[CentOS] Getting to Mate or Xfce

[Darr247]

> runs through attempts at mirrors and keeps failing till it runs out.
> It failed to connect to my wireless router (or even to find it, afaict).
> So I plugged it into the router with an ethernet cable. No joy.

The ethernet adapter seems to be turned off by default.
To turn it on, click the 'down arrow' in the upper-right corner, then click
the Settings icon (a crossed wrench and nutdriver, near as I can tell) and
choose Network. Then, in the Network dialog, click Wired on the left and
toggle the 'switch' in the right-hand side to ON.
If you make a profile for it there, you can have it connect the wired
adapter automatically (which turns it on automatically, too).  

In any event, you should also see its status (e.g. connected or
disconnected) when you click the down arrow in the upper-right corner.

Getting the wireless working *might* go smoother once all the initial
updates are installed.