05/02/2005 - We hope you find this information and the resource links helpful. We have included links to some of the resources that we use to help us to keep up to date with Linux developments, or that helped get us get up to speed with Linux. We also dropped you a few tips along the way.
Once installed, Linux is very easy to use (even for Gran!), and you probably won't want to trouble yourself with installation details unless you're a computer enthusiast; however there's still plenty of material that might interest you - especially the information on using Linux GUI Desktops and general information about Free Software.
Before you spend hours of time here reading technical information, if you just want to use Linux, its probably better to find someone who can install it properly for you. Although Linux is in our view easier to install than Windows
(the author has installed Windows in the order of 5000 times!),
installing an operating system is a technical job - it's not like
installing a word processor or graphics program for instance, so not
everyone is capable of doing it.
We provide a professional Linux installation service, ranging from
about $50 for a straight forward solo installation, to about $100 for a more
complex one sharing the PC with Windows.
If you're adventurous, and
installing Linux yourself for the first time, be clearly aware of the
difference between the Linux Operating System, its Desktop Environment
and User Applications; be aware also of the sheer volume and
complexity of professional software applications included in a typical
distribution. This will help you understand the installation process
much better, and help explain also, why a Linux installation looks a bit daunting.
Perhaps an analogy is in order. Linux the operating system, is something like a super sophisticated, multi-user, multi-tasking, multi-language, super secure version of DOS (think Space Shuttle as opposed to Model T Ford).
The Desktop Environment which has similarities to Windows (as the user sees things), is the windowing interface to Linux seen by most ordinary users, and is typically Gnome, or KDE.
The User Applications are the programs like Open Office, The Gimp, Evolution, Apache, Samba and Scribus - there are literally thousands of them available, probably hundreds are with the distribution, and most are Free Software like Linux itself.
Confusion often arises for new users from a Windows background because a Linux Distribution CD typically contains all three of these classes of software, unlike a Windows installation CD which contains only the first two. In Windows these are somewhat abnormally inseparable like siamese twins, giving a false impression of the operating system and the desktop environment normally being a single monolithic entity. Viewed from a preconceived Windows user perspective then, the Linux Distribution probably looks like a family of multiheaded monsters!
It may help to take a highly simplified view of a Linux system as a hand, a glove and a shovel paradigm. The Linux OS is the hand that guides all the work, the Desktop Environment is the glove that more comfortably guides the shovel, while the User Application is the shovel that actually does the work.
In Linux, unlike in Windows, you can swap the glove for a different type - eg a Gnome glove or a KDE glove as you prefer - and use either to work with the shovel; ie with Open Office or the other applications. Often, Gnome, KDE and even other Desktop Environments are installed simultaneously - you can then choose at login time which you wish to use.
Windows doesn't begin to look anything like a Linux Distribution until you have also installed several thousand dollars worth of applications software. Just imagine installing 50 to 100 User Applications at the same time you installed Windows! You'd be lucky if it took less than a full day! How many hundred discs would there be? And how many registration numbers would you have to put in? How many times would you need to reboot the system?
Suddenly a typical 3 or 4 CD Linux Distribution installation looks very sophisticated; on a modern computer, it does all the installation of itself, its desktops and applications in about 20 to 40 minutes, virtually automatically, then just one start (no restarts) and you can use the system - office programs, publisher, graphics, you name it, ready to go!
Before
you start on technical documentation, you
should know that Linux has been advancing at a very rapid pace
and some old documentation is still hanging around on the web. If
something
doesn't sound right - eg the default upper memory limit for most Linux
kernels is 64MB - then you know that particular documentation is quite
old. (Of
course current versions of Linux address by default much more,
currently typically 1GB. The Linux Kernel is actually able to access
memory into the TeraByte range)
Philosophy of the GNU Project - Find out why Free Software is free, why everyone can use it, share and copy it, what social issues are involved and how you can help. You may wish to read The GNU Free Software Definition so you know exactly what free software is.
GUI or Desktop Environment - New Users who had Linux installed for them probably don't need to go beyond this documentation for quite a long time. Direct links - Gnome User's Guide or KDE User's Guide More advanced users will find this useful too.
Introduction to Linux A Hands On Guide - Very useful if you want a good overall view of Linux, but too technical if you just want to use Linux like Windows.
The Linux Documentation Project - For HOWTO's (how to do something) and FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions). Ranges from easy to very technical. Can be hard to find the information you want.
LinuxCommand.org - if you need to do something at the command line.
The Linux Administrators Guide - very helpful for more technically oriented users
The Network Administrators Guide - very helpful for more advanced technically oriented users
In Linux speak, the "Desktop Environment" is the part that works and looks rather like Windows, only in Linux you get a choice as to the style of desktop you prefer. There are quite a few window managers available for Linux, but Gnome and KDE are the most widely used complete desktop environments.
If you want to use Linux much like most people use Windows then you
mostly only need to learn how to use the desktop you are going to use
and can forget about the much more technical underbelly of Linux.
Don't try to download Gnome or KDE; they don't work separately, but on
top of Linux, and come properly configured with a Linux Distribution. Downloads are provided for very advanced users who want to use the latest version or experiment.
About Gnome Gnome User's Guide Gnome Home
About KDE KDE User's Guide KDE Home
If you want to install Linux, you need to decide which distribution you would like to use. A distribution is more or less a particular style of configuration of Linux and usually includes a particular selection of user applications like wordprocessors and spreadsheets. There are many to choose from and we provide for your convenience links to 10 of the most popular. See the "Tips" below if you're thinking about downloading Linux for the first time!
We currently use and teach Mandrake 10.1 which is easy for newcomers, however we encourage you to make your own choice.
Debian Fedora Gentoo Knoppix Linspire Mandriva Mepis Ubuntu Slackware SuSe Xandros
You can find out heaps more about Linux Distributions at DistroWatch
Before you
download! Linux is fun, but maybe not if
you make unnecessary problems for yourself. If you can confidently
install any version of Windows on any PC and rectify any problems that
might arise then you will probably be able to do the same with Linux,
provided you read the documentation. If that doesn't sound like you,
you're probably better off to get someone who knows what they're doing
to do it for you. Let's face it - very few people install Windows
themselves - Linux is no different in that respect!
Depending on your Internet connection
speed and costs, shelling out about $5 per CD for prepared copies might
be a smarter move than downloading.
You need to download the iso images. The
iso image is not copied to the CD as a file, but literally byte for
byte like a CD is copied. There should be an option in your burner
software to create CD's from iso images.
Install ALL the documentation at install time - that's very easy - you
just tick a box. Otherwise, until you know what you're doing how will
you be able to install new software, like the documentation, unless of
course you can read the documentation first!