Moving from Windows
 

Hello,

I'm not sure I'm writing this at the right place, so sorry ahead of time.

I've been using Windows since 1995 and at first I didn't really know anything about it. Today I'm a Windows network administrator and support professional with multiple MS certifications.

I've been trying a few times to get ahead with Linux and I found it to be very difficult and complicated to do so. On Windows, I install Windows and then add my chosen applications. On Linux, I install it and... How do I find equivalents to my Windows applications? What if I absolutely must have a certain Windows application, I tried installing WINE that was way beyond me and I couldn't install any Windows application on it and make it work.

So, like a good boy, I reinstalled Windows and forgot about Linux for a long time.

Now, I really want to get into Linux, both as a desktop and as a server admin. I want to be able to manage common aspects of Linux in a work environment and to troubleshoot problems when they arise and to write scripts but where do I start?
The community keeps referring newbies to the man and HOW-TO pages, they are great, but for a newbie that just starting the journey, they can be complicated. So in order to do things faster we ask direct questions and hope to get direct answers, not RTFM. And when we read the FM part of RTFM, it’s like reading a whole book. We lose interest and give up.

How can I start working with Linux on a regular basis as a desktop and learn to be able to manage a network with Windows and Linux servers?

Thank you for your answers,

The best way to REALLY learn it is to load it on your PC and USE it. USE it everyday. When you hit the wall with a problem, find the solution to that problem and then keep moving forward. No one here can tell you in one post how to be Linux/UNIX Administrator. Every problem you solve will help you with the next one to come. When you give up and reload with Windows, you're beat.

Stick with it.

The knowledge base in this group is tremendous. We (they) can help you out as problems arise, but you have to decide that you are going to stick with it and work on it until it's resolved. If it was EASY, everyone would use it... There is still a LOT that I don't know, but I am leaps and bounds ahead of where I was 5 years ago...and I attribute most of what got me through the hard stuff to this forum and persistent research.

Probably not exactly what you wanted to hear...but it's the truth, nonetheless....

Good Luck!

I'm a Windows-sysadmin too, but I started with Linux back in 1994 and nowadays don't really like Windows. Beeing a Networkadmin is a good startingpoint because the networkpart is mostly independent of the Operatingsystem.
you should tell us which applications you use on Windows, then we can tell you which programs on Linux you can use.
If you want to get a certificate from Redhat, install Centos or Redhat, if you want to go for LPIC you could use Suse and Debian. If you really want to learn Linux, install Slackware, we have a very helpful and knowledgable community here: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/ at LQ

As for RTFM, here's a tutorial about reading the manpages: http://docs.slackware.com/howtos:gen...es_efficiently

Unfortunately you will have to read the documentation.

Markus

Just another idea for you as a Windows Sysadmin ;)

If you have a USB-scanner, here is a tutorial how you can share the scanner in your network with other Linux-computers: http://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/...r_over_network

Try it out. And if it works with Linux, do the same thing with Windows :rolleyes:

Markus

Linux distribution developers have their own repositories from which to download compatible programs. They are more likely to work as any dependencies will be resolved and they are closely watched so the likelihood of malware is less.

Do an online search for "Linux equivalent to windows program".

If you have a windows program that is important to you, you apparently already have windows installed so use it. A lot of programs work with Wine and a lot don't. I haven't used it for years so I don't have any advice.

I've found the man pages at times very cryptic and don't usually use them. They are an excellent source of information though.

If you have a specific problem or get a specific warning or error message when trying to do something, the first thing I would suggest you do is either come to LQ and use the search function on the upper right or use whatever search engine you prefer and enter the exact warning/error message.

If you are trying to do something specific, I would suggest you do the same and when you get to a site you the first thing I would check is the data of the articule/tutorial because everything changes and something written in 1998 may not be applicable now.

This is the place to ask this type of question!


If you must have a windows app, I would tell you to forget about wine until you get more experience in linux. Try using vmware or virtual box with windows in them to get your windows apps.

Try getting a linux book, and then reading through it, taking notes might help. Also, try getting linux onto a personal computer so that you can get use to it in an environment that you might not necessarily need those windows apps in.
Don't use the man pages until you get a little more experience in linux built up.
Ubuntu might be the easiest linux os for you to start using. It even has a software downloader and installer that you can look through to find the right programs for your job. Here is a site with some good linux programs on it for download:http://softpedia.com

Hello netnix99,

I like your answer, thank you. I downloaded Linux Mint Maya Mate and Cinnamon (two ISOs) and I’m ready to install one of them. I’ll start as a VM at work because I don’t have an extra computer at home to make it my main OS. I will make an effort to use it as my regular admin workstation. If there will be things I cannot do, I’ll install VMware server on it and install a Windows based VM as a guest on it.
When I have issues, I’m very persistent and stubborn and usually never give up until I find a solution.


Hello markush,

The list of applications I use on a daily basis is very limited. Here is most of it:

- Office 2007
- Internet Explorer
- Nero Burning ROM (ISO burning and audio conversion abilities are almost a must for me)
- Ability to rip CDs at high quality and converting .WAV files to .FLAC or MP3
- Winamp
- Adobe Reader, flash
- RDP client

There are many others, some more important and some less important that I can do without. But I don’t use them on a regular basis.


Hello Yancek,

I hope the list above is satisfactory


Hello Nbiser,

You are saying “try getting a linux book…” but which one would be a good reading? Most computer books can easily be reduced from a few hundred pages to less than a hundred pages condensed but concise version that will direct readers exactly to what they are looking for. I’m not exactly a total newbie and I don’t want a book that will bore me right from the start. I want a book that will tell me how to do things right away, without all the useless mambo-jumbo that computer book writers write in order to justify their effort into actually writing a book and not a notebook.

