I have just got my first linux machine and know nothing about it, so if anyone knows anything about the skytex sx-e700 and how to figure out it's OS, I need to load some programs.
Thanks in advance!

Gunnerwoody,

First, welcome to Linuxquestions.org

I did a little googling, and I think that the skytex sx-e700 laptop ships with PC Linux-OS, which is a variant of Debian. The distinguishing feature of Debian and its variants is the use of apt (advanced package technology) as its package management system. You will most likely use a tool like 'aptitude' (a wrapper around apt) to install, remove and configure software.

The home page for PC Linux OS can be found at http://pclinuxos.com/. They have their own support forums, although you're always welcome to ask questions here.

The best way to learn is to use the computer. Navigate menus, click the help buttons, open terminals etc. As long as you are not logged in as root, you can't really hurt the system its self. If you run in to a problem, do as much research as you can on google... the more information that you can find on your own, the more you will learn. After you have exhausted google searches, formulate specific questions, record as much detail about what you want to know and what you have done to get it, and ask questions here.

... I say this, but I'll confess, often I'll fire off a quick question to LQ (that's how we refer to LinuxQuestions.org here in the forums) before I do much googling. More than anything, be patient, polite, and curious about Linux, and you'll learn a lot around here.

I would also read through the LQ FAQ (http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/faq.php).

Good luck and happy Linuxing