Starting out with Ubuntu [was: Re: how to install vmware workstation]

[Mario Vukelic]

On Wed, 2008-04-30 at 11:31 -0500, John Baker wrote:
> Look folks I need direction,hopefully I will have a clue as to what you 
> folks are talking about! I am a NEWBIE to Linux but not to computing. where 
> do I go to learn how to 1st enter the waters so that I may wade,then learn 
> to swim and henseforth learn or be eaten by sharks. 

Hi, and welcome. I'm sure this attitude will find you many friends on
the list :)

May I start with asking you not to "hijack" threads, see #3 here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/support/community/mailinglists/etiquette#head-4b5a9f87b09948b1fe365a519f31ea2686a48f94

This will also give your emails more visibility, especially if you
provide a descriptive subject.

Since we are already on the topic of how to get most out of the list,
may I suggest to read How To Ask Questions The Smart Way, and old
document by Eric S. Raymond. It comes from other times, so it might be
best not to place too much weight on the way he emphasizes the geek
angle. His advice on how to ask questions, however, is invaluable:
http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html


> I am not asking for your 
> taking me by the hand,just where do I go to start my learnings? 

There's an immense amount of information out on the internet, of course.
But much of it is not correct, or outdated. Old habits die slowly,
especially among those with some experience.

Therefore, I believe it is important to get a bit of a systematic
introduction, which will in time enable you to sort through the wider
net.

A book is certainly not a bad choice. There are some written
specifically for Ubuntu that start at the basics but expand them pretty
far, such as these:
http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Ubuntu-Linux-Novice-Professional/dp/1590596277
You can find a review here:
http://books.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/29/1437217&from=rss

There is also the Official Ubuntu Book:
http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0132435942

Both are pretty outdated, I would guess that updates are on the way for
Ubuntu 8.04 LTS.

Here's one about the previous Ubuntu version:
http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0672329697



If later you want to learn more, any publishers have Linux books of
varying quality, but I have always made good experiences with the major
technical publishers. O'Reilly has a huge standing in the Unix community
and offers a wide variety of books on all levels.
http://www.oreilly.com/



As far as online documentation goes, I'd stay close to home:
Official: https://help.ubuntu.com/
Community: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/
The community docs branch out over vast areas.

The Linux Documentation Project has a huge variety of Howtos, Guides,
and FAQs at http://tldp.org/
The LDP is a pretty old project, and I don't know how well those
materials are maintained, so check the dates. But especially for
advanced tasks they should work as intended.

Since Ubuntu is based on Debian, much of the Debian docs will be
helpful:
http://www.debian.org/doc/
http://www.debianhelp.org/


The help on your computer in menu System will also be helpful, I guess.
If you want to know more about a specific software package, you can read
the description of packages in the package manager, this may help you
understand over time how things work together. Nearly every package has
more documentation stored in the directory /usr/share/doc/<packagename>.
Much of that will often be only relevant for package builders and the
like, but it is still sometimes handy to know.


And of course there is always http://www.google.com/linux  :)


> I give my 
> word any and all help will be passed along to any that I may help. 

Thanks