depth concerning the key productivity tools every user needs: email, web browsing, instant messaging, word

processing, spreadsheets, and slide

presentations.

Printed in the United States of America

Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein HighwayNorth, Sebastopol, CA 95472

O'Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, orsales promotional use Online editions are also available for

most titles (http://safari.oreilly.com) For more information,contact our corporate/institutional sales department: (800)

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of thisbook, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility forerrors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use ofthe information contained herein

Students, software developers, and computer experts from

around the world have used Linux and open source software foryears Finally, Tom Adelstein and Sam Hiser have written a book

to help the rest of us get started with Linux and open source

applications In Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop, Adelstein and

Hiser take you on a step-by-step tour of Sun Microsystems'

Java Desktop System Beginning with instructions for installingJDS using the included CD-ROM, through the use of all the JDStools and applications, they share their insight, tips for new

Linux users, and enough shortcuts that even experienced Linuxusers are likely to learn new tricks

As any Linux user will tell you, there isn't anything particularlychallenging about using individual Linux applications Anyonewho can use a web browser can use Mozilla If you have everused a word processor or spreadsheet, you should feel right athome with Sun's Star Office suite of applications Previously,what made Linux difficult was that to get started, you usuallyneeded to download, install, and configure the operating systemand your favorite applications from a dozen or more differentweb sites or CDs It's no wonder that getting the correct

versions of the correct Linux and open source applications towork together was regarded by many as a black art best left tocomputer geeks

As Adelstein and Hiser show, if you are technically savvy

enough to update your anti-virus software or install a new

version of your favorite PC music player, you can quickly be upand running Linux with the JDS CD included with this book ToLinux newbies, the biggest surprise might be that with JDS'sbuilt-in security you won't need any additional anti-virus

software, while at the same time you can use JDS to play allyour favorite CDs just like on your old system The JDS email

email server, and StarOffice does a great job reading and

writing competing productivity tool file formats

If you're not quite sure you're ready to jump head-first into theJava Desktop System, don't fear The included demo CD installs

a full copy of JDS into your PC's memory, typically in under 10minutes, without touching the current operating system

Thanks to the near infinite flexibility of Linux software, JDS'sdesktop, menus, icons, file folders, and other user interface

features are so intuitively familiar to other window system usersthat you might not notice the next time you reboot your

desktop that it has returned to its disk-resident operating

system At the same time, this should give readers confidence

to experiment with JDS at their own pace, working through thechapters knowing they can return to their regular OS to updatetheir anti-virus software whenever they need to Soon,

however, I expect many readers will be visiting their favoriteonline store to purchase a full copy of Java Desktop System,installing a permanent copy and saying goodbye forever to thetrials and tribulations of proprietary operating systems

So don't just read this booktry out the included CD as you readeach chapter, and start enjoying the benefits of Linux and opensource that Adelstein, Hiser, and a growing number of

mainstream PC users running Java Desktop System are

experiencing every day

Marc HamiltonDirector of Client ServicesSun Microsystems Inc

Sun Microsystems' Java™ Desktop System (JDS) offers a

comfortable and exciting way to use your personal computer.People who use a PC at work and/or at home will find JDS

pleasantly surprising Sun has produced an intuitive desktopthat allows you not only to use what you already know about acomputer but also to do more than you thought you could

This book focuses on the basics of using the JDS and its

applications, so you can begin using JDS immediately We helpyou quickly set up your operating system, connect to the

The authors of this book specialize in Linux and do consulting inthe open source software space From a business perspective,JDS provides a promising way forward When people ask us tohelp them find opportunities in their organizations to use opensource software, we look for ways to reduce costs, better usetheir resources, and improve security The Java Desktop offersindividuals and organizations a safe, manageable, and securedesktop operating system at a very competitive price

In creating JDS, Sun took the well known and robust GNU/Linuxsystem as a starting point, but they added a higher level of

quality to put JDS on par with Windows XP and Mac OS X when

it comes to usability, for a fraction of the cost Sun added

sophisticated, but unobtrusive, components to the desktop toprovide a consistent look and feel across all desktop software.Unlike desktops from other distributions, Sun has added

enhancements so that every folder, application, and interfaceprovides the same quality of presentation

