At the risk of repeating myself let me revisit my computer hardware configuration. My system is:
So, keep that in mind when you follow along with your configuration. In most cases, it should not matter unless I am talking about hardware specific configuration or 64-bit software. In those case, you will have to make the necessary adjustments for your hardware. Having said that, let's configure this machine to what we would be normally using such a machine for.
I did not like the original look and feel of the clearlook UI. So, I decided to head over to Gnome looks to see if I can improve upon the default theme that was already on installed. I liked the look of d3a (see resources and a screenshot) and also the nuoveXT icons. I downloaded the themes and the icons to my download directory. From there it is a simple matter to install these themes by going into System -> Preferences -> Themes and then Install Theme. Follow the directions from there.
My computer has a series of keys along the top that represents sound options. So, the first thing you can do is configure these keys. I opened the keyboard preferences (System -> Preferences -> Keyboard short cuts). Once you do that, simply configure any keyboard short cut anyway you want it. For example, to use the volume up and down button, press the volume up or down key and then you can use these keys for doing exactly that. You can also configure other keys to match your hardware, for example, if you want to play music, fast-forward to next song etc, configure these keys and you are all set. (See the snap shot in resources).
It is now infinitely simple to configure printer on a Linux machine. I have a couple of printers and they are both networked printers. The first one is a wireless HP 6830 that is connected wirelessly to the router. By the way, this is a great printer, very vibrant colors and not at all expensive, plus it is wireless (54g). So, if your router supports 54g you should not have any trouble with this printer. Even otherwise, if you are not worried about sending huge graphics or photographs which might take a little longer to print. Needless to say, I do not think that you should be using a wireless printing for production work.
So, in any case, to configure this printer open the printing submenu from the the systems menu (System -> Administration -> printing), and configure your printer. Click new and follow the instructions to name the printer and give it a short description. Click forward and select the queue type as Networked JetDirect. Now give it the printer address, typically, 192.168.x.xxx (where you can obtain the x and xxx from your printer configuration page - just use the print switches to do that). For example, my printer is 192.168.1.10. Use the default port of 9100 and click forward. Select the manufacturer as HP, and model (in my case 6840 - there is no 6830 on the list) and then you are all set! Print the test page and admire your handiwork.
You can of course do all this using the command line. I do not choose to do that. Feel free to look at the /etc/cups/printer.conf to determine the syntax.
You can also configure other printers in much the same way. If you have a printer physically connected to a Windows XP machine, you can pretty much use the same steps above to configure it. The only thing to remember is to make sure that you pick the correct queue type which is Networked Windows (SMB). If your printer is shared, it should find the printer for you. Select the appropriate printer server from the share.
/