Introduction to Gnome
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# Gnome Applications and Utilities

Gnome comes with many applications and utilities; in addition, Gnome allows you to use any third party applications such as `Netscape`), KDE applications, or other applications and utilities installed on your system. Here is a list of some of the most useful tools and applications which you can find in Gnome's Main Menu (this is not a complete list!)

Applications

  These include office and productivity applications such as

  - `Gnumeric` — a full-featured Excel-compatible spreadsheet

  - `AbiWord` — a lightweight word processing application

  - `Gnome Calendar` to help you manage your busy schedule

  - Several text editors, from simple and easy to use `gedit` to the (arguably) the most powerful text editor ever created, `Emacs` (which is not a Gnome appication)

Graphics

  - `Gimp` — image editing program for power users; rivals `Photoshop`

  - Image viewers such as `Eye of Gnome`, `GQview` and `xv`

Utilities

  Among other things, here you will find

  - `Calculator`

  - `Gnome Search tool` which you can use to find a file on your system

  - `gfloppy` for formatting floppy disks

  - `GDict`for looking up a word in one of the many dictionaries freely available on the Internet

Multimedia

  Here you will find `CD player`, `Mixer` (which also can be used to adjust volume of your speakers), and an MP3 player `XMMS`.

System

  This submenu contains utilities for managing your system. You can find out detailed information about your processor, memory, and operating system using `System Info`, check how much space you have left on your disks using `Gnome DiskFree`, or view all the processes (jobs) which are currently running on your computer using `System monitor`. In addition, `System monitor` also shows you load level for the processor and memory, and allows you to kill a stalled or otherwise unwanted job.

  This submenu also contains tools for managing software installed on your system, namely `GnoRPM` and `Helix Gnome Update` (if you are using the distribution of Gnome prepared by Helix Code, Inc.). `GnoRPM` allows you to view all software packages installed on your system (if you are using a distribution of Linux based on RPM packages, such as Red Hat, SuSe, or Mandrake); it also allows you to remove, update, or install new packages. `Helix Gnome Update` provides an extremely easy, almost one-click, way to update your Gnome installation. Both of these utilities , however, require that you have system administrator (root) privileges.

  And finally, the same submenu also contains various terminal emulators (`xterm`, `Color xterm`, `Gnome Terminal`) letting you use the most powerful (although not most user friendly) interface ever created — the command line prompt.

Internet

  Here, you will find `Netscape` web browser, `X-Chat` for Internet Relay Chat (IRC), `Gnome-ICU` for talking with other people using ICQ protocol, and `gftp` which is a graphical tool for FTP file transfers. Note that Gnome file manager, `Nautilus`, also has built-in FTP capabilities, so `gftp` is needed only in those rare cases when you need something really complicated (for example, transferring files using secure version of FTP, based on `ssh`).

Games

  Lots of them — just try!

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