Linux For Newbies

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[edit] Table of Contents

[edit] Introduction

Welcome to the world of open source.

We are here to welcome you to Linux. GNU/Linux is an operating system that is similar to the UNIX operating system, but is open source software. Being an open source program means that (if you wanted to) you could view the source code of the operating system and change it to suit your needs. Of course since this book is geared to those new to GNU/Linux, we will try to stay away from very technical issues that might be more suited to a power user or someone very familiar with GNU/Linux. This book is going to try to be geared toward the person who has heard about GNU/Linux and might be considering trying it out or perhaps the person who has already "taken the plunge" and is looking for more information or wondering where to start now that they have Linux installed. But first, a little history lesson and some background information.

The first Linux kernel was created by Linus Torvalds. It was started as an x86-only, single processor operating system, but grew to become one of the most ported pieces of software. Other parts of a complete GNU/Linux system come from other projects such as the GNU project, and are integrated into a complete GNU/Linux OS by your supplier. Usually your supplier will assign their own version number to the integrated whole.

[edit] Work in progress

This book might be really useful, especially if combined with Installing Linux. There's much information on the Internet about Linux, but it's hard to find a complete, well written, easy to understand guide for people who are new to the whole Linux (free software, open source, etc.) phenomenon and are curious about (trying) it. Having a guide like this, containing information newbies want to hear, would make it less likely that they would get scared away by the enormous pile of complicated stuff they find elsewhere. I might have some time to write a startup, but I imagine there are a lot of people around here who could contribute to this. Stuff that should be in it (just some brainstorming).(research before trying it)

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