Linux for a beginner.

[thisperishedmin]

I think it may be beneficial to use Ubuntu/Federoa/SUSE for a while just to get a bit more familiar with some of the software and see a working system....

but I agree...if you want to LEARN Linux as opposed to USE Linux (or NOT use Windows or whatever the case may be)...none of the above listed distros are the ticket.

I have not used slackware nor gentoo...I found a very happy home with Arch Linux. It made me learn the system and understand what I was doing - setup was a bit tricky compared to Ubuntu and such...but Ive sound found that EVERYTHING is so much cleaner. The configurations make more sense, its easier to find what I need...everything on Ubuntu in contrast, just seems painful, illogical, and messy.

Ive had the urge to try Gentoo...but then I stop and ask myself why. I've never been able to give myself a reason that Arch didnt already do, or even do better. Arch's package management system is incredible (Small learning curve for the commands...) and the ability to use the AUR (Arch User Repositories...or something like that haha) makes almost EVERY little piece of software available...finally, they provide a pkgbuild tool for things that arent in the main repo's or AUR repos.

Arch is actually very "new" user friendly IMO...as long as you follow the beginners guide or official install guide you should have very little problems along the way...barring some finicky hardware causing a bug. While you will in part be "looking for the next piece of literature"...I think Arch does a fairly good job explaining why you're doing what you do along the way. Lastly, the Arch community is top notch...between the forums and wiki its hard to beat with any other distro IMO.

Beyond that...its highly configurable and easy to change your DE, take it away, boot without one, launch when you need it...its fast and responsive, generally well tuned for most any modern hardware...and just generally...THE SHIT =P

That said...slackware is well respected in every Linux community Ive been part of...I have to try it out sometime.

 

[Ocellaris]

I think to learn, the best thing to do is start with an easy distro like Ubuntu, get comfortable with it, then switch over to something else that takes a bit more effort. Once you try another distro, you will start figuring out what you like and do not like and start getting into the OS configuration more. When you find a good page with info you need on it, print it out and keep it.

Also I would highly recommend using Clonezilla to make OS backups as you go onto another HD. Then when you pooch something up, its only going to take about 10 minutes to restore back to a good configuration and try again. This is way easier than getting in too deep and feeling like you need to reinstall the OS after a mistake or experiment.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device

 

[illuminate]

I think to learn, the best thing to do is start with an easy distro like Ubuntu, get comfortable with it, then switch over to something else that takes a bit more effort. Once you try another distro, you will start figuring out what you like and do not like and start getting into the OS configuration more.

I'm with you there. I started with Ubuntu back when it was still 6.0*. I've used arch, tried my hand at gentoo (i prefer arch). With those installs, i prefer gnome. Even though it's heavier, that's what i prefer. It's the easiest for what i do.

 

[450]

I feel that VMs have made testing out OSes that much easier. Virtualbox + Arch Linux = win.

 

[illuminate]

I agree with you 450. I use VBox to test all my OS's and see what i like best. Like, before i tackled an arch install on my main rig, i installed it in VBox to get the hang of it/figure it out. I also use it to test different versions of Linux to see what i think. Makes like easier

 

[eeyrjmr]

I agree with you 450. I use VBox to test all my OS's and see what i like best. Like, before i tackled an arch install on my main rig, i installed it in VBox to get the hang of it/figure it out. I also use it to test different versions of Linux to see what i think. Makes like easier

yup its great to test the instalation process in isolation.
I keep Vbox + some distro's around mainly to help some friends (so arch,ubuntu,fedora)

 

[geiger]

I may sound like a troll, but seriously pick up Unix for Dummies. It covers the basics of the most shells. The most common being bash. And ftmlog learn VI navigation, if you do any work in csh/ksh it's a godsend.

If you do a standalone install press crtl+alt+F1.

Linux is an OS. For all intents and purposes find the distro is the most hardware friendy. The more likely for the hardware to not setup right out of the box, the more likely you are to say FUCK THIS.

It may be coincidence, but the best AD guys I know are linux gurus....

 

[Canadian in Berlin]

My biggest issue with Linux to-date that makes it hard for me to reccomend to beginners:

1. When you update, stuff breaks and needs to be fixed (Virtual box, WINE, etc)
2. Sometimes drivers stop working after an update
3. Contrary to the urban legend, linux does randomly stop working and has even locked up a few times (in the past year its locked up just as much as my windows 7 Beta installations 7000 and RC1)
4. It can still be intimidating to ask for help "just type this...." but no explanation

On the other hand, my mom has been using linux for 2.5 years without a single hitch... so go figure. Seems hit and miss.

 

[jb_hafo]

My biggest issue with Linux to-date that makes it hard for me to reccomend to beginners:

1. When you update, stuff breaks and needs to be fixed (Virtual box, WINE, etc)
2. Sometimes drivers stop working after an update
3. Contrary to the urban legend, linux does randomly stop working and has even locked up a few times (in the past year its locked up just as much as my windows 7 Beta installations 7000 and RC1)
4. It can still be intimidating to ask for help "just type this...." but no explanation

On the other hand, my mom has been using linux for 2.5 years without a single hitch... so go figure. Seems hit and miss.

