Because you enabled boot to the graphical desktop during the final installation configuration in Chapter 1, Getting Started with Raspberry Pi, each time you boot the Pi, the desktop automatically appears. The Pi is now very much like a compact version of your desktop PC, laptop, or even iPad.

The desktop environment is called the lightweight X11 desktop environment (LXDE). It is installed on top of a window manager, which in this case is Openbox. Let's take a quick tour of some important elements of the desktop, and at the same time set up some preferences and options.

The information to follow will provide you with the guidance you need to install a screensaver package and set up a desktop accelerator:

When you work in a graphical desktop, one of the most used utilities is the file manager (PCManFM). In a development environment, there is often the need to transition from a low-security-privilege (user) context to a high-security-privilege (root) context to complete tasks. The current file manager does not allow this to happen. PCManFM will allow you to add defined actions to its context menus that can help to reduce the need for low-level command-line editors and Terminal session commands. In addition, there could be a constant need to start multiple Terminal windows and to move between multiple desktop views to reduce the clutter of open windows.

Now, let's set up a useful desktop accelerator. Find a clear location on the desktop with your mouse pointer and right-click on it. The menu that comes up is from the file manager and is not usually very useful. To replace it with some new functionality, follow these steps:

This project will expose you to the Bash shell scripting language. You will build a talking clock that tells the time every minute using an executable and an Internet-based web service. Once the clock is up and running, you will use an automation tool called Cron to schedule and run tasks at a particular time or at regular intervals.

The talking clock will have the following features and functions:

Python is often used as a scripting language when the speed of execution is a secondary consideration. In this situation, it can provide much more script flexibility and improved manageability compared to a Bash script.

The GUI development environment for Python 3 is called IDLE3, and if you double-click on the icon, it will, by default, open a single window called Python Shell. Although you can enter commands directly in the shell interface, it will be beneficial for you to learn from the start how to create and save program files using the Python editor.

If you are not familiar with Python 3, there are many online tutorials that introduce basic programming techniques. An excellent overview and tutorial is available from the Python.org website at http://docs.python.org/3.2/tutorial. There is also an excellent help system in Python Shell that you can use to develop programs in the editor window.

To access the help system, at the Python Shell command prompt...

Now that we've completed the second chapter, let's review some of the important tasks you performed in this chapter:

You also learned how to do most of this work directly from the desktop, minimizing the use of command-line sessions.

At some point in your project design career, you may want to become a command-line geek, but it would require building expertise at the command-structure level.

In the next chapter, you will learn how to connect PiCam or multiple webcams and to acquire and store video streams and images.