Linux is a multitasking, multiuser operating 

system, which means that many people can

 run many different applications on one 

computer at the same time. This differs from MS-DOS, 

where only one person can use the system at any one 

time. Under Linux, to identify yourself to the system, 

you must log in, which entails entering your login name 

(the name the system uses to identify you), and entering 

your password, which is your personal key for logging 

in to your account. Because only you know your password, 

no one else can log in to the system under your user name. 

On traditional UNIX systems, the system administrator 

assigns you a user name and an initial password when you

 are given an account on the system. However, because in 

Linux tt you are the system administrator, you must set

 up your own account before you can log in. For the

 following discussions, we'll use the imaginary user 

name, ``larry.'' 

  In addition, each system has a host name assigned 

to it. It is this host name that gives your machine 

a name, gives it character and charm. The host name 

is used to identify individual machines on a network,

 but even if your machine isn't networked, it should 

have a host name. For our examples below, the system's 

host name is ``mousehouse''.