Looking to switch over to Linux.

[Maxim]

Hey guys, hope you can help me out here.  I've been an avid PC users since I was in 6th grade or so.  And over the years have learned that Microsoft is on not really the ideal OS in my opinion.

I have however tried Linux before, I used a Mandrake release a few years ago, and a Slackware release last year for my IP routing in my house.  But alas I didn't setup the IP routing, a very good an linux savvy friend did, but I still fooled around with it, eventually I broke it some how.  

Anyway, it has come that time again and am looking to try out linux again.  The reason i've had so much trouble with it is because I grew up on MS and how the OS works and looks and feels.  How the file system handles it self where everything goes.  It was all very very new to me.  I also don't know anything about the C language or compiling programs.  So anyway to get the point of this post.  Is there a good site where I could start and really get an understanding of how the Linux operating system works??  Or maybe a good starter linux distro?

[Stryker]

honestly I think redhat's one of the best distros. It has everything I need, and it's the distro I started with. As for good documentation and tutorials and such, i'll search the internet in a bit and see what I can come up with. (it's 8:40 am and i've been up for the last 34 hours, i'm lazy right now) I'd go with redhat 7.3 though, easy install (choose custom and then choose everything at the bottom of that list, 3.5gb or so of stuff)

[creedon]

IMHO, it's not really the distro, it's the way you approach it.  I started with CorelLINUX; before everyone starts with the Corel/POS, I agree; it WAS a POS.  Corel had a really nice little GUI installer, and if everything went OK, it was a breeze to install; you ended up at a modified KDE desktop that looked like Windows- it was just like being home!!  There was an underlying problem that I , as a total newbie didn't understand; Corel wasn't secure- not one bit!!  It would allow the root user to act as a day-to-day user without ever making him aware that the whole system was wide open to anything that could happen to it.  That, in the long run , wasn't a majpr problem.  Corel never gave any indication of Linux's strongest point: the CLI!  The command line is where Linux is most powerful, and Corel ignored that advantage TOTALLY.  That effectivly crippled me as a Linux user for a long time; I'm still not completely comfortable using it, but I'm getting better at it now.
The point I'm trying to make is this; WHATEVER distribution you decide suits you best, use the command line as much as possible; THERE'S where you're going to learn the most; a pretty desktop is a nice feature, no doubt about it, but the REAL power is in the CLI.

[Stryker]

I'd have to agree, I don't think there's been any day that's gone by since I've been introduced to linux that I haven't used the command line. I can also say the same for the gui, but I just use that for the web and instant messengers and such. Most places you go looking for programming tutorials will teach you command line stuff, most wont really go into detail about how to make a text box and such. But anyways... I dont have the time to go search the internet for you, sorry about that. but go to http://google.com and search for newbie "linux tutorial" or something, you are bound to come up with things that help.

[LorKorub]

http://www.linux-tutorial.info is a really good tutorial that explains things pretty well for a newbie.

[TheQuirk]

And get SuSE (it will rock your socks   )

[theangelofdeath69]

TurboLinux.  Definitely TurboLinux.

Everything you need's in the box.

Hey, what the hell would I know though, being a stupid Windows User and al-

STOP 0x3A WIN_CRAPPY_OPERATING_SYSTEM

[RudeCat7]

I have to agree with Quirk.

Regardless of how advanced I become in Linux (long time from now), I think I will be sticking with SuSe. 7.3 has made it so easy for me to get started, and that allows me to explore the real technical aspects of linux, ie: command line, and compiling SRC files.

Plus, it was the only distro that would boot up after install on my son's Presario 4880.

[theangelofdeath69]

I'm telling you.  TurboLinux.  I got it free on the front cover of a magazine (finally, a magazine with SENSE!) and LOVED IT.

Though I did spend ages reading a book from the local library on how Linux works...