The Linux Guide
- Preface
- Which distro? - and a little background info about GNU/Linux
- LiveCD's
- Which distribution for my older and slower computer?
- Will my Windows applications run on Linux?
- Try to understand that Linux is NOT Windows!
- What is a Desktop Environment (DE) or a Window Manager (WM)?
- Why can't I play my mp3's on Linux, how can I fix that?
- What are file permissions?
- How do I become "root" and when should I do so?
- Installing Software in Linux
- Other sites of value
- Final Notes
Preface
I've put together some general-reference material which I've encountered are some of the most frequently asked questions of new Linux migrants.
A big thanks to those who have contributed to this source - [See list of names below]. Wanna help?
Which distro? - and a little background info about GNU/Linux
Confused already? Some people come to the Linux world expecting it to be one standalone OS such as Windows or Mac. Because Linux is open-source and freely distributed there are many distributions of it and each of them have their own targetted audience. GNU/Linux and open-source offers you, the user a choice in what works for you and if you're up to it, you can even create your own or customize any distribution to your liking AND re-distribute it if you wish.
To explain it a bit further, Linux is just the Kernel (the driving engine behind the motor) and the software (browsers, media players etc.) is built around it and because of the vast availability of software available for Linux it's hard to create one OS from it all for everyone. Each user has different preferences and chances are you'll have to go through a few of them to find what suits your needs. The free software built around it mostly comes from the GNU foundation; hence the name GNU/Linux is technically a more correct name but most just call it Linux...
To have an idea in which direction you should go (distro-wise) the guys at Zegenstudios have a quiz that will help you a little regarding your choice. It determines the best distribution for you upon the data gathered from your input. Note that no one can really tell which distribution you will like, it's like asking someone which flavour of ice cream you like.
LiveCD's
LiveCD's are great to start off with and to understand why we must look at what LiveCD's are and how they operate. One of the first Live CD distributions was Knoppix and is still heralded as one of the best distributions running on disk today. LiveCD's are distributions that run on disk, caching in your memory (RAM) so it has no impact on your current HDD (Hard Disk Drive) setup.
It's good to test LiveCD's to see whether the distribution would be compatible with your hardware and you can make an assessment of the software before you install and make real changes to your installation setup.
Which distribution for my older and slower computer?
There are several of these, in fact, the distro quiz will be able to help you out with that as well up to a very minimal extent. Some distributions known to be good for old hardware include:
Will my Windows applications run on Linux?
Another common question, there are ways of doing this but we don't recommend that at all. Before trying to install Windows software on Linux have a look at The table of equivalents / replacements / analogs of Windows software in Linux. There are however ways to run Windows software on Linux via layer-compatibility software such as WINE, CrossOver Office and Cedega.
Try to understand that Linux is NOT Windows!
Many new users port to Linux expecting everything to be the same, if it had been the same what would be the use of it? Linux does not try to be like Windows thus it will never be like it. Two pages to help you understand this:
What is a Desktop Environment (DE) or a Window Manager (WM)?
This question is being asked over and over by many new Linux users but in reality it's not a difficult concept to understand. You can think of it as a program running, because that's exactly what it is, this program interacts with the Linux kernel as you work on your desktop. Whenever you open, close, run or do anything on your GUI (Graphical User Interface) your user interface is communicating with the kernel (in other words running the commands for you).
For example: When you copy a folder in your environment from folder "a" to "b" it is actually running this command: cp -R /a /b/. Anyway, this is only simplyfying things for you. Windows uses a desktop environment called explorer. If you press ctrl+alt+delete in Windows and you terminate the application "explorer.exe" you can basically do nothing. Linux works similar to this except that you have a choice of desktop environments and window managers, they all look different and they are all meant for different purposes.
Some of the Linux user interfaces include: Gnome, KDE, XFCE, Fluxbox, Blackbox WM, Equinox and even more. The two most popular ones are KDE and Gnome and are generally recommended for computers with 256MB ram and higher. Of course, there are other options such as XFCE which looks pretty good and is flexible but still light on resources and for those whom really want a lightweight user interfaces you'd make use of window managers such as Fluxbox is quite good (especially for low-end hardware).