Aside from adding to the visual appeal of the desktop, Sun'simprovements increase the utility of software applications onJDS One of the programs included allows you to work with

photographs and other graphic images in the same way as aprofessional does Similarly, Sun's word processor and

spreadsheet programs provide equivalent functionality to thebest Microsoft Office programs

We wrote this book for people who want to use and to learn JDSquickly We aim to provide you with an immediate

understanding of the computer, while you become familiar withthe simplest ways to get things done You will learn to navigatethe desktop and Internet, and to use applications such as theStarWriter word processor

Whether you have just begun using personal computers or

you're a veteran, you will find this book helpful, as it containsplenty of examples and information on how to make the most of

occasionally

This book contains things many people find central to their

computing experience at work and at play Yet the system is sopowerful that people could study it for years Our intention is tohelp new, everyday users become highly productive using JDS.We're not trying to develop Unix system administrators, as

there are already many books available for that purpose

However, many system administrators can find much useful

information here

This book uses some typographic conventions that can help younavigate through the text easily When you see certain kinds oftypefaces, you'll know they have special meanings:

Italic

Used to show arguments and variables that should be

replaced with user-supplied values Italic is also used toindicate filenames and directories and to highlight

Constant Width Italic

Used in examples to show text that should be replaced withuser-supplied values

This icon signifies a tip, suggestion, or general note.

This icon indicates a warning or caution.

This book is here to help you get your job done In general, youmay use the code in this book in your programs and

documentation You do not need to contact us for permissionunless you're reproducing a significant portion of the code Forexample, writing a program that uses several chunks of codefrom this book does not require permission Selling or

distributing a CD-ROM of examples from O'Reilly books does

require permission Answering a question by citing this bookand quoting example code does not require permission

Incorporating a significant amount of example code from this

book into your product's documentation does require

permission

We appreciate, but do not require, attribution An attributionusually includes the title, author, publisher, and ISBN For

example: Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop, by Tom Adelstein

and Sam Hiser Copyright 2004 O'Reilly Media, Inc., 0-596-00752-3

If you feel your use of code examples falls outside fair use orthe permission given above, feel free to contact us at

permissions@oreilly.com

We have tested and verified all the information in this book tothe best of our abilities, but you may find that features havechanged (or even that we have made mistakes!) Please let usknow about any errors you find, as well as your suggestions forfuture editions, by writing:

http://www.oreily.com/catalog/jds/

To comment or ask technical questions about this book, sendemail to:

bookquestions@oreilly.com

For more information about books, conferences, resource

centers, and the O'Reilly Network, see the O'Reilly web site at:

http://www.oreilly.com

We realize the production of a book like JDS requires the

cooperative efforts of many people We wonder how we couldhave completed this work without our editor, Andy Oram Frominception to completion, Andy demonstrated how important

great editing is to the success of any book He operated muchlike a producer, director, casting department, and fight manager

In all our years of writing, we have never experienced a morecommitted person Thank you, Andy!

Yvonne Adelstein, Tom's wife, helped us from the start by

taking the point of view of the many nontechnical users who willexperience JDS In progressing from a computer newbie to acapable Linux user over the course of this project, Yvonne

provided valuable insights, as well as hands-on editing, to help

us better address the needs of readers coming fresh to Linuxand to keep us from straying too far into technical jargon

The chapters on StarOffice are animated by the dedication ofthe developers, marketers and users of OpenOffice.org aroundthe world, including the Sun team in Europe

Several reviewers, some from O'Reilly, and some working

elsewhere, dedicated themselves to the success of this book Inparticular, we want to thank Bruce Bell, Keith Burgess, BrianGoodyear, Nigel Horne, Rick Rezinas, and Andreas Strid

Desktop

Welcome to Sun's JavaTM Desktop System JDS helps you

unleash the power of Linux without much of a learning curve.You get the convenience of a familiar and friendly desktop

screen along with the secure, stable, and extensible Linux

operating system

In this chapter, you become familiar with the JDS desktop andquickly learn how to be productive In later chapters, you willdiscover many useful and exciting features of Linux and Sun'sproductivity tools

JDS combines many advances in personal computer technology.Sun engineers blended those advances into a progressive andsecure system While you enjoy email, web browsing, and

editing documents, you can stop worrying about email viruses.From the ground up, Sun built JDS with security in mind

