jonno112

I want to start playing with Linux my questions are.

What version do i download and where from?

What software is available?

What system requirements do i need?

I am completely new to this.

Any help appreciated.

MattPat

Welcome to the wonderful world of Linux

Let me start out by warning you that some things are going to seem odd, confusing, and maybe even scary at first if you're just starting out with Linux. But don't worry, I've still yet to see Linux eat anyone (I have seen it nibble on people a bit, but that's another story).

The most important thing to remember when starting out with Linux is that 50% of the time, when you try to do things, they won't work the first time. This isn't to discourage you, just prepare you, and actually encourage you. If something doesn't work, stick with it, you'll get it eventually!

First, I'm going to address system requirements. The upside: they're virtually nonexistent. Pretty much any old computer will run Linux beautifully. However... and this is a big however... you may find that some of your hardware doesn't behave properly under Linux. A lot of progress has been made on fixing these issues though, and just about the only thing that causes serious problems is if you have a software-based modem, and you use dial-up to access the Internet. That, and wireless networking can be pretty darn flooky. Otherwise, you should be safe.

Now, let me take a moment to explain the Linux development structure. The Linux kernel, or, the core of the operating system, is developed as a collaborative group effort of thousands of developers worldwide. The Linux kernel is free, and the source code that makes it up is available to anyone who wants it without cost.

The Linux kernel is not an operating system in itself, however-- just the core. The operating system is made up of a number of important programs that help your computer to run under the hood, and make it seem pretty on the outside. Many of the core system programs come from the GNU software project, which is why some people feel Linux, the operating system, is more accurately referred to as GNU/Linux.

Open source software is all about the user benefitting, and therefore, it would be silly for the project developing the Linux kernel to develop the rest of the operating system because it limits the user to a specific set of applications and tools (and no disrespect intended to the kernel developers, but many of them have lost touch with userland, and don't quite know how to make programs easy to use for the average Joe). As a result, other companies have stepped up to create Linux distributions, that put together all of the common GNU tools, other popular programs, and features to make the operating system easy to interact with, and the Linux kernel into a single operating system you can download/get CDs for and install. Every Linux distribution is true Linux-- don't let all of the different flavors make you think that one is less Linux-y than another.

Since you're just starting out, I recommend you try out Ubuntu or Kubuntu. They're both very user-friendly distributions of Linux... actually, they're essentially the same... they are the same. The only difference is that one uses the Gnome desktop, and the other uses the KDE desktop (three guesses which ). These two desktop programs are the programs you will actually interact with. They present your files to you graphically, make it easy to launch programs, and make up the majority of what you see on the screen. One of the biggest disputes in the Linux world is the question of which is better, Gnome or KDE. I personally prefer KDE (please do not attack me Gnome users!), but since they're both relatively functionally equivalent when you're starting out, I recommend you choose based on which you like the look of better . Take a look at some pictures of Gnome (http://www.gnome.org/start/2.4/screenshots.html) and KDE (http://kde.org/screenshots/kde340shots.php). Choose which one you like better, and make your decision (Ubuntu vs. Kubuntu) based on that. By the way, FYI, Gnome is technically pronounced "Guh-nome", but very few people adhere to that pronunciation.

One of the handy things about Ubuntu (but sadly, not Kubuntu) is that you can order installation CDs for free (you don't even have to pay postage - https://shipit.ubuntu.com/). It takes about 6 weeks, but it's worh it. However, if you don't want to wait, and have a fast Internet connection, you can just download CD images from the respective projects' websites (http://www.ubuntu.com/download, http://www.kubuntu.org/download.php). These files can then be opened with CD burning software (like Nero), and used to create CDs. You then boot your computer from the CD, and you can install Linux. The Ubuntu website has plenty of documentation (http://www.ubuntu.com/support/documentation) to help you get started.

Over time, you will probably grow out of Ubuntu and try out other distributions. As a next step, I'd recommend Fedora Core from Red Hat (http://fedora.redhat.com/). Once you get really, really comfortable with Linux, I'll recommend my own personal favorite distribution, Gentoo (http://www.gentoo.org). Using Gentoo is rather easy, but installing it is not for the faint of heart.

Now... what software... You'll find that a lot of the free/open source software (referred to sometimes as FOSS for obvious reasons, and FLOSS [free libre open source software] to emphasize that "free" refers to free as in speech, not necessarily as in "free beer") that you use under Windows can be found under Linux. More importantly, there are plenty of FOSS programs that replace commercial applications you might be used to. For example, The GIMP (http://www.gimp.org) replaces Adobe Photoshop, OpenOffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org) replaces Microsoft Office, Mozilla Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/firefox) replaces Internet Explorer (if you're using that God-awful web browser), and many, many more. Ubuntu, by default, includes a large selection of software that should be more than adequate to suit your needs.

I hope that helps as a good introduction to the world of Linux. Good luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to post back here or email me (MattPat@mattpat.net) . Have fun!

-Matt Pat

batty_professor

MattPat: Thank you for your input regarding Linux for this new user. I would like to comment here that after installing Ubuntu it is not too difficult to install KDE to make it Kubuntu. I've done this myself. What I did find though is that Ubuntu/Kubuntu lacked some things I was accustomed to from using Mandrake/Mandriva. Like Digicam, I couldn't find Digicam for Kubuntu. There were other quirks I can't recall at the moment. I guess my favorite will stay Mandrake 10.2 Which I don't think is available for download any longer. Now available is Mandriva 2006, which I downloaded and couldn't get to work with any graphics configurations I have. Therefore I can't comment on 2006 except that I couldn't make it configure X successfully.
Take a look here for downloads of the pre-2006 stuff. There is also a one-disk .ISO if you would like a simpler test model to work with. Note you should not try to download .ISO files without having a high-speed connection. Otherwise the process could take as much as 22 hours on a good dialup. And you start over if you get kicked offline.

