Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

Logging In To A Linux Desktop Computer

Logging In To A Linux Desktop Computer (CentOS 7)

The first login screen ask for your user name. But before you type, please have a look at the top right corner. There you can switch the keyboard layout form English to German if necessary. Just click on 'en1' which gives you a pull down menu.

The second login screen asks for your password. But before you type you can choose your favoured GUI (KDE,Gnome,..). Click on the little gear-wheel left hand from the sign-in bottom below the password form. You get a menu of available graphical user interfaces (GUI). It might be necessary to login a second time for some odd reasons after the very first login.

The GUIs of CentOS 7

  1. Mate looks and feels like Gnome2, the standard GUI of Scientific Linux 6, which is our old Linux desktop OS. Mate is recommended if you already were a user of the standard GUI of Scientific Linux 6. It is also recommended for all users who like a simple and intuitive GUI.
  2. Gnome 3 is a modern concept GUI which needs some effort for beginners. Please google for it before you use it. You need to know some basic key combination starting successfully with it. You can find a lot of emotional arguments about it in the Internet.
  3. Gnome classic is the standard GUI of CentOS 7. It looks and feels mostly like Gnome 3 , but has a top panel which offers you a more intuitive beginning.  
  4. KDE is a decorated GUI with a lot of configuration options.
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