[oclug] Newbie Question

[Robert Brockway]

On Tue, 5 Apr 2005, Frederick Emrich, Editor, info-commons.org wrote:

> I am a strong supporter of the *idea* of OS, but although I am not afraid of

Hi Frederick.  Just to start it is better to start a new thread rather 
than reply to someone elses.  Many of us use threaded news readers these 
days and it is more likely a thread will be missed if it is connected to 
the end of another unrelated thread.  It also annoys some people.  Thus a 
response may be less likely.

Also regarding the term OS, this means "operating system".  An operating 
system is a collection of software tools used to manage a computers 
resources.  Thus Microsoft Windows 2000 is an operating system, and so is 
Linux (to which this list is devoted, and I believe you are asking about).

> technology or of computer tinkering, neither am I by any means completely
> comfortable with it either. I'm tired of the deficiencies of MS products and
> very interested in trying OS in my personal computer, but I also need to be
> sure that my computer lets me get my work done--long learning curves would
> be a big problem.

Of course - ultimately a computer is a tool.  If you can't achieve what 
you need to achieve then it would not be useful.

Fortunately you can setup your computer to boot with Linux and Microsoft 
Windows alternatively (there is also software to allow you to run both but 
we won't go there yet).  This allows you to dip your toes in the water 
without committing fully.  Many people continue to use both Linux and 
Microsoft Windows on the same computer over the long term.  I use Linux 
virtually exclusively (I only touch Microsoft Windows when I need to to 
fix a client system).

> So I am considering a move to OS and looking for information that is aimed
> at a user like myself (no experience with software coding, but able to use a
> book to learn to do things like HTML, etc) that will describe:
> 
> 1) Whys and why nots of OS software

Here's the big question :)  Many articles online cover this sort of thing 
so I'll just cover this briefly.

1. It is free.  This is more than about money.  It means freedom is many 
   difference senses of the word. This doesn't preclude people selling it 
   though (this is a big topic).

2. It is flexible.  The main reason I dumped Microsoft on my computers 11 
years ago was that the operating system seems to have so many implicit 
assumptions built into it about how I wanted to use a computers.  They got 
many of the assumptions wrong (for me).

IMHO, the longevity of Unix (a family of operating systems that work the 
same way, that includes Linux) is that they avoid making assumptions about 
how to use a computers.  Sure there are some assumptions but they are kept 
to a minimum.

> 2) How to install

Normally you download or buy a distrobution of Linux and install it off 
CDs as you would Microsoft Windows.  In the old days installing any 
operating system presumed significant knowledge of computer hardware - now 
little or no knowledge of this is required.

> 3) What to do when things don't work

The first thing to do is to look at online resources.  You'd be amazed at 
how many documents have been written to help you sort out Linux related 
problems.  Others can give their favourite sites.  http://www.linuxdoc.org 
is a great place to start.

If you try to figure out the problem but can't, then come to the list.  
Sometime new users need to virtually start at a list like this as they 
don't yet know which information to look up to solve their problem.

> I have been poking around for a while and found material that claims to do
> these things, but none of it has seemed to me to succeed effectively enough
> to get me to take the OS plunge. Can anyone direct me to sources (books,
> websites, articles--hey! I'd even take a course) they recommend for someone
> in my position?

I'd recommend visiting OCLUG talks.  Meeting face to face is a great way 
to get answers to questions about distributions, etc.

I've only really skimmed the serface here and covered a number of topics 
that are each huge.

I'd add more but I need to leave for a business meeting soon :)

Cheers,
	Rob

-- 
Robert Brockway B.Sc.
Senior Technical Consultant, OpenTrend Solutions Ltd.
Phone: +1-416-669-3073 Email: rbrockway at opentrend.net http://www.opentrend.net
OpenTrend Solutions: Reliable, secure solutions to real world problems.
Contributing Member of Software in the Public Interest (http://www.spi-inc.org)