[wplug] want to get started with linux

Vanco, Donald VANCOD at PIOS.com
Mon Mar 24 09:03:52 EST 2003


Amy D wrote:
> Hi-
>> I got your address from linux.org - I want to find out about Linux,
>> and so joined your group. Just to get started, though, I wasn't sure
>> if it was appropriate to post to the list with such a pre-beginner
>> question. I read at linux.org that I shouldn't try to download the
>> operating system since I'm using a dialup modem, but that there are
>> plenty of venders that will cheaply sell it to me, or books that
>> include the software. I went to amazon.com and found several books
>> on the subject, but it wasn't made clear which, if any, include the
>> software. Can you let me know of any books that include the
>> software? And do you recommend supporting a pittsburgh vendor
>> (which, please?) rather than buying online? Thank you, Amy De Ferrari
> 
> ps: I sent this msg to the group contact, and he recommended any of
> the big names - but I still don't know which books in particular
> would have the cd? All of them maybe? For ex: what about the featured
> book on linux.org? Thanks!  

	To add to the other comments in place.....

	You might want to check out Distrowatch - http://www.distrowatch.com
- it will let you know exactly what's out there, what it features, and what
distros people seem interested in.
	IMHO Red Hat and Lindows are likely the easiest distros for the
beginner that will work with pretty much all hardware out there.  Mandrake
and SuSE are also popular, and Debian has a great lineage but might be a bit
difficult for the novice (but worth the effort according to most).

	For instruction, be sure to look over The Linux Documentation
Project - http://www.tldp.org - there is a TON of good information there,
from how-to's to manuals/whitepaper, including an awesome "Introduction to
Linux" that I refer user to all the time.  The Sys Admin guides are great -
but a little advanced at times. http://www.tldp.org/guides.html

	If you decide on Red Hat be sure to see the docs (on CD or on the
site) they are excellent, and sadly overlooked by most.

	As far as getting books, I personally have never found a book that
includes "current" content AND distro CDs.  The issue here is that most of
the books go to press with content based on a beta release of the distro in
question - due to the timing of the release, etc this just the way it works.
I'd suggest getting your distros from somewhere on the 'Net (either d/l or
purchase) and deal with on-line (or CD) docs to start.  For the cost of one
RH book you could have bought 8 to 10 distros at cheap bytes that would
include a docs CD!


	If you have the luxury of time (and bandwidth and a burner!), I
implore you to try several distros.  The best way to learn is to "do" -
install it, mess with it for a day, then nuke it and load something else!

	Welcome!

Cheers -
Don



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