Linux Help for Beginners

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Let's get started with Linux!

So, what is Linux exactly? Simply put, Linux (formally known as GNU/Linux) is an Operating System for the computer. Many people use Windows; others use Mac and many people are switching to Linux!

So, Who Uses Linux? And Why?

• Someone who has an interest in computers
• Someone who likes to customize or "tweak" their computer.
• Someone who wants their computer to be Safer and more secure than it is when they use that "other" operating system! Someone who is tired of burning memory on anti-virus and anti-spyware programs rather than enjoying the Internet.
• Someone who believes in open source software, that uses knowledge freely shared, the way it should be!
• Someone who had an operating system crash and then had to spend almost $200 dollars to replace it.. Most versions of Linux are free!
• Someone who is adventurous! If you trash it, reinstall it!
• Someone who loves to share! Share it with your friends! Give a copy to your mom or dad, maybe the grandparents. Make a few copies and just hand them out! It's perfectly legal because it's yours!
• Someone who likes to talk to a real person when they need help..Need help with something? Just ask! Real people who are happy to help because they love to pass on what they know.
• Someone who wants to meet people who don't complain constantly about how crappy their computer is running. Instead meet people who brag about what their computer can do!

Okay so are you sold yet? 'Linux Help for Beginners' is here to help you make that transition as smoothly as possible! Read on to learn more...

About Linux: A Really, Really Brief History

In a very small nutshell, the Linux kernel (or core) was developed by Linus Torvalds (a Finnish born American) in 1991. Initially, he called his invention "Freax", a combination of free, freak and the x was to represent Unix, the system it was based on. His invention was renamed by someone else that didn't like "Freax"..and Linux stuck. The Linux kernel was compiled (designed) with GNU's "C" compiler. (GNU is a project dedicated to designing an operating system based on Unix) Together, GNU and Linux teamed up to form GNU/Linux, which it is today, although most refer to it as simply "Linux."

Allow 'Linux Help for Beginners' to introduce you to Tux! This cute little penguin is the Linux mascot. Click on Tux to find out more about how he became the Linux official mascot.

1. Click here to learn more about what the Linux Operating System is! This will expand on my earlier explanation of how Linux came to be.


2. Second, you have to decide whether or not you really want to learn an operating system that can be very different from Windows. Linux is definitely a learning process...In order to be successful at it, you have to be willing to read and study a LOT and practice (in which you WILL make mistakes, and lots of them).


3. Third, I HIGHLY recommend that all your personal files (music, pictures, documents, etc.) be backed up on disk, floppy, usb whatever..because you WILL screw up! It's guaranteed! Don't worry though, often times you can just laugh about it and chalk it up to inexperience. Sometimes, it's a little worse, requiring a fresh operating system install..hey I have (borked) trashed my OS more times than I can count, experimenting with something I probably wasn't ready for yet lol. It's okay! Every time you screw something up, you learn something about Linux...and you can always reinstall, for free! Then you can use what you've learned to save someone else from borking their system, which is my goal here. When that happens, you will be VERY glad you made backups of all your music files and the pictures of the kids and whatnot. If this sounds scary, try not to worry. System crashes can happen no matter what operating system you use and it's always recommended that you back up your information, not just for Linux.
   
   
   So now, if you have decided that Linux is for you, or that you at least want to check it out and give it a try, time to go to the next page, where we will discuss what you need to do from here. If you are still nervous about it, that's okay too. I was in the beginning. The first step page involves making a Live CD, which is a way to "test drive" a distribution of Linux WITHOUT changing a single thing on your computer, so rest easy. You can try Linux out all in fun!
   
   

   Click here to go to the First Steps Page

   or scroll down for a helpful list of Linux terms!
   
   

The Linux Help for Beginners Linux Lingo Section

You can also make a quick pit-stop here to learn some words you will run across over and over. If you don't know what they mean, you might run into a bit of confusion at first.

1. Distro--Short for distribution; a version of Linux
2. Open source (software)--Software that is developed, usually as a collaborative effort, and allows the user to modify it and redistribute it at will
3. Kernel--The core of the Operating System
4. Application--Program
5. Package--An application is 'bundled' in a package, which must be opened and the contents put in the right places.
6. Daemon--An application that runs in the background, rather than at the user level
7. Boot--The process of starting the operating system when first powering on the computer
8. Bork--The process of breaking one's operating system so bad it has to be reinstalled fresh
9. Fork--
   1. a method of cloning a process into two processes..one becomes the parent, the other the child
   2. when software is split into two variations

   Partitioning--Dividing your hard drive into sections

   Application--Program (such as Firefox)

   Swap (as in drive)--a bit of space on the hard drive that can be used as additional memory

   Command-line or terminal--This is where you type in commands that make Linux do what you want it to. Originally this was the only option, so kudos to all those people who have made it possible for Linux to be used by many more people now.

   Root--Root is the user that can do everything (including trash the whole system!) Of course, root is never recommended for ordinary use. For that, a user name is created.

   GUI (Graphical User Interface)--Simply put, point and click. As far as us newbies go, every time you see a Linux application with a GUI, say yay! Without it, you would have to rely solely on the command-line terminal, where everything you want to do has to be typed in. This isn't so bad but it can be difficult for the brand-new-to-Linux user.

Now that you know some of the "techie jargon" that you will encounter in your Linux travels, Click here to go to the First Steps Page