How about books from a few years ago, will those be a good source to look at today?

I’ll be happy to hear some advice as too which book to get a hold of.

With Linux you can use Openoffice, Libreoffice, calligra and others as Office-suite.
Firefox, Opera, Seamonkey or Google-chrome as Webbrowsers.
K3b (from KDE) or xfburn for burning.
As of ripping, there are many tools with commandline or gui, I don't have that much experience with them.
There are several media players, VLC for example.
I would not use Adobe Reader with Linux, there's Okular or Evince which are much better.
For RDP there's krdc (from KDE) or rdesktop which connect to a Windows Terminalserver quite well (I've used it already).
I would not recommend to read old books, they don't cover modern concepts. As you probably know, the opensourceworld is much more in a movement than Windows.

Either you purchase a book which covers Systemadministration in General and not only Linux but Unix in General (and therefore is distributionindependent), I once read this one http://www.amazon.com/UNIX-System-Ad.../dp/3897213478
Or you read online, there are many resources: http://rute.2038bug.com/index.html.gz and here some other hints http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...es-4175442607/

Learn to read the manpages which are the common documentation system in Unix/Linux http://docs.slackware.com/howtos:gen...es_efficiently

Markus

Member Response
 

Hi,

As other members have pointed out that you should do some experimentation or work with a Gnu/Linux. You have many choices to select from. Personally I use Slackware as my Gnu/Linux of choice. You should be able to install a VM on your personal machine without to much effort. VirtualBox is another VM to use for a sandbox to do your testing of different Gnu/Linux. Look at: Virtual for other useful information.

Look at: Linux Books & Online Magazines for free online information. Many books are downloadable PDF.

Be sure to look at the rest of Slackware®-Links which is more than just Slackware Links. :)

You should take moment to reflect as to how things were when you started out with Microsoft Windows. Likely you started by using the OS then learn the inner workings, be it for network or application support. No one can start in the middle without causing undue work or confusion. Building blocks and planning!

Do some topic Search here at LQ since you are not the first to be in this position. You will find loads of information to provide pathways to a successful journey. :)

BTW, sometimes the suggested links below the thread will be useful.

HTH!

EDIT: Look at: Get Your ISO, LiveCD & Pocket OS to get a LiveCD/DVD to test drive.

Hey Arie01
Linux Mint is not that difficul that you need to read an entired book about it. Infact you can do almost everything from the graphical interface. Sure you will need to use the command line for some hard core administrador task but take it easy and get familiar with everything on your desktop first then dive in the command line.

For the programs you mention on your post Linux Mint offer equivalent programs.

For Office you will get LibreOffice suite by default but you can buy and install other suit office such as SoftMaker http://www.softmaker.com/english/

For Web Browsing you will get Firefox by default but you can install lot other web browser too, Google Chrome, Medori, SeaMonkey, etc.

For ISO burning K3b is the program you need, Open up Sypnactic pakage manager in Linux Mint, your will need your pasword for it. There search for K3b mark it for install and click on apply changes, you will have to confirm the changes and then let it do its thing. You can find the newly installed program under Sound and Media category programs.

For copying movies K9copy is what you need. installed the same way described above.

Instead of Winamp you will get Rhytmbox or Banshee or Amarok I dont really know what is the one that comes in Linux Mint by default. For sure it will be a good one.

Adobe, flash, MP3 capabilities, media convert, and all that junk is provided when you install Linux Mint

Remote desktop viwers too are provide so basically you get everything.

I am sure a smart guy like you will figure it out in no time. It really is not rockets science.

Good luck to you.

Wow guys, that’s a lot of information. I really appreciate it.

One software that I forgot to mention and I use almost daily (on my laptop, that’s why I didn’t mention it before) is a DLNA server with support for Panasonic Plasma TV’s. Any good DLNA server that doesn’t hiccup in the middle of streaming a movie?

Onebuck, why Slackware? Can you please elaborate why this is your distro of choice and how does it differ from other distros?

TroN-0074, thanks for the compliment. I’m not really a smart guy, just an average Joe.
I’m sure using the desktop will not be too difficult for me to figure out (until I get into an issue).

Thank you all so much for all your help. I will install my mint and look at the reading materials and decide for myself on which software variants to chose.

In general there are different concepts of distributions. Ubuntu, Mint and similar distributions are made to make it easier for Windowsusers to step into Linux. They do almost everything in a GUI and try to be familiar for the typical Windowsuser.
Other distributions like Slackware, Arch, Debian or Gentoo follow the traditional Unix way. Most configuration is done on the commandline and it is necessary that you know what you are doing.

Markus

Slackware is known for its stability and reliability. As Markus mentioned, it may not have all those fancy GUI configuration tools that you use mouse with, but using command line for configuration has lots of advantages; so of them are mentioned here:
http://docs.slackware.com/howtos:cli...l:introduction

as others have said you can use google to easily find what equivalent programs have linux and windows support (once you start using some of these programs you will realize most of the open-source alternatives have more features than their closed-sourced alternatives).
also, xbmc has a dlna server but that may be overkill for what you need.

Member Response
 

Hi,
Slackware is 'UNIX-like'. I have been using UNIX for years and when Slackware came out in 93 I wanted the luxury of having a UNIX-Like on my PC equipment. Look at: Look at the timelines above and you will see that Slackware has many derivatives. Slackware is stable and user configurable once you learn the basics. 'GUI' for me is something that actually dumbs down to provide what the author thinks you need done. Sometimes this can be hampering to users when and if they get into trouble. If you learn to work at the 'cli' (command line) then doors are open to a knowledgeable user. If you decide that a 'GUI' is a must then you will have choices for DE or wm for Slackware.

Learn and enjoy!