The man pages are a primary Linux resource. But they are not always simple/easy to understand. I recommend you install tldr as well. The man pages give you the "what is", tldr gives you real world, functional examples.

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tldr sounds like just what I need, SlowCoder - thanks. Hard to resist something so real-world as Too Long Didn't Read. lol
I have tried a half-dozen pages so far trying to figure out how to get it, but nothing available specifically for Slax so I will have to keep looking. Haven't been able to even get past the first hurdle yet
apt-get install nodejs npm
Suggestions?

tldr-node-client is only one of several official tldr clients. Another one is tldr-python-client. At least those two as well as tcl-c-client are actively maintained.

Besides, there are many alternative tldr clients: tealdeer written in Rust, tldr-hs written in Haskell, and a couple of tldr clients written in Go (tldr, tldr++). They provide binaries in their respective Git repos. There are even tldr-bash-client, tldr-sh-client and tldr client for Emacs.

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Wow, that was quick, shruggy. It's all Greek to me, though. So much to learn ...

Try
or

@shruggy again, many thanks. I had tried the former earlier and got, "E: Unable to locate package tldr"
As a result of that I found the intermediate step of "apt-get install nodejs npm" that did not work either, as described earlier.
I similarly get "E: Unable to locate package tldr-py"
Back to the drawing board.
Slax has been a life-saver but it has limitations. For a nube at least.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22117237

Also, 2331*50 articles (recently, one for 'Starters')
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest.../page2332.html

In what way?
Do you have 'limited' PC resources? I run MX on old 1GB ram netbook, and mll in a VirtualBox, for learning cli (busybox) &kernel stuff (/proc /sys)
Why can't it apt-get all the 100,000 .deb pkgs? MX seems to.

@GentleThotSeaMonkey My PC resources are limited indeed at the moment. Windows 10 has crashed and my computer is stuck in a diagnose/repair loop and won't boot - something that apparently has hit hundreds if not thousands of W10 users. From what I can pick up, my best bet is creating a bootable W10 flash drive on another computer, to which I don't have access currently. But some time ago I created a bootable persistent Slax flash drive, and that is what has allowed me to get online and access helpful resources such as this forum. Hence, Slax has been a life-saver. From what I was able to find at the time, Slax was the smallest and nimblest Linux available for a persistent bootable flash. But it apparently requires some commands different from those typically suggested for Debian, on which Slax is based, and I am having trouble navigating. MX certainly sounds superior in some ways, but seems to be designed as a desktop OS rather than the small persistent bootable flash that Slax allows.

Do you actually need Windows? I mean, are you using software that you absolutely must use and that has no Linux equivalent? If not, you might consider scrubbing this very unfriendly OS and installing something that will behave better. It's your computer after all. Why let it treat you like this?

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Hazel, either you are mind reader, or you have heard similar stories often, or you have been a victim yourself, or all the above. I have been asking myself the questions you pose. Windows is bloated and getting worse, including new versions that increasingly steal my computer's resources to promote Microsoft's agenda rather than serving my needs. To top it off, when there is a problem (such as my current one) Microsoft is unwilling or unable to assist. As I look for solutions online I keep running across multiple tales of frustration, so it's not just me (or, presumably, you).
I have all my personal data backed up so can dump W10 and go to a friendlier OS any time. Limping along on my tiny Slax lifesaver, I am starting up a steep learning curve reminiscent of my younger days learning DOS. Fun, but currently far beyond my capabilities. What I need to explore is versions of Linux that allow easy point-and-click operations that Windows offers, when it works. Then I need to go down my list of app needs to see if versions are available for easy installation. I suspect that was behind the suggestions here that I try other versions of Linux with sophisticated GUI rather than starting with a very limited Slax OS that often forces me into the unfamiliar territory of Terminal.
Probably my search for a Windows-like version of Linux could start on other threads on LQ. No doubt there are lots of opinions from knowledgeable contributors like you. Among the limitations I face is that I am limping along on Slax and so far have not been able to figure out how to install software to create bootable flash drives for different Linux flavours (or Windows, for that matter). I am having lots of fun, thanks largely to you and others who have kindly given guidance here, but it is slow going and I fear I will be pushed back to Windows for at least long enough to let me explore other versions of Linux. For sure, I am feeling no love for Windows while my appreciation of Linux is growing.

