New to Linux

[interlug-list]

On Mon, 2006-01-02 at 09:09, Joseph wrote:
> Hello everyone,
> First off I would like to wish everyone, all the best in 2006!
> I am new to Linux but I have been working with windows for about 10 years.
> I was wondering if I could get some pointers on the best place to start.
> There are some many versions of Linux, which one would you recommend?
> Also how about websites and books.
> You guys seem to know your stuff. Hopefully a beginner can ask these kind of
> questions here.
> Thanks in advance,
> Joseph

Hi Joseph,

Welcome and Happy New Year.  If you are new to Linux and an Old Hand at
Windows then the first thing you'll want to do is make sure all your Win
boxes are patched for the current WMF exploit.  Man oh man that thing is
scaring the weeblie jeeblies out of me!  

http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/
http://isc.sans.org/diary.php
http://secunia.com/advisories/18255/
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/181038
 
On to Linux.  

The best place to start, and the best version (often called a
"distribution" or "distro") of Linux to use, depends on many factors
including:

- how you intend to use it
- on what hardware
- do you prefer GUI or CLI
- do you prefer "tastes great" or "less filling"  

I'm not kidding.  There are as many different answers and motivations to
the "best distro" question as there are Linux users...  

The biggest motivation to drive you to an initial distro choice might be
this.  On whom will you rely for help when you need to make a 2AM phone
call to solve a problem?  Use the same distro that good friend is using
because, "If you are going to wake me up with your emergencies, you had
better be using stuff that I am intimately familiar with."  

Your "first distro" choice isn't all that critical.  After all, you can
change to another one (or three) and still the bulk of what you learned
will apply.  

This is still largely a non-answer-answer.  And I apologize.  The two
things that made the largest positive impact on my learning of Linux
are:  

- take an introductory Linux course like this one
http://ce.conestogac.on.ca/Course.asp?code=INFO1500
find one at your local school.
- attend your local LUG meetings.  Listen a lot.  Ask specific questions
of folks that have demonstrated knowledge.  

Once you have decided on a distro to try, you'll want to visit.

The official web site for that distro
The community supported web sites and or news site for that distro

The OS itself will be a minor portion of your day to day work.  you'll
also want to be familiar with the: 

Official web site of the software you use
Community support and news web sites of the software you use.

One final item.  Linux distros have made great improvements recently and
security/bug fixes are published every day.  Don't restrict yourself to
a five-year-old version of {Distro} just because you have it on CD.  Get
the newest version.  And start with a relatively new piece of hardware;
say, no older than four or five years old.  You don't want to try this
on a 486 and think "Gee KDE is slow" until after you have had a chance
to see it on a current machine.  

Best of luck and again, welcome.

P.S.  A bunch of posters will now chime in with "but _my_ choice of
${DISTRO} is always best.  But they are wrong.  Unless they say
"Kubuntu."  ;-)

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