I have a virus... not the computer... me... :(

[mortagen]

Hi,

My name is... well that doesn't matter... my online alias is 'Mortagen' and that will do. Anyways i'm a 16 year old guy... nearly 17... who lives in Australia. Since i was a young kid i've used windows. From time to time i've tried to give it up and move to linux using all different distros... most were just live boot but occasionally i installed ubuntu or fedora.

As much as i want to give up windows i can't... its like the programmers of windows programmed it to be addictive or something... except i don't like using it... its just an addiction i can't escape.

Now i know your all probably going to just laugh and say "Get some self control kid" or something... but i'm genuinely asking for help... i want to become an advanced and experienced linux user.

Every time i have tried linux i have found it difficult. I'm very good with windows and am currently working as a computer technician. The reason i find it difficult to stay with linux is things like:

- Hard to install software from a windows user's point of view
- Steep learning curve?
- The community is friendly but far to technical... and don't explain things thoroughly so i understand what exactly i'm doing and what specifically is going on.

- Getting media support
- Sound drivers that are built in produce awful sound quality.

I could go on and on and on... honestly! anyways i'm not saying you guys or linux is bad... i'm asking you guys to help me become like you guys... and somehow resist going back to windows every time i try linux again...

I look forward to your replies!

Regards, Mortagen... currently a host to the windows addiction virus...

[bigtomrodney]

Start out with Ubuntu as it will meet you on the media support and should reduce the learning curve. Also if you use the included package manager software installation should be ridiculously easy provided you have an internet connection.

A good tip would be to forget about becoming an advanced user. Really it doesn't matter much if you are an advanced Windows user - though if you have say network and hardware experience of course that is a benefit to any system. It can be easy to confuse Windows experience with general Computing experience.

For now concentrate on just the basics...just use the system to do your daily tasks. When you get that far the rest will fall into place

[Kieren]

When I switched over from Windows I spent a month or so just setting up my computer how I liked it. Finding programs I liked, installing the most up to date driver for my video card - simple things like that

By starting small you will soon find that you are doing more and more technical stuff like writing a bash script to automate setting up your system after reinstalling.

You sound like you're quite happy playing around with your system so just dive in. If you run into any trouble just come back here and someone will be able to help you out

[kakariko81280]

- The community is friendly but far to technical... and don't explain things thoroughly so i understand what exactly i'm doing and what specifically is going on.

It is often difficult to gauge a person's expertise when they are posting their questions so we, or at least I, take a guess and will often miss. As you say though, we are friendly. Have no fear of saying, "Great! That works, but I'm not sure why. Can you explain what 'X' is doing?"

The more you explain what you do know, the better we will be able to fill in the blanks.

Chris...

[Manchunian]

I go along with everything that's just been said. Starting small is a good start. Perhaps look to Linux Mint here. It's basically Ubuntu but easier still, being shipped with codecs and the like that don't come with Ubuntu. Afterwards, I'm sure you'd enjoy Debian or Slackware. Alternatively, if you really like getting your hands dirty, try Gentoo when you've got a bit more experience.
As for the technicality of Linux, don't panic: Linux is for everyone, no matter how much computing experience you have. I myself was pretty literate when I made the move, by which I mean that I could tell my mouse from my joystick and I could do certain everyday administrative tasks, but I only became motivated to learn more when I first started playing around with Linux. Linux allows you to go where you want to go: once you've got the hang of using it (and for an advanced Windows user this may take a while - see this link for more details) you can just use it as a tool or you can go further and really tinker around like you've never been able to before. Quite honestly, a power-user like yourself would really enjoy Linux as there are so many more possibilities for you than there are in Windows.
Finally, the RTFM days are over - at least for most of us. If you don't believe me, try posting a few technical problems on this site. There are some very knowledgeable and helpful people here, so give it a go! Oh, and forget the idea that installing things on Linux is difficult - it isn't, it's usually childsplay - but it isn't the same as in Windows.

Good luck!

[ryokimball]

Hey, you and I are practically one in the same. I have had some Linux experience dating some ten years back at least (don't know how long, exactly), but until maybe two years ago I only reallly understood Linux as being "different from Windows." On the other side of things, I have been assembling computers since way-back-when and have been a "power user" for just as long (I remember my dad teaching me DOS bash commands and using serial ports to play DOOM networked sometime before third grade...). When I really started to get into Linux during the last couple of years, I already knew what hard drives and filesystems were, but I still had to learn and understand how to mount drives, how to navigate around X-windows (which is not very different from Windows at all...), and the sort. Most of this you can become proficient at during the first few days of an installed system. The more you play, the more you learn (and trust me, it is MUCH easier to think of learning Linux as a toy or hobby rather than a necessity or job).
After you learn the basics, such as the naming of drives and partitions (hda0 is the first partition on the first HDD, hda...), you find more to play with (try manually mounting a USB drive...). The best advice I've seen is to find or make a guinea pig computer that you can format or reinstall (or blow up) all you need to, or at the very least put an extra hard drive in the computer you do have (and take the old one out, for safety) and play with that in your spare time. The more you play (and the less you are scared to do so), the more you will learn and the closer you will be to being an "expert."

Feel free to PM me if you feel lost; like I said, we're practically one in the same, although I have a slight head start, so I might have just passed what your having trouble with.

[fingal]

Hi - I would suggest that you take your Linux learning curve steadily, and don't try to learn it all too quickly. It can be easier than you think, and indeed - starting with a commonly used (well supported) distro is a great idea. I think someone mentioned that up there? ^

I agree that it can seem 'too technical' but some of us (me for example!) are really just ordinary users/hobbyists rather than computer professionals. If I can do it, so can you. Just read a lot (this is very useful), play around with your chosen distro and be prepared to go wrong... Eventually you will develop strong instincts about how to fix things.

Immerse yourself in UNIX and be prepared to be fascinated - it's addictive and fun, but remember to focus on other fun things too so you always come back feeling refreshed. If you develop a 'hacker' mentality (true hackers create things, and don't destroy them) you will be fixed up with a great set of attitudes.

[devils casper]

I am using Linux for last 19 months only and I have never tried hard to learn anything specific. Just install any distro and play with it. If you have any question, post here. We will try our best to help you.

* Moving this thread to The Coffee Lounge Forum.

[ryokimball]

I am using Linux for last 19 months only and I have never tried hard to learn anything specific.

19 months? You're a freakin' Genius!!!

[elija]

Over the last 18 months or so, I have tried many different distros
and have usually wound up back with the Ubuntu family. Like
devis_casper, I haven't specifically set out to lern something, but
I have set out to achieve something, for example set up an apache
webserver, php, mysql or subversion.

It's amazing how much you learn by just having a specific goal.

Treat it as fun and try to (initially anyway) use a computer you
don't mind trashing. If you are anything like me, you will trash it