As you begin to use JDS, you can sense the power and stability

of Linux under the hood But you do not really have to deal withthe engine You just see a user-friendly and attractive desktopthat helps you surf the Internet, send email, keep track of youractivities, look at your family pictures, watch videos, listen tomusic, and use your word processor You can still create andread PDF files and work with graphics in the same way as you

do with Photoshop You can also use your flatbed scanner tosend faxes and copy documents the way you have in the past.You can continue utilizing Instant Messaging and chat

Sun Microsystems has created the first viable alternative to aMicrosoft desktop in 15 years They offer you the opportunity touse the same computer hardware with which you're alreadyacquainted If you've been running Windows 98 and don't want

latest Windows upgrade, you can get a feature-full and secureoperating system in JDS JDS works with the newest hardware,

so you can continue to use your flat screen monitor, your DVDdrive, and your digital camera When you balance the

checkbook, you'll notice that, instead of spending $1,200 onsoftware upgrades alone, you'll spend only around $100 foreverything that you're likely to need

If you want to use Windows sometimes, you have several

options Chapter 9 shows you how to run Windows applications

or the entire Windows operating system together with JDS Youcan also set up your computer to offer you a choice when youpower it on: you can work on JDS for a while and then rebootinto Windows

JDS runs very fast As you go about your familiar emailing anddocument editing, you will notice an overall performance

increase on your existing hardware

Sun conceived JDS as a solution that enables you to work athome or at the office Even with the low cost, when you start

up, you will find more applications loaded on your system thanyou get on a Microsoft system You'll also notice that you havethe tools on the system that you need for programming, forrunning a web server, or for trying out powerful Internet

services

Good question! JDS comes with software applications that differ,but function as well or better, than those distributed by

Microsoft Let's do a fast recap:

JDS provides an intuitive user interface that enables you tolocate documents, access menus, launch applications, andpersonalize your work environment JDS comes with a set

of development tools and utilities The desktop has a unifiedlook and feel

JDS includes a personal information-management tool thatcombines email, calendaring, scheduling, contact

management, and task lists This personal organizer worksmuch like a Day-Timer But it also has workgroup

capabilities and can synchronize and manage information,using the included connector to the Sun ONE Calendar andMessaging servers

JDS is compatible with many PDAs (personal digital

assistants), as well, and offers several tools for keeping

your information up to date

JDS has an Instant Messaging client that supports the SunONE Instant Messaging server and other instant messagingclients such as AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo

Sun has taken the flexible Mozilla browser and bumped upits capabilities in JDS, adding commercial plug-ins, networksecurity services, and personal security management Youcan use the Mozilla web browser suite to communicate withpeople over the Internet, participate in discussion groups,and create web pages, in addition to surfing the Web

StarOffice 7 provides you with applications for word

processing, developing spreadsheets, making presentations,creating graphics, editing photos, publishing to the Web,and connecting to relational databases

StarOffice 7 gives you the same features you've found inMicrosoft Office You'll also find that you can save and openyour documents in Microsoft formats such as Word, Excel,and PowerPoint You will find StarOffice to be both user-friendly and compatible with other software

JDS provides multimedia applications such as CD and mediaplayers, sound recording, a movie player called Totem, RealNetworks media player, and Macromedia Shockwave Flash.JDS comes with CD-burning software and supports

XCDROAST, one of the better CD/DVD-burning applications

JDS comes with the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) forthe Java Programming Language This allows applications towork in JDS, as well as other operating systems, withouthaving to rewrite the software for each one

Runs on a broad range of desktop and laptop computers

Secure

Linux/Unix strict security system prevents viruses and worms from modifying system files

Utilizes Java sandbox security infrastructure that prevents viruses from infecting the system environment

Interoperable

Leverages common file formats: use/read/edit your Microsoft Office documents

Windows, Macintosh, Unix file and printer sharing Communicates with standard communications servers: IMAP, POP, SMTP, Sun Java Enterprise System servers (formerly Sun ONE), etc.

