Alright, I'm computer literate, but not a programmer. I've managed to build a home network (nothing fancy, but the computers can see each other and share files and printers) and understand enough to be dangerous.

I wanna learn Unix. I've got a spare machine - K6 processor running 300 MHz (I've had it OC'd to about 500 :D), a 3GB hd, video card, yadda yadda yadda.




Big questions:
What flavor of Unix should I try?
Any good newbie sites?

Edit: Also thinking I might just pick up a 3Com Ergo Audrey (network appliance that runs QNX). Lots of hacks, tools utilities, etc over at audreyhacking.com. Oh, and they're under $100 on ebay

Go to the bookstore and get:

RedHat Linux 7.3 for Dummies.

Follow the book.

BTW...
The install of Linux on the 7.3 version is pretty much as easy as installing Windows95.

By the time you are done with the book, you won't be ready for the RHCE exam, but you will have a working knowledge of how to use install, configure & use Linux


Almost forgot...
The book costs $29.99 and comes with the RH7.3 CDs.

(The 2nd CD has the source code and such. Under the GPL for linux, all distributions have to include the source code so that anyone can tinker with it if they want to.)

Does it include the OS?

Or I suppose I could just download it from redhat.com

Mo,

I use SuSE personal 8.0 $30 at crapUSA. 8.1 is out now, I'll upgrad it the profesional version soon.

Each linux is different, and which you choose will really depend on your needs, but SuSE is the most updated linux, and also the one Linus uses.

I suggest buying SuSE pro (~$80) expensive, but from what i've had to deal with, chasing dependancies, and othes experiences on SLE, I'd say it's worth the investment.

I can burn you copies of 8.0 personal too, if you wish. also I have mandrake 8.1 you can have (books and cd's) if you wanna pay the shipping.

NQS

If you really want to learn, give http://gentoo.org a look. I've tried Redhat in the past, and you're really not going to learn much. It really is just like windows.

Gentoo on the other hand gives the power back to the user. You'll need a DSL connection to play with this one though.

Mo,

Forgot a few things. First off, goto http://www.linux.org/groups/usa/ And find a local users group. attend their meetings, talk with a few people, see what they're using, what kind of problems they encountered, etc

I encourage you also to join an online forum or mailing list. I subscribe to SuSE-linux-E, and it's been most helpful. a form for the SuSE lists are at http://www.suse.de/en/private/support/mailinglists/index.html

http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ is a very good online forum to learn in, I especially reccomend looking at Newbie Help Files (NHF's) http://www.linuxnewbie.org/nhf/ chances are the answer to any problem you have can be found in a NHF, although new problems always seem to come up. But since we in the linux community don't pretend they don't exist (like some in redmond), they don't stay problems long.

I should state here one of the things linux is about (IMO) is community. people working together to help each other.

You'll need to check the distro you choose will support the hardware have. Right now, about 95% of whats out there is supported, the big thing now is USB modems. The hardware databases for Mandrake, Redhat & SuSE are at:

http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/hardware.php3
http://www.redhat.com/apps/search/results.html
http://hardwaredb.suse.de/index.php?LANG=en_UK

Last, A word on buying vs downloading. Linux is free. you will never pay for the program. you may have to pay for the cost of materials (CD), but never the code. when You buy the boxed sets in the store, generally you're buying books and tech support. it's up to you to decide if it's worth the investment to buy either of these.

Linux isn't going to be the same as what you're used to as a windows user, but neither will it be beyond the comprehension of most comuter literate adults.

NQS

Also, in case you were wondering about the penguin:

The following is a quote from Linus Torvalds:

Somebody had a logo competition announcement, maybe people can send their ideas to a web-site..

Anyway, this one looks like the poor penguin is not really strong enough to hold up the world, and it's going to get squashed. Not a good, positive logo, in that respect..

Now, when you think about penguins, first take a deep calming breath, and then think "cuddly". Take another breath, and think "cute". Go back to "cuddly" for a while (and go on breathing), then think "contented".

With me so far? Good..

Now, with penguins, (cuddly such), "contented" means it has either just gotten laid, or it's stuffed on herring. Take it from me, I'm an expert on penguins, those are really the only two options.

Now, working on that angle, we don't really want to be associated with a randy penguin (well, we do, but it's not politic, so we won't), so we should be looking at the "stuffed to its brim with herring" angle here.

So when you think "penguin", you should be imagining a slighly overweight penguin (*), sitting down after having gorged itself, and having just burped. It's sitting there with a beatific smile - the world is a good place to be when you have just eaten a few gallons of raw fish and you can feel another "burp" coming.

(*) Not FAT, but you should be able to see that it's sitting down because it's really too stuffed to stand up. Think "bean bag" here.

Now, if you have problems associating yourself with something that gets off by eating raw fish, think "chocolate" or something, but you get the idea.

Ok, so we should be thinking of a lovable, cuddly, stuffed penguin sitting down after having gorged itself on herring. Still with me?

NOW comes the hard part. With this image firmly etched on your eyeballs, you then scetch a stylizied version of it. Not a lot of detail - just a black brush-type outline (you know the effect you get with a brush where the thickness of the line varies). THAT requires talent. Give people the outline, and they should say [ sickly sweet voice, babytalk almost ]"Ooh, what a cuddly penguin, I bet he is just _stuffed_ with herring", and small children will jump up and down and scream "mommy mommy, can I have one too?".

Then we can do a larger version with some more detail (maybe leaning against a globe of the world, but I don't think we really want to give any "macho penguin" image here about Atlas or anything). That more detailed version can spank billy-boy to tears for all I care, or play ice-hockey with the FreeBSD demon. But the simple, single penguin would be the logo, and the others would just be that cuddly penguin being used as an actor in some tableau.

Linus

Originally posted by Nobody
If you really want to learn, give http://gentoo.org a look. I've tried Redhat in the past, and you're really not going to learn much. It really is just like windows.

Gentoo on the other hand gives the power back to the user. You'll need a DSL connection to play with this one though.
Why did you pick Gentoo? I know very little about this distro.

everyone you talk to is going to have their own opinion. each distro is basically the same. only differing in what packages they offer and the configuration scripts. once you get up and running there isn't much of a difference.

i personally just installed redhat 8. i've been using it since '97 on and off. i have a friend that swears by debian and their package system. others are hard-core slackware. only reason i use redhat is that it was the first distro i laid my hands on so i know where everything is and how it likes to act.

i have an 10mbit ethernet line here so i just download the cd images for free and burn them. there is plenty of help online; usenet, irc, web.