BleepingComputer.com: Installed Linux Over Vista

Having always used Windows - (Vista) - I am finding Linux is like learning chinese. I'm a big fan of Firefox addons and am now wasting time searching for my previous favourite addons such as cooliris, launchy, that are linux compatible etc. The Firefox addons are numerous to say the least - so what I'm trying to establish is whether there is a link that lists addons for linuk - or perhaps you can suggest your favourites.

For example, I installed my favourite - Launchy - but it was not working for my OS.

Overall - switching to Linuk has been so confusing, although I am getting to realize it's potential, especially over Windows Vista.

I have looked at some of the posts in this forum, but what I really need is some basic help on "everything" !! Is there a site that links windows and linux help / comparrison / user guides for people such as myself that have never used anything except Windows.

Many thanks all.
Nat

man pages help a lot. open a terminal and type man....never mind, you have to learn some commands first.

If you're into buying things, the linux bible is a great investment.

The forums and wikis of the distro you have chosen are probably the single best resource. Since you have chosen Ubuntu, there is no need to feel dumb because you think your question may be too elementary. Those forums are loaded with beginners and beginner questions. The staff is incredibly helpful and thorough.

If you want to do it online:
google itand they will come.

If there is a specific question, ask away. We may even be able to help.

The Launchy Firefox extension doesn't automatically detect applications in the Linux version, I believe you have to edit an XML file to add in the apps that you want. See: http://gemal.dk/mozilla/launchy.html#xmlfile

As for the rest of the learning experience, the best thing to do is to use your computer as you normally would, see how things are different and look for documentation when you run into something you can't figure out. The Ubuntu forums are a great place to start when you're looking for help.

Welcome to Linux.

As above posts relate, user forums and wikis are where you want to be. I will not counter these wise suggestions except to say that I can give you a little of my experience and hope it helps.

1. Allow yourself about several months of testing before settling on a distro. As a general rule, the more mainstream distros will have a larger user base and therefore more readily accessible answers. (There are awesome smaller distros out there like Vectorlinux, Knoppix and Kanotix but they just don't have the user base for alot of support) Once you do, resist the temptation to distro-hop as it will postpone the inevitable learning curve. Once you familiarize yourself with one distro, you can think about branching out. Here's my list of favorites: full featured distros ->Mandriva and PCLinuxOS (have used these for business for two years now), Xandros (xtremely well laid out and user friendly), Mepis, CentOS (boring but very mature) and for lighter distros-> VectorLinux and Kanotix (not sure about its future though).

2. How to test? Live CDs is safest. Next (although more involved) is to pickup a dedicated second hand PC (Plll's w/256RAM and 10gb HD can be had for about $75) and start with some installations. Go ahead and trash this PC....learn as you trash.

3. Decide if you're a command line or GUI person. If you are a GUI then decide which one you prefer (KDE, XFce or GNOME). This will help steer you to the right distribution.

4. Really learn the art of google....one word....its placement or even its ommision in a search query can mean the difference between success and frustration.

5. Try the 30/60 rule. give yourself a limit of about 30 minutes to research something then try for about 60 min. to make it work . If no results, try a different tack and/or come back to it later.

6. Only use serial port hardware based modems for dialup connections and don't use AOL. If you use DSL...disregard this.

7. Be aware that coming from the Windows world, the concept of frontends and backends is important.

8. After a successful installation, immediately backup your xorg.conf and your /etc/fstab files.

9. As a general rule, when first learning, ONLY USE those applications that are designed for YOUR PARTICULAR distribution. (generally downloadable) from your distros repositories. Later you can get wild and install from scratch.

10. I have found that most "problems" are due to either a module (driver) is not loaded, a process or (daemon) is not turned on, or a permission is not set properly. Permissions have eaten my lunch on many occasions. This is frustrating but also is what makes Linux so secure.

10. Have fun!

11. If you noticed two tens you'll do fine with Linux

Hope this helps

The Ubuntu Forums is the place you want to be. Ask questions there and then ask them here (those guys know what they are doing!).

Learn where Synaptic is and get Automatix2 (if you are using 7.04, its kinda pointless currently with 7.10).

Here's Just a few of my resources:
http://www.tuxfiles.org/: good command info
http://www.ss64.com/bash/: A list of Commands for BASH
The Linux Counter:Stand up and be counted as a User
OpenPrinting: Got a Printer issue, check here
http://www.linuxalt.com/; The Linux Equivalent Project: Helps you find native Apps for Commonly used Windows Apps