How to use the SCCS Linux workstations

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Three Preliminary Rules

0. Don't look for Office

This computer is not for schoolwork. Certainly schoolwork can be done with this computer. We've even installed a few office applications. Nevertheless, chances are that trying to do your work here will just be frustrating. These machines are designed for creative computer applications, like making webpages, graphic design, and 3D graphics and animation.

1. Try things

Mess around. Click on stuff. Type things. You won't break anything. If you don't experiment, you won't have much fun.

2. Help and be helped

If you're not alone in the lab, ask someone around you for help. If they don't know, find an SCCS sysadmin or e-mail them at staff@sccs.swarthmore.edu. Once you have become familiar with the SCCS Linux workstations (or if you're already good at using them), you should help other people figure out how to use them.

Introduction

Note: Further down, you'll be encouraged to read In the Beginning was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson. It's mentioned again here in case you're skimming, which is fine. Command Line is such a clear insight into the culture of computing and computers in general that everything with a keyboard attached will make more sense after you read it. It's also well written and entertaining--Stephenson is an award-winning author, and two of his books have made the New York Times Best Seller list.

1. You're using Linux

Linux is an operating system, just like Windows XP and Mac OS X. It mediates the resources of the computer between all of the the programs that need access to its resources. More information on Linux can be found at An entertaining and pithy discussion of Linux and other operating systems can be found in the text of Neal Stephenson's In the Beginning was the Command Line.

2. Linux is part of a minor social revolution

Linux is at the forefront of a sea change in how people understand work, software, and intellectual property. It is developed by thousands of volunteers around the globe and is available at no cost to anyone. The source code for Linux--a vast collection of programming language documents that get turned into binary computer code--is open for all to inspect and modify. As a result, new features and bug fixes are rapidly applied to the evolving software. In contrast, most commercial software development operations jealously guard their source code, lest other firms steal their secrets.

This rather amazing phenomenon is called Open Source software, or in some cases Free software (note capital F). More information is available at

Those who would appreciate a well-written and engaging discussion on Open Source software with insightful historical and cultural background notes should read Neal Stephenson's In the Beginning was the Command Line.

3. Linux is a Free Unix

Linux is a member of the Unix family of operating systems, a family with a history tracing back to 1970. Unix operating systems run on computers as small as wristwatches and as large as houses. Being a Unix, Linux inherits all of the entailed methodological and cultural particulars, which are vast in number. While it's impossible to convey the Unix philosophy in a few short sentences, key features include great power and flexibility (an adroit Unix user has many ways to approach a computing task), interoperability (Unices are good at sharing data with other computers), and reliability (it's not uncommon for Unix systems to run without crashing for years).

Experienced programmers and users of Unix often have an aesthetic sense of how to tackle a computing problem in a way that maintains and extends these ends. Alluded to variously by names like the Right Thing and elegance, this sense is in no small way the essence of Unix.

Web resources on the philosophy and history of Unix exist, but few are as informative and entertaining as the asides within Neal Stephenson's In the Beginning was the Command Line.

4. Most applications on this computer are Open Source

Open Source and Free software includes much more than just operating systems. The web browser you're using now, as well as the graphical user interface you're using and most of the other programs installed on this machine, was written by teams of unpaid volunteers. Most of these applications bear a resemblance to Windows and Macintosh applications of similar function, but they also incorporate ideas characteristic of Unix and of the people that made them.

In around a decade, Open Source programmers have created world class operating systems, Internet server programs, source code compilers, and other tools. However, these skilled volunteers have only recently shown interest in creating software that doesn't necessarily appeal to their technical needs--i.e. tools that most computer users use, like office suites. While great strides have been made in bringing this software to the Linux desktop--indeed, to the point where it's quite easy to type a document or make a spreadsheet--most of these applications are not as advanced as their Windows and Macintosh analogs. This is one of the reasons we recommend choosing a different computer lab for schoolwork.

For creative computer work, on the other hand, it's our hope and goal that this lab is lavishly endowed with the resources and expertise you'll need to do what you want to do. Read on for the list of applications installed on this computer.

Highly recommended reading

Diligent readers may skip over this section.

It is difficult to overpraise Neal Stephenson's long essay In the Beginning was the Command Line. While it may take an hour or two to read in full, it is this author's opinion (i.e. mine, not Neal's) that this dissertation will do more to extend the reader's basic conceptualization of computers than just about any other book, paper, article, pamphlet, screed, or writ in existence. It is thought-provoking, insightful, well-written, interesting, and funny. Those who desire a certain economy in hand movement will appreciate this convenient second link to the same document, which serves also to emphasize again its considerable didactic potencies.

Applications of Choice

What do you want to do? Note: the list of applications contained in this document is not at all comprehensive.

