Everyday Programs

So I'm sitting in front of my computer recently and I decide to do a quick survey of the programs I use to get through the day on my Computer. What programs do I use, you ask? Good Question.



1.Konquerer – File Manager

2.Mplayer, Xine, Noatun, Kaffeine, – Video and Audio

3.Kview and Kuickshow – Picture Viewers

4.YaST2 – System Administration

5.K3b – Disk Burner



As you can tell I do not use the command line much. That is because I do not have experience as a system administrator or programmer. I have been a musician by trade for almost twenty years, which I still do and I am now also a Special Education major in college.



I got my first computer in 1998 and it has only been in the last two years that I have been running Linux that I have begun to use the command line for anything. I have learned to do a few things, but nothing even close to getting anything serious done.



The first Linux distribution I ever used was Fedora Core 1 that I got right out of the back of the book “Linux for Non-Geeks” by Rickford Grant. I recommend that book to anyone who wants to learn what Linux is or has limited computer experience.



I went from FC-1 to 2 to 3 in quick succession and from there to Ubuntu. But like I have said before, once I tried SuSE 9.1 I was hooked. I had tried KDE before with Fedora Core and Ubuntu using KDE. But it was the combination of KDE and SuSE that kept me. I do not think there is anything wrong with Gnome and I am sure that I use Gnome programs and do not even know it. I just happen to like the way KDE is laid out.



Still, MPlayer, Xine, and YaST are pretty neutral when it comes to Gnome or KDE right? I have no qualms in telling you that I am clueless as to what really makes Gnome and KDE different from each other under the hood, except that they have different ways of doing things. If you were to show me the code for both of them side by side, I would not be able to tell them apart and since I have little command line experience I have only been able to figure out which one I like by the way they act on the desktop.



In my defense, I will say that I do not plan on staying this ignorant of the system administration tools that the command line brings to the table. I have been teaching myself up to this point and I know that because of it I have serious gaps in my knowledge. I am learning on my feet as they say, which has its advantages and dis-advantages.



I will attempt to explain how to use those programs from the perspective of a non-technical user.

So, have I cleared the room yet?