Let's Sign the petition today.
Installing an Operating System on a server, a desktop or a laptop doesn't involves the same constraints,choices and settings. Also, the options varies if you use it in an entreprise (managed environnement) or at home. (todo: include a graphics about distributed / managed / disconnected environnement)
Let's configure your devices !
Gnome provides a Power-manager applet in the Notification area. You can use it to suspend/Hibernate you laptop
package: gnome-power-manager (Task "Gnome desktop environment")
Provides the user interface (applet) for gnome in the Notification area : the icon show the battery charge. Also, you can suspend/Hibernate your computer from there. # TODO KDE Equivalent !
package: uswsusp
This packages provide suspend and Hibernation Features. It works using a new "User software suspend" (user as in "user-mode" as opposed to "kernel-mode") of kernel >=2.6.17. You won't have to modify your bootloader anymore ;)
/etc/hibernate/common.conf # at least, enable thoses lines # (but there's a lot of preferences you can set, too).
Note that you shouldn't enable "XStatus gnome" (in common.conf) because it prevents system from suspending and causes the following error :
hibernate: [10] Executing EnsureUSuspendCapable ... hibernate: Suspend aborted by user.
According to your preferences, you might want to change Power manager's behaviour. Have a look at "Menu Desktop"/Preference/Power Management: you might want to set "Running On AC/when Laptop lid is closed" = "Do Nothing" instead of "Blank Screen", "Suspend" or "hibernate"...
Network Manager (NM) is installed by default by the "Desktop Environement" task (both Gnome and Kde). It becomes very handy on a laptop : switching from LAN, to WLAN, to WAN (Dial-up). The package is described as:
NetworkManager attempts to keep an active network connection available at all times. It is intended only for the desktop use-case, and is not intended for usage on servers. The point of NetworkManager is to make networking configuration and setup as painless and automatic as possible. If using DHCP, NetworkManager is _intended_ to replace default routes, obtain IP addresses from a DHCP server, and change nameservers whenever it sees fit.
Using NM will let you configure, from a nice GUI interface, all device not configured manually in
packages: ipw2100-source or ipw2200-source or ipw3945-source, etc..
packages: wpasupplicant
packages: bluez-pcmcia-support, bluez-gnome, bluez-cups
Configure /etc/X11/xorg.conf to use MergedFB / Xinerama / etc..
Network Manager is a set of tools and helps user maintain connectivity (LAN, WIFI, DIal-UP..) If you choosed the "Laptop"+"Desktop Environnement" task during installation, packages network-manager and network-manager-gnome where installed automatically Users that are going to the use NetworkManager should be in "netdev" group (the first user created during debian setup is automatically added to that group). read /usr/share/doc/network-manager/README.Debian for more informations.
If you authenticate against a centralized authentication tool (ldap, kerberos..) You need to configure it to be able to authenticate "offline"
packages required: libpam-ccreds, nss-updatedb
(more)
packages: avahi-utils
Browse available service
package service-discovery-applet
then install the applety
Hostname resolution
New Etch configuration installs and enable name resolution for ".local" pseudo-TLD, like johncomputer.local
package: libnss-mdns
/etc/nsswitch.conf
#Add mdns as a resolver for host hosts: files mdns4_minimal [NOTFOUND=return] dns mdns4
Chat with Gaim: (package: gaim)
Simply create an account using Protocol "Bonjour"
Play neighbor's music, with Rythmbox (package: rhytmbox)
#Share your music: Menu Edit/Preference/Sharing #Play neighboor's music: pick a Neighboor "source" list
File Sharing : webdav
package:gnome-user-share #then Menu-Desktop/Preferences/Personal File Sharing
File Sharing : ftp
package: gshare #then Menu-Desktop/Preferences/File Sharing
Desktop Sharing: (package: vino)
#Menu-Desktop/Preference/Remote Desktop
If you add user, consider adding them to tho followin groups
20(dialout),24(cdrom),25(floppy),29(audio),44(video),46(plugdev),106(netdev),109(powerdev) Alternatively, you can configure pam_group
/etc/security/group.conf # Sample added groups login; vc/*; *; Al0000-2400; audio,floppy,video,cdrom gdm; :*; *; Al0000-2400; audio,floppy,video,cdrom
and configure /etc/pam.d/{login,gdm,wdm}
/etc/pam.d/login Add this line as the last "auth" one (or before the first "sufficient" "auth" one) auth optional pam_group.so
si