i received my slackware distro in the mail on the first of the month, FEB. I wanted to set it up on my old computer and network it with my new XP. I wanted to be able to share files between the two. I wanted to be able to route my internet access through the linux box. I had never touched linux before. but i was determined. I had problems with KDE recognizing the right video drivers, which i learned about, and fixed. I had problems setting up my dsl, but i learned and i got it up and running. I had problems networking the linux box with the microsoft xp, I found samba, and got it up and running. tonight the internet routing problem was solved (I have a eth-->usb adapter which brings in my dsl and a crossover cable connecting the two boxes) using the masquerading modules (or whatever?). I have been hunting through these threads for answers to my questions for the past 3 weeks and i have found them, never exactly spelled out but a good start, and good advice (does "rtfm" mean what i think it does?). basically this is a thank you. now i'm gonna go back and learn more, tighten my firewall, explore the various guis, find out more about what is possible. i'm excited. rah rah rah, i now that this might seem like a silly thread, but i just wanted to share the good old fashioned techie joy. thanks again

I took a shortcut and just started using all the software listed in the 2003 LinuxQuestions.org Members Choice Awards http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...?s=&forumid=37

I thougth I would just start out using what everyone voted the best and then learn from there. Heck you're already running Slack. I would start by trying Fluxbox as your window manager. You can spend alot of time setting up KDE or Gnome to your liking just to dump it later. Flux is alot cleaner and leaner and I think you will learn alot more about linux setting it up. IMHO. There is also a certain coolness factor. I like the fact that my computer in no way resembles a windows box.

Well let me be the first to Congradulate you on a job well done!! Kudos to you, not many New Linux users go for Slackware as their first distro. Slackware was also my first install and I have not looked back.........

slack has got to be the fastest way to learn linux. I was taught on slack by a linux guru who is here to help me with anything to this day, and i just cant bring myself to use much else, slack is so streamlined and quiet its just hard to go to anything else. Also, its just tough enough on you to teach you quiet a bit if you persevere, and it will teach it to you fast. It took a long time for me to get good enough with linux to completely leave the M$ world, but now that im gone, its very hard for me to even use a windows box at my school, with how slow they are and the constant questions and advertisements, i just cant do it. Bad drivers, badly written software and applications, it just goes on and on. Funny that people are scared of linux because its hard to learn (ok, i'll give them that, but something this powerful is going to have a learning curve), no driver support (bull, total bull, they are merely echoing what some M$ nut told them), and no company to sue if the software goes down the toilet (to which i respond, when M$ crashes and destroys billions of dollars of data, do you think M$ is responsible? Read the EULA and get back to me on that). Anyway, rant over.

This is a nice thread, and it's great to hear such positive comments. I've been running Fedora Core and things have been going pretty smooth. However, I may be looking to add Slackware after reading positive comments like those above.


Very best,
Nick