[UbuntuWomen] Thanks for the warm welcome.

[Ryan Prior]

On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 10:23 AM, Diana Goodavage
<huntgoddess218 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Wednesday, April 15, 2009
>
> Thanks so much to Amber and Linus, and all others on the list. Nice to know
> I'm not the only newbie.

Yes, thanks to Linus. =D

> Yes, Linux is good.

You should know that some people will prefer that you call it GNU, or
GNU/Linux as a compromise. This is because Linux software is just one
part of the whole system, much of which was built by the GNU project.

People will generally know what you mean when you say "Linux," but
they may twitch. =D

> Ever since I started learning the tiny bit I do know
> about cyberspace, computing, etc., --- which isn't much --- I've always read
> about how Linux was the smartest way to go. I was just always somehow
> plugged into an M$ Windoze world, for some reason.

Most Linux users I know also have used Windows at some point, so
you're in good company. :-)

Another terminology gripe: "M$ Windoze" is generally seen as a "cheap
shot" and not welcomed as such by the Ubuntu community. We know and
understand that people have gripes and frustrations with Microsoft and
its products, but as our Bug #1 is to put Ubuntu and Free Software
ahead ( https://launchpad.net/bugs/1 ) it is already abundantly clear
that we're competing and that we disapprove of their proprietary
system.

> Not saying I don't care how the kernel works. (BTW, what's a kernel anyway?
> But, I digress LOL) Just that I don't have the time to figure it all out
> right now. I really would like to learn it all eventually, but it's going to
> take a while, and in the meantime . . .

If you're genuinely interested, you can check out
http://kernelnewbies.org/ which has kernel documentation for people
who aren't hackers (yet). It is not necessary to understand the kernel
to use your computer, so go as far as your curiosity takes you but no
further. ;-)


> Which, actually, brings me right to my next question:
>
> Are there any free or cheap resources where I could go to learn more?
> Online, text, whatever . . .

If you want to learn a little bit of everything, there's an excellent
tutorial available online: http://rute.2038bug.com/index.html.gz
RUTE (the "RUTE User Tutorial and Exposition") is free, available
online or as a download, and covers about everything you'd want to
know. However, it covers it from a new user's perspective, not
assuming that you already have a lot of specific knowledge, and
doesn't go too far in-depth. Rather, once it teaches you enough to
find your way around and understand the basics, it points in the
direction of more in-depth tutorials to read if you're curious.

> Thanks much,
> Diana

Best of luck Diana.

Sincerely,
Ryan

PS, Don't miss these links:

irc://irc.freenode.org/ubuntu
irc://irc.freenode.org/ubuntu-women
http://ubuntuforums.org
http://help.ubuntu.com
http://planet.ubuntu.com
http://identi.ca/group/ubuntu