Quote:

Not a real jump from one *nix to another though.

Yup, almost eerie how many similarities 'tween my Mac and Red Hat x86.

The whole mac/linux machine is a great idea, because what programs you can't find for linux, are just about bound to find it in windows...

Hi,

I'm just recently introduced to Linux by my supervisor.

I use computers to email, surf the net, download mp3's, use MS office, CAD/CAM software and some simulation softwares such as MatLab...

I do not program (can't even use dos) or have affection for computers. i am frustrated rather than challenged by linux... am i better off just sticking to Windows? is the learning curve gonna be reasonable for me to be a novice user in linux? i have an impression that linux is for computer enthusiasts. it's like windows is GM of cars and linux, ferrari?

cheers!

Quote:

enthusiasts. it's like windows is GM of cars and linux, ferrari?

Not far off the mark. But depending on the distribution you are using (Red Hat - Slackware etc) If you give it a bit of time, you should be amazed how really easy it is. After all, everything you need to do e-mail, WP etc is all there. It's just arranged a bit differently. Knowledge of DOS wouldn't help a bit, but a few Unix commands may come in handy. For office in Linux, I hear good things about Open Office (I don't do office stuff so...). The only thing I see as a bit possibly difficult that you listed is downloading MP3s... Welcome to LQ

The mp3 thing should be no real trouble either. There are a lot of good Gnutella clients out there (Limewire works well on Linux) and if you wanna, you can try to get GiFT working, but not necessary (although it has a fasttrack plugin) There is MLDonkey as well. Lotsa choices, but little spyware comes with it (dunno about Limewire). Sorry

You just have to compile code and edit config files. Its real easy, ie. if someting says language=Afrikaan and yours is English, you just have to write out "language=English", simple!

Its just compiling takes some time, a few minutes to analyse your system then use its resources to create a custom program. You don't need to program it yourself, just press a few buttons (or type something) to start the process.

Oh, google helps a lot.

Ohed,
Welcome to the forum! I'm pretty inexperienced at this command-line stuff too.The trick is to find a distro with lots of GUI support.Win98 was built on DOS,but I almost never used the commands-MSconfig to check for buildup on my startup menu is about it.For easy starter distros,I like Lycoris(IRIS gallery for downloads,great user forum)Lindows(solid support,Click-n-run gallery,Debian based if you want to branch out later)and Mandrake(large public repositories,good support).
I like the car analogy,but a smarter man than myself once compared Windows products to a car with the hood welded shut. Now i'm not a Windows hater,but Linux gives you the option to open the hood and tinker-with most recent distros you don't have to though.Now if you're a hardcore gamer(i'm not)Windows is still ahead due to the market demand;on the other hand,nothing says secure surfing like Linux or Unix,and all the virus activity out there seems to be Windows specific so far.And if you do have any problems with your Linux distro,there are a LOT of Ferrari mechanics on this forum.
Wish I was one of them.Factory work leaves little time to .And if you just want to get your feet wet,try Knoppix-it boots from the CD-rom drive,you can play with it,reboot your PC and be back on Windows without ever installing it to the hard drive.Google Distrowatch to check out the sheer diversity of vehicles in the showroom(ok,ok,i'll stop now),and visit often no matter what you decide.
Later,fellow

Is there a "Preskool: My First Linux" distro? Like a "Mavis Beacon Teaches Mounting" with a bouncing ball to follow. I would like that.

Almost: http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-jr/

I think its a go now, but they're still cooking it, as with all distros...

i abhor the current microsoft hegemony but am wary of corporate takeovers by novell and ibm of suse and redhat. perhaps they will supplant the beast of redmond. imho *nix is inherently superior in its design to offerings by gates & co thusfar (except microsoft had xenix before linux). linux requires a sharper learning curve than windows. if all you ever do is check emails, visit forums (fora?) and hate nasty computers then use the operating system you've already paid for - when you bought your computer - probably a flavour of windows. avoid menus. put email and internet explorer on your desktop. especially avoid menus called 'settings' or 'properties'. always choose 'automatic'. never delete the shared files when removing ('uninstalling') software. if you accidentally find yourself in a command line interpreter type exit. you cannot and should not attempt to move, delete or rename some special folders or otherwise reconfigure your system. themes are available to personalise your interface. these features are also available in redhat.

Again I must REPEAT:

If all you are ever going to do is surf the net and check emails and chat, USE LINUX.

You've got better programs like gaim/amsn/etc. how it can detect window closings and blocks. It doesn't have spyware.

Windows is only for those hardcore gamers, but we already have Savage and the like.

And it will! Trust me. I've been around computers long enough to see the changes made by M$, and those made by Linux. Linux is moving toward what you are saying, moving toward people. M$ is moving away from people...

Maillion

Agreed. Linux is moving toward the people. However, I would argue that if you are prepared to spend a total of 4 hours to install and learn a few of the commands, perhaps with SuSE in particular as distribution, as a fresh newbie I think that you have enough knowledge to run most everyday needs for a huge amount of people.

Later, when you have time or the curiosity you can delf deeper. Books help too, the best one I bought "Linux Cookbook" from No Starch Press - helped me to learn. I do not believe that Linux has to become ever more like windows to succeed. I do not agree that one spends all one's time fiddling with Linux to do things. It is wholly different to type commands in rather than always, but always wade through menus, clicking away.... However you have command history, you can cut and paste commands. There are so many shortcuts in Linux, that once learnt, you never want to go back to windows.

I repeat what you repeat (in bold text)! Hear, hear!!!!

If you want linux to be simple, use xandros or mandy, if you want linux to be hard, use slack or gentoo.