A linux n00b has been born

JigPu · May 3, 2003

Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm now up and running with Mandrake 9.1, and while not exactly lovin' it (need to get some programs to flesh it out still

), it's not anything I don't think I'd mind messing with every day for a little while

Congratulations, you may have a convert on your hands eventually

EDIT: Oh, BTW, anybody got some nice guides to the command line? I'm a DOS guru

D), and would like to know how to work this OS also at it's lowest levels.
JigPu

MaxPower · May 3, 2003

Well congrats on the Linux install. It's a little tough starting out, but stick with it and you should like it. The hard part is finding windows replacement apps. But anyways you can go to justlinux which used to be www.linuxnewbie.org and there you will find alot of good info.

And i suggest ther you install apt and that will help out alot when installing software because you basically have to do nothing because it searches and downloads all the dependencies that you will need. you can go here for a brief tutorial on how to get it up and running on mandrake. I installed it on my mandrake 9.1 system and it works great.

Christoph · May 3, 2003

Here are my 3 favorite commands:
1) man: It's even self-documenting: just type man man. man command will bring up the manual page for a command or config file. When you see people talking about some wierd command like grep, all you do to find out what it is is type man grep.
2) apropos: This is how you find out what program you want to use for a given task. It takes one arg and searches through the man page descriptions, printing out any descriptions with the arg. If you wanted to deal with floppies, you'd type apropos floppy.
3) vim: Editing config files is a central part of running Linux, and you'll need a text editor. The major ones are vim and emacs, but there are dozens of variations and alternatives. I like vim because of its speed (emacs can take several seconds to load) and simplicity. It's a little intimidating at first, but it comes with a tutorial. Just type vim press f1 to access it.

I hope that was coherent enough.

clash · May 3, 2003

How's things going JigPu? Any snags yet?

Kendan · May 3, 2003

Here is a good lesson. Go thru the whole thing it will take a little time so don't try to rush thru it. There is a lot of good info

http://www.linux.org/lessons/beginner/index.html

UnseenMenace · May 3, 2003

what GUI you using JigPu ?

clash · May 3, 2003

You'll find that linux rocks....

You know the old saying, "Once you go bl,ummm well linux, ya never go back"

JigPu · May 3, 2003

So far, smooth sailing

I'm currently in the process of deciding between KDE and GNOME, though I'm thinking KDE is going to win this fight

Currently, the only things bugging me are:
1) GNOME uses xscreensaver, while KDE uses it's own little thing. xscreensaver has WAY more, and one that I really want (the BSOD

). Gonna go to the X website tomorrow and check out how to make it work with KDE.

2) Trying to compile my first app

I'm getting an error near the end (at the end?) of the make process, and it seems it's missing a library. Time to go dredging around..

Since I don't really use my computer for anything other than SETI and internet at the moment (vid card sux, so I don't play games on this pooter), I think I'm gonna stay booted in Linux for a while

JigPu

Kendan · May 3, 2003

JigPu said:
2) Trying to compile my first app I'm getting an error near the end (at the end?) of the make process, and it seems it's missing a library. Time to go dredging around..

JigPu

That is what is called a dependency. You wiill become very adept at tracking them down and installing them

Christoph · May 4, 2003

Kendan said:
That is what is called a dependency. You wiill become very adept at tracking them down and installing them

My dependency-finding muscle has atropied since I switched to Debian.

Picking favorites is a big part of Linux, and I'm glad to see that you've started.

Kendan · May 4, 2003

Christoph said:
My dependency-finding muscle has atropied since I switched to Debian.
Picking favorites is a big part of Linux, and I'm glad to see that you've started.

I use Gentoo

Christoph · May 4, 2003

Kendan said:
I use Gentoo

Funny you should mention that. I just went to a presentation at my local LUG about Gentoo by one of the developers (Jack Morgan). I didn't know about that chroot business. Now that I know that I can install it from another distro and use my box while I'm installing, I'm definitely going to give it a shot. I had though that my box would be totally useless for the 1-3 days while emerge did its thing.

Kendan · May 4, 2003

Christoph said:
Funny you should mention that. I just went to a presentation at my local LUG about Gentoo by one of the developers (Jack Morgan). I didn't know about that chroot business. Now that I know that I can install it from another distro and use my box while I'm installing, I'm definitely going to give it a shot. I had though that my box would be totally useless for the 1-3 days while emerge did its thing.

That is nice to know. I knew you could still use it while you are installing stuff.

Have fun

Richard · May 4, 2003

I'm a Gentoo convert.

I once considered Debian my favorite distro, but Gentoo just seems to have the right idea. The forums are well organized and *gasp* helpful. The package management is impeccably done. Kudos to the Gentoo team.

I still have a soft spot for Debian, and maintain that it is quite terrific. Goodness knows, I wouldn't be the penguin geek I am today without Debian.

rogerdugans · May 4, 2003

Way to go Jigpu

Linux rocks, and while I still don't think its quite ready for the average computer user, for those who do have the desire to get inside things a bit it is well worth the efforts involved.
I STILL consider myself a perpetual Linux noob, but I do run linux on more machines than any other os

My personal fave is RedHat (partially due to the LTSP Distro I use for network boot computers) but I started to mess with Gentoo because it sounds so good- all I need is the time at home to get the install right

Enjoy, and I'll be seeing you here in Alt. OS

Christoph · May 5, 2003

Kendan said:
That is nice to know. I knew you could still use it while you are installing stuff. Have fun

I'm bootstrapping now.

Arkaine23 · May 5, 2003

Linux

Welcome, newly-converted Linux noob!!! You'll enjoy the power linux puts into your hands, and be amazed by how easy the command-line is to use once you've practiced for awhile.

There are a lot of things to do with a first install that make for perfect training excercises. Just read, post, and experiment until it all sinks in.

Gentoo gets mentioned a lot by the OC crowd, and I guess that's because it has a system of install scripts that download source code, compile it with optimizations for your hardware, and find missing dependencies for all the packages on your system all with just a simple command. Its more involved to install and really helps if you have a high-speed connection, but gentoo can teach you a lot about linux in the process of getting it running.

A linux n00b has been born

JigPu

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MaxPower

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Christoph

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clash

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Kendan

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UnseenMenace

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clash

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JigPu

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Kendan

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Christoph

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Kendan

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Christoph

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Kendan

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Richard

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rogerdugans

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Christoph

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Arkaine23

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