Welcome to the sidux™ Operating System Manual

sidux is an operating system based on the Linux kernel and the GNU project, with applications/programs from the Debian unstable branch (called "Sid", and holds fast to the core values and social contract of Debian.

You no longer need to wait for a new release to always have the latest of anything, including kernels. Once you have installed sidux, followed by all your favourite programs/applications, all it needs is a dist-upgrade, which is a system-wide software update from debian and specialist packages from sidux.

This means that re-installing yet another release every 6+ months on your PC is unnecessary with sidux, as the daily, weekly or monthly dist-upgrade brings everything up-to-date.

It is worth noting, as sidux uses Debian's unstable branch and due to the very nature of 'Sid', you will need to be prepared to use the Terminal/cli

With the 'way of sidux', you will be always up to date and have the very best that sidux together with Debian 'Sid' can offer.

How to use this manual

The sidux Operating System Manual is a reference for initial learning and refreshing your knowledge of the sidux Operating System, not only with the basics, as it also encompasses many complex topics and will help you as the sidux system administrator.

For help with a specific program or an application (called a package) that came preinstalled or that you have installed yourself, look at the website of the package help forums, FAQs and online manuals and/or a help menu within that package, to help guide you for any given program/application.

Most good programs/applications also have a help guide via man pages in the terminal. Also check to see if documentation is in /usr/share/doc/<package>.

Please, if you do nothing else, take a moment to read the Quick Start Guide

This manual is divided into common sections, for example, a subject pertaining to partitioning is found in Partitioning your Hard Drive, and topics regarding the Internet/WIFI are grouped in Internet and Networking. There are some topics that cannot be grouped or require stand-alone status.

As with any new documentation there will be errors/mistakes/typos, although we hope otherwise regarding errors and mistakes (typos we can live with ) please forgive us.

As the body of work grows, more documentation will be added and we at sidux are sure that this will prove to be a very valuable resource for you and we thank you for being a part of sidux.

Printing key files of the manual

Hard copy printing of key files as 'portrait' does not allow an overflow code-box to print beyond the physical paper margins, (the manual website does not have this issue due to a code-box being able to scroll across).

While this is not generally a problem for a website, that is for example, a mainstream media site, it is rather critical for any linux distribution where a single line of code input into a terminal maybe as long as 120 characters, and thus is usually wider than a typical A4 portrait page at 12 pt.

Therefore adjust your print preferences to landscape,.

Copyright

sidux™ is a Trade Mark of sidux e.V. All content is © 2006-2009 by the sidux e.V. and released under GNU Free Documentation License. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts.

All trademarks and copyrights are the property of their owners whether specified or not.

E&OE

Disclaimer

This is experimental software. Use at your own risk. The sidux project, it's developers and team members (all represented by the sidux e.V.) cannot be held liable under any circumstances for damage to hardware or software, lost data, or other direct or indirect damage resulting from the use of this software. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, you are not permitted to use or further distribute this software.

Table of Contents

If the navigation bar and / or sub menus do not appear to be entirely correct, please make sure your browser minimum font size is set to no larger than 12 in firefox, ideally 10. Netbook users may need to Zoom Out (Ctrl+-) once or twice to see the main menu, or use this Table of Contents.

sidux OS Manual
Mirrors, CD Downloading and Burning
Live Mode
The Terminal/Konsole
CheatCodes
Partitioning Your Hard Drive
Installation options
Graphic Cards, Monitors, & miscellaneous Drivers
Window Managers
sidux LAMP Stack
Internet and Networking
dist-upgrade and Package Management
System Administration
Page last revised 02/07/2009 1345 UTC