Hi

I am trying to learn about Linux on my Aspire One laptop, but I am confused with all the jargon, I am not using my laptop to the full capacity and it is driving me insane, I dont know simple things like how to change where I want to save things, also having problems updating firefox and adobe flashplayer, i am pulling my hair out as I can usually do these things arggggggg

Gail

You need to step back, take a deep breath ... and stop. Nothing is learnt overnight... most people spend 12 years at school just learning basic stuff to get along in life.

Tackle one thing at a time... read up about it on the 'net, then try to get it working - we're here to help. You solve large problems by breaking them into small problems, don't try to do everything at once.

cheers

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One thing about linux: read. Everytime you'll need to work something, you'll have to read about it.
Second thing: search. The searching for the problem is other thing you'll have to know.
Third thing: patience. Linux is not about everything being done for you - it's you doing things the way you like.

People here will help you solve 50% of your problems free of charge and step-by-step - even better than tech support. The other 50% depends on you.

1 members found this post helpful.

This page has loads of links for information about all aspects of Linux:

http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/...21.27.27.27.22

1 members found this post helpful.

Definitely step-by-step (nothing else is possible!) and the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Like climbing a mountain, if you keep on taking those steps, after a while you look back and see you have come a long way from your starting place.

You could watch threads go by in this LQ Newbies forum, see if you know the answers, see if you can guess the answers. After a while you'll find you can answer many of them.

Find out how to find out, develop netsearching skills -- which combinations of search words best deliver what you want and leave the cruft behind. When you find a helpful page (HOWTO ,forum, blog ...), bookmark it and so build up a reference library that works for you. When somebody posts a link here, check it out and, if you like it, add it to your library.

As it says on the cover of the Hitchikers' Guide to the Galaxy, in large comforting type: DO NOT PANIC.

When you get stuck, ask a question here.

Most of all, enjoy the challenge and the learning adventure then it is a pleasure and not a chore.

Good luck!

1 members found this post helpful.

Another helpful tip while looking at each thing that you get stuck on, when asking questions, the more information you provide,
ie
1. what have you tried?
2. where have you searched?
3. do you have an example(s)

These are just starter questions and as you go you will workout which are the best to use to help people help you.

The last tip i would give is that you are having trouble with a particular distro of linux (not linux itself as this is the kernel)
So for your first few posts, try and always include if you are using, Ubuntu, Slackware, Gentoo ... and also which version as different
ones are known to have their own little issues which someone else will definately have already faced

Enjoy the ride

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To grail's point
You should also click "My LQ" at the top right of this page, and then to "Edit Your Details" and put your Linux distro, i.e. fedora, there.

(We know from the little Fedora logo on your post that you submitted it from a browser running on Fedora, but if you submitted it from a Mac or Windows we wouldn't know.)

But his advice is sound, especially if you have more than one distro at your disposal. The more germain info in your post, the more likely someone will recognize the problem and try to help. Too little info, it'll get ignored (who really wants to play 20 question?); too much unrelated info we'll get confused and go take a nap...

1 members found this post helpful.

Thanks everyone for you help, I will take it slowly, I have the patience of a saint when it comes to working with children but not with anything else lol.

Already I have found out something from your posts, that I have fedora which I didnt know before.

When I tried to put a command into the terminal for the fedora system, it told me I had to be a root?

Gail x

Hi,

You need to apply the same logic along with patience as you apply to the children. Read, experiment and query whenever something doesn't work for you. We only discipline when someone shows no attempt or doesn't dig for a solution.

I suggest that you look at these useful links;

Linux Documentation Project
Rute Tutorial & Exposition
Linux Command Guide
Bash Reference Manual
Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide
Linux Newbie Admin Guide
LinuxSelfHelp
Getting Started with Linux

The above links and others can be found at 'Slackware-Links' . More than just Slackware® links!

1 members found this post helpful.

I see you are using fedora. The best place to start learning about linux, if you're a newbie, is the distro's wiki/documentation on their site. Here's the link to fedora's user guide manaual.

http://docs.fedoraproject.org/user-g...12/en-US/html/

Welcome to LQ

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Read the tutorials linked to in my signature.

This is where I started. It will cover some of the basic command line tools and terminology. It will explain things like who root is and what he's doing to your computer!

That's where I started, too!

I was reading it all day before I switched successfully to Linux the first time!

It's easy to follow and covers a lot of really useful stuff quickly. I still go back to that every now and again when I feel like I'm slacking in my Slacking.

I always recommend
Chris Tyler: Fedora Linux, published by O'Reilly
as a good investment. It shows you how to an amazing range of things and explains how the things you do actually work.