Hi, I'm new to this Website and to Linux, mostly using Microsoft operating systems in the past including DOS. Does anyone have any tips to help get me started? (Currently starting to make my way through www.linux.org articles and tutorials)
Many thanks

My advice will be get a distro and install it in a computer and go from there.

Good luck to you!

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!

Look at: Get Your ISO, LiveCD & Pocket OS; I sugesst that you download a LiveCD. Look at: The LiveCD List which is a very good list to select from.

LiveCD/DVD will allow you to test drive a Gnu/Linux.

As to other information;Be sure to look here at LQ, notice Tutorials, Articles and Search are available from the menu.

Read the following FYI to help you with interacting here at LQ;HTH!

2 members found this post helpful.

Hi!

You can watch a few videos on the different distributions of Linux.

Ubuntu
http://www.ubuntu.com/download
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mfmHxjzF6g


Debian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5qzpfOG98Y

Debian is nice BTW and is a stable distribution-

Fedora
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0lIpCntwv8
I use Fedora everyday and it's a really nice cutting edge operating system.
You will have to learn all about 'Yum'
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-yum.htm
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Yum

And Linux Mint
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z_IIq2su2w

I've tried Mint and I liked it you might like it too-

The other website you could go to is http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

Like TroN-0074 said; install the distro (once you know which one you want) on your computer and start getting to know your new operating system. Reading the documentation about your disto will be very helpful.

Good Luck Tatiger!

1. Install it.
2. More important: Use it. Don't stop using it. If you find a task and you don't know how to do it on Linux don't do it on Windows, learn to do it with Linux.
3. Read, many good links already given in this thread.
4. Try. Set yourself a goal and try to achieve it.
5. Most important: If there is something unclear in the documentation or you have difficulties to understand it then don't hesitate to ask. There are many knowledgeable members here that will help you with your questions.

Pick something you want to do (design a website, create a spread sheet, record a podcast, edit photographs, anything you want to do enough that you will keep at it for a while) and learn how to do it. In the process of learning that, you will start learning how to use the operating system.

With me, it was self-hosting my website out of my guest room. By the time I had it working, I had learned my way around the operating system enough that it no longer seemed strange or different. And I was hooked.

Here are some references I've found useful. Garrels Intro to Linux was the single biggest help when I was learning my way around:

http://linux.about.com/. It's oriented to Ubuntu, but it's full of good info.

http://tille.garrels.be/training/tldp/. Machtelt Garrels's Intro to Linux.

http://www.slackbook.org/. Slackware oriented, but excellent on the basics, such as file structure, permissions, and the like.

Use virtualbox. Install an image into that and use it constantly. If you get stuck, pop out and use windows.