presumably the most lightly loaded). However, you can also take into account the number of users
and choose the one with the lowest number of users already on it.
Once you have successfully logged on, using the Departmental user name and password, you will
be presented with the Linux Desktop Environment. Notice how the Windows task bar is still present
at the bottom of the screen, and the Exceed window has the usual title bar at the top. As far as the
Windows system is concerned, the Exceed session is simply another local application, which can be
minimised, maximised, resized or closed, just like any other. Practise doing this now (all bar closing
the Exceed window!).
3 The Linux Desktop
Everything contained within this Exceed window is actually running on the (remote) Linux system.
How the desktop looks and behaves is controlled by a particular type of application called a “window
manager”. There are a number of different desktop environments available on the Linux system - by
default you will be using the “Gnome” environment. (You could have changed that by clicking on
the icon in bottom right corner of the login screen.)
Figure 2: Gnome Desktop
The Gnome desktop is similar in both appearance and behaviour to the Windows desktop you
were exploring last week. There is a task bar at the bottom of the desktop, with a second tool bar
at the top of the desktop, and a series of icons on the left side of the desktop (Figure 2). Task bar
and tool bar are instances of panels.
Note that Windows has a single task bar containing the list of running applications, quick-start
icons and the Start Menu. In contrast, the Gnome desktop separates the running programs (at the
bottom) from the quick-start icons and menus (at the top). However, panels are easily configurable
and it is up to you whether you want to merge both task bar and tool bar into a single panel. Also,
it is possible for you to add favourite applications to one of the panels. This, as well as changing
other properties of a panel, is done by right-clicking on an empty space on the panel.
Finally, do not get confused between the Gnome desktop menus and the Exceed title bar, imme-
diately above it.
By default, the Gnome desktop has more than one workspace enabled. In the right-hand corner
of the task bar you see the workspace manager or workspace switcher. It shows you two virtual
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