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To: burn2learn who wrote (52466)	8/25/2001 6:26:10 AM
From: fyodor_	Respond to of 275872

burn2learn: redhat was cookie cutter, I had no problem loading and was on the web in a hour. there are so many programs available they too seem cookie cutter (i've loaded nothing yet). what can I do with linux? how can I expand my knowledge of computers, networking, ect in ways i can't with win2k? Upgrade your kernel to 2.4.9 ;-) You could also set up a firewall, that's always useful. Maybe an Apache server as well. -fyo

To: burn2learn who wrote (52466)	8/25/2001 8:45:34 AM
From: combjelly	Respond to of 275872

"The only reason I'm trying to switch to linux is to learn." At what level? For the ultimate detail, you can always study the source code. Saying you want to run Linux so you can learn is sort of like getting an encyclopedia so you can learn how to read. So the question is, what do you want to learn? Loading up the sources is not a bad way to start. You can then go to the kernel code, do a 'make xconfig' and look at the kernel options. This is probably the place to start if you want to learn about networking in a way that you cannot with Win2k. If you really want to have fun, go to Best Buy, plunk down $300 (+tax), and scarf up an iPaq 3635. Load it up with Linux, download the tools and sources, and get ready to learn a lot....

To: burn2learn who wrote (52466)	8/25/2001 12:45:20 PM
From: pgerassi	Respond to of 275872

Dear Burn2learn: What do you mean by cookie cutter? If you want to learn how to use linux, pick a topic and look for the "howto" on the subject. For standard things like how to do a command, you could use "man xxxx" where "xxxx" is the command you want to learn how to use, "xxxx --help" will give a quick reference and "info xxxx" will give a more detailed thing about the command. If you want to learn how to program in C/C++, you should start by buying the bible from "The C Programming Language" by Brian W. Kernighan, Dennis M. Ritchie. This gives the original C from the creator. For C++, get "The C++ Programming Language" by Bjarne Stroustrup. This gives you C++ from its creator. For information on why C++ is like it is giving you not just how to use it, but what the reasons for doing it that way were, "The Annotated C++ Reference Manual", by Margaret A. Ellis, Bjarne Stroustrup. You can find many other books on these subjects, Java and other languages you want to learn. For examples of source code, the kernel usually located at "/usr/src/linux" and its various subdirectories show how Linux is put together. The kernel, its loadable modules and drivers make Linux work with devices, users, their programs and processes. Many things like web servers, databases, mail and such are daemons that have their own source code. Since you are using Red Hat, you use RPMS to load software. There are two types of RPMS, one just loads the binaries or prebuilt sources and the other includes the source codes used to build the binaries. The web site www.rpms.org , allows you to search RPMS for what you want to do and it also tells you what RPMS are required to install or compile the source (called dependencies). It is much easier to use RPMS than the "tarball" alternative. For begineers, RPMS gives you all that you need to know to take the source code and compile it to get to the binaries. Red Hat maintains an online guide on what RPMS are and how to use them and how to make them. It can be fustrating to compile some programs as some are alphas (may be filled with bugs both compiling and use), betas (works mostly) and some are experiments (pretty much guaranteed not to work and in the case of the kernel or drivers, could corrupt and destroy your system (unless you are really good or can afford to lose it all (if it is not connected physically, it will not be touched) do not use these)). But preseverence is greatly rewarded. "cdrecord" is the base for most CD burners on Linux. It has a RPMS both for source and prebuilt binaries. If you installed all from RH7.1, you might have gotten this already installed (use "rpm -qa \| grep cdrecord" to check). Else, look in www.rpms.org . Many other burners use this as the base. www.freshmeat.net lets you know what Linux applications and utilities are available and news of what was released today. www.linux.org is the web site for Linux information. Most other sites can be linked from here. I hope this can get you started. Your original question is like "I just was given this card to gain access to the Library of Congress and I want to learn all that is in there". Difficult to say how to get all that humans have learned in the last 100K years. Pete