OMG you linux users!!!!11!one!1!!!

[screw3d]

I've got a spankin' new installation of mandrake linux 10 and after trying to install drivers for the motherboard and video card, I'm already swimming in a sea of confusing terms and commands.. plus the information on how to update the kernel is also a b1tch to understand

yeah call me a n00b but to be honest, I don't think linux is anywhere near mainstream use yet..

how on earth did u guys learn all that? tips? yes I do RTFM all the time but it's not always intuitive.

 

[dighn]

faqs and manuals

oh and asking on IRC rooms (they may not be very friendly though)

 

[AFB]

pwned

 

[Kadarin]

Break it down into smaller chunks:

The filesystem structure. Wow, no more C: drive!
Different commands in the CLI, and how they're different from DOS.
How to install and run programs.
Which Window Manager/Desktop Environment to choose, and why.
Superuser? What's that?

 

[The Dancing Peacock]

www.justlinux.com
www.linuxquestions.org
www.google.com/linux

3 sites that I always check for linux help.

read, read, read that's how everyone does it. Keep reading it until it makes sense. Or search for another site that explains it better.

 

[johnjbruin]

one phrase - RTFMMTOTYGI

RTFM many times over till you get it.

There is NO other way to learn linux.

 

[yhelothar]

Stop wasting your time and just use windoze.. unless you need to run a mission critical server for your company.

 

[RS3RS]

Yeah, Linux isn't for newbies, nor for people who just want to use it to say they use Linux and act cool and Anti-Windows.

If you don't know anything about Linux, how it's layed out, any commands, etc. then you won't want to just dive in.

I wouldn't go so far to say that Linux isn't ready for mainstream usage, just not for the average person that's used to the point-and-click style of Windows. If Linux is too hard for you, then it's not for you anyway, and you probably wouldn't even be able to take advantage of the power the O/S gives you.

 

[Cerb]

command line things to know:
su
man (manuals)
vi (and get a manual or two for this, as well, or use kEdit)
shutdown -h now

Other things:
www.google.com
Try Xandros for a desktop (free torrent). IMO, the only distro truly ready for the desktop.
KDE and GNome work. Others are nice too, and I dislike KDE and GNome, but don't leave home w/o one of them, because everyone and their penguin can help you with it.
Don't worry about updating the kernel. You're a n00b. Fix the n00bness first.
Learn to love the command line, or at least know how to use it in general. You can't do anything but grandma web-surfing stuff w/o being able to go and do things with the command line.
Lastly, break it. And then break it again. And then break it again. Etc.. Trial and error will get you quite far.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

ive come to the conclusion that I will continue to use windoze on my workstation and my servers run FreeBSD.

 

[dighn]

i dont think linux is all that though... over the years i've tried various distros and some multiple times, and everytime i go back to windows after i set it up and confgiure everything. i dont know why ... i just gotta install it, even though i abandon it in a couple of weeks... i still got gentoo taking up like 10 gigs here

all my favorite apps & games are for windows

 

OS X is what Linux should be. Unix core with a good GUI and easy to use.

OS X > Linux > Windows

 

[LuckyTaxi]

Originally posted by: dwell
OS X is what Linux should be. Unix core with a good GUI and easy to use.

OS X > Linux > Windows

that i agree with

 

[jjones]

Windows > *

 

[dmw16]

Linux is confusing at first. I have started to learn it so I can run my counter strike server. I think to really get into linux you need a reason.
-doug

 

[Demon-Xanth]

To get help in a linux IRC channel, just say "Linux sucks!", and then 40 people will ask you why, complain about your problem and then you'll get 20 different (but most of them valid) answers and they'll walk you through.

 

[KB]

Every time you have a linux problem, type the error into google and follow the directions. Linux's difficultly is what makes it so great IMO. Each problem you run into gives you a chance to learn the OS better. Eventually you don't even need to consult google anymore as you remember all the things you learn.