Ive been trying to switch to linux for a while , but always end up being lazy, but this time i really want to switch.Ive been messing around for the past few days with knoppix, even though i think im gonna go with mandrake.....I have a few questions though about linux, so i really would appreciate it if someone could help me out.I know some of these questions might sound stupid but im really new to this , and ever since i found out about microsofts "trusted computing" plans ive been wanting to support linux by switching(plus is cooler lol)

1) How do i secure linux ? I looked in knoppix and could not find a firewall... in windows i disable services , and use advance rules to block ports and stuff but how would i do that in linux ? Howcome whenever a prog tried to connect , im not asked to permit it ? How can i test how secure i am ? with windows i would run the online sygate test.

2)does Adobe photoshop work with Linux ?

3)How do i unstall programs i dont need that came with my distribution...

4) In windows i press control, alt and delete to bring up the task manager to see whats running and how much memory is being used and can end a task through there if i want to ...how do i do this in Linux ?

5) I have a usb cd burner, that dosent work with all software, do u think linux could not support it ?

6) Where the hell is the volume control ? LOL i looked all over knoppix and could not find it , i noticed in mandrake some people had a speaker icon in the taskbar , how did they do that ?

7) How do i keep Linux up to date ? where do i get patchs and how do i install them, also i noticed manrake currently has 9.2 on their website for downoad but their coming out with 10.0 soon , how wouldi upgrade ? do i have to reinstall the whole thing ? or is their a upgrade option .

8) This question is probably gonna sound really stupid, but i like to keep things organized , and when i download an application that dosent have an installer i extract it in the "program files folder" and thats where most people put there programs but in linux whats the default folder ? i know i can put it anywhere i want to but im just looking for an idea to keep things organized. Also what are all these bin and urs folders for ?

I apologize if anything above wasent clear or has been answered b4 or if this isnt posted in the right place or format.

Please be patient with me , thanks.

In a rush, so here're the answers to a few of your questions. Someone else can fill in the rest.

1) If you're using Mandrake, if I recall, you can set the firewall through either the Gnome or KDE desktops by going into the Start Menu->System settings->Security Level. As for testing it, try this site: GRC (go to ShieldsUp!)

2) I don't think Adobe has a Linux compatible version of it (apparently they're not such big fans of open source...), but you can probably use a Win emulator like Wine. Or try out GIMP, which is a handy graphics program which might be on the Mandrake CD.



4) Control+Alt+Delete will work in KDE (I *think*. Sorry, I usually use Gnome, so I don't remember.). If not, you can use the System Monitor gui program which probably comes with your distro. It'll probably be in Start Menu->System Tools. Or you can do it from the terminal, but you can learn that later.



6) If you saw them using a taskbar, then it was probably KDE or Gnome, in which case you should be able to right click on the taskbar and add applets like volume control to it.



7) I don't remember if MDK had an updater like Up2Date for RH, so I can't say much about that. (I use apt-get for Fedora which is a command line updater) As for updating, you should be able to just burn the 10.0 CDs, boot from them, and MDK should detect that you already have 9.2 and ask if you want to upgrade instead of doing a full install.

start by doing some searches on this site!

nearly all of your questions are answered quite frequently on this board, and it would be unfair for someone to have to reinvent the wheel, and spend an hour and a half compiling all the information.

do searches for

1) linux firewall (comes with a built in firewall and proxy - research)

2) Wine (windows emulator) and photoshop, or look at Gimp

3) you can choose precisely what programs get installed.

4) task management

5) do a search for you burner model or name - see the hardware forum - google your burner's name with the word linux

6) look through the dang program menus

7) this question depends on the distribution you choose - suse has yast2 - rehat has Yum and up3date - do some research after you choose your package

8) do some research

thanks and sorry i will try using the search feature more its just that theres so many thread on this forum.

1 http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...threadid=45261

2 the gimp

3 do some reading on your distro and don't install them in the first place

4 from kde use systemguard

5 http://www.linux-usb.org/
http://www.qbik.ch/usb/devices/showdevcat.php?id=11

6 check out your mixers in the multimedia section of the menu

7 mandrake has an update system similar to windows

8 for all my downloads, i simply created a downloads directory in the /home directory of my user.

hope that sheds some light.
good luck.

1) The firewall is built into Linux, you can configure it like LinuXP said or use firestarter to configure

2) Wine homepage, GIMP should come with Mandrake

3) RpmDrake manages programs in Mandrake

4) Kde has a task manager, if the key combo doesn't work, then you can browse around in the menus for it. Linux rarely freezes, and if the GUI starts acting up I switch to command-line (ctrl-alt-F6) to fix the problem, which is even less likely to freeze.

8) Linux organizes things for you. Configuration files are kept in /etc , most programs end up in /usr (kinda like Program Files), etc. See the Linux Filesystem Hiearchy Guide
Edit: when you get programs that need to be extracted, they usually have some sort of installer. Extract, install (the files go to their respective folders like /usr), then delete what you extracted. Use things like checkinstall to keep track of the non-mandrake stuff you install.

See these guides for Mandrake help:
http://doc.mandrakelinux.com/Mandrak...tml/index.html

http://doc.mandrakelinux.com/Mandrak.../Starter.html/

Adobo photoshop will work quite well on Crossover office by www.codemasters.com

That should be www.codeweavers.com, and yes we support Photoshop on CrossOver.