Posted: 12/8/2004 6:15:04 PM EDT
|
On an old computer, just for fun to learn about it. I am a complete Newb, but messed around with Unix in the late 80's.. Anything I should watch out for? 'Course I am surfing ARFCOM while the other machine is doing it's thing. Echap |
Red Hat Ver 9 (borrowed disks from the IT guy at work) Loading in on my old AMD K62-500 So far so good, it says 36mins remain. |
|
Welcome to the dark side. Couple months and you will be able to retire from the Microsoft army altogether. RedHat is a good start, as someone else suggested Mandrake is also a good learning tool. RedHat is also quite powerful once you get the hang of it. I've ran everything from Slackware to Debian to Solaris and Gentoo, but my Linux of choice now is Fedora Core 2. It is the (not so) new project by some of the RedHat dev team. Still ironing out some kinks, but I've found it to be the best all around Linux for compatibility with my peculiar set of hardware and also the wonderful free resources that only Linux can provide. You asked for tips, well, here are a few.Take it a step at a time, when you're just getting started with Linux. You will learn something new every day, from the moment you start until the day you stop using Linux. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed. It's an easy thing to do when working with Linux. The graphical interface might somehow remind you of Windows, but the engine underneath is completely different. Think piston engine vs rotary engine (RX-7 and 8). Two completely different approaches to achieve the same end result. Few things any Linux user should know. Man pages are your friend (no, not that kind). If you're curious about a command, you can type 'man grep' for example, and it will explain what grep is, and the proper syntax to make it work for you. It's a foot in the door. Also, vi is your friend. It is the universal text editor for just about every unix or linux based system. I suggest you familiarize yourself with it, once you get the hang of logging in and all that  . LinuxQuestions.org Excellent resource for learning about Linux, and the many ways you can use it to make your computer more enjoyable. I can be found using the same name there. In closing, you made a great choice with Linux, and if you have any questions, feel free to IM me or email. |
|
I hear you! Though, I don't think people really try too hard to force their distro onto other people. I use SuSE 9.0 Pro, though, I'm not one to reccomend anything to anyone (I love it, but that's just me). I don't have experience with other stuff, but overall, I've had an easy time. I haven't used my Linux box in about 5 months, I gutted it to save my Dad's computer. Linux is easy, installing shit is the hardest part of all. Use Opera as an internet browser, learn mouse gestures, and I guarentee you'll be quicker than you could ever be with IE. I love being able to close everything and then open to where I left off, with all two dozen windows still on the same page... though, I've been using Windows for the past 6 months, I'm going to put my Linux box back together during Christmas break. I used both at the same time, Windows for games and random stuff, Linux for browsing, email and other communicating. I tried a lot of the GUIs, I always fell back to KDE. I suggest starting with KDE or Gnome. Maybe play around with the others... Blackbox is interesting, though, I couldn't get used to it. |
|
I've installed various flavors of linux on several computers. If you want to try linux on a computer without installing, you can get a reasonable approximation by using one of the bootable CD distributions, like Knoppix (www.knoppix.net). Definitely read the shortcuts FAQ first, because you will want to start it at your normally preferred screen resolution. Ask me if you want to know how to do that (it's easy). What I'm struggling with right now is configuring linux to work on older computers by removing some of the glitz and glam that is packed into most new distributions. Many distros seem to fall in the Microsoft trap of assuming that you'll be working on really recent hardware. I really just want something that runs as well on my old hardware as Windows 95 did. It's fun. I may yet make the switch altogether, but I do have a certain irrational attachment to Windows. I learned DOS and Windows from scratch, and now I'm older and it's not quite as easy to convince myself that my nights and weekends are spent well hacking an OS. Jim |
|
I worked on Xenix back in the late 80's on a 386-20. I did things back the that where amazing. I had a UNIX sys adm class way back when, and the instructor stated that you could learn something new about UNIX everyday for the rest of your life. I hope some of my UNIX memory comes back, I have not thought about it for over 15 years. My install disk 2 was bad last night, so I have secured another disk and will attempt to complete the insall tonight. Thanks for the input guys. I am looking forward to something new. Echap |