Cost-effective

Price is approximately 20 percent of the price of a Windows XP/Pro and Office 2003 upgrade, and even lower with special promotions Includes the premium StarOffice 7 productivity suite, at no additional cost

Less-demanding hardware requirements that often allow you to extend the life of older existing systems

Compatible with hundreds of free open source applications

If you are a Windows or Macintosh user, many things you donow may seem both familiar and logical as you begin to useJDS But don't forget that you are using an entirely new

operating system Some things require a few repetitions beforeyou feel comfortable with them

While putting JDS together, Sun Microsystems ran a usabilitystudy with people of many skill sets Sun engaged people in aseries of tasks on both JDS and Windows XP Sun discoveredthat moving from Windows 9x to JDS required minimal learning,not much different from moving to Windows XP This meansanyone can easily migrate to JDS

This book targets new users of Linux and those having to

migrate from existing Windows operating systems Linux hasspread to new parts of the world and to places where personalcomputers have not been available historically If you fit intoany of these groups, this book can help you become productivequickly Novices can benefit by reading the chapters in

sequence

General Linux users, small- and medium-sized businesses, earlyadopter enterprises, and government offices can also find thisbook helpful We have provided a detailed table of contents,appendixes, and an index for finding information you may need

if you encounter unfamiliar territory while attempting to useJDS

JDS requires modest hardware resources Sun Microsystemsprovides for both a minimum supported configuration and arecommended one The minimum supported configuration uses

an Intel Pentium II 266 MHz-compatible processor and a 4 GBhard disk, and 128 MB RAM and a color monitor with at least an

800 600 screen resolution

Sun recommends a Pentium III compatible processor, 600 MHz

or faster, at least a 4 GB hard disk, at least 256 MB RAM, and a1,024 768 screen resolution, or better More details on systemrequirements appear in Appendix F

Make sure you can boot from the CD-ROM drive if you wish to install JDS from either the full installation package or the demonstration CD.

See Appendix F if you have trouble.

nothing happened

In JDS, you can open, close, size, reduce, enlarge, and positionwindows on the desktop You can open multiple windows

window to run a program, or display the contents of a file or theelements of your computer, some window frame characteristicsremain constant These include the Window menu on the toppanel or the scroll bars on the right side and bottom of the

pane If you have used either Mac OS or Microsoft Windows, theJDS desktop should feel comfortable

1.5.1 Icons on the Desktop

JDS always starts with at least five icons on the desktop In thissection, we summarize what each one does You may be able toexplore parts of the system right now, but many features mayseem confusing until we explain them in later chapters

Most of the icons run a general-purpose system browser called

Nautilus, which we describe in detail in Chapter 3 For now, allyou need to know is that you can double-click on anything thatappears in the window to work with it You can also drag

objects around the screen and use the drop-down menus at thetop of the Nautilus screen The Go menu has a number of

interesting features, some of which we describe in upcomingchapters

1.5.1.1 This Computer

Figure 1-2 shows the icon for the This Computer feature

Figure 1-2 This Computer icon

appears), the screen resolution, the screen saver, and windowbehavior

The System icon also serves an important role on JDS If youhave little or no experience using Linux, you may want to peek

access to the computers on the network, organized into a

hierarchical tree of folders, just as documents are on a localsystem As you click on each icon, you see smaller subsets ofthe network, individual systems within the network, and folders

on the systems Details on setting up a network are given in

Chapter 4

Some systems require you to provide a password before

accessing resources If you are supposed to have access, thesystem administrator will have told you what password to use.Sometimes you can gain access just by virtue of logging in toJDS, because the remote system can learn from your system

objects from this window

1.5.1.5 Learn About the Java Desktop System

Figure 1-6 shows the icon for the Learn About the Java DesktopSystem feature

Figure 1-6 Learn About The Java Desktop System

icon

Clock

Network monitor

Looks like two small monitors and flashes to show whennetwork activity is going on

Workspace Switcher to switch between workspaces

1.5.2 Workspaces

The JDS workspaces feature allows you to create multiple,

personalized workspaces for different projects or purposes andplace them on different virtual desktops For instance, supposeyou are working on project X and have a few documents on thedesktop for easy referral You also have project Y for which youneed other documents and a multi-tabbed browser By placingeach project on a separate desktop in the workspaces switcher,you can quickly switch between the two projects at a momentsnotice Workspaces also allow better organization of work andprevent pieces from being buried

increases your work efficiency Or perhaps you want to keepone workspace for business and one for family or fun JDS takesmulti-tasking to new levels with this Workspaces feature Asyou learn more programs on JDS and increase your workload,you'll discover the value of separating your tasks on multipleworkspaces