MattPat

Yeah, I've done that too... pretty easy with APT (by the way, jonno112, if you do go with Ubuntu, or any Linux distribution that says it's based on Debian, another Linux distribution, you're going to want to do some Googling and learn more about APT-- it'll make your life a whole lot easier). I just thought that it might be easier to have it preinstalled if you have the option.

I've never used Mandriva... I was going to give it a try back when it was Mandrake, but something about the whole Club thing just bothered me. Now, it doesn't even appear you can download it for free (I know you can, but if you're a new user, you wouldn't get that impression from just visiting the website). The whole concept of paying for Linux bothers me (to jonno112, this is the fundamental difference between free and open source software, if you didn't already know: open source software can be both free [as in free speech], and you have to pay for it). But, everyone has their own favorite distribution.

By the way, a KDE-oriented version of Digicam, Digikam, is available here.

Man, start out planning on giving a few simple tips and you end up writing a 10-paragraph essay

jonno112

Awsome

Thanks for the help guys i have just ordered the ubuntoo cds and i am looking forward to the arriving of my goods, In fact i have gone as far as to put this link in my favorites as a start point. You gave me so much info.

Thanks again.

Jonno

I will be back when i get the cds, just two question. Commercially what is linux used for?

And whats the difference between Unix and Linux if any?

MattPat

UNIX is an operating system developed originally in the 70's by AT&T Bell Laboratories. UNIX was a workhorse, something that developers could write powerful software for, and that could be used to power servers and mainframes. Today, UNIX is incarnated most closely in the BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution) variants. When UNIX was first released, it was released open source. UCLA Berkeley grabbed a version of the code, and made their own modifications, creating BSD UNIX. Eventually, the project forked in three, and became OpenBSD, FreeBSD, and NetBSD. All are free and open source.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) developed a set of standards ( IEEE 1003), most commonly referred to as POSIX (now administered by the Austin Group). These standards describe basically what UNIX is is, and how it interacts with the user and other applications. There aren't too many mainstream operating systems that are certified as POSIX-compliant (none of the BSDs are even POSIX-compliant officially), but both Linux and the BSDs are developed based on the POSIX standards. As such, these operating systems are referred to as "POSIX-compliant," and more commonly, "UNIX-like."

So, to answer your second question first, Linux is UNIX-like. It conforms to the same basic standards as the original UNIX.

As for your first question, while different operating system kernels (eg, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, Linux, Darwin [the core of Mac OS X], etc. are essentially all the same GNU software based operating system, but all use their own kernels) do have certain differences in security, file system support, etc., all POSIX-compliant operating systems can run the same software*, and therefore, have similar uses, so what I'm about to say applies to POSIX-compliant OSes in general, not necessarily Linux specifically.

In the commercial world, the most common application of POSIX OSes is on servers. Over 60% of the world's web servers are powered by Linux/BSD, and Linux is also used to power file servers, FTP servers, SSH servers, network management servers, print servers, and more. Furthermore, Linux's robust networking ability and scalability makes it a popular controller for routers. In fact, if you have a high speed Internet connection that uses a router (Linksys, Netgear, Belkin, etc.) there's a good chance that it has some Linux-like software in it. For networks requiring more powerful routing, sometimes regular high-powered computers are transformed into routers using Linux and multiple network cards.

So basically, to answer your first question, Linux is most commonly used in enterprise for networking (servers, network management, etc.). Linux is also a great software development platform, so you will most likely find it used for that as well.

Hope it answers your question!

-Matt Pat

*OK, two things: it is a slight stretch to categorize all of those above OSes as the same operating system minus the kernel... there are differences in the included software, though they're not major. Also, while across one platform, it is true that just about all POSIX-compliant OSes will run the same software, but across multiple platforms (for example, one computer running an Intel processor, one running a PowerPC processor), some software may not carry over as well. Most software is free of this issue however.

TroyR

I just started with Linux also Jon, and found Xandros is an excellent starter OS with an easy install...
It has great help forums which is a huge plus for me! I'm trying to wean myself from micro$oft.

TulShulty

I was thinking about trying linux also and glad I check this thread. Lots of wonderful advice.

jonno112

I just got my Linux disks actually i got 5 of them.

Once i load the disks up what programs can i load with this particular version?

Email, graphics word and excel.

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Oh i think the install was the easy part, it just loaded up and this is what happened

jw@MrLinux:`$

where do i go from here?

I'm not worried about the top section anymore.

OrTigaS

Hi! i'm new to Linux but i have box running Debian ( No GUI) but i have this laptop running on Ubuntu that very works well, it just you have to compile some file if theres hardware not to run like: soundcard(its for me) or other...

About the program to all are the same as windows it has email(Evolution) Browser(FireFox) and the OpenOffice(Like MS Office) and many more ... thats all for now :)


OrTigaS

OrTigaS

jw@MrLinux:`$ startx

jonno112

I know where i went wrong i typed server where i should have hit enter, all the programs where loaded i was impressed, and here i was looking for this monster .