GNOME Display Manager

Infobox_Software
name = GNOME Display Manager



caption = GDM in Ubuntu (Linux)
developer = GNOME Team
latest_release_version = 2.20.6
latest_release_date = release date|2008|05|13
latest_preview_version = 2.21.9
latest_preview_date = release date|2008|03|11
operating_system = Unix-like, includes: BSD, Linux, Solaris
genre = X display manager
license = GPL
website = [http://www.gnome.org/projects/gdm gnome.org/projects/gdm]

GDM (the GNOME Display Manager) provides a simpler alternative display manager for the X Window System's XDM.

The X Window System by default uses the XDM display manager. However, resolving XDM configuration issues typically involves editing a configuration file. GDM allows users to customize or troubleshoot settings without having to resort to a command line. Users can pick their session type on a per-login basis. GDM also features easy customization with themes.

Trivia

Queen of England

Some of the copyright notices of GDM refer to the "Queen of England", who is also named as a maintainer in release announcements since version 2.2.1. [cite web | url=http://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-announce-list/2001-May/msg00008.html | title=ANNOUNCE: GDM 2.2.1, the "Just because you're not paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you" release | date=4 May 2001] It was only later that the developers realised that there has been no "Queen of England" since the Acts of Union of 1707. [cite web | url=http://mail.gnome.org/archives/gdm-list/2004-March/msg00002.html | title=ANNOUNCE: GDM 2.5.90.2 (unstable), the "Nose poking" release | date= 4 Mar 2004]

Easter Eggs

GDM has a few easter eggs, in the form of strings to be entered in the username box. These can be found in the source file "gui/guilogin.c", in a function named "evil". [cite web | url=http://svn.gnome.org/viewvc/gdm/trunk/gui/gdmlogin.c?view=markup&pathrev=5360 | title=View of /trunk/gui/gdmlogin.c, revision 5360 on 2007-09-28 | accessdate=2008-05-30]

* Dancing login - type "Start Dancing" to start, and "Stop Dancing" to stop. (This requires the standard greeter, rather than the graphical one).
* "Gimme Random Cursor" - can be used repeatedly.
* "Require Quarter" (or "Require Quater", for backward compatibility with a typo in the original), [cite web | url=http://svn.gnome.org/viewvc/gdm/trunk/gui/gdmlogin.c?r1=273&r2=304&pathrev=304 | title= Diff of /trunk/gui/gdmlogin.c, revision 304 | date= 5 Mar 2001 | accessdate=2008-05-30] then log in normally - a dialog box appears after entering the password.

External links

* [http://www.gnome.org/projects/gdm/ GDM official page]

References

See also

* KDM, the KDE display manager
*SLiM, the desktop-independent graphical login manager
*TCP Wrappers
*XDM, X Window Display Manager