Browsing the Web

This computer has several different web browsers installed, but you'll probably want to use one of the following three. All should be familiar to anyone who's ever used a web browser before.

Mozilla is the latest, greatest incarnation of Netscape Navigator. It is so jam-packed with features that even the newest computers on the market today have trouble running it efficiently. However, it certainly makes web pages look pretty. To start Mozilla, select "Run Command..." from the K menu and enter "mozilla".

Users of the X terminals (the pizza box shaped computers) should be aware that Netscape will alter the arrangement of colors on the screen for its own good, which is alarming but harmless. Those who find this annoying (which should be about everyone) are encouraged to use the next browser, Konqueror.

Mozilla is Open Source. See http://www.mozilla.org/.

Konqueror is to KDE (the graphical user interface you're using now) as Internet Explorer is to Windows. It's a decent browser. Unlike Mozilla, it won't alter the color arrangement on the screen of an X terminal. Konqueror is also fast and conveniently linked from the desktop--simply click on the icon that resembles a cross between a globe and a sprocket.

Konqueror is Open Source. See http://www.konqueror.org/.

Opera is also a fast, decent web browser. Like Konqueror and unlike Mozilla, it also respects the color arrangement on X terminals. To start Opera, select "Run Command..." from the K menu and enter "opera".

Opera is not Open Source; it is a commercial product. We're using a free version that always displays a banner ad in the title bar. The version you pay for lacks this annoyance. See http://www.opera.com/.

Casual users are probably not interested in the following browsers.

Lynx, Links, and w3m are text mode browsers--they run within a terminal window and display only the text from web pages. To run them, get a shell and enter "lynx", "links", or "w3m" followed by the address you want to visit. Most people haven't seen the web without graphics. Some pages won't work at all without them; many others just don't look very good. However, the time it takes to load and display pages is much smaller--nearly negligible. For this reason, text mode browsers are great for quick web needs, like looking up a word in an online dictionary.

All three of these programs are Open Source. See http://lynx.browser.org/. http://links.sourceforge.net/. http://www.w3m.org/. Lynx is from Kansas, Links is from Czechoslovakia, and w3m is from Japan.

Checking E-mail

To check your SCCS e-mail, we recommend good old Pine. It works identically to the pine on sccs.swarthmore.edu, except you have to type your password to access your inbox and mail folders. To start Pine, get a shell and type "pine" at the prompt.

Pine is not Open Source, but is distributed at no cost under a more restrictive license from the University of Washington. See http://www.washington.edu/pine/.

To check web e-mail (like swatmail, hotmail, Yahoo mail, etc.), just start a Web browser and do what comes naturally.

Creating 3D graphics and animation

You can't do better than Maya when it comes to making 3D graphics. This isn't hyperbole--Maya is literally the very best there is, and is used as the primary modeler in most Hollywood features with computer animation effects (e.g. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, The Phantom Menace, and on and on). To start Maya, select "Run Command..." from the K menu and enter "maya". The "Instant Maya" tutorial will familiarize you with Maya through a series of quick projects. Select "Library..." from the Help menu and wait a while for the web browser to start, then click on "Instant Maya".

Note: X terminals (the pizza box shaped computers) can't run Maya.

Maya is about as un-Open Source as it gets, costing thousands and thousands of dollars. The SCCS thanks the Department of Computer Science for graciously allowing us to use their extra licenses. Alias|Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics, makes Maya; see http://www.aliaswavefront.com/.

Open source 3D modelers really can't hold a candle to Maya. Nevertheless, for those who insist on Open Source or Free software (and such people exist), there are alternatives of varying quality.

Vertex is the best Open Source modeler we have. It's designed for making 3D objects for games. To run Vertex, select "Run Command..." from the K menu and enter "vertex".

The Vertex website is at http://wolfpack.twu.net/Vertex/

Innovation3D is another Open Source modeler. You can make boxes and stuff. To run Innovation3D, select "Run Command..." from the K menu and enter "innovation3d".

The Innovation3D website is at http://innovation3d.sourceforge.net/

Giram is an Open Source modeler of dubious quality. At this point, it serves chiefly to make the other ones look better. To run Giram, select "Run Command..." from the K menu and enter "giram".

The Giram website is at http://www.giram.org/

Finally, for those who need landscapes to place their 3D models on, there's Terraform, the fractal landscape modeler. Terraform automatically generates craggy landscapes and allows you to mold them with your mouse. You can then import the landscape into your model. To run Terraform, select "Run Command..." from the K menu and enter "terraform".

The Terraform website is at http://terraform.sourceforge.net/

Creating and Editing Web Pages

Note: The SCCS holds seminars on creating and editing your own webpages. This is a great way to learn how to get onto the Web. E-mail staff@sccs.swarthmore.edu for details.

