[KLUG Members] Linux tutor.

[Nik R.]

Seems to be the majority opinion.  I am just one of THOSE people that 
learn by example more than anything.  I will get it someday :op

Wesley Leonard wrote:

>>1.  How can I either get this to work for me like Windows, or get away 
>>from Windows theology all together.
>>    
>>
>
>I think the question is WHAT do you want to work like windows?  Apache
>is not IIS (thankfully), Mozilla is not internet explorer, etc.
>
>There will be a few differences but the concepts are still the same. 
>For GUI environments, Gnome or KDE are the big players.  They are
>installed and work very well by default on most Linux distros.
>
>When you run a program, it opens in a window, has a file menu, an edit
>menu, etc.  The filesystem is similar (it starts with a "/" instead of a
>"c:") and so are the windowing conventions.  
>
>Something that will help is not having pre-conceived notions of how
>things should work.  Instead of thinking "in Windows, I do this..." try
>to think about "In an operating system, in order to accomplish a certain
>task, one should...."   For example, in Windows, to install a piece of
>software, you double click the .exe file (or you insert the CD, etc). 
>In a more general way, when software is to be installed, there is an
>installer program (on Windows there is Install Shield or the Windows MSI
>thing).  Under RedHat Linux there is an install program called RPM which
>can be run from the command line (rpm -i program-file.rpm) or from
>several different GUIs ( redhat-config-packages, red-carpet, gnorpm...
>).
>
>
>  
>
>>2.  Advantages to taking a hit in the software department with the 
>>market being stolen by MS and what common software replaces that equivalent.
>>    
>>
>
>I don't quite understand this question...  but I'll try to point out
>some eqivalent software packages:
>
>MS Office -> StarOffice, Openoffice, GNUCalc (excel), Abiword
>photoshop -> The Gimp
>IE        -> Mozilla, Konqueror, Netscape
>
>To play media files, use mplayer or xine
>
>Some packages have been ported to Linux.  These include Realplayer and
>Adobe Acrobat. 
>
>Most of the non-commercial packages come with your linux distro and are
>installed by default.
>
>
>  
>
>>3.  (This is one I discovered on my own being an IT guy) How much you 
>>really need to learn basics in command line.
>>    
>>
>
>Learn the command line.  Learn ls, cd, cat, and vim or emacs.  You will
>need this for remote administration, editing config files, and when you
>just don't have time to deal with the GUI.
>
>
>  
>
>>4.  I still don't understand scripts at all. 
>>    
>>
>
>Have you ever written a .bat file in DOS/Windows?  Same thing.  You need
>to have some understanding of the command line first because a script is
>just a series of commands put into a file that you would ordinarily just
>type at the command line.
>
>Example, I have a cron job (cron is the Unix task scheduler) that runs
>once a day to sync my system time:
>
>
>#!/bin/sh
>rdate -s clock.nist.gov
>#----------------------
>
>
>That's an example of a very simple script.
>
>Here's another script I used to use (to wake me up in the morning):
>
>#!/bin/sh
>/usr/local/bin/br A2 on  # Turn my light on through the X10
>/usr/bin/aumix -v 90     # crank up the volume
>/usr/bin/mpg123 /mp3/Metalica-Whiskey_in_the_jar.mp3
>#-----------------------------------------------------------
>
>  
>
>>I just need to learn the little "tricks as Bruce put it.
>>    
>>
>
>Tricks are nice but you need to learn the basics first.  If you really
>want to know linux, learn the filesystem, the command line, and pick an
>advanced text editor (vim or emacs) and learn it well.
>
>It's not really all that much work but you really have to immerse
>yourself.  You need to stop expecting things to be a certain way and
>start to imagine different ways of doing things.
>--
>Wesley Leonard
>
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>  
>