My initiation into linux was a little rocky: dialup over in the Middle East, and I decided to brave the waters and try to install it. The 600+MB .iso files were a bit daunting over dialup, and so I opted for the smallest .iso: Gentoo's stage1 cd.
<br><br>For the uninformed, this is a minimalist cd that drops you into a command line and assumes that you can set up networking, etc from there. <br><br>A few months after that I tried out Mandrake Linux, and the difference was drastic; it was easier to setup than when I had installed Windows XP!
<br><br>Just a few months ago, my wife used my desktop (currently running Ubuntu Linux), and decided to switch her laptop over. I personally would highly recommend grabbing a Ubuntu CD and installing it for the beginner for 3 reasons:
<br><br>1) It works as a Live CD; you don't need to destroy everything on your hard drive (at first). If you tell your computer to boot from the CD you downloaded instead of the hard drive, it'll run Ubuntu without touching any of your data on the hard drive. When you're done, simply shutdown, eject the CD, and resume operations on (presumably) Windows XP or similar. This applies to all Live CDs.
<br><br>2) It's well thought out & easy to navigate: try out the live CD and just move around a bit; check out home folders, applications, etc. Everything from the menus to the application divisions is simple and intuitive. My wife, with little/no Linux experience, jumped right in. This applies to all distributions of Linux that utilize GNOME.
<br><br>For a similar ease but different style, some distributions use KDE (which is what I started out with). Mandriva is a good quality distribution that uses KDE by default. Or, Kubuntu is a KDE-default version of Ubuntu.
<br><br>3) It's package-management system is second-to-none. This holds true for all Debian-based distributions. The .deb is a standardized package format (you will also see .rpm or .tar.gz being tossed about). .deb is wonderful in the sense that if there are conflicts between programs, or dependencies, it will sort it out, or at least tell you of the issue. .rpm does this to some degree,
<br>but personally I have had some negative experiences with it. <br> Other people may tell you otherwise. It really, in the end, is up to you.<br><br>4) Community support. You'll notice that most of the above are available in other versions of Linux. Red Hat also uses GNOME, Knoppix is a Live CD, Debian uses .deb files, but despite the calibre of documentation and community with some others, I have only seen Ubuntu tied with one other distribution: Gentoo. I would recommend Gentoo once you've been around the block a couple times, but it's definately a difficult pill to swallow initially.
<br><br>Between forums, wikis, irc, mailing lists, etc, virtually every question I have had or trouble spot I have hit has been dealt with, answered, or at least guided me to the point where I can fix things myself. This is often overlooked, but it is as valuable a part of the operating system as any piece of software.
<br><br>Books are helpful, as are tutors, but as I'm finding right now (learning the IBM AS/400 machines/OS atm) there is no comparison to hands-on learning. All of us on the list are available for answering questions, and don't feel pressured to take my advice (regarding Ubuntu) if another distribution has triggered your curiosity.
<br><br>All the best, fellow wanderer<br><br> -jordan<br><br><br><br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 8/14/06, <b class="gmail_sendername">Tipsy-in_Chicago Tipsy</b> <<a href="mailto:tipsy_in_chicago@yahoo.com">
tipsy_in_chicago@yahoo.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin-top: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-bottom: 0; margin-left: 0; margin-left: 0.80ex; border-left-color: #cccccc; border-left-width: 1px; border-left-style: solid; padding-left: 1ex">
<div>Hello,<br><br>I am an absolute newbie to the world of Linux. I am interested in developing linux administrative skills. <br><br>Is self learning the best route? If so, any books that will be helpful?<br><br>I am also open to taking classes.
<br><br>Kindly, get back to me with the best approach.<br><br><br>Thanks<br><br>KT<br></div><div><span class="ad"><br><br><p><hr size="1">Do you Yahoo!?<br> Get on board. <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=40791/*http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/handraisers" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
You're invited</a> to try the new Yahoo! Mail Beta. </p></span></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota<br><a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="mailto:tclug-list@mn-linux.org">
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