Customizing Your Desktop Environment
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4
Now it's time to start installing packages and adding them to the pop-up menus. Use Ctrl-Alt-Fx to open another terminal and log on as root. Type:
/stand/sysinstall
Configure
Packages
Choose your Installation Mediaand wait for the Index to be read. As you browse through each category, there will be a short description of each package as it is highlighted. To choose a package, use your spacebar to mark it; press OK to leave that category and choose another one. When you are finished making your selections, arrow over to Install. You'll be presented with a list of your selections. It's not a bad idea to write these down if you are installing a lot of packages so you'll remember to add them all to your Window Manager menu. Press OK, and the packages you've selected will be installed.
If you are new to the packages collection, you may be unsure of which packages to try first. For a regular user, I usually build the following:
Deskutils>Ical |
A very functional calendar utility |
Deskutils>xmaddressbook |
A nice GUI address book |
Editors>AbiWord |
A text editor that looks like Word, without the overhead; also reads/writes to *.rtf, *.doc, and *.txt files |
Games>Pysol |
Solitaire to rival any other Solitaire version |
Games>Xbill |
Great for when you need to vent some frustration |
Games>xmahjongg, xchomp, xtet42, pacman |
More games. |
Graphics>Gimp |
For all your graphics manipulation needs |
Graphics>xv |
To view all those images you receive in your e-mail |
Mail>Fetchmail |
So you can retrieve your e-mail |
Mail>Balsa |
For those who want a Eudora/Outlook style e-mail reader |
Mail>Pine |
Even if you don't like its e-mail reader interface, it comes with a very easy to use editor |
Shells>Bash |
Most users like bash |
WWW>Lynx |
For a command line web browser for quick searches without the overhead of graphics |
WWW>Netscape |
To see all the pretty graphics on the WWW |
Net>Ethereal |
Very good packet analyzer that I build for the root user |
Once you've built your packages, use Ctrl-Alt-F9 to return to the Window Manager. Only root can build packages, but any user can customize his or her own desktop by adding a pre-built application to the desired menu screen.
