<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jun 18, 2010 at 2:01 PM, Lenaud Hