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Chapter 1 ✦ Introduction to Linux Troubleshooting
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a list of features that could benefit from a GUI. These include GUI tools for partitioning
your disks, scheduling tasks, configuring more refined firewalls, and setting up boot
servers (such as DHCP and NIS).
To find out how you can contribute to the Configuration Tools Project, you can start by
joining the fedora-config-list mailing list.
✦ Desktop Project—Red Hat brought the concept of a standard look-and-feel across the
two major desktop environments (GNOME and KDE) to Fedora in the form of the Fedora
Desktop Project. The standard Red Hat look-and-feel is referred to as Blue Curve.
Particular areas where Red Hat is looking for input related to the Desktop Project is in
the area of creating desktop themes, creating splash screens, and choosing which
applications are set up as defaults.
If you are fond of writing, or have enough insight into a feature that you could write a tutorial
on it, the Fedora Docs Project is looking for contributors. As noted earlier, you could join the
fedora-docs-list mailing list to find out more. There is also an ongoing effort to find people to
translate Fedora into different languages. The fedora-trans-list mailing list is a good way to get
further information.
Moving to Fedora Core 2
Fedora Core 2 reflects Red Hat’s commitment to making the Fedora Project a platform for
rapid development and adoption of Linux technology. Although we are recommending Fedora
Core 1 as a more stable Linux distribution to follow along with this book, you may want to use
Fedora Core 2 to take advantage of some of its new features.
If you are sitting down to use this book with Fedora Core 2, you should be aware of several
differences from Fedora Core 1. Here are some of the major ones:
✦ Linux 2.6.5 kernel—The Linux 2.6 kernel is a major upgrade from the 2.4.22 kernel
included in Fedora Core 1. New features should result in improved performance, more
supported hardware, and better scalability. For the most part, the new kernel shouldn’t
change how you use this book. However, visible reflections of the new kernel include a
new
/sys file system (where you can view and change kernel information) and device
files represented by .ko instead of .o suffixes.
✦ Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA)—The underlying mechanism for sound in
Fedora Core 2 is ALSA, replacing the Open Source Sound system (OSS) used in Fedora
Core 1 and earlier Red Hat Linux distributions.
✦ system-config tools—To give a more generic feel, commands to launch graphical
administration tools that previously began with redhat-config now begin with system-
config. For example, the
redhat-config-network command is now system-config-
network
. Anytime you encounter a command beginning with redhat-config, try
system-config in Fedora Core 2 instead.
✦ Security Enhanced Linux—The SE Linux feature pervades many aspects of the Fedora
Core 2 operating system. This new security model can be used to overcome the
monolithic “root owns the world” approach to security in earlier Linux and UNIX
systems. Using access control lists (ACLs), a system with SE Linux enabled can finely
define administrative control over the files, processes, and devices in that system. By
default, SE Linux is turned off in Fedora Core 2.