Hi im currently installing Linux on my VMware workstation to test it out and im totally new to Linux. does anyone have any basic advise for me? im switching from windows xp. ive worked as a technician for windows systems for years so im afraid that that may trifle my ability to get used to how everything works. any advice would be great. im sick of working with Microsoft.

Just play around with it really. Set up your desktop so that it is a desktop you can use and then see what you are able to do with it. Really, just familiarise yourself with it.

is there any simple guide that compares different folders in linux to folders and directories in windows?
i see tons of folders that i have no idea about i.e. bin

I would say to try a bunch of different distributions. Slackware is my distro of choice and I tried 4 others before I found it. I would also try and find a good book to read to get introduced to BASH and using the CLI.

thats funny cause the version i chose to try was slackware 12.1
but yeah does anyone know of a simple way to view the file system?
is there a registry? idk i dont really know anything about it

Welcome to the Linux community! Yes, a good advice would be using it, playing with it! do research when you have a problem and of course never give up and then go back to M$crosoft!
I'm currently using OpenSuse and I really like it! I will def try Slackware too.

would anyone suggest a new mini-pci wireless card thats cheap that will be supported by most versions of linux? mines broadcom and it wont work and im on a laptop.

you would have to check with your Distro's Compatibility list and see which wireless card is supported. even tho Suse recognizes my wireless I still can't connect to a W router.
so check it out.

There is no registry, most of configuration is stored in /etc - in separate text files. Easy to edit, nothing cryptic. Honestly, I switched to Linux because I realized I'll never understand those strings in Windows registry.
man hier will tell you about filesystem hierarchy.
CLI requires a little practising, once you get it you will prefer it over GUI file managers. Midnight Commander (mc) is great helper, too.

Another idea would be to do a search on Google for "Linux tutorial" or something similar.

As for your wireless card. Unlike other distros which hold your hand, in Slackware you'll need to do one of the following.

a) recompile the kernel to include your driver. Since you're using the default that comes with Slackware, this probably won't be necessary. If it's there it would be built as a module and loaded on demand.

b) See if you can find a Linux driver on the manufacturers website

c) if b fails, you're probably going to need to buy a card that's supported. I personally prefer D-Link.

Read these:

http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm - ms v linux compare
http://rute.2038bug.com/index.html.gz - linux tutorial

http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/...ndows_software


More cmd line tutorials
http://tldp.org/LDP/Bash-Beginners-G...tml/index.html
http://www.tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/

thanks guys!