Be Close to Windows in Linux

With KDE, that offers many GUI-based applications, you値l never miss being away from Windows

Friday, March 15, 2002

Most applications that ship with KDE bear a lot of resemblance to their counterparts in Windows, making it attractive for those taking their first steps in Linux. Not just the applications, but even the look and feel provided by KDE makes Windows users feel right at home. You start by opening the KMenu, which is similar to the Start Menu in Windows. You値l find all the applications sorted and placed under menu items like system, multimedia and games, which is also the case in Windows. In this piece we値l look at some of the most commonly used KDE applications. 

Gear up for the Internet 
KPPP. Dial-up is still the most commonly used way to access the Internet from homes. To help you create your dial-up connection you値l use KPPP, which you値l find under the Internet tab in your KMenu (like startup menu of Windows). Configuring KPPP has been discussed in a separate article, Dial to the Internet on page 40.

KMail. This is an e-mail client, similar to Outlook Express. You can access it by clicking on its icon on the bottom Panel. KMail has been covered in detail in the box Using E-mail on page 44.

Konqurer and NetScape For browsing the Internet. KDE comes with Konquror Web Browser. PCQLinux also ships with NetScape. Both these are accessible from the Internet tab in your KMenu. 

Get to work 
KOffice. The KDE equivalent of MS Office, KOffice is a productivity suite, which includes KWord (word processor), KSpread (spreadsheet), KPresenter (presentation software), KChart (chart-creation software) and KIllustrator (drawing tool). With the right filters you can even use your existing MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint files in Koffice (See Using the K Office Suite, page 44). PS/PDF Viewer. Found under the Graphics tab in your KMenu, this utility lets you open PDF files and other postscript files. 

Time to play
KDE Media Player. A full-fledged multimedia player, similar to the Windows media player. This lets you play video and audio CDs, MP3, MPEG and WAV files, among others. The player has an equalizer and also lets you add effects (extra stereo, voice remove, etc) to your sound. Try it out from the Multimedia menu item on the KMenu. 

XMMS. This MP3 player for Linux look and feels very much like Winamp, which windows users have becomes so used to. If you致e used Winamp then you won稚 have a problem using XMMS. Check it out under

Multimedia. 
CD Player. As the name suggests this application lets you play audio CDs on your Linux machines. Also found under Multimedia. 

Games. You値l find a variety of games, which can keep you occupied for hours under Games in your KMenu. Around 40 in number, the games include Poker, Minesweeper, Jezball, Backgammon, Chess, Tetris and Asteroids. 

Let the creative juices flow 
Paint. Similar to Paint in Windows, this supports most common graphics formats such as gif, jpg, png and tiff. Find it under Graphics in the KMenu. 

GIMP. GNU Image Manipulation Program is a pretty advanced graphics-editing package. The tools it has to offer include different types of brushes, pencils, airbrushes, ink tools filters and cloning tools. It also supports  formats ranging from BMP, JPEG, PNG,GIF, PCX to TGA, TIFF. 

Get in control 
The Control Center. Think of the control center as the Control Panel in Windows. You can access it both from your KMenu and your Panel at the bottom of your screen. This is a central place from where you can configure your system, including its background, screen savers, LAN settings, power settings, sound settings, user settings, device management and a lot more. 

Package Manager. The Package Manger helps you install and uninstall applications. It can install from a variety of files, such as rpm, tar.gz, tgz and deb, which are all different types of installation files. You can also use package manager to see a list of applications and packages that are currently installed. You値l find this under System in your KMenu. 

Sachin Makhija

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