Best way to *learn* linux?

[Mellman]

I'm looking to really learn linux, not just the crap i already know. I know - the best way is to do things, well thats what I"m looking for - what to do?

I already run a linux router, IPtables, that kindof junk, but its a home network so not much maintenance. I've used gentoo, setup wireless a few times, emerged stuff(wow so nice)

But really, I dont feel like i KNOW how to do much in linux. Sure more than joe schmoe, but really...compared to most real linux users im in the dust.

What can I do?

 

[sourceninja]

Well, you could do a linux from scratch project. Check out http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/

Other then that, stop using windows, and just keep using linux.

 

[Mellman]

Thanks for the link - I'll read up on it.

I guess my reason before for never switching to linux was because..."i like to play games occasionally" well i dont know the last time i played a game on my PC, even though i have a stack sittin up on my desk here.

Is there anything here that I wouldn't be able to do using linux? I'll only list things i don't know for sure..

Watch TRUE HD content - I'm talking about true 1080i / 720p content, not just 300-700mb rips from 1080i source.
Whats a good mp3 player? I use iTunes and WMP, last i saw the gentoo media player it was pretty nice and functional.
Dual Display support on my Nvidia 6600?
Are there any Video editing applications for linux that support HD video? This would be my main reason for using windows nowadays - i do it every few weeks or so (yes i realize dual boot is an option)

The only other issue I would have is storage, i could move everything to my server, and access things through my network, but right now ALL my filesystems are NTFS, 3x320GB drives in my main desktop store video content, recorded TV, music etc. Do NTFS Network shares have any compatibilty issues reading from a linux box? I know NTFS write was still buggy - does this include over a network?

Thanks sourceninja - appriciate the help 🙂

 

[cleverhandle]

A few suggestions, in no particular order...

1) Read a book. There are loads of Linux books out there. Some of them are actually useful. While I usually prefer a more task-centered kind of learning, methodically reading and experimenting with a book can be quite helpful when you're in that position between knowing how to do something and knowing why something works the way it does, which is where you appear to be. O'Reilly's Running Linux is the classic recommendation for this kind of thing. Another book I found helpful in grokking Linux/Unix is The Unix Philosophy. Like the title implies, there's nothing practical in that one, but it gives some insight into why Unix-like systems work the way they do. It's not worth the price for a new copy - pretty much everything there is online somewhere - but if you can get a used one, it's a good read.

2) Find a project and do it. Sounds like you've done some of this already. Do more. Find something you're unfamiliar with, but interested in - a web server, a distributed filesystem, an embedded system, whatever. Try to accomplish such a project staying close to the "bare metal" - edit text files and read the project's documentation rather than use a GUI configurator or a howto tailormade for your distribution.

3) Scratch an itch. Closely related to #2. Find something about your current distro that you would like to work differently and/or more efficiently and learn how to do it. A lot of times this is a good way to learn scripting and understand how the less visible underpinnings of the system fit together.

4) As sourceninja suggested, try to build an LFS system. It's like Gentoo without emerge. It's not really practical as a normal, day-to-day system but it can be a good learning experience. Especially if you really try to understand each step of the process rather than blindly copy/paste things into your terminal. At some points, you'll hit issues where you'll just have to blindly trust a patch that someone provides (unless you're a pretty confident C programmer), but you can still understand 99% of it if you take your time.

 

[cleverhandle]

Originally posted by: Mellman
Is there anything here that I wouldn't be able to do using linux? I'll only list things i don't know for sure..

Watch TRUE HD content - I'm talking about true 1080i / 720p content, not just 300-700mb rips from 1080i source.

Probably, but I don't know. I'm not a big AV person. I would think that as long as you're using a relatively open codec and there's no DRM in the way that it would be fine.

Whats a good mp3 player?

Pfff... take your pick among dozens. If you usually use iTunes, then packages like Amarok (for KDE) or Rhythmbox (for GNOME) might fit the bill. There are a ton of other choices as well.

Dual Display support on my Nvidia 6600?

Yes, search Xinerama.

Are there any Video editing applications for linux that support HD video? This would be my main reason for using windows nowadays - i do it every few weeks or so (yes i realize dual boot is an option)

Again, provided that you could handle the codecs, I don't see why something like Kino wouldn't do what you want.

The only other issue I would have is storage... Do NTFS Network shares have any compatibilty issues reading from a linux box?

Clients accessing files over a network have no idea what the underlying filesystem is. That's all handled by the network service. If your file server is Windows (ick...), then Linux SMB clients will have no problems with it.

 

[thehstrybean]

The best beginner install, IMO is Ubuntu...I got my Broadcom wifi workin on my lappy in 5 minutes...It's sleek, and it has a great package manager...

 

[xtknight]

Compile some software and make some rpm or deb packages. That'll learn ya.

Basically all I do with my Linux install is screw around with it. I learn mainly that way (I can't stand reading manuals) and also from some people on the forums that have been very helpful. If you break something, don't reinstall your OS. Fix it.

If you're bored, delete libc.so.6 and then try and fix that (just about every single program depends on it, including basic linux commands). If you want to use your OS that day (and I say day, because it may take that long to figure out how to fix it), then I suggest not doing that however. 😀 It happened to me, when I was trying to upgrade to a new distro with apt-get. I did manage to fix it.

 

[drag]

Pick something you want to do. Anything. Learn how to do it. If your following a howto look up commands and try variations on the howto to test how much you realy know about what is going on.

Watch TRUE HD content - I'm talking about true 1080i / 720p content, not just 300-700mb rips from 1080i source.

Most drivers can do this fine.

Of course realise that standard computer resolutions are much much higher then TV or even HD. High resolution video has been around for a long time, even though most everything was geared towards TV.

Some drivers need some extra memory allocation stuff in the xorg.conf (like the onboard 915/945 intel devices) but that's not a big deal.

 

[Mellman]

Originally posted by: cleverhandle

Originally posted by: Mellman

The only other issue I would have is storage... Do NTFS Network shares have any compatibilty issues reading from a linux box?

Clients accessing files over a network have no idea what the underlying filesystem is. That's all handled by the network service. If your file server is Windows (ick...), then Linux SMB clients will have no problems with it.

Holy cow...I can't believe I asked that...I really need to goto bed being up this late definetly doesnt work for me...DUH this is quite obvious considering i've done it countless times...LOL

I think my mind was mixing my question about NTFS-write and if thats improved any, with thinking about samba for some reason...oh well 🙂


ALL: Thanks for the answers, I was planning on doing a reformat on my main rig here in the next few days or weeks, maybe I'll leave some room for a linux dual boot and try to force myself to use linux for everything.

As for my server - for now its windows, same reason as before, it was a game server for our lans, and there were issues with the dedicated servers for games we played (since have been fixed)

It actually will become linux eventually - building a mythTV box, quite big too.

Thanks - if anyone else has advice (specifically on books I can pickup and read) I'll love you long time! 🙂

-Matt

 

[imported_shader]

Originally posted by: Mellman
Is there anything here that I wouldn't be able to do using linux?

get with t3h ladies 🙁

if you do any gaming, or still use windows for anything, try using wine. if you never used it before that should be a pretty good learning project.