My initiation into linux was a little rocky: dialup over in the Middle East,
and I decided to brave the waters and try to install it. The 600+MB .iso
files were a bit daunting over dialup, and so I opted for the smallest .iso:
Gentoo's stage1 cd.

For the uninformed, this is a minimalist cd that drops you into a command
line and assumes that you can set up networking, etc from there.

A few months after that I tried out Mandrake Linux, and the difference was
drastic; it was easier to setup than when I had installed Windows XP!

Just a few months ago, my wife used my desktop (currently running Ubuntu
Linux), and decided to switch her laptop over. I personally would highly
recommend grabbing a Ubuntu CD and installing it for the beginner for 3
reasons:

1) It works as a Live CD; you don't need to destroy everything on your hard
drive (at first). If you tell your computer to boot from the CD you
downloaded instead of the hard drive, it'll run Ubuntu without touching any
of your data on the hard drive. When you're done, simply shutdown, eject the
CD, and resume operations on (presumably) Windows XP or similar. This
applies to all Live CDs.

2) It's well thought out & easy to navigate: try out the live CD and just
move around a bit; check out home folders, applications, etc. Everything
from the menus to the application divisions is simple and intuitive. My
wife, with little/no Linux experience, jumped right in. This applies to all
distributions of Linux that utilize GNOME.

For a similar ease but different style, some distributions use KDE (which is
what I started out with). Mandriva is a good quality distribution that uses
KDE by default. Or, Kubuntu is a KDE-default version of Ubuntu.

3) It's package-management system is second-to-none. This holds true for all
Debian-based distributions. The .deb is a standardized package format (you
will also see .rpm or .tar.gz being tossed about). .deb is wonderful in the
sense that if there are conflicts between programs, or dependencies, it will
sort it out, or
at least tell you of the issue. .rpm does this to some degree,
but personally I have had some negative experiences with it.
Other people may tell you otherwise. It really, in the end, is up to you.

4) Community support. You'll notice that most of the above are available in
other versions of Linux. Red Hat also uses GNOME, Knoppix is a Live CD,
Debian uses .deb files, but despite the calibre of documentation and
community with some others, I have only seen Ubuntu tied with one other
distribution: Gentoo. I would recommend Gentoo once you've been around the
block a couple times, but it's definately a difficult pill to swallow
initially.

Between forums, wikis, irc, mailing lists, etc, virtually every question I
have had or trouble spot I have hit has been dealt with, answered, or at
least guided me to the point where I can fix things myself. This is often
overlooked, but it is as valuable a part of the operating system as any
piece of software.

Books are helpful, as are tutors, but as I'm finding right now (learning the
IBM AS/400 machines/OS atm) there is no comparison to hands-on learning. All
of us on the list are available for answering questions, and don't feel
pressured to take my advice (regarding Ubuntu) if another distribution has
triggered your curiosity.

All the best, fellow wanderer

                   -jordan




On 8/14/06, Tipsy-in_Chicago Tipsy <tipsy_in_chicago at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I am an absolute newbie to the world of Linux. I am interested in
> developing linux administrative skills.
>
> Is self learning the best route? If so, any books that will be helpful?
>
> I am also open to taking classes.
>
> Kindly, get back to me with the best approach.
>
>
> Thanks
>
> KT
>
>
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