i'd love to start using LINUX

[FroZen_FlaMe]

By nature, unix was meant to be used from the shell. GUI was an after thought, and shortcut in some respects for CLI commnads. Same could be said for windows. Get windows power shell and go to it in the CLI if you really want to be hardcore, but you can't learn anything if you don't dive in. Im no linux expert, but I have learned alot just because of BackTrack alone. When you have a goal, it makes learning that much easier. For me it was learning how to crack wep and wpa, and that lead me to learn more about linux, installing it, and the various flavors and commands for different distros. Doesn't matter what distro you use at this point, as getting your feet wet and learning how to fix what you have broken will get you going, because you almost always break shit and have to reinstall at some point when you start messing with shit and the box won't boot. Read, then read some more. Play and experiment, and try to have a goal in mind. What was your purpose to learn linux? What do you want to do with it? And then learn how to execute that goal, wether ti be setting up a web server, installing services, learning different tools, formatting HDD's and custom installing, home media server, etc.

thanks alot dude what said gave the push to start working and learning about linux ;)

MBP

debian 5 or fedora 9 with fluxbox gui will teach you everything you could want to know Or you could try installing arch if your adventurous.

Newbuntu = worst thing you could do you would be better off keeping windows.

thanx for the advise dude :D

[VaKo]

Its not a cash of being harsh, its a case of learning how it works and how its different to Windows. For me, I spent awhile playing with Ubuntu and I really couldn't see much difference between how it work and how windows worked. However, I spent a lot of time learning how FreeBSD worked, and found that the knowledge allowed me to tranistion easily between the many Linux distros I've used subsiqently. Why? Because I understood the fundermentals of the underlaying OS and its architechture. Once you understand the architechture at a conceptual level you will find learnning the specifics unique to various familys of distros a lot more easily.

Also, FreeBSD really isn't that harsh, it sets a good balance between being utterly alien and being logical enough to figure out.

[h3%5kr3w]

ah, I see your point there VaKo. Makes alot of sense to me now.

[MrAlvin]

After trying to learn stuff about Linux over the years, working with first DD-WRT and the OpenWRT on routers, finally got me into deeper details about the inner workings of Linux.

Over the years I have tried several Linuxes and BSD's in virtual PC's. Now I only have Ubuntu in VirtualBox on my windows pc's.

[lnxr0x]

When I first wanted to "TRY" Linux I used Knoppix and Suse 8.0,.. when I wanted to "LEARN" Linux I used Slackware... Now that I'm comfortable I use Xubuntu.

All personal preference ... but like Nike says... "Just Do IT."

Get a spare hard drive,.. goto a local pc repair shop ... even if they only have a few used 40 gig drives.. they're usually throwing them away !! (or selling them REAL cheap)

Boot OFF a Live CD

Boot OFF a USB drive

Just start experimenting, You'll learn a LOT and hopefully have some fun along the way ... Try it !!... , you'll like it !!

That's what true hacking is about

[FroZen_FlaMe]

thanx alot fellows for ur replys

i was just busy with some final projects and papers due

and i started to use ubuntu on a virtual machine and also started to use backtrack

thanx alot for ur advises :D

see you around with my next Q

:P

[lopez1364]

Arch Linux is better than Gentoo but that's my opinion.

[Neinsager]

for fuck sakes don't do it as a your only O.S install when everything is new/greek to you.

MMmm thats the way i have done it, and I' am still only using a Linux os

Never went back 2 a Windows os ever again

Gerard

[FroZen_FlaMe]

Arch Linux is better than Gentoo but that's my opinion.

thanx alot lopez but what are the reasons for arch linux being better than gentoo from ur point of view?? would u plz explain more :)

thanx

[Timmay313]

I think just about everyone can agree the best way to learn linux is to READ. then play, then read some more. Doesn't really matter what distro you choose, it is all just personal preference really. do you want CLI, KDE, GNOME,... there are so many different distros and ways to configure and run them. Curiosity is the best way to learn about them. forcing yourself to use them helps also. basically all linux works the same. they have a kernel, boot loader, window manager, packet manager, ect... I know that was kinda veg but they are all very similar yet very different. Google what you want to know, read what you can find and play with what you can.

i am currently running Sabayon (new install) on my laptop to check out the differences and features it offers. As a Net Admin of a windows network it is very easy to jump back to windows and forget about linux. ok so not forget cause then it would haunt me. Thanks to the very nice Portable Ubuntu application i am now running a few linux tools along with my vista install. I always like linux better for securty testing. Windows will always have its place on my GameBox though.

[h3%5kr3w]

that was kinda veg

lol @ first glance I thought it said

that was kinda vag

now that's funny.

[5ive]

I first started using linux in the mid 90's - back then someone told me, "if you want to learn redhat then install redhat, but if you want to learn linux install slackware" So naturally I installed slackware - from a handful of floppy disks and everything was CLI. It took me quite a while before I could successfully launch xwindows, and eventually I got enlightenment working and I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Back then every program you downloaded was source code and needed to be compiled, all dependencies needed to be installed manually, and then once you got a program working typically the only way to change the settings where to manually edit a conf file of some sort. It took a lot of work just to get your system setup but that was almost the whole point of it. It allowed for a never ending project, there was always tinkering to be done.

After a while though it just becomes inefficient and you no longer want to spend so much time configuring and setting up a system. I have a linux desktop and a linux laptop, I switched both to ubuntu a couple weeks ago (switching over from opensuse 11.1) and I was floored at how quick and easy the installs where. What really blew me away was the laptop svideo output and the sprint evdo card working right out of the box. Ubuntu could not be any quicker to up and running...

If you really want to learn though, I'm not sure if ubuntu will do you much good. For anyone who played final fantasy as a kid (I only played nes and snes ff, no idea if this applies to PS versions), running ubuntu is like running away from all of the enemy's instead of fighting them. Sure you might be able to move on quicker, but you won't gain any experience and if you keep playing sooner or later you will run into a battle that you won't be able to escape from - and you will be to weak to fight it.

[h3%5kr3w]

I wish I could have been lucky enough to have books and how-to's early on when I first tried linux cause then I would have been able to do more, but unfortunately for me, Linux was too much of a beast to figure out on my own, cause the distro I had (mandrake 6) was trying to be geared for the 'newbie' but in a sense that they were not going to do anything closer than playing a wav file, or making a picture. Even getting online was a real pain in the ass cause I had a winmodem, and to top it all off, all the linux/unix gurus at the time were elitest bastards (trust me you cant say I didnt try)

The only thing I got when I tried to get help for linux was "if you dont know how you dont need to know" and other b.s. like that.

+ I didnt have a job at the time and as such there was also no big book retailers a-la barnes and noble, or equivalent at the time, so the only way I could have bought books on it was online.