All You Ever Wanted to Know About Linux: A Novice's Guide

Wed Jun 7, 2006 5:32PM EDT

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Yahoo News is running an extremely helpful and insightful piece on getting started with Linux, a perennial topic among the questions that flood my inbox daily. Got a question about the OS? Click on through and read the full piece.

Writer Alexander Wolfe answers six big questions about Linux, mainly:

1) How many versions of Linux are there? (At least 350.)

2) What applications can I run on Linux? (Many, but you'll probably want to start with OpenOffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird.)

3) How can I play music with Linux? (Try the Linux version of RealPlayer.)

4) What desktop environment should I use? (Gnome or KDE—think of them as Windows systems running on top of the underlying OS. KDE is best for beginners.)

5) Will Linux ever be common on desktops? (No.)

6) How do I get started? (A variety of links to books and websites are included.)

My digest doesn't do Wolfe's lengthy, yet easy to digest, story justice. Do yourself a favor and check it out, even if you only have a passing interest in the Linux OS.

Comments on All You Ever Wanted to Know About Linux: A Novice's Guide

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  • 1 Posted by brighteyes3234 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:13PM EDT Report Abuse

    It looks like this might be a useful article, however the link for "read the full article" is dead.

  • 2 Posted by shurtugal_68 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have yet to find anything I cant do better with linux then I can with XP. Only downfall is windows specific software is a pain to get to work. Over all I have found Mandrake (Mandriva) to be the best package deal. Not to mention that everything and I do mean evrything runs faster on linux. Faster downloads, faster usb connection speeds, ect. I run 2 pc's one with XP one with linux. I enjoy my linux pc better. Just my take though, Try it yourself.

  • 3 Posted by robertv500 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    Unbuntu is the best version of Linux I have used. You can even run it from the CDROM without installing it and surf the web (Although you cannot save files to your hard drive when you do that. It is installed in about 30 minutes and it is free, it comes with OpenOffice and everything you need. It also had the drivers for my printer. My girlfriends kids kept screwing up the XP until it took 15 minutes to access a web page. They (the kids) cannot do that with Unbuntu. Free yourself from being a slave to Bill Gates. http://www.ubuntu.com/

  • 4 Posted by abhishek_anand1984 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    Article is good but need some more details regarding the linux applications.

  • 5 Posted by abhishek_anand1984 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    Article is good but need some more details regarding the linux applications.

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