Chapter 15Gettin Gooey with the GUIsIn This Chapter (My space web page)
Chapter 15Gettin Gooey with the GUIsIn This Chapter Adding applets to the panel Adding programs to the desktop Downloading and setting up themes Configuring the X Window SystemThe X Window System (or X) opens a world of possibilities. X is, in general, a set of applications that work together to provide a graphical interface. Think of these applications as the wireframe beneath your GUI, with GNOMEand KDE (see Chapter 6) offering the pretty paper m che coating. Some ofthese applications draw windows, some manage the look and feel, and othershandle other aspects of the graphical world for you. All of them are config- urable and even replaceable, which is enough to make the average user seyes cross with way too many options! GNOME and KDE are entirely creatures of convenience, offering integratedsets of window dressing so that you don t have to pick and choose your com- ponents. In this chapter, you get a chance to alter both KDE and GNOME sbehavior to suit your own needs. For example, if you have a hard time read- ing text in those small command-prompt windows in the GUI, you can makeboth the windows and their fonts larger. You can change a wealth of otherthings, too, so read on and take a look. If something goes terribly wrong in the GUI and you need to exit in a hurry, press Ctrl+Alt+Backspace. This key combination does one of two things. Ifyou boot into the GUI, it collapses your GUI session and takes you to the GUIlogin prompt. However, if you boot to the command line, this key combina- tion collapses the GUI immediately, taking you to the command line. However, press Ctrl+Alt+Backspace only in an emergency. This key combina- tion doesn t cleanly stop the programs involved. You end up with all kinds ofbits and pieces of programs, files, and more on your system.