Hi, I'm an experienced computer user but I've never learned anything about LINUX. I'd appreciate it if someone would recommend books, learning materials, a web site etc. where I could begin with the basics. Linux seems to be popular and I'd like to get a handle on it. Thanks for your time and attention to this matter.
Jack Manger

Hi,
I could try to give you part of the contents of my bookmarks, but I think I put them at:
gearby @ Tripod
On the Operating System page.
Peace,
Clarke

Ubuntu is a good choice for the beginner there is a lot of community support available. There are several online ebooks available this one is nice for new users.

I think that for a total Linux newbie, Linux Mint, a fork of Ubuntu, would be easier. You get to download apps from both the Linux Mint repository as well as the Ubuntu repository and /or the Ubuntu launchpad. Neat.

Then later, if you want to customize your system or you can learn to remaster your own distribution.

You don't have to completely ditch Windows either but can run it in Virtualbox or do a dual-boot of XP and Linux.

Using linux isn't as difficult as most people think. The desktop environment runs much like widows. The programs however tend to give you a much greater degree of control and the error messages are much easier understood.

I would recommend installing on a computer you don't mind screwing with. Experiment with the different GUI programs available. Each distro has its different perks. Generally speaking though, you would get the most out of linux by studying the bash commands. They are comparable to using the command line in windows. You will find a "program" called terminal that does the trick.

bash commands - Linux MAN Pages

That is a site that will give you a list of commands and what they do and options and other stuff. Experiment with what you find interesting.

Good Luck

I agree with the above post on about 99% of it. I; however, think installing Virtual PC 2007 and running your chosen Linux OS in a virtual state would be more appropriate then being willing to harm an entire PC.

As far as info goes I agree with the second post. I myself have Ubuntu among others and I feel it's a nice change of pace but doesn't differ as much as many people may think!

Rick

I use a virtual machine myself and find that it is nice. But I use a separate PC to experiment with the multibooting, and have found some issues with some distro's inside a VM. I have had issues with sound, or getting it to recognize the CD drive after installation. A couple of times I had nasty slowness, even with 2GB ram on the hardware, and 1GB for the VM.

For one, all well-known Linux distros are the same. It's the software packages and the desktop environment that give that illusion, which you can change freely. Alghough, distro without X would be hard for anyone.

Someone gave you a link of BASH commands, read that, that's pretty much all you need. Then, read the manual for the desktop environment your using.

I agree with ITStudent2006, use VMs, it's a lot easier and alows you to have several OSs on one box. The downside, like the guy above pointed out, is you're not going to get 100% functionality because you're using virtual hardware, so no 3D acceleration or quality sound. And if you're host machine has minimal memory, you're computer will slow down big time.

I run 2 VMs at once, both webservers, but I have a quad-core intel and 4 GB of memory.