Hey there
I've been subscribed to and reading messages on the Alug mailing list now for around 2 and a half months and thought it was about time I said something.
I'm just about a complete newbie to Linux, my experience extends to a failed Red Hat 6.1 graphical installation - it failed because a) I didn't know my hardware well enough and b) because I didn't have a clue what I was doing and didn't know how to configure the thing once it was (semi) installed. I never actually got as far as starting X. I waited for it to start automatically when I booted after I finished the installation (I tried both Gnome and KDE on separate and numerous occasions!) but it didn't so I typed startx and it... flopped.
I'm installing on a PII 300mhz box with a 4Gb hdd, 64 meg of RAM with what I thought was a pretty generic graphics card and little else.
I've been using Windows for years but have wanted to get into Linux for a long time for a number of reasons - one of them is that I'd like to set up a web server I can use for development with PHP and mySQL or another database application.
I'd like your advice on which distro to start with. When I couldn't install redhat I did a bit of reading and found that Mandrake or SuSe might be a good place to start, but a friend is sending me the latest version of Red Hat and Debian (which he thinks I would learn a lot from) on CD - I only have a 56k internet connection.
I have a limited experience of unix commands but apart from that I really don't have a lot of knowledge on this kind of thing and feel a bit like I don't know where to start. Do you think I would benefit by coming to one of the ALUG meetings or joining an IRC session? I live near Peterborough but could probably make a UEA meeting, but travel is a problem caus I'm 16.
Thanks for your time
Ben Francis :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
tola ^/. "there is no spoon"
Ben Francis ben@franci5.fsnet.co.uk wrote:
I've been subscribed to and reading messages on the Alug mailing list now for around 2 and a half months and thought it was about time I said something.
Hi to both the new members who have just emailed in! I'm sure there are a few others who should send in their greetings too.
I'd like your advice on which distro to start with. When I couldn't install redhat I did a bit of reading and found that Mandrake or SuSe might be a good place to start, but a friend is sending me the latest version of Red Hat and Debian (which he thinks I would learn a lot from) on CD - I only have a 56k internet connection.
Of those two, I'd say try Debian (is it 3.0?), but it's not the easiest install, as I think we showed in the meeting today. It gives lots of explanation for the questions and usually suggests an action, but it's still quite technical. Fortunately, you normally only have to install it once and then upgrade forever. I have installed all of Debian from scratch using floppy disks and a modem, but I did have to leave it running overnight for two nights... thank $DEITY for fixed price dialup.
I have a limited experience of unix commands but apart from that I really don't have a lot of knowledge on this kind of thing and feel a bit like I don't know where to start. Do you think I would benefit by coming to one of the ALUG meetings or joining an IRC session? I live near Peterborough but could probably make a UEA meeting, but travel is a problem caus I'm 16.
I think you'd benefit a lot from an ALUG meeting and from asking questions in the IRC sessions on Monday nights, but maybe you'd find it easier to get to a Peterborough LUG meeting? They meet on the last Thursday of each month and if you're to the North or East of P'boro, I can probably help with travel.
Hi Ben (and John)
Welcome aboard - This linux thing opens up a whole new window to the world.
If you're in Norwich, I have a number of distros you can borrow/copy including Debian, Mandrake and RedHat. Advice and help on installing is allways close to hand.
Regards, Paul.
On Sunday 03 Nov 2002 10:21 pm, Ben Francis wrote:
I'd like your advice on which distro to start with. When I couldn't install redhat I did a bit of reading and found that Mandrake or SuSe might be a good place to start, but a friend is sending me the latest version of Red Hat and Debian (which he thinks I would learn a lot from) on CD - I only have a 56k internet connection.
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Ben Francis -
MJ Ray -
Paul