FIGURE 2.13 Download and install software from the huge Fedora repository.
By searching for and installing some common desktop applications, you should be able to start using your desktop effectively. Refer to Chapter 10 for details on how to add software repositories and use dnf, yum, and rpm commands to manage software in Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Playing music with Rhythmbox
Rhythmbox is the music player that comes on the Fedora GNOME Live Desktop. You can launch Rhythmbox from the GNOME 3 Dash and immediately play music CDs, podcasts, or Internet radio shows. You can import audio files in WAV and Ogg Vorbis formats or add plug-ins for MP3 or other audio formats.
Figure 2.14 shows an example of the Rhythmbox window with music playing from an imported audio library.
FIGURE 2.14 Play music, podcasts, and Internet radio from Rhythmbox.
Here are a few ways that you can get started with Rhythmbox:
Radio Double-click the Radio selection under Library and choose a radio station from the list that appears to the right.
Podcasts Search for podcasts on the Internet and find the URL for one that interests you. Right-click the Podcasts entry and select New Podcast Feed. Paste or type in the URL to the podcast and click Add. A list of podcasts from the site that you selected appears to the right. Double-click the one to which you want to listen.
Audio CDs Insert an audio CD, and press Play when it appears in the Rhythmbox window. Rhythmbox also lets you rip and burn audio CDs.
Audio files Rhythmbox can play WAV and Ogg Vorbis files. By adding plug-ins, you can play many other audio formats, including MP3. Because there are patent issues related to the MP3 format, the ability to play MP3s is not included with Fedora. In Chapter 10, I describe how to get software that you need that is not in the repository of your Linux distribution.
Plug-ins are available for Rhythmbox to get cover art, show information about artists and songs, add support for music services (such as Last.fm and Magnatune), and fetch song lyrics.
Stopping the GNOME 3 desktop
When you are finished with your GNOME 3 session, select the down arrow button in the upper-right corner of the top bar. From there, you can choose the On/Off button, which allows you to log out or switch to a different user account without logging out.
Using the GNOME 2 Desktop
The GNOME 2 desktop is the default desktop interface used up through Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. It is well-known, stable, and perhaps a bit boring.
GNOME 2 desktops provide the more standard menus, panels, icons, and workspaces. If you are using a Red Hat Enterprise Linux system up to RHEL 6, or an older Fedora or Ubuntu distribution, you are probably looking at a GNOME 2 desktop. I will now provide a tour of GNOME 2, along with some opportunities for sprucing it up a bit. GNOME 2 releases include 3D effects (see “Adding 3D effects with AIGLX” later in this chapter).
To use your GNOME desktop, you should become familiar with the following components:
Metacity (window manager) The default window manager for GNOME 2 is Metacity. Metacity configuration options let you control such things as themes, window borders, and controls used on your desktop.
Compiz (window manager) You can enable this window manager in GNOME to provide 3D desktop effects.
Nautilus (file manager/graphical shell) When you open a folder (by double-clicking the Home icon on your desktop, for example), the Nautilus window opens and displays the contents of the selected folder. Nautilus can also display other types of content, such as shared folders from Windows computers on the network (using SMB).
GNOME panels (application/task launcher) These panels, which line the top and bottom of your screen, are designed to make it convenient for you to launch the applications you use, manage running applications, and work with multiple virtual desktops. By default, the top panel contains menu buttons (Applications, Places, and System), desktop application launchers (Evolution email and Firefox web browser), a workspace switcher (for managing four virtual desktops), and a clock. Icons appear in the panel when you need software updates or SELinux detects a problem. The bottom panel has a Show Desktop button, window lists, a trash can, and workspace switcher.
Desktop area The windows and icons you use are arranged on the desktop area, which supports drag-and-drop between applications, a desktop menu (right-click to see it), and icons for launching applications. A Computer icon consolidates CD drives, floppy drives, the filesystem, and shared network resources in one place.
GNOME also includes a set of Preferences windows that enable you to configure different aspects of your desktop. You can change backgrounds, colors, fonts, keyboard shortcuts, and other features related to the look and behavior of the desktop. Figure 2.15 shows how the GNOME 2 desktop environment appears the first time you log in, with a few windows added to the screen.
FIGURE 2.15 The GNOME 2 desktop environment
The desktop shown in Figure 2.15 is for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The following sections provide details on using the GNOME 2 desktop.
Using the Metacity window manager
The Metacity window manager seems to have been chosen as the default window manager for GNOME because of its simplicity. The creator of Metacity refers to it as a “boring window manager for the adult in you” and then goes on to compare other window managers to colorful, sugary cereal, whereas Metacity is characterized as Cheerios.
NOTE
To use 3D effects, your best solution is to use the Compiz window manager, described later in this chapter. You can't do much with Metacity (except get your work done efficiently). You assign new themes to Metacity and change colors and window decorations through the GNOME preferences (described later).
Basic Metacity functions that might interest you are keyboard shortcuts and the workspace switcher. Table 2.1 shows keyboard shortcuts to get around the Metacity window manager.
TABLE 2.1 Keyboard Shortcuts
| Actions | Keystrokes |