Recommedations

[Clint Harshaw]

Brittany wrote:
> Theirs really nothing for me to learn about Windows XP Pro. What am i
> suppose to do? Play with the Cmd? What can i do to manage and to get more
> knowledge about computers in order to become elite and to use Linux? The
> only reason why i want to use Linux is to get rid of Microsoft for starters
> and to start devloping some knowledge about computers.
> 
> Brittany

Heck those are many of the same reasons I switched a little more than a 
year ago. I went "cold turkey" off of Windows never having even *tried* 
a linux machine, because I felt an obligation to demonstrate for my 
students that (contrary to many of their opinions) you don't need to 
steal software to get your work done. Unless the rules have changed 
overnight, I believe stealing is still wrong.

Sure, I had some long nights, but I got my questions answered quickly 
through mail lists, web forums, etc., and learned a lot about my system 
in the process.

Want a CD to pop in your machine to see what it's like? Got it, and 
don't mind dropping it in the mail for you to let you try it. Need a 
full distro to make your machine all linux? Got them too! Wanna burn 
your own CD's? No problem.

What I will recommend: visit a local Linux Users Group in your area. 
They will be a tremendously helpful group of folks to get you through 
the learning curve! If you live a long way's from a LUG, it's worth the 
drive. Ask questions -- we love this stuff.

Be determined!

My experience with linux has been strongly positive. Not "easy" 
initially, because I had to unlearn some things (mounting and umounting 
floppies, for instance which is not a "Windows thing", took me a long 
time to understand, but is now second-nature). There were times that I 
got frustrated (I had a rich vocabulary dedicated to my nvidia card when 
I upgraded a kernel as a newbie, and the driver was no longer compatible 
with the new kernel ;-), and got close to throwing in the towel, but I'm 
glad I stuck with it.

Worms and viruses? basically powerless to linux.

Blue Screen of Death? Ha! If there is an offending program in linux, you 
  kill that one program and keep working right along without a re-boot.

Pop-up annoyances? Mozilla is your friend, and I've turned a lot of 
folks onto Mozilla for their Windows machines too.

Yum is the coolest thing (to update my system) since cold beer and 
honey-roasted peanuts.

So don't let anybody stop you from trying to figure out what is right 
for *you*. Linux is right for me. Fedora is the right "flavor" of linux 
for me. I like it a lot. I like this mail list a lot. Maybe you'll like 
Fedora too. Yum is the coolest thing (to update my system) since cold 
beer and honey-roasted peanuts. The other folks on here will probably 
join me in admitting there is a certain cool "MacGuyver" feeling that 
you get from running an OS that isn't "just like everybody else's." 
You'll enjoy not being a lemming. You'll enjoy turning somebody else 
onto linux too!

Linux folks are typically a friendly group of people, who enjoy sharing 
what they've learned with other folks.

Enough of the sermon. Just try linux.

Clint