i havent had a computer for a while. my neighbor gave me a linux. i have no clue about linux, totaly oblivous.

i need the super noob rundown on the very basics of linux to get me started.

Ok--where to start?? Can you find the power switch? Does it boot up?

If you can boot it, what are you looking at--eg menus and icons? Tell us what you see and--if possible what kind of linux (distribution) it is. We can then point you to a guide for that particular flavor.

Heh, im an experienced Windows users. im not a COMPUTER noob, just linux.

Really I just want to get AIM to run on this thing atm :P

Redhat?

Can you log into the computer?? if so, you need the internet to use aim so try going to a website.

im on the computer as we speak.

i went to aim.com. and im confused how how to get/install the linux version of aim.

You can read this little manual that is made for Knoppix, essentially a demo version of Linux that you run off a CD, but it explains much of the basic architecture of Linux.

http://www.pjls16812.pwp.blueyonder....pix/index.html

If you want to give it a try just to get the feel and you have a CD burner, you can burn the image onto a CD, an then start up with it, without it having any effect on your existing system.
Knoppix.net

Surely, there are plenty of basic Linux manuals out there that are not Knoppix-specific, but this has worked out great for me as an introductory package.

We still need to know the distribution you are using. If you think it is Redhat, then dig around a bit to see if you can find the version. (using the file finding utility, try searching on "redhat")

Here
http://www.aim.com/get_aim/linux/latest_linux.adp?aolp=
they have instructions for installing. If you have Redhat, then you'll be wanting the .rpm version.

If you can find the file browser go to the folder /etc and look for a file called redhat-version or redhat-release. I don't know for sure if it has this, but there's something similar that is a text file saying the version in both distributions (versions of linux) I use. There's a decent chance you'll have an older version, since the current is either the Enterprise Version, or is called Fedora. This means to get all things working it may be necessary to install a new version, but you should be able to do a lot even if you still have the older version of Red Hat.

You may already have something that can work like aim on the computer. If you have either kopete or gaim, both of these can connect with aim, as well as a few other IM services. If you have one let us know and we can help configure it. Otherwise the link pixellany gave should work for you.

There's a lot of good online guides for learning about linux. Two good ones I've found are Getting Started with Linux and Linux Knowledge Base and Tutorial. Also a good resource to look at is The Linux documentation Project.