Logging In
Now you and your computer are ready for Linux. If you’re a Linux expert (or want to be), you’re probably logging in from the command-line interface, as shown here:
Red Hat Linux release 9 (Shrike)
Kernel 2.4.20-8 on an i686
RH9Test login: username
Password:
Last login: Wed Mar 19 15:33:00 on tty1
[username@RH9Test username]#
Now you’re ready for a command-line interface, which is the main focus of most of this book.
Alternatively, if Linux is relatively new to you, you might be logging in at a graphical login prompt, such as the one shown in Figure 3.77.

Figure 3.77: Graphical Login Screen
Many Linux administrators take full advantage of the graphical user interface. The default Red Hat GUI is GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment). It’s easy to start a command-line interface in GNOME. Right-click on any open area of the desktop, and select New Terminal in the menu that appears. This opens the default GNOME terminal command-line interface, shown in Figure 3.78.

Figure 3.78: GNOME with a command-line terminal
Now you’re ready to learn all about Linux!