Tipping My Fedora, part 4

[updated 2009.7.20]

This is another in a series of posts on my attempt to get acquainted with Fedora on VirtualBox.  YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary), of course.

[The computers are a Windows XP Pro 32-bit (2GB RAM with 512MB assigned to Fedora/VirtualBox) and a Vista 64-bit laptop (4GB RAM with 1GB assigned to Fedora/VirtualBox).]

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I admit to being something of an empiricist when it comes to computer systems, since I often have to test things that others will be using.  Can I figure it out myself?  Is the answer in the Help file?  (A huge amount of what people think makes me an “expert” is just what I’ve learned by actually reading Help files.  Who’d a’ thunk?)

So, I’m just trying out some things and reading up on others.  That’s why this might seem more than a little haphazard at times.

Screen adjustments

Still a bit erratic on the screen.  I may have to go to CTRL-F full screen once or twice, and try multiple times, before CTRL-G resize screen gets me the maximum Fedora screen within the max VirtualBox screen (my ideal, as this allows me to use the VirtualBox icons to keep track of hard drive access, etc. while still getting the most Fedora real estate possible).

Add/Remove Software

This is a function under System dropdown menu, but it turns out to be a lot more than the one of a similar name in the Windows Control Panel.

In this, you can pick a category, such as Education, Games, Multimedia, and many others, and get a list of possible programs.  Some of these are apparently included, but not necessarily loaded, while many others are downloadable from various sites.  Presumably they are safe enough for Fedora to approve putting them in these lists.  Most have a brief description of what they are used for; the clarity of the description depends on the program and how familiar you might be with some Linux terminology, especially for things like Administration programs.

When I open a category, I have a column of boxes — some opened with a checkmark next to them, which I’m assuming means they are installed.  Some are closed and the checkmark box is empty, but can be checked.  If I choose to install, say, a font I don’t have (closed box), I can check the box next to it, and then hit the Install button.

In some cases, Fedora wants to install additional software, and will tell me that, or uninstall or update something, and I’m told that as well.  Which is why it takes a lot of checking on stuff while you sit and wait.  Still, it seems to be a fairly automatic process, unless Fedora is unable to download something, and then you are told that.  The independent stuff is installed, and anything requiring a failed download is not (or not enabled, anyway).

BTW: remember to avoid using this on Mondays or Fridays if possible – heavy Internet-use days.

For example, I tried some additional wallpaper apps from the Gnome desktop group.  Fedora checked, and came back to tell me it needed an additional 22 packages to go with these.

So, I clicked the Install button (because there wasn’t a button labeled “Oh, all right, if you insist”) and off it went to do what I wanted plus the additional packages.  This actually seems to be a fairly cooperative process.

Then I searched some wallpaper in Firefox, downloaded it to Download, and used the “Wallpapoz” program now in the Accessories apps menu to change my wallpaper.  Seems to work, although the instructions could be more clear.

Printing versus Printing

I’ve noticed that once I print from Fedora, or do anything with printing in it, I lose the ability to print from that printer in Windows.  A minor conflict, but as long as I have more than one printer — and don’t configure one of them in Fedora — I think I can get by.