Getting In To Linux

If you’re here, it’s probably because you have heard about this Linux thing, perhaps in reference to Open Source.

You probably like the idea of a free, open way of using your computer, developed by thousands of talented people all over the world, and used by millions of people that get to do what they want with their computer.

You want in on this, but you have seen all the confusing choices and aren’t sure where to go or what to do. I’ve been there and know how it feels. What I’m going to do is tell you what you should start with, let you see Linux in a way that lets you play around with it that doesn’t mess with your current operating system (probably Microsoft Windows, maybe OS X). From there, you’ll gain the knowledge to make your own choices.

I can already tell you that you can handle Linux. You’ve read this far, which means you’re willing to learn. A will to learn and a computer that is less than a half decade (5 years) old are all you need. That’s a bit of a half truth - you can run it on old computers, but for now we’ll stick to the user friendly Linuxes that require more power.

You should read all this before doing anything - might want to print it out in case you want to read it away from the computer.

One thing I need to emphasize is that Linux is a minority. The companies that make the bits and pieces that run your computer develop with Microsoft Windows in mind. Linux has a huge community around it, so when hardware producers neglect Linux, we step up and make an honest effort at making it work, and usually do so at least as well as the manufacturer.

More than likely, you will follow the instruction in step 1 and have a fully functional Linux system at your fingertips to do with as you please. You may not, in which case you will need more help. This is addressed through links on relevant words in this article.

Step 1: Grab Ubuntu. Not Kubuntu or xubuntu - these are made out of Ubuntu, but provide different ways to use your computer. Ubuntu’s specific way has the most support. You’ll want the Live CD - the others are for different things that we don’t address here. If you’re confused by the notion of mirrors, just pick one. If it’s slow, pick another. They’re all the same, just hosted in different parts of the world.

The next step is why I said you need to read everything. If you have a wireless card, you may need to take other steps to get it to work. Ubuntu has an excellent documentation system which covers getting your wireless card up and running. If you have wireless, you should read it, because your card probably won’t be detected automatically.

Step 2: Burning can be a bit confusing if you’re not familiar with ISO images. The .iso file is like a ZIP archive - it holds other things. You’re burning the files in the image to disc, not the image itself. The burning software you use should cover the process for doing this. Burn the files in the image, place the disc in your CD-ROM drive, and reboot.

Step 3: If everything went well, you should see something that reminds you of the desktop you’re familiar with. This interface is called GNOME. GNOME is one of many desktops (usually called Desktop Environments) that provides a simple way of using your computer. When you booted up, you probably received a nice welcome message from Ubuntu’s maintainers with some useful links.

And that’s the introduction - you have a fully functional Linux installation to learn in. From here, you can launch Firefox (the little blue icon on the bar at the bottom or by pressing alt+F2 and typing in firefox, then pressing enter), and explore the wiki at http://wiki.ubuntu.com/. Wikis are collaborative documentation pages, similar to Wikipedia, where anyone involved can write and edit the documentation. This is the best source of information if you use Ubuntu. I chose Ubuntu due specifically to this - it’s full of helpful, well written articles that will make your experience with Linux reasonably painless.