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Steep Learning Curve...Linux

M

moonshinemadness

Platinum Member
I decided to put linux on my lesser used machine so i can get to grips with it and find out what all the hype is about.

A) Ive never used Linux, know near to nothing about it
B) I wont be depending on this machine so i can take my time and reinstall if needs be
c) I want to learn so dont tell me to stick to windows😉

so firstly which distro is best, ive heard for starting off with Red Hat is best and so i obtained a copy of Red Hat 8.0 on CD should i stick with this? Are there any basics i should know? ive been checking out http://www.tldp.org and have found a lot of information but im still not sure on the basics. Presently the PC runs 98 so its file system is FAT32 so no changes need to be made for NTFS.

Thanks for your help
 
Redhat isn't best. It's just a matter of choice, what one linux distro can do, so can all others. What matters is how it's set up.

Redhat is frequently suggested for newbies, because it's relatively easy to deal with.

There are a few books that can help you out. Many of them have installation CD's in them. They are helpfull and some books are better then others, and some are kinda turdy. However you'll find the internet is the best source of information. Lots of times books can simply be more convient.

You should always use the newest version aviable, each generation of OSes get easier and better to deal with. Right now Redhat is at 9.0 I beleive.

8.0 was pretty slow and hard on older hardware, and 9.0 is a bit snappier, however it works fine and is stable.

Do a search for 'linux newbie' on google and you will find all sorts of usefull information.


 
I'm just starting to learn Linux too, and I started with RedHat 9.0. I work with my Linux box a lot that when I'm in DOS I type ls to get the directory.
 
The latest RedHat release is 9. I would recommend it. It's easy to get going and has a nice interface, so you can get things done while you learn.

I wouldn't try anything like Debian at first, though you should certainly consider it later.
 
I would NOT recommmend Mandrake or Redhat. They are slow, glitchy, and bloated (in my opinion anyway)! I would suggest Slackware Linux 9.0 (haven't tried the new 9.1 yet), or Jamd Linux 0.0.6B (which is basically Red Hat with i686 optimization but not as bloated). I use both regulary. Welcome to the world of linux!!!!
 
Originally posted by: SpeedFreak03
I would NOT recommmend Mandrake or Redhat. They are slow, glitchy, and bloated (in my opinion anyway)! I would suggest Slackware Linux 9.0 (haven't tried the new 9.1 yet), or Jamd Linux 0.0.6B (which is basically Red Hat with i686 optimization but not as bloated). I use both regulary. Welcome to the world of linux!!!!
Click to expand...

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I don't think that this guy is trying to get a computer science ph.d using his Linux box. In that case, he would probably be better off working with one of the more consumer friendly distros. I could be wrong though.....

Just because something is more GUIfied 😉 doesn't mean that it's all that bad. You make it sound as if Mandrake and Red Hat are almost completely non-functional, but the thruth is that, unless they want to learn Linux from the school of hard knocks, most people switching from windows want something that just works. And I think Slackware might be a bit of a letdown to him in the "hype" department 😛.
 
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