image credit: Nicolas Rougier. Click the image for the other Baby Tux images.

The MakeUseOf guide is quite good, in my opinion. It goes straight to the point of what the newbie can do to start using a Linux distro. In this case, the writer has chosen Ubuntu as the distro, and there is also a guide on how to install it and how to get a copy of it. But the writer also mentioned about the existence of many other Linux distros. There are people who say that Ubuntu is not the most newbie friendly (but close enough). However, for the purpose of this guide, Ubuntu is a good example of what a new Linux user could do.

More information on TLDP’s guide to Linux

If you’re already comfortable to explore different aspects of Linux then it’s probably time to check out TLDP’s guide. It is regularly updated so there shouldn’t be worries that it is out of date, as compared with other Linux guides. I think this is one of the guides that you could come back to each time. This is a one stop shop (and document, in case you choose to download the PDF) for your Linux learning. There are even some bits of history included in this guide. This might feel too text-heavy for some but that could also be seen as an advantage for those who seek explanations and answers.

TLDP also has a cheat sheet focused on the command line stuff so check it out too.

Post from: New Linux User

At first there was wanting to make things look very familiar, like Windows…

After all, Linux is not Windows.

Because it was just really easier to get to go back to old ways or stick with something that’s comfortable. Comfortable is good enough for some people. But you see, it really depends on several factors:

• How lazy you could get. The comfortable might not be the best user interface for you. But you just haven’t thought about it yet. And you don’t really want to think about it anymore.
• How comfortable you really are and how you’d like to start getting comfortable with something new. You’d like to be more comfortable first and then you are open to other options later on. You just don’t want to panic while interacting with a new system yet.
• How overwhelming the choices are. There are too many options and too many choices, but they all look weird and you don’t like feeling weird. And you’re getting too lazy to check everything out there.
• How you are guided throughout this migration process. This is related to all of the above given points. After all, some people who have had friends closely keeping tabs on their migration process have someone who can/will answer questions. If not, they have someone who will experiment on new Linux desktop environments along the way.

If you think about it, migrating to Linux might feel scary or very uncomfortable. But others might think it’s something good and exciting. I guess that the key here is an attitude of learning. Someone who’s more of a learner could turn apprehension into an opportunity to have new experiences by experimenting on different user interface paradigms that’s available in the various window managers and desktop environments.

There are many guides and screenshots on the internet. Some of them might look interesting but too different from Windows. That’s ok. After all, Linux really is different from Windows. And the desktop environments and window managers that are available make it more interesting that way. At the same time, you could take a look at which one really is more suited to your needs. Even if you have no one that’s physically beside you to hold your hand in the process, virtual hand holding from online friends and those who are in the community help too. But remember this: Don’t panic. It will cause you more stress and difficulty if you do that. Exploring all these things could be fun and I hope you’d start enjoying the process too.

Post from: New Linux User

• vi introduction
• Upgrading to Alsa 1.0.20 on Ubuntu Jaunty
• Quake Live to Support Linux

vi Introduction

vi

Not all newbies know what vi is. vi happens to be a text editor in Linux and it’s available on the command line. This editor has modes and it could be quite confusing to those who are just starting out. But there are practical reasons for learning vi such as going mouse-less, editing files on a remote Linux machine, and chances are you need to know how to use vi and this will be tested when you take exams for certification.

This guide is easy to follow as you see the commands and what happens because of the screenshots in this guide. It also gives you an idea of what you should expect in the different modes in vi.

Upgrading to Alsa 1.0.20 on Ubuntu Jaunty

ALSA or the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture is what makes us able to hear sounds on our computers by giving sound device drivers for our sound cards. And sometimes we have problems with our sound cards because of much needed upgrades, or sometimes, needed distro upgrades. This guide shows you how to upgrade to the newer ALSA version by compiling it on your computer. It has a step by step guide so don’t worry

Quake Live on Linux

Fan of shooter games? Quake Live is on Linux now. If you look at the home page, you will see the icon of Tux. It’s a 100% free-to-play arena shooter game. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, you can join.  And what’s interesting about it is that you can just play it through a plugin which it will install on your browser.  I am not a big fan of shooter games but it really made me curious.  If you’re also interested just sign up and then the plugin will be installed automatically for you. Have fun!

Post from: New Linux User

• The Ultimate Linux Newbie Guide – This website’s blog has various links to articles and guides for Linux users especially newbies. But you could also go straight to their guide for Linux newbies. It even has sections to let you understand what GNOME and KDE are. You could also follow them via the Ultimate Linux Newbie Guide Twitter feed.
• Linux Newbie Guide: Shortcuts and Commands – This is a lot of command line stuff that might seem daunting at first but at least it’s all here now. It tells you what the commands are and what they are used for. The explanations are short, and hopefully, they are easier to remember because of that. The writer/s of the guide also includes notes for the ones who are unfamiliar with UNIX.
• tuXfiles: the Linux Newbie Help Files, Tutorials and Tips – This guide has different sections that you could check out. Whether it’s about the Linux command line, shortcuts on the keyboard, compiling and installing software and Linux cheat sheets and tips, there’s information about these for Linux newbies. There are explanations that come with the steps that they enumerate in their guides. The explanations about the procedures and concepts will put the newbies at ease. It will also make it clearer if they are doing something wrong or something correctly.

For now, these will be my list of Linux newbie guides. I hope that newbies and not-so-new Linux users will benefit from these guides. After all, there’s something new that we could learn each day.

Post from: New Linux User

welcome

I am not an expert in terms of sys ad skills and stuff like that but I do love using Linux. I am just like one of you who — I am looking for ways to improve the way my computer works while using Linux. And it’s not always an easy task. Sometimes it could get quite complicated because of the number of steps it would take to fix the problem/s.  But that’s fun about using Linux anyway.  There are a lot of things to learn along the way.  Sometimes we might feel terrible about ourselves while trying to troubleshoot problems.  But everything has a solution.  Although some of them might not be quite as elegant as we would hope for.

And as new readers and new Linux users, you could share your thoughts too.  I hope that you wouldn’t feel too shy or hesitant.   You might have some great insights that musn’t be kept to yourselves.

Post from: New Linux User

There’s no other way than to use Linux and the apps bundled in the distro you’ve chosen to work/play with. It’s the only way you’d figure out if Linux would meet or solve your needs and wants. It’s also the only way to let you learn if you could use it for day to day tasks. It’s true that no one distro is able to give you everything you need but at least you have a better idea of what’s with Linux. Reading the manual, scouring forums and mailing list archives will be part of the deal, that’s for sure. Especially for those who are considerably shy and less social than most Linux users/newbies. Going to a friend for a more personal approach sounds good too. For someone like me, that’s what’s more effective. Sometimes I don’t know how to learn about the technology and there are moments when I get frustrated too.

A blog entry on Echoes talks about what the blogger thinks is the best way to learn Linux. One of the things mentioned on the blog:

I think keeping asking questions rather than reading manuals and tutorials first will get you out of trouble for the moment, but there will always be problems in the future which need to be taken care of.

I think that the point raised is valid. Because as users we mainly want something that works. We want something quick. What we need to learn that from the questions that we ask today are things that we need to build upon. If we think that we only ask other people to fix our problems, then we won’t grow in knowledge. And that seems futile doesn’t it?

Not everyone has the patience to learn through reading man pages. But we need to do that. There are other learning materials now. There are also videos on YouTube. There are also comics like Hackett and Bankwell, as I blogged about before.

Post from: New Linux User