"Linux is really nothing to be afraid of – just start."

"Got a smart phone in your pocket?" Well, there you go – you've actually been using Linux or Unix for many years. You just didn't know it.

That is the way I learned to use linux, from the time it was first available as a RedHat offering in the early 90s. Very few experienced users and no forums such as this so it was trial and error on a lot of things. RedHat Linux version 1. Learned Linux and BSD at the same time.

Oh? What version/distro did you use? What did you 'test'??

My advice to newbies is give Linux Mint Cinnamon a try. Cinnamon resembles the XP-Win7 interface pretty closely. It's as close to hand-holding that Linux gets.

If they can't handle that, it's probably a lost cause.

The one thing I don't understand is advice websites saying Ubuntu is for beginners. If they are specifically told to go with one of the Ubuntu flavors then fine, but the default DE is GNOME. How is that beginner friendly for someone coming from the Window$ world.

Here's a thought:

• In the Microsoft Windows® system, everything has been "very tightly coupled" by a single vendor, such that it is quite likely that you will never encounter anything at all that wasn't provided by that vendor. (This is also "the IBM® Strategy.")

• In the Linux® system, on the other hand, you will very routinely encounter alternatives.

It is, very very definitely, "a culture shock!"

have fun reading =)

if you survive that as a beginner, you have the potential to be a Jedi!

But if not, don't give up. Just learn step by step how to do things using the terminal. Nothing wrong with GUI stuff, just that bash is bash for 30+ years, while GUIs change all the time.

Yes the original IBM PC was highly atypical of IBM and we all know how that turned out. And the only reason the IBM Mainframe operating systems were unbundled from the hardware was because the courts made them do that.

But is Red Hat Linux really tightly controlled? It is owned by IBM but it is Linux.

RedHat Linux as distributed is a tightly controlled server distro.
The caveat there is that it is up to the user to add whatever additional software they choose and/or even remove part of what is there. This is similar to most server OSes regardless of who produces it. RedHat Linux is the OS. The services the machine provides are the software the user installs.

RedHat support IIUC requires that the basic system remains as distributed and not highly modified as often happens with a home system.

It can be installed on almost any system as long as the hardware is compatible, similar to most linux distros.

Their support system has certain conditions that are required in order to have a valid support contract and you would have to contact RedHat directly to find out what those are.

Just so you know, the RHEL server OS (several releases) is available for developers to download and run for free. There is no support and is not intended for production use unless you purchase a support contract.

Very, very much software is like that.

The best way is to learn it in a very “natural” way or you can say Easy way, as below.
1. Before installing Linux, try to use open source software as much as possible.
For example, on your Windows PC,
- use LibreOffice instead of Microsoft Office
- use Firefox or Chrome browser instead of IE/Edge
- use GCC alternative instead of Visual Studio
- use Python or Java instead of C#
- use Gedit instead of Notepad
Get yourself familiar with open-source alternatives. Often the main obstacle to replace Window with Linux is the applications that we are already used to. Be doing this long enough before moving to next step.

2. Install Linux and make your PC/laptop dual-boot. Try to use Linux instead of Window as much as possible for everything you do. Temporarily boot back to Window for something you are too impatient to do it in Linux. Do not use Linux if you are doing something with tight deadline. Do not force yourself, but try to make it happens “naturally”.

3. Whenever possible, try to use Linux commands (eg. “cp”, “rm”, “ls”, “grep”, “cat” etc) to accomplish tasks instead of their GUI alternatives. Invest your time to learn Vim. At any stage avoid spending too much time to customize the Linux GUI. Feel free to try-out whatever apps you like, simply uninstall them after trying. Be prepared to format and reinstall the Linux at any time, remember to backup your user data before re-installing.

4. Learn Python and Shell Script (BASH) by using online tutorials. Avoid buying books, they are often unnecessarily complicating because their authors try to differentiate themselves from others. Python and BASH are much easier than C++ or Java.

5. After few months, use solely Linux as your primary OS. Remove Windows from the dual-boot. If you still needs Windows from time to time, get another PC with Windows installed, but use it rarely.

6. Choose a Linux distro (most likely Ubuntu or Fedora) and stick to it from the beginning until forever. Do not switch to other distro likes LFS, Gentoo etc for the sake of learning. Focus on productivity, not learning. For example, if you are a software developer, you want to use Linux to increase your productivity, and Ubuntu/Fedora is sufficient for that purpose. You do not need to learn LFS or Gentoo Linux in order to increase your productivity of writing programs.

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