The Workspace Switcher is a separate program, known as an

applet, and is located on the bottom right bar of the JDS

desktop The Workspace Switcher is a rectangle, divided intofour boxes Each box represents a workspace, or desktop,

miniaturized into a small icon within the box This miniaturizeddepiction helps you recognize what you placed in each

workspace for easy switching between workspaces Each

workspace contains the same desktop background and menusthat you are used to seeing You may run different applicationsand open different windows in each workspace

Figure 1-8 shows the Workspace Switcher applet when the userhas started up a separate application in each of the four

workspaces The first workspace, on the left, is running the

StarWriter word processor The second is running email, thethird has a folder window (Nautilus), and the fourth contains aweb browser The currently open workspace, the fourth windowwith the browser occupies your screen, is highlighted with adarker color, as shown in Figure 1-8

Figure 1-8 The JDS Workspace Switcher applet

workspaces on the JDS desktop, you can change the WorkspaceSwitcher to display the numbers of the workspaces This is

available if you right-click on the Workspace Switcher and

choose Preferences from the menu that pops up In general,objects displayed by JDS provide a menu when you right-clickthem, and you can often customize them in radical ways bychoosing Preferences

To switch among workspaces, click on the box that representsthe workspace you're interested in The associated workspace ismaximized and occupies your screen You can start a new

window in that workspace simply by clicking on the document

or program you want to open You can move something fromthe current workspace to another workspace in two ways Thefirst is to drag the tiny depiction of the window from one box inthe Workspace Switcher to another The second is to go to thetop frame of the window you want to move and right-click onthe top strip Select "Move to another workspace" and selectthe workspace into which you want to move the window

If you'd like to change the number of workspaces, right-click onthe workspaces applet, select Preferences, then choose the

number of workspaces desired You may also add additionalrows in the same way

Newcomers may feel a bit overwhelmed at the breadth of newoptions and features upon venturing into JDS Consider thosefeelings natural This book puts the most important tools forbeing productive in your hands Sun also provides

documentation, some on its web site and some right on the

system you are using

Once you are familiar with JDS, you can benefit from the Helpapplication Start help simply by clicking on the "Learn Aboutthe Java Desktop System" icon, discussed earlier in this chapter,

or hold down your mouse on the Launch menu at the bottomleft of the panel and select Help The second method is shown

in Figure 1-9

Figure 1-9 Click Launch and then Help

The initial window shown in Help lists three main topics The

"GNOME - Desktop" documents describe how to deal with

windows, icons, the mouse, and other features of your desktop.(The desktop's name is GNOME.) Finally, "Additional

related tools; this is valuable for experienced Linux users

documents" contains standard documentation for many Linux-You can jump to a particular topic as long as you know the

name of the application For instance, when you read the

section on email in Chapter 6, you learn that the email program

on JDS is called Evolution To get detailed documentation onEvolution, press the Index icon at the top of the Help windowand enter "evolution" into the "Search for" box near the top left.The result is Figure 1-10 In this window, you can scroll downthe lefthand pane to view a table of contents and select topics,and scroll down the righthand pane to read the documentation

Figure 1-10 JDS Help browser

There is also an online support site at

http://supportforum.sun.com/ The initial screen for this site isshown in Figure 1-11

Figure 1-11 Sun's JDS online help portal

Support Forum at http://supportforum.sun.com/sjds/ and posequestions as they encounter problems The community usuallyanswers questions quickly; the authors have found it to be avaluable resource

Now that we have introduced you to JDS, we can start gettingsome work done In the next chapter, we cover basic tasks such

as accessing CD-ROMs and working with documents You canalso learn how to find files on your computer and change somesystem settings to suit your preferences

Most people can quickly get going with the Java Desktop

System, knowing intuitively how to navigate the system andhandle its windows The habits you learned on other computerscan usually guide you But it helps to know the details of

window, file, and application handling on JDS, so you can usethe system more efficiently when performing complex tasks

The basics of using a personal computer at home and at workinclude knowing how to: