I will try and
show you how easy and simple getting started with Linux
can be. At the top of this page is a history section
to learn of its origin and how it is the backbone for
the internet (along with Unix). You don't think the
internet runs on Windows do you? There are reasons for
this.
Linux is free,
its is under the GPL (General Public Licence). Meaning
its source code is open to everyone to see, so with
people all around the world working on it and patching
it- there is less issues and no holes as there is in
"Windows". People collaborate then submit
there findings to large distributors such as 'RedHat,
Mandrake, SuSe' and many others. These companies look
at the fixes and apply all the good ones to there next
distribution. This is one reason a hacker has a much
less chance of getting into your system. Along with
patched holes, Linux does not have a registry like Windows.
The registry is one of the main reasons Windows crashes,
locks-up, corrupts itself and needs to be rebooted time
to time. Linux can be such a small OS that it can fit
on a 1.44 floppy disk. Linux probably runs a lot of
your house-hold items such as your Tivo, PlayStation,
Linksys WiFi router and Satellite receiver. How would
you like your DVD player to be running on Windows? I
didn't think so..
You can "buy"
Linux (if you can't download the CD's), but usually
your just buying the documentation, support, materials
and supporting a good cause.
Here
is a picture of what to expect when you run Linux
today. (taken from SuSe 9.0)
Recommended
Distributions
Many people want to try Linux, but do not want to re-partition
there hard drives and install. Well, there are many
"distro's" out there that don't need to be
installed. Just take a look at the recommended distributions
I have listed here. Some are for specialized purposes
and some just run off the CD. Choose one (or many) that
fits your tastes and needs. When you download an .ISO
file (image of a cd file) you need to burn it to a CD.
This does not mean dragging and dropping the file to
a blank CD. Most burning software can handle .ISO files
today, but if you don't have software that does just
get ISOrecorder
(scroll to Download). Install this software, then after
the .ISO image is done downloading, just put a blank
CD-R into your burner and right-click the .ISO
and say "burn to CD". After it burns (make
many copies and give them out to friends) you can throw
away the large .ISO file.
There are
MANY more types of Linux out there, however I only talk
about the ones I have tested, liked and would recommend.
----Live
CD's (no
install required)
in order of "ease of use"----
Knoppix
Linux: (debian)
Does
not install. Runs off CD-ROM. Perfect for beginners.
Good for firewall, router or "play" (your
system doesn't even need a hard drive). Screenshot:
Knoppix is
one that I would highly recommend to somebody who just
"wants to try" or is new to Linux. Just download
the .ISO
and burn it to a CD. Now to use it, just put the CD
in your CD tray, and reboot. You are now in linux (assuming
your PC is set to "boot from CD", if not,
that needs to be changed in the BIOS). Remove CD, and
reboot to get back to Windows.
To get to KDE
(your desktop) just type in: knoppix
screen=1024x768 (if that's the
rez you want)
Look at the cheat
sheet for all easy commands to get you going.
Just
like Knoppix, does not install. Just boot from the CD
-your in SuSe Linux. Great for beginners. SuSe is a
very popular/easy to use distro. Screenshot:
Suse has been
around for a long time. This version is good for people
just wanting to try Linux, yet not wanting to install.
Just download the bootable .ISO,
burn it and boot to it. To get back to Windows just
take out the CD and reboot.
The
"Live Mandriva CD". Does not install, runs
off CD and perfect for beginners. Use a USB ThumbDrive
to save your data.Move also
allows you too remove the live CD and insert another
CD = really cool. Screenshot:
Mandriva. We
all love it. Now with there "live" version
out. Get your .ISO and boot from the CD-ROM. Re-boot
to get back to windows. Comes with the latest software
(NVidia drivers, Acrobat Reader, RealPlayer, FlashPlayer).
As with all the "live" versions it doesn't
require a hard drive. Get your .ISO.
Does
not install. Runs off CD-ROM. Based on Slackware. This
is my favorite of the bunch. Screenshot:
Slax is a very
light weight live CD distro. This is a modular distribution.
Meaning you download the .ISO,
then download the MySlax
Creator. Once this is installed and you have the
ISO ready to go - just start looking at all the killer
modules
(packages) that you want. Just add or subtract software
that you need - then burn your CD. I have installed
SLAX by using the very easy to use installer in the
GUI. This distro is what my SAMBA/FTP server runs off
of (HP dual Proc Net server box). Slax based live CD's
are the fastest live CD's out there.
Runs
off CD-ROM or installs. Perfect for beginners. Knoppix
based flavor, however allowing you to install modules
at will. Screenshot:
Morphix is derived
from Knoppix which is from Debian. This distro is a
bit smaller (190MB) than Knoppix however still "full
featured". Morphix allows you to install modules
one at a time to customize your operating system. It
can be installed very easily to the hard drive, or just
used as a live CD. Take a look at the different types
they offer, many to choose from. Get your .ISO
and give them a try.
Does
not install. Runs off CD-ROM. Perfect for beginners.
Knoppix- with an emphasis on "information security
tools". Screenshot:
STD is Knoppix.
However it has some advanced features for network security
administrators and hackers.. Just download the .ISO,
burn to CD and boot into STD. I liked this distribution
and use it on my laptop. Has great support for WiFi
based cards and offers "other tools".
To get to KDE
(your desktop) just type in: knoppix
screen=1024x768 (if that's the
rez you want)
Look at the cheat
sheet for all easy commands to get you going.
Does
not install. Runs off CD-ROM. Based on Slackware. This
is my favorite of the bunch. (as is Slax) Screenshot:
Wolvix
is a very light weight live CD distro. This is a modular
distribution. Meaning you download the .ISO, then download
the MySlax
Creator. Once this is installed and you have the
ISO ready to go - just start looking at all the killer
modules
(packages) that you want. Just add or subtract software
that you need - then burn your CD. Wolvix is based on
Slax but uses a different X desktop. Very fast and very
customizable.
Does
not install. Runs off CD-ROM. Perfect for beginners+.
Just like Morphix, however an emphasis on "information
security tools". Screenshot:
Phlak: [P]rofessional
[H]acker's [L]inux
[A]ssault [K]it. Debian
based, and easy to run. Very fast and stable. Just like
Mophix, Phlak allows you to install to the hard drive
or run the live CD. Works great with USB devices. This
is defiantly one you will want in your disto collection.
Get your .ISO
and get "security testing".
Does
not install. Runs off CD-ROM (or thumbdrive). Perfect
for beginners+. Based on Knoppix, just smaller. Screenshot:
DSL is a very
small Linux, deriving from Knoppix it does not install
to your hard drive. Download the .ISO,
burn to CD and boot. Once on your desktop, right-click
to open programs. Since this is a very small distro,
it will run smooth on an older PC. DSL can also be installed
to a USB
thumbdrive and booted/ran from this. To do this-
Download the .ISO, burn it to a CD, then just drag and
drop the files to the thumbdrive from the CD. You must
have a 64MB or larger thumbdrive, and the PC's you take
it too must be able to boot from "other devices"
via the BIOS. I like this one.
To get to KDE
(your desktop) just type in: knoppix
screen=1024x768 (if that's the
rez you want)
Look at the cheat
sheet for all easy commands to get you going.
Full
install Operating System. Similar to Mandrake or Redhat.
One of the best Distro's out there. Great for beginners.
Dual boot, or replaces Windows (MAC). Screenshot:
And full featured
Linux Distro. Jammed pack with all the latest software
and utilities. My hope is that it will take over the
business market that RedHat has. Very easy to use, graphical
installation. Download the .ISO's,
(again the extra CD's are added free software) burn
them, and boot from CD 1. It will walk you through the
installation. This is my favorite fully
installable distro. Here is the comparison chart between
Pro/Personal
and 64bit.
You can try to get the .ISO's from Suse,
but as of now they do not offer full ISO's of Suse 9.0.
If you don't want to wait - try newsgroups or I can
send CD's.
Full
install with a lot of free software. Very clean/easy
to install. Great for beginners. Dual boot with Windows
or replacement of Windows (MAC). Screenshot:
Mandrake has
been around for a long time, with it's ease of installation
and use. If there is a Linux that will replace Windows
for the home user, Mandrake is it. Set it up to dual
boot with Windows, or install as a stand-alone. The
system requirements for Linux in general is very low,
Mandrake will run very well on an older machine. Just
download the .ISO's.
The other CD's are extra software and applications.
Burn to CD, and boot -go through the walk-through.
For
Macintosh computers. Fully installs. Comes with all
the latest software. Great for beginners on MAC. Dual
boot with MAC OS or replace MAC OS. Screenshot:
I must say I
was very impressed with this one. I obtained an IMac
333Mhz computer. Not liking any MAC OS, I searched for
a good Linux distro instead. Finding YellowDog Linux
was like finding the "Holly Grail". Very easy
to install, and is friendly when dual-booting with the
MAC OS. Grab the .ISO
and burn to CD. Any linux distro that is called PPC
(power PC) is for the MAC. Mandrake and others offer
"PPC" versions, but they can't touch this
dog. Full software is included. Now, go out and
get a real OS on that MAC.
A large
full Linux distro that comes packed with many tools
and software. Dual boot or replaces Windows. Screenshot:
I have testing
this distro and have had good luck with it. It's really
close to Mandrake or Suse. Installation is very smooth
and easy enough for a beginner. Setting Fedora up as
a single OS or dual boot with Windows is simple. Get
your three .ISO's
and add this to your collection.
Full
install Operating System. A lot of software- many CD's.
Dual boot or replaces Windows (MAC). Screenshot:
Debian has been
around for a long time. It uses the latest Linux kernel
and a lot of people have taken Debian itself and created
distro's of Linux (Knoppix, Damn Small). Very stable
OS, full featured. Great to have and to learn on. It's
a must for the collection. Latest release is 3.0
1 . Grab your PC
.ISO's , or MAC
.ISO's. Once you have your CD's, here is the installation
setup. PC
- MAC.
Good
for a very old PC. Full install OR run from CD (depending
on which you choose to download) Screenshot:
Vector is geared
toward very old PC's. Of course working on newer PC's
as well. So, If you have an old 286 PC, this one is
for you. You can grab the full install .ISO
or just the "live eval" .ISO. This one is
not as easy to install as the rest. It seems much like
"Peanut linux" during install. However is
made to keep your 1980's PC still going with full software
and a good package all around. The SOHO version is if
you have a larger hard drive, and comes with the most
software.
Full
install distro. Much like Peanut, with a lot of software
like OpenOffice by getting the second CD. Dual boot
or replaces Windows. Screenshot:
SOT has been
around since 1991, the time linux was born. You can
get the Desktop CD or the Server CD. Each one has a
secondary CD with extra software. This is like our next
distro's on this list, however the desktop and server
applications have been separated into different CD's.
Grab your .ISO's.
A small
distro that installs to your hard drive with full software,
dual boot or replaces Windows. Screenshot:
Peanut Linux
starts our journey to a full install distribution. This
one is small but yet gives you the latest in software.
Just download the .ISO
and burn to CD. Boot from the CD, and go through the
setup. It walks you through step-by-step, and allows
you to setup a dual-boot system with Windows. This is
a nice/small/easy to use flavor of Linux.
Runs
off CD-ROM or install to HDD, thumbdrive, CF card and
Flash. Very small yet "fun". The full installation
may not be best for beginners. Screenshot:
Puppy Linux
can be ran from many devices. Unlike the "live
CD" versions of Knoppix and SuSe , Puppy throws
itself into RAM once booted and therefore is faster.
You can install this to CD and boot from it just like
the previous distributions, but this has more options
of "devices" to install it too. Puppy currently
does not support USB mice or keyboards. The size is
only 48MB, so your thumbdrive
or CF card will need to be 64MB in size. Your PC should
have at least 128MB RAM to run inside, since this run
all in RAM. You can install Puppy to a hard drive if
you decide to download that flavor. It comes with a
lot of software for it's tiny size. Check out there
site.
Small
distribution designed to act as firewall/gateway. (would
replace your Linksys router) Screenshot:
If you read
my XP Tweak then you heard about Smooth
Wall. Basically, you can take a very old PC and
install Smooth on it. Set it up to network your other
PC's (MAC's), then disconnect the mouse/keyboard and
monitor - and never touch it again while leaving it
on all the time - 24/7. Until it's time to make changes
to your network, you wouldn't have to touch it. Just
get the .ISO and burn it to CD.
Small
distribution designed to act as a meida box. "Live
CD" no hard drive needed. Screenshot:
This little
4MB distribution is very cool. Boot from the CD, it
starts up and kicks out the Geekbox CD. Then you place
and play: DVD, VCD, SVCD, Divx, XviD, RealMedia, Windows
Media, MP3, WAV, AC3. .MOV, and Ogg media Cd's. Very
fast and I was very impressed. This is perfect
for those of us who have a Mini-ITX motherboard.
Playback is smooth. Get you .ISO
now.
I have created
a new .ISO with "extra codecs". This one is
6.13MB. I also changed the theme. Get it here.
Small
distribution designed to act as firewall/gateway (would
replace your Linksys router). Like SmoothWall. Screenshot:
"IPCop
implements existing technology, secure programming practices
and outstanding new concepts to make it ‘the’
Linux Distribution for protecting single home computers,
to large corporate networks from intrusions and attacks.
Whether for your home, or SOHO, IPCop will scale to
fit your needs. IPCop has even been rumoured to be implemented
and protecting larger, more complex networks too."
Get you .ISO.
22MB.
"SystemRescueCd
is a linux system on a bootable cdrom for repairing
your system and your data after a crash. It also aims
to provide an easy way to carry out admin tasks on your
computer, such as creating and editing the partitions
of the hard disk." Screenshot:
If you need
to repartition, save a failed drive this is a very powerful
tool made to take the replacement of "buying"
expensive proprietary software to do the same tasks.
Very elegant, easy to use. Runs as a "live CD".
Grab an .ISO
near you. For MAC and PC's.
"The most
GNU/Linux on one floppy disk" A minimal distro
that fits onto one floppy disk. Bootable and used for
recovery and many other useful tools. Everything from
Telnet to fdisk.
For
DreamCast, X-Box, PlayStation and Playstation 2. Not
for beginners.
If you have
an old game console laying around, chances are you can
install Linux on them. Some are for firewall's, some
are for web-surfing and some are just for fun.
Dreamcast
Linux Distro: This seems really cool. Although I
cannot test this, due to the fact that I've never had
any Sega product in my house. This may be the answer
to the dead consol. Here
is a good site with tutorials and walk-troughs.
X-Box
Linux Project: Again, cannot test myself but seems
to be popular. Since the X-Box has a HDD and network
adaptor, this should be very cool.
RU.nix:
and Blackrhino
Linux: RU seems they are getting ready
for a distribution very soon, aimed at the PlayStation
1. Blackrhino is aimed at the PlayStation
2, along with the developer kit (with the 40GIG HDD).
This hard drive is now available as a "standard"
on the PS2.
Linux
on handheld's:
For
IPaQ, iPod and more. Not for beginners.
So far Sharp
is really the only company to release a hand held Linux
system. Don't let that stop you from enjoying Linux
on your PDA. Head over to HandHeld.org
for information on how you can wipe yourself clean of
Microsoft and Apple. I have yet to try these, and this
is not going to be for the "Linux newbie",
but check it out.
If you need
Linux CD's of any kind and do not/cannot download them,
I can send them to you. The charge is $2.00 per CD -
free shipping. Let me know what distro your looking
for and how many CD's you want:
E-Mail me. However, please try to obtain the CD's
from there respectable site - support them first.
Installation:
Installing
Linux can very from distro to distro. Please read each
Linux's information individually. I will try and show
you the most common questions and concerns that come
up during an install. If you have any of the "Live
CD" types, you can skip this section and move on
to "Running Linux".
1)
Now you have your CD(s) and are ready to go. The next
step is to make sure your PC can boot from CD. You can
just put CD1 of your Linux in the CD drive, and reboot.
If it does not boot from the CD, you will have to check
in your BIOS settings for boot-options. Most
BIOS's can be accessed when first turning on your PC
and hitting a special key that will be either Esc,
F1, F2 or DEL.
Some older motherboards will not allow you to boot from
CD. So you can go over to Bootdisk.com
and grab a floppy booter.
2)
Next, we need a partition to install Linux too. At this
point we could either dual-boot with Windows, or install
Linux all by itself. Since you are reading this, I'm
going to assume you want to dual-boot with Windows.
However, both installs are about the same. If you only
have one physical hard drive with one large partition
you just need some free space. I usually give Linux
anywhere from 4 to 9 GIG's of space, depending on which
distro you want to install. Look at there sites and
decide about how much room you will need. This boils
down to - how much of the extra software do you plan
on installing. During installation you have these options.
If not installing Suse, Mandrake
or Redhat, try to use a PS2 keyboard during install.
Some disto's may not understand USB during install.
Or make sure
"USB support for DOS" is enabled in the BIOS.
3)
Now that we decided how large our install will be, we
need to create this "partition". Partitioning
just means we are going to 'break" a large hard
drive into segments. For instance- if you have a 20GIG
hard drive, we will make two 10GIG drives out of it
(C:, D:). Before creating any partition, make sure you
defrag your Windows to lay all the files close together
like they should be. You can grab a copy of Partition
Magic, they offer great and easy partitioning while
in Windows. Or grab the free
version of partition magic here.
Or a lot of Linux distro's have this built in. I can't
speak for all, but Mandrake does. Just boot from the
Mandrake CD1, and it will let you partition in a nice
"GUI". Then reboot once it's done with the
partitioning faze, and boot from the Linux of your choice
(or continue with Mandrake). If you just formatted your
hard drive and plan on doing a dual-boot system, just
use Windows XP installation for the partitioning. If
you downloaded SuSe or Mandrake, go ahead and boot up
with them. Most of the "big" distributions
have this partitioning feature.
Now we have
the "spot" that Linux can call home.
4)
Grab your CD's and lets get started. Drop your distribution
CD 1 in the CD tray, and re-boot. The first thing you'll
notice is a welcome screen and maybe a penguin. Don't
be scared, he is all powerful. You may have to hit enter
at a boot: prompt, or type in linux
then hit enter to start the install procedure
(depending on the distro you have). You will also notice
linux is gathering and configuring all your hard ware.
Windows does
all of this during boot-up as well. However, Linux is
being nice and actually SHOWING you if there is a problem
with a device/service.
5)Next,
you will be put into an installation setup. This setup
is going to be different for each type of Linux. Generally
you will be asked basic questions such as : select your
language, select your mouse and keyboard. To get an
idea of how Mandrake, SuSe and RedHat look: take a look
at the Mandrake
installer. This is exactly what you see during the
installation of Mandrake. Suse and RedHat are very similar
in there ease of use. Most of this I do not need to
go through, it's just a series of you answering questions.You
probably don't have any SCSI devices.
6)The
next "big-step" is the selection of where
Linux installs too. If you already made a clean partition
separate from Windows, Linux will see this. Linux will
also see your Windows partition (the one you want to
keep) as /mnt/windows. Linux is just
saying "hey, windows is mounted there and you
probably want that.. for now." If you did
not make a partition for Linux, watch this Mandrake
video. It is very simple to resize Windows. If you
do a basic install, I would recommend you let Linux
decide on it's partition. It will want three of them.
Just select the blank part and say "auto allocate".
Hey, Windows also uses a "swap file", but
very insufficiently puts this swap file on the same
partition as Windows. ~ bad practices ~
Remember that 1000MB's = 1 GIG
Here is a picture
of a person who moved Windows way over and
let Linux "auto allocate". Now there is three
(red,green) Linux partitions. Green
is the swap, / is the mount and /home
is your home.
7)Linux
may ask you if you want to use Lilo.sys or Grub. These
are just the interfaces you will use when booting you
PC. It's not going to really matter which you choose.
Here is a picture of somebody just turning on there
PC, and now has the option which Operating System to
choose from: (grub)
What I recommend
is setting the Windows to boot on default. Meaning,
if you turn on your PC and walk away - you'll be in
Windows. You can also select how many seconds it gives
you to select an OS.
8)The
next question you may have during installation is: "What
is Root"? Root or Power User
is the system admin. Look at Windows XP, they have the
"administrator", Linux and MAC have the root
user. Microsoft stole this account structure along with
"fast user switching". So during installation
it will prompt you too set up a root account. Once that
is done, you will set up your user accounts. While your
logged into 'root', you can make system and hardware
changes that standard user accounts do not have the
privilege to do. This is why root is
important.
9)During
this install, Linux will prompt you for the secondary
CD's (if you have a multi CD distro). These CD's are
usually extra software and applications. Which is really
cool if you have a large enough partition. It will ask
you what software you want to install. For the most
part it's not going to matter. Just take a good look
to see what is offered.They like to label them as "stations".
Such as: game station, internet station,
office workstation. et. They are just packs
of software in each "station". You can usually
customize this even further, let linux decide or select
all. Just think about what you want to use Linux for.
10)You
will see some words your not going to be familiar with.
KDE or Gnome will be your desktop environment.
Here is the icons for each one.
I personally
like KDE (K-Desktop) over Gnome. To each is his
own. If this is your first time using linux, go
with KDE. KDE has more support and applications out
there. The windows environment in general is called
"X-windows". X refers to the "GUI",
or your graphical environment. For a long time, Linux
was ran in the command line. So if you run "X",
you are running either KDE or Gnome. So when you see
"Configure X", you know that means 'configuring
your windows environment'. There are other
types of X, but they will not be discussed here.
11)Setting
up your internet connection will come up soon as well.
I personally use DHCP, because I have a router. If you
know your IP and subnet, enter them. Do not ever expect
to use linux with an internal phone modem. If a modem
is all you have, you can try to look at SuSe's or Mandrakes
website for more information. Or try to find a good
external modem that supports Linux.
'S
-Don't worry
about making bootdisk's.
-With some
older distro's, you may have to type in startx
to get to your desktop after you boot.
-Try to set
your resolution to 1024x768. Run it at 85Hz. This is
a good "default".
This
concludes installation. It really is strait forward.
If you don't understand something, usually the default
selection is safe and "good".Once your
up and running, come back here to get links to the distributions
page for help and information.
Running
Linux and How-to's:
Now we are up
and running with Linux. You will see a lot of icons
and words you may not be familiar with. Don't let this
get to you. I will list out the most common icons and
what they mean to us. These will be different for distributions,
and for KDE vs. Gnome. Each company might change some
to represent there company icon.
-Navigation-
- These are your Web
browsers. The first two are Mozilla -one old
version, one new. Mozilla is the one I like best. - This is
your "start" icon. Same as
hitting start in Windows. - This is your
icon for the Shell or Konsole. This is what you use
to run a command line. Similar to "command
prompt". - This is your
home directory. You go here to "explore
my computer" - This is K Mail.
Similar to "Outlook"
- These are Hard Drake. This is similar to "Device
Manager" - This is
OpenOffice. Similar to "Microsoft Office" - This is The
Gimp. Similar to "PhotoShop"
.
The bottom left icon is your "start" icon,
just like Windows. The default icon in KDE is
. Distributions change this icon, but it's still the
same function. Some also change the location of the
"tool bar". Just like in Windows, you can
change this to your liking. Just drag and drop as you
would in XP.
.
File structure is like "explorer". You will
be using Konqueror to
"explore my computer", or use it as a web-browser.
Just like in Windows "explorer" - you use
explorer to explore my computer and use "internet
explorer" for the web.
.
In some types
of Linux they set the mouse for "single click"
and some are set for "double click". Just
like in windows, you can change this. Just go to hard
drake
and configure your mouse. You may have to give your
"root" password to make changes.
.
Right-clicking is just as friendly as Windows. Try it
out, see what you can do.
At this point
just explore and try things out. Take a look at all
the software you now have. Cut and paste and drag and
drop. Take a look at your distributions documentation
for information and "how-to's", as well as
"updates". Open your web browser and play
with that as well. If you see name of applications that
you don't understand - go to Google and search with
those names.
-Installing
software-
Now that you
are more familiar with what your looking at, we can
move on to real changes by installing fun and useful
software. File types may be labeled differently that
what your used too, but are very similar in most cases.
First, let's look at some common file types.
.gz
, .tar , .tgz
and .tbz
- These file types are just like "winzip"
or .ZIP files on the PC. Usually referred to as a "tarball".
Depending on your linux distro, you generally just double-click
and choose "extract all". Then select where
to extract the files. It will then "unzip"
the files to a location where you specified. Generally
all in one folder, and therefore you can throw away
the "zip" file itself.
.bin
, .rpm-
These are executable files. Much like ".EXE"
files on Windows.
.gif
, .jpg
, .png ,
.xpm
- These are your image files. Much like "jpg's
,tiff's and gif's".
As you can see
there are different file associations, but it's really
all the same. If you find a file type that you just
can't figure out - google for it or
go to RedHat.
When you download
a new program (isn't this fun not having to BUY software?
) just save it to the desktop. Once you "unzip"
it, look in the folder it created. The folder will come
with a 'readme' or some type of instructions. Follow
there instructions and you'll be on your way.
.Linux
uses file structures just a little bit different that
Windows. Take a look at hardware. Linux will see your
ethernet card as eth0. In computer
language, the number "0" means the primary
one. So, eth1 is your secondary ethernet
card. Since an ethernet is a device, it is in the device
folder. So your primary ethernet card is /dev/eth0.
Hard drives are the same structure, hda
is your primary "physical hard drive", hda0
is your primary partition on the primary hard drive.
So if you see something like this: /dev/hda2
, you know that is your primary hard drive - on the
third partition. (remember 0 is primary). To learn in
depth about file structure and linux in general, please
head on over to Goosee.
-Kernel-
Some drivers
or installers want you to update the Kernel.
The kernel is just the "base" of the Operating
System. It sits between the your hardware and the graphical
interface your using. You can simply update your kernel.
This is how new Linux distributions are made. You can
strip out a lot of the OS, or add in some features.
To edit your kernel go to:
cd /usr/src/linux
make mrproper make menuconfig (or config)
Next, it's going
to ask you a series of questions. Use the arrow keys
to cycle threw, and tab to select items at the bottom.
Use enter to open windows. Use the "y" button
to say Yes, the "n" button to say No. Try
things out, but if your not sure about certain modules
to add or subtract, just leave it as "Y".
Try to get your kernel smaller by subtracting items
that you know are safe to get rid of. You can always
use "?" if your not sure what something is.
Hey, messing up is the only way to learn. :)
Once your done,
type in: make dep; make clean
"Make
clean" is just so you make a copy of the kernel.
This way it's not going to over-write the original kernel
(in case there is a problem). Once that is done;
type in: make
zImage .Just like it sounds. This will compile
the kernel that you just made.This may take
a while. Once that is done;
type in:
make modules; make modules_install. This will install
your new kernel.
Now you have
made "your own Linux". Congrat's. For more
information about compiling or dependencies, head on
over to Recompile.org
and JustLinux.com
Go explorer.
I may add to this if I get requests
on certain Linux commonality questions.
There are many
linux books out there, however if your interested in
buying a book to learn Linux, or looking for the perfect
reference guide- I highly recommend
these ones. "TheBible"
is not just for RedHat, Linux
Power Tools is easy step-by-step
to tweak your system, Check'em out.
Head to TuxGames
and see what can be purchased for your gaming needs.
For information
dealing with games on Linux head to LinuxGames.
Check out HappyPenguin
for homemade games and then some.
Final
Words:
Now you know
the History of Linux and can choose the right distribution
that fits your needs. You can install Linux and configure
it as well. There is no reason not to be running Linux
on something. Linux is very flexible and always growing
everyday.
If you have
a child and you are contemplating getting them their
first PC; Please get them started off on the right
foot.
I leave
you with this.
This site
was designed to get you started on Linux. There is much
more out there. The problem is not that theres "not
enough information", the problem is "to much
information". This site was created to get you
started. I hope I have helped open your world to fun
and exciting computing. Take a look at the documents
that are free from the sites you downloaded Linux, some
even have forums you can venture into and ask questions.
Linux people are "nice". Don't be afraid.
Read
about a dyeing company named SCO. Hanging
from a business thread, they try to sue IBM (Linux users)
for false accusations. If you ever come across: SCO,
Caldera or Unix. Turn around and come back here.
SCO needs to find a real job.
If not installing Suse, Mandrake
or Redhat, try to use a PS2 keyboard during install.
Some disto's may not understand USB during install.
Or make sure
"USB support for DOS" is enabled in the BIOS.
- These are your Web
browsers. The first two are Mozilla -one old
version, one new. Mozilla is the one I like best.
- This is
your "start" icon. Same as
hitting start in Windows. 
- This is your
icon for the Shell or Konsole. This is what you use
to run a command line. Similar to "command
prompt".
- This is your
home directory. You go here to "explore
my computer"
- This is K Mail.
Similar to "Outlook"
- These are Hard Drake. This is similar to "Device
Manager" 
- This is
OpenOffice. Similar to "Microsoft Office"
- This is The
Gimp. Similar to "PhotoShop"
