So new it hurts
 

I recently have access to a linux machine. I log on with my username and password but then just sit there looking at the screen unsure what to do next.

I have worked with windows for years but very little with dos.

I have looked at alot of sites for commands and beginners but I cannot find anything to help me.

I guess I assumed that when you started the machine and logged in that it would load a graphical interface but I was wrong.

Any pointers, help or advice would be apperciated.

Thanks
Ty

It would certainly help if you gave us some info on your system. What distro are you running, etc. Generally speaking, if you want a graphical interface, you'll need to do from command line.

There are ways to set your system up to load a GUI by default, although I won't get into that just yet. In any event, hello and welcome to Linux.

Welcome to Linux. Keep in mind that you will get as much our of Linux as you put into it. Just remember that it's not a Windows replacement, it's an alternative to Windows. You can get Linux to do just about anything you need it to do. Keep learning and keep reading the forums. When you feel comfortable, start answering some questions.

Since someone already psted to do a startx, take a look at some of the following to get moving.

http://my.execpc.com/~keithp/bdloglnx.htm
http://www.geocities.com/aboutlinux/
http://www.linux.ie/newusers/beginners-linux-guide/

F_M

maybe you need read the documentation that comes with your distribution. Every distrubution have their own way of doing things, example startx in fresh install of Arch linux will disappointing you, where in Arch you need to configure the .xinitrc by yourself. Again, reading your distrubution documentation will help...

Welcome to LQ

Yes... "Welcome aboard, Captain! And by the way, that iron skillet that just smacked you in the face is perfectly normal. Please be advised that this will happen to you quite frequently during the next several weeks or months." :D

The Linux system is much more than "a replacement for Windows." It is genuinely very different. It is closer to Windows-NT, and very far removed from DOS.

The biggest apparent difference between the two systems is that Linux is a loosely coupled system. The various parts which make up the system are not tightly connected. Some people say that "they're held together with string, Scotch tape, bubble-gum and glue." Maybe so, but held-together they are!

In the Windows system, the graphical user interface (GUI) and the remainder of the system are very tightly linked. The Windows Explorer web-browser is tightly linked with that GUI-shell and Microsoft is apparently very proud of that.

Linux, on the other hand, consists of many disparate pieces. The windowing system, X-Windows (no relation...) is client-server by design, which means that you can run a fully-graphic session against a remote computer that does not even have a video card. The window-manager, and the GUI itself, are loosely coupled even to X-Windows, which means that you can make a single computer look many different ways; the choice is yours. But the choice is overwhelming.

The various subsystems ... printing, network services, scheduler, Web services, ssh, and so-on ... are likewise independent of one another; not provided by "a single vendor." Remember, this is an operating system that can run on everything from the largest IBM mainframes to an Apple iPod. It is a system that can marshal together the services of a cluster consisting of hundreds of multi-processor CPUs and make them all appear as one. It really is "rocket-science stuff."

"You tend to understimate a cute little penguin until he's coming straight at you going a hundred miles an hour..." -- something like that, sorry, Linus...

In future, please try to use better thread titls "So new it hurts" tells us nothing at al about what problems you are having or what your question is all about.