If one has the time, then, I would recc. bsd instead:
fixes are usually implemented, and even prevented by the volunteers.
one usually knows ahead of time when base/binaries/3d_party_programs need fixing
help is centrally located if one knows where to look.
.........
When I started with BSD 5.x (from win98FE) it was experimental and
I would get crashes ("kernel panics") maybe because of partly installed
on an extended fat32 partition. Surprisingly, each time it crashes now,
it is a "simple reboot" rather than a "double and procedurally after crash reboot"
to fix, and data is hardly ever lost (vs _6 and _5, running _7 now).
...........
All I can write about it, without muddying the waters for ones who would
rather run linux, not spending the extra time initially, for maybe easier-down-the-road
results

 

[Boomslang]

My biggest issue with Linux to-date that makes it hard for me to reccomend to beginners:

1. When you update, stuff breaks and needs to be fixed (Virtual box, WINE, etc)
2. Sometimes drivers stop working after an update
3. Contrary to the urban legend, linux does randomly stop working and has even locked up a few times (in the past year its locked up just as much as my windows 7 Beta installations 7000 and RC1)
4. It can still be intimidating to ask for help "just type this...." but no explanation

On the other hand, my mom has been using linux for 2.5 years without a single hitch... so go figure. Seems hit and miss.

Just to respond to your #4 - I see this all too often and people love to complain about it.

However, I can't take your side. If somebody tells you to run a command and you don't understand what it does, this is a perfect opportunity for you to read the man pages for that command and check Google if the man pages leave you confused. The reason your (free) support sounds strained is because the people who field your questions deal with them very often and they usually are not very interesting problems. You'll probably find that people are more willing to sink their teeth in to your problems if they're particularly interesting for whatever reason, but if it's just rehashed and reiterated beginner questions with answers clearly written in the man pages or on the first page of Google results, then the responsibility is yours to figure out the command that was helpfully suggested to you.

Checking man pages and querying Google are both very easy to do. Nobody has an obligation to you. That's the point of the community-driven project. Eventually, if you stick with it, you'll be on the giving end of that relationship and you'll probably understand the perspective.

Also, check out local Linux Users Groups if you want a more personal and friendly experience. They can be a good resource and won't make you feel dumb for asking questions.

 

[Canadian in Berlin]

Just to respond to your #4 - I see this all too often and people love to complain about it.

Wasn't complaining for myself, I can usually figure out what it does just by looking at it (or a quick check int he man pages usually summarizes). I'M referring to beginners who may not even know what the man pages are.

I'M a windows user (gamer / guy who has too much work to do to try and run linux at work, with too little benefit back) providing support to a girlfriend who is using linux. I suggested it after she complained about some issues in XP, so we did a dual boot, she liked it and doesn't want to go back.

I've got her doing her own google searches to fix most issues now, the hardest part there was for her to learn how best to describe nad isolate her problem. As for "common problems", neither of us have created a post asking for assistance for anything that google searching had an answer to, or the fix posted still didn't work.

 

[jb_hafo]

A subset of "asking for help" on unix.
It is imperitive in many cases (unless one wants gui) to save time:: to
save history of the CLI across reboots.
for instance if I now wanted to run find, pipe the results to xargs, and have
the latter run a program for each file found, I would have to read the man
page and figure it all out again. However, (...pauses to "grep history", as of Right_Now
I do not know the syntax )... (2 seconds later)... it is
find (some file set) ... | xargs -J % _program_ -W -f %
where the -W and the -f are parameters for the specific program.
So I just saved myself a minimum of 5 minutes or so, and a near-guarantee that
the result will complete without error. (shell is ZSH btw, I set it all up when
first using BSD by finding .zshrc (large) on the web and conglomerating them.

 

[martinje]

Well to be honest with you all I just recently switched. I would consider myself an advance user of Windows and very familiar with DOS commands back in the 3.1 era. I was using Vista 64 on a Raid-0 configuration. While it was not easy, took lots of reading and lots of research I got Ubuntu 64 Jaunty installed in Raid 0. The next issue I was having, I was getting some serious crashes and it ended up being my Intel wireless Nic card. I have no other OS installed and have been on Ubuntu now for about 2 weeks. I reckon once I get very familiar with all the command lines, Ill switch to arch linux. For know I belive Ubuntu is a good way to get your feet very wet. I will be honest with you all, I would not have been able to do this jump without Cedega, I play Left 4 dead, Wow, defence grid and Half life episodes on it. I have installed linux version of UT2004 and off course the countless freeware games out there.


Right now I am in the task of getting an HD mkv file into MP4 in order for my PS3 to see. I used MKVTOPS3 program for windows but unfortunately there is no linux version of that. I am at a point after conversion I get the video but no audio. I am getting closer but not there yet. Still more work to get done.

Overall I do enjoy how fast my system boots up, how game that are not native to the OS run and finally no more funky freezes on web page browsers.

I will give an update how everything is going after a month of full time ubuntu use.