The SCCS Linux workstations are directly connected to your web-docs directory, the folder that's actually your personal website at http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/~YOUR_USERNAME/. Files you stick there are instantly available on the web!

There are many ways to get to this folder. One of the easiest is to click the "Home" folder icon on your desktop, then on the "web-docs" folder inside. You're there! Or you can get a shell and type "cd web-docs". Also, if you're saving a file and want to save it to your website, just save it into your web-docs directory. Simple!

We SCCS folks recommend using the shell and text editors like pico, jove, emacs or vi (listed here from simplest to hardest to use) to edit HTML documents by hand. These programs are the Unix equivalents of Notepad on Windows and SimpleText on the Macintosh. Astute readers of In the Beginning was the Command Line will know, however, that most Unix programs use text files to represent data, so on Unix a text editor is a much more useful tool. Anyway, to learn how to edit webpages by hand (it's really not hard to do), just search for "HTML Tutorial" on your favorite search engine. A good one (a descendant of the one I used in 1994!) can be found here.

Still, this kind of thing doesn't appeal to everyone. Fortunately Mozilla (the big web browser mentioned earlier) has an easy-to-use HTML editor among its many features. Just start Mozilla and run the following menu command: File->New->Blank Page To Edit.

Don't forget to save the page in your web-docs directory! And if you want to edit graphics for your webpage, read on...

Creating and editing images

Now's a good time to plug the SCCS digital camera! Need to take some pictures! You can borrow our Kodak DC-290 camera. Be sure to make advance arrangements, though--demand for the camera is high.

The GIMP is a Photoshop-like graphics editor. While it's not quite professional-grade yet, it has most of the features you'll ever need for webpages and such. Without question, this is pretty much the graphics editor of choice for Linux. We even have a GIMP manual in the lab--look on the bookshelf next to the pillars. To start the GIMP, select "Run Command..." from the K menu and enter "gimp".

The GIMP is Open Source. See http://www.gimp.org/

KPaint is the paint program for the KDE interface, much like Microsoft Paint is the dinky paint program for Windows. Still, if that's the kind of thing you like, then go to town. To start KPaint, do K Menu->Graphics->Paint.

KPaint is Open Source. It doesn't even get a web page, but you can find more information about it here: http://apps.kde.com/na/2/info/id/498.

Xpaint is like KPaint but even crummier. To start XPaint, select "Run Command..." from the K menu and enter "xpaint".

XPaint is Open Source. See http://home.worldonline.dk/~torsten/xpaint/

Getting help

Aside from clicking on Help menus and such, there are a few things you can do if you're temporarily lost.

The KDE HelpCenter is the built-in KDE help system. Simply click on the life ring-shaped icon at the bottom of the screen.

Like the rest of KDE, the HelpCenter is Open Source. See http://www.kde.org/

If you need help with a command while you're working in a shell, just type "man " and then the name of the command ("man" is short for manual; some sites have installed a complementary woman command as well).

If you want to do something in a shell but aren't sure what the command might be, try "apropos " and then a keyword.

Finally, don't hesitate to ask someone else in the lab for help. If you still can't find a way out, e-mail staff@sccs.swarthmore.edu to contact the sysadmins.

Getting to a shell

Getting a shell is easy! Just start the Konsole. That's the icon at the bottom that has a computer monitor with a shell in front.

Konsole is Open Source like the rest of KDE. See http://www.kde.org/

Using office software

Do recall Rule 0 at the very top of the page--it's likely that if you want to use this computer for office applications and you're used to Microsoft Office, you'll be disappointed. What's more, as of the time of the opening of the lab, printing from the Linux workstations hadn't been set up yet--we're working on it, but don't expect to be able to print a paper for your class. Still, if you want to use some kind of office software on Linux, it is possible.

KOffice is the KDE Office Suite. It features the usual array of office applications. To access any of these programs, do K Menu->Office. KOffice Workspace presents an easy-to-use workspace that arranges all of these programs.

KOffice is Open Source. See http://www.koffice.org/

AbiWord is a word processor that resembles Word and reads most Word documents. To start AbiWord, select "Run Command..." from the K menu and enter "abiword".

AbiWord is Open Source. See http://www.abisource.com/

Doing something else

The things you can do with this computer are not limited to what's already been listed. Poke around in the K menu and you might find the application you're looking for. If not, send an e-mail to the SCCS system administration staff at staff@sccs.swarthmore.edu. We'll be able to tell you where to look for what you need, and if it's not installed, we might even be able to install it for you.

Happy hacking!

Copyright © 2002 Swarthmore College Computer Society. Written by Tom Stepleton <tss@sccs.swarthmore.edu>