Getting Started Guide 149 Linux filesystem, they can only create and delete files in a few areas, principally in their home directories. Hostname The hostname of your computer is a human readable name that you specify dur- ing the installation of Linux. (You can change it afterward using your networking utilities.) The hostname is used with your domain name to uniquely identify your computer on the network that you’re connected to. Just as you use a specific network IP address (such as 192.168.1.45), a hostname provides an identifier for your computer to allow other computers to refer to you. The hostname for your computer may be assigned by a system administrator for your network. If not, you can choose any name that you like for your computer. Just remember that it can be viewed by everyone on the network. IDE IDE is an interface protocol that is commonly used in PCs to allow communica- tion with your hard disk and often your CD-ROM drive. IDE provides a simple interface that all Linux programs should be able to work with, although it is not as flexible or high-performance as some other device interfaces, notably SCSI. info The info command provides descriptive help on how to use commands or fea- tures of Linux. To learn about a command, such as ls, you can enter this at a com- mand line: info ls See also man Kernel The kernel of the Linux operating system is the core, or innermost part of the operating system. The kernel of Linux provides capabilities like • Scheduling multiple processes (tasks or programs) that are all running at the same time • Managing system memory, including moving unused or lesser used pro- grams to the swap space on hard disk (called virtual memory)