First thing to know/remember about converting to GNU/Linux is...

LINUX IS NOT WINDOWS.

It's important that you understand this. You may find Linux distributions that are relatively simple to install, learn, and use as your primary operating system, but they will NOT be MS Windows.

When I converted friends/family to GNU/Linux in the past, I usually choose either Ubuntu (Xubuntu, actually) or Linux Mint. They're relatively user-friendly, but since they are not Windows, there's still going to be a bit of a learning curve. If my 79 year old aunt, who has trouble using her television remote, can learn to use Ubuntu, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it just fine.

Folks are often surprised that I do not set my friends/family up with Slackware, since it's my primary OS. The main reason is that Slackware, while being the best GNU/Linux distribution in the history of mankind (wink-wink), is not a beginner's Linux.

Others here will have many wonderful suggestions for you regarding which GNU/Linux you should use. Pay attention. As I've said before, some of the sharpest Linux folks you'll ever run across are right here on Jeremy's LQ.org. Download a few, play around a bit, break some things, learn to fix some things... HAVE FUN WITH IT!

That's not good advice. Let him choose the distro, and rather give him general advise. He could take alot of damage from following your advise and start using Ubuntu for example. Many would say Ubuntu is of questionable quality and might prevent you from learning anything at all. Many distroes are newbie friendly, not only Mint and buntu, so trying to funnel people into that is wrong.

Slax is actually quite easy too. Perhaps not the ideal choice, but fairly newbie friendly. It's wrong to suggest he should not use it.

Don't worry about it, Slax is a fine choice.

The problem migt be to understand how the basics work, but those are not exclusive to Slax, as some people have pointed out. Have a look at this if you think you need to learn more basics (of GNU/Linux, including Slax):
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...etc-etc-38387/
Most importantly, those things relate to the command line mostly, and command line related activity. So basically, learning bash and how to use bash properly.

That being said, Slax does have some unique features ("live" distro etc..), but I think you understand some of them, since you already use them and talk about it. So, you probably need to approach it from both ends, the basics of GNU/Linux and some of the unique features of Slax (which are also newbie friendly), like installing packages and properly using Slax in the way it is unique (you use it from a USB, it loads into memory).

Slax is quite a safe way to experiment and learn, as oppose to installing a distro. There are still things you can potentially do to mess things up (if you fiddle with the internal HD, so dont!), but aside from that, your Slax is pretty isolated from the rest of the system.

Another thing you need to understand is that in Linux the graphical (point-and-click) desktop is largely independent of the underlying system. You can run more or less any desktop on any distribution. In practice every distro comes with a default desktop but if you don't like it, you can always install a different one. So it makes very little sense to choose a distro for its initial appearance. Better to ask questions like:

• how easy is it for a newbie?

• how big is the install image?

• does it use bleeding edge or stable software?

• does it have (and do you need) a wide variety of packages?

• will it run well on your hardware?

Most desktops look fairly similar to Windows with a panel/taskbar along the bottom, and icons and a menu. But typically in Linux, it is you that puts the icons for your favorite programs on the desktop rather than the installer doing it automatically.

I think it's not a bad step to explore GNU/Linux a little before deciding to use it. But the real journey begins when he installs it in some way and start using it the way a GNU/Linux distro is generally used. Using a live distro will only take one so far.

But, no need to stress about it, it's not always plain sailing to install and use a distro. And chosing one that is right for you can also be a bit daunting. But ofcourse, from what I read in the Slax documentation it is possible to also install it, but it seems less intuitive to install Slax than most other distroes and it might not be equally suited for the purpose.

There are lots of newbie friendly distroes these days to look into, and in my opinion, Ubuntu would be one of the worst choices (it's counter-intuitive), due to it's disrespect of the "GNU/Linux" way of going things.

Anyways, I think for a newbie, the best way to install a GNU/Linux distro is to NOT do it on their main PC, but another PC that allows more room for failure without consequences. Despite installers being good and easy these days, users can still make mistakes if they don't understand the principles of partitioning and (dual)booting and such things. Anyways, installing GNU/Linux as a dual boot for the first time is also generally very safe IF you are aware of a few things and can follow some very basic instructions and don't panick if something goes wrong.