[plug] Noddy learns Linux ... or a beginner's guide

[Bret Busby]

On Sat, 28 Aug 2010, Richard Meyer wrote:

> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:04:12 +0800
> From: Richard Meyer <meyerri at westnet.com.au>
> Reply-To: plug at plug.org.au
> To: PLUG <plug at plug.org.au>
> Subject: [plug] Noddy learns Linux ... or a beginner's guide
> 
>
> Hi people,
>
> An old acquaintance has contacted me, desperate to reskill herself - she
> wants to learn Linux/Unix, but has no idea where to start.
>
> Since I have only recently managed to turn my 15 year obsession with
> Linux into a paying job, I feel I may not be the right person to ask,
> but I replied and the meat of the answer is below
>
>> Remember that Unix/Linux is a full OS and trying to learn anything
>> without the basics is difficult - I started playing in 1995 - never
>> really took it seriously, but liked it and played .....
>>
>> I am attaching the body of a course I was writing for absolute
>> beginners. It may help you, or it may not ....
>>
>> Some advice - join the Perth Linux User Group mailing list - search
>> for
>> them on Google and join. If you show that you tried to get things
>> going,
>> they will help.
>>
>> Go to a newsagent and try to get a copy of the July or August edition
>> of
>> Linux Format magazine - it has DVD full of Linux stuff every month -
>> the
>> July one has the latest version of Ubuntu Linux and the August one has
>> Mint Linux. They are probably the two easiest versions to install and
>> run, AND they both run from the DVD - slowly, but they run.
>
> Does anybody have any more/better advice?
>
> (I suppose the advice to buy the mag may be met by "Download it,
> yourself", but she's not exactly PC literate, and downloading and
> burning an ISO may be more of a PITA than anybody may want).
>
> -- 
> Richard Meyer
>
> Welcome to the Internet:  Where men are men, women are men, and children
> are FBI agents.
>
>

1. With everything that I have seen of Ubuntu 10.04.1, I recommend using 
Ubuntu 8.04LTS.

2. A good book, could be Sobell's "A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux", 
with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS. Whilst the book comes with 8.10 on disk, the 
(apparent) longer term support for 8.04LTS could be better. I used 
Sobell's "A Practical Gudie To Linux" (earlier version), years ago, and 
found it to be good.

Hope that helps.

--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............

"So once you do know what the question actually is,
  you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
   Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
   "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
   A Trilogy In Four Parts",
   written by Douglas Adams,
   published by Pan Books, 1992

....................................................