The biggest mistake you can make if you’re new to Linux

Posted by Daniel Stout on Fri 8 Sep 2006 at 9:05 PM

I’ll be the first to admit that Linux appeals to the technically inclined. It also appeals to people who believe in the freedom of ideas. People are cruising along on their Mac OS X laptop or their Windows box, and they hear something about Linux. Maybe you’re one of the people who have heard about Linux. Now, I’ll also be the first to admit that Linux is really fucking cool.

But there is a mistake that people tend to make when they first hear about Linux. It has something to do with the operating system they’re currently on. People start using Mac OS X or Windows and most of them don’t have to read a book. They use it for a few years, and eventually they just pick it up.

So picture the Linux newbie who wants to get a fresh start with this great thing he or she has heard about. It’s a free operating system. All the apps are free. You can download the whole kit & kaboodle from the Internet. Our little newbie maybe even gets as far as burning the CD. They boot into the CD and things are going smoothly.

I started using Linux in 1994, and things have improved dramatically since then. Even now though, you’ll be confronted with strange things you most likely haven’t seen before such as partitioning. Today’s installers are smart enough to suggest a partitioning setup for your hard drive. And that may be okay, or maybe it’s not. But if you don’t understand the process, it can be very frustrating.

Okay, our Linux newbie gets the operating system and the applications installed. Whew! They’re done! Now to start using it. Umm….where to begin? Or even, hey, something isn’t working, how do I fix it?

The biggest mistake you can make when you’re new to Linux is not reading documentation or a book. Linux is much easier to install and get it up and running than it used to be, but you’ll have a much smoother experience if you do some reading up front.

I installed my first Linux box the summer before my final year of college. I printed out and read hundreds of pages of documentation from the Linux Documentation Project before I put in disc #1. When I started up in Linux, I knew exactly what to expect, and I knew what to do. As I started helping other people with Linux I would see the same questions over and over from newbies who hadn’t bothered to read anything about Linux.

You don’t need to do what I did to get familiar with Linux. So it’s a good idea to install a distribution that sounds good to you (I’d recommend SUSE Linux or Ubuntu), and start playing around. But my biggest advice to you, the beginning Linux user, is do some reading!

I’d recommend starting with the installation guide for your distribution. Yeah, it’s a pain in the ass to read that stuff, but it’ll really help you out in the end. If you’re installing a major distribution, you can order a book from Amazon, or if you’re cheap like me you can go digging for documentation on Linux. Linux has been around long enough now that somebody, somewhere has tried doing what you’re trying to do.

The place to start of course is the Web site for the distribution you’ve installed. Often they have free reference documentation. Or you could go onto a forums and see what people suggest reading for becoming a Linux power user.

In 1994, there weren’t any books available about Linux, and now there are hundreds and hundreds of books that have been written. I hate to see when someone installs Linux thinking it’s going to be just like the operating system they’ve been using for years. Don’t give up after the first, second, or even third try. Read, and learn. I don’t know anyone who has learned Linux in a day. Give it a month. Hell, give it six months. Dig in, and get going.

Linux after all is fun. And it’s free. That’s a good combination. Put knowledge on your side, and you are ready to start with this new adventure!

Tags: linux · linux documentation project · mac os x · poweruser · suse · suse linux · switch · ubuntu · windows

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