Why can't I play my mp3's on Linux, how can I fix that?
Because Linux is free and is often a community project, there's not funding for the inclusion of proprietary codes for multimedia services. This is because of laws in certain countreys that don't allow the use of these codecs without proper permission, thus you'd have to find out yourself whether there are any such restrictions in your country before using them. How to actually install these can vary from distribution to distribution. Some include the packages in non-free repositories and you can always instell them via source.
If the opportunity arises I will add a guide to which packages are required in order to play different media formats.
What are file permissions?
In Linux, every file or resource is owned by someone. The owner of a file can control access to it by other users. This is one of the things that make Linux so secure against viruses and worms. All system files belong to the root user (see above); other users usually have read access only, so they (or a worm that they accidentally release) can't alter these files. Files that you have created belong to you; on a multi-user system, you can't see files belonging to other users (unless they let you) and they can't see yours (unless you let them).
There are three types of access that can be independently granted or refused: read, write and execute. Read access allows you to read, print, or copy the file. Write access allows you to modify it. Execute access allows you to run a program or script; it has no effect in the case of data or text files. For a directory (folder) read access allows you to access files in the directory, write access allows you to create, delete or rename files, and execute access allows you to move into the directory and list its contents. Any combination of these access rights can be granted by the owner to him/herself, to other members of the owning group or to the rest of the world.
The root user can change the access rights of all files; other users can only do this with their own files. To view access rights, you can use the ls command with the -l option; to alter them use the chmod command. For example chmod w+r foo gives the world read access to the file called foo. In a graphical file manager, right click on the file or folder, then choose properties/permissions to view or change access rights.
If you get the error message "Access denied" at any time after entering a command, it means that you have tried to access a file in a way that the owner has not allowed.
How do I become "root" and when should I do so?
In most Linux distributions (but not Ubuntu and its relatives) you can log in as root using the root password that you created during the installation. You can also use this password to become root at any time using the su command (or gksu if you are in a graphical interface). When you are root, you have access to every file and command on the system. You can also change the ownership and access rights of any file. This means that you can do a lot of damage! It sounds scary but remember: in Windows you are effectively root all the time; in Linux you are only root when you choose to be.
When you install Linux you should always create a user account for ordinary day-to-day use. You should only become root when you need to do some system housekeeping that only root can do. Such tasks might include mounting drives that are not in the /etc/fstab file, modifying system configuration files or configuring hardware such as modems. Never work as root on jobs that you can do as an ordinary user.
When you are working in a graphical interface like gnome or KDE, tools for configuration usually ask for the root password before they will execute; this means that you don't need to become root as often as you do when using a plain text console. When you do need to, you should use the gksu command (which is designed for graphical use) rather than plain su.
In the *buntu distributions, there is no root password. Instead the first user account created gets access (when required) to all root functions via his/her own password. Simply preface the command you want to execute as root with the word sudo (in a plain text console) or gksu (in a graphical terminal).
Installing Software in Linux
I'm busy writing a complete guide on how to install software in Linux but for now you can only view the source-based installation menthod.
Other sites of value
Try to check out distrowatch.com, it has listings of the latest and also most popular distributions which might help you out as well!
A little update: I've come accross another helpful FAQ/Guide for Linux newbies similar to this one which can be found at LinuxLoop.
- Learn bash in a nutshell
- Need help booting Linux from USB? Check out Pendrivelinux.com
Final notes
Other than that please try to use search engines such as Google-Linux before asking your question because you might find the answer quicker!
Queries and site issues are not just welcome but greatly appreciated in order to enhance this document and the whole of this website so go ahead and contact me.
Contributors
A big thank you to all of those who've helped and continue to help with this guide!
Hazel Contributed:
- -- What are file permissions?
- -- How do I become "root" and when should I do so?