[TriLUG] Linux Newbie Resources

[sholton at mindspring.com]

A lot depends on what you're planning to do with Linux.

I'm guessing (since you mentioned Windows/DOS) that you're planning
to use Linux in a desktop operating system mode and that you're 
primarily interested in IA32 architecture. If I'm right, that narrows the 
choices quite a bit. 

You'll probably want to start with one of the GNU/Linux distros marketed
as a desktop distribution; something that includes either Gnome
or KDE. 

You might want to start with a Knoppix (or Gnoppix) disk, which
will give you a quick tour with little risk. These distros run 
directly from the CD, so you don't have to worry about 
overwriting anything important on the hard drive.

Mandrake, Red Hat's Fedora, and SUSE are other desktop oriented
distros which are appropriate for Newbies. More advanced users may
prefer Debian, slackware or gentoo.

If you're really interested in learning linux "from the ground up", check
out the Linux From Scratch website. That's likely beyond you right
now, but you may find in useful in the future.

All of these (and many more) are available from the Distro
Watch web site at:
  http://distrowatch.com/


-----Original Message-----
From: Gene Dupree <gene.dupree at duke.edu>
Sent: Sep 20, 2004 2:21 PM
To: trilug at trilug.org
Subject: [TriLUG] Linux Newbie Resources

Hi All, 

Since I am new to Linux, I wanted to know if anyone knows of any really 
good resources (books, websites, etc.) to learn Linux from the ground up. 
I have a pretty good background in Windows/DOS but want to learn and 
explore the Linux universe.  Any suggestions would be helpful. 

Also, are there any recommendations on which distro to start out with? 

Thanks in advance for any info! 

Gene 


There are only 10 kinds of people in this world.
Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

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Steve Holton
sholton at mindspring.com