FAQ 2.0-Updated for Your Linux Pleasure

[Christoph]

How good is Linux USB support?

If your device is supported, life is good. All you need to do is right kernel config options, and this is usually rather straightforward.
It may be a little bit of a pain to figure out which of the three USB drivers you need, but that's about as difficult as it gets. If you have USB 2.0 hardware, use EHCI. If you have a non-Intel and non-Via USB 1.1 controller or a non-x86 CPU, use OHCI. For Intel and Via USB 1.1 hardware, use UHCI.
My limited experince with USB mice and storage devices has been good, although I haven't had a chance to play with anything more complex devices or USB OTG.

DarkArctic prompted a further explanation of the different USB standards.

 

[Christoph]

What about wireless?

Wireless on Linux is still a slightly gray area, but it's easy to find supported hardware.
One caveat is that vendors will occasionally change chipsets in their products without any change in either packaging or documentation, although there will sometimes be different versions of the card released corresponding to different chipsets. When getting help with your wireless card, mention the maker and model, but also include the output of /sbin/lspci . (lspci returns some basic information about all PCI devices in your system.)
You can find find more information on Wireless in Linux here.

 

[Christoph]

How do I get/compile the kernel?

You can always get the latest kernel sources from kernel.org. Since the kernel is under the GPL, you also have the right to the source code for any kenel binaries you can get. If you have a compelling reason to use a certain vendor's kernel instead of the stock kernel, the sources should be available from the vendor's site.
You can find a rather explicit and thorough kernel compiling guide for both 2.4 and 2.6 kernels here, and a less tangental 2.4 recompilation guide here. If you're upgrading to a 2.6 kernel, you can find some help here. If you don't have a reason to do otherwise, go with a 2.6 kernel. They're quite stable and have some noticeable improvements over the 2.4 series.
While there are major differences between the 2.4 and 2.6 kernels, much of what you learn (as a user) for one applies to the other. The 2.4 guides still have some value.

 

[Christoph]

X won't start. How do I configure it?

There are two ways to configure X.
First of all, I assume that you're using X.org, since XFree86 will soon be history. If you're not, just use /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 as your config file.
The Knoppix way is the easiest, but doesn't always result in an optimal configuration. To use this method, simply boot from a Knoppix CD, mount your Linux installation's root filesystem and copy Knoppix's automagically generated /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 to the appropriate place in your permanent system's root partition. You can copy the file to xf86config-4 or xorg.conf .
The second method is also simple, but it's less user-friendly and reqires a little information about your monitor. To use this method, first find the horizontal and vertical frequencies of your monitor. If you've lost the documentation that came with your monitor, Google is your friend. Once you've got the info, write it down. Now run the command xorgconfig as a normal user (if you're using XFree86, this command is xf86config. Use IMPS/2 for a wheel mouse and use /dev/input/mice as the mouse device. Common sense and the information you wrote down should get you through the rest. When it's done, save the file to a convenient location as a backup, and copy it to /etc/X11/xorg.conf as root. (You can also use /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 , which is the default config file for XFree86.)
Both of these methods will get you a functional system, but you'll still have to go through some special steps if you have an semi-recent nVidia or ATi card that you want to take full advantage of.

DreamingWolf pointed out that X.org should come first, since XFree86 is on its way out.

 

[Christoph]

What are modules? Why do I need them and how do I use them?

Modules are pieces of kernel code that can be added to and removed from the kernel dynamically, ie while the kernel is running. Generally, they're drivers for something, either a filesystem, a device or some other kind of functionality.Modules are a nice way to avoid rebooting. If you have LKM (loadable kernel module) support enabled, and you need to add support for, say loopback devices, it's quite simple. You just go into your kernel config menu, pick "m" next to the driver you need, save your configuration, do make && sudo make modules_install and do sudo modprobe module_name to insert the driver. With that, you've got support for whatever you were missing before and can happily go about your business, smug in the knowledge that you didn't even have to reboot.

 

[Christoph]

Why is running as root bad?

If you read any reputable Linux news site (or Slashdot) regularly, you'll see that there may be several bugs discovered in common open-source software in a day. This doesn't mean that Linux isn't secure; these bugs are usually fixed withing a couple days of discovery, and within one day as often as not. It does mean, however, that you have to take a little care. Half of that care is minimizing the likelihood that something will be broken, and the other half is limiting the damage when something does break.
One major goal when attacking a computer is to get root access. The only ways to do that are to either to get the root password or to break a program in such a way that it gives you root access. (This is aim of the much-loved buffer overflow and format string attacks, among others.) You can't prevent a bug exploit before it happens, but you can keep programs from running as root. If an attacker breaks a program that's running as a normal user (or a special-purpose user like nobody), he will be very limited in the scope of the damage he can do.
The same principle applies to broken programs. Occasionally you may encounter a bug that has the potential to really screw things up. If that bug is run as root, the potential for damage is much greater than it is for a normal user.
In short, life is uncertain. Avoiding running as root whenever possible is a way to limit the damage of that uncertainty.

The sudo command is designed with this in mind. If your permissions are set up correctly, you sudo something will prompt your for your password run only that program as root. For a short while after that, you'll be able to use sudo without a password. See the sudo man page (run man sudo) for more information.

DarkArctic helped edit and proofread this answer.

 

[Christoph]

Where can I get Linux news?

There a number of popular Linux news sites of varying quality and volume. I've listed a few below.

LWN
My favorite site is LWN. It's subscription-based, and I feel that the pricing is very reasonable for the high quality of the stories and in-depth articles. Comments posted there are usually very informative, and it's not uncommon to see comments from such Linux luminaries as Bruce Perens, Hans Reiser, Marcelo Tosatti and others. One of the founders, Jonathan Corbet, spoke at OLS 2004.
Most content is available for free to everyone. The exceptions are the in-depth articles and the weekly edition. These are available to non-subscribers a week after they're posted.

Slashdot
Slashdot is one of the best places to find news on a wide range of topics, including Apache, Apple, Books, BSD, Developers, Games, Interviews and more. It also features non computer/linux related topics like Politics and Science. Lastly, YRO (Your Rights Online) covers your rights on the Internet in this ever changing legal landscape. Many of the reader comments on articles tend to be very good, and it's hard to stop yourself from reading them. The site is updated often and is always on top of the latest news. There is also a subscription system (don't be scared; its not mandatory). They offer 1,000 ad-free pages for $5. Users (both subscribers and non-subscribers) can log into Slashdot, and subscribers get access to subscriber-only features. The reasons for logging in are mentioned here and subscriptions are described here. On top of that, there is also an RSS news feed server which makes staying up to date much easier. All of these factors make Slashdot a must-stop place for any geek.

Other Linux news sites
There are also a number of other Linux news sites that nobody has written an entry for. These include Linux Today, Linux Journal and LXer.

SewerBeing suggested that this answer be split up and wrote the Slashdot section. DarkArctic pointed out Linux Today.

 

[rogerdugans]

STUCK

Very nice.

Thanks for your efforts on the FAQ, but just so you know, this won't stop me from hounding you when I break stuff and can't fix it.

 

[Christoph]

What about sound cards?

Soundcards are generally easier to deal with that video cards. Basically, all you have to do is check the alsa sound card matrix to see what driver to use with your card and compile that driver either as a module or directly into the kernel. Once that's done, you should be good to go.

Suicide Al thought I should include some info on sound cards.

 

[David]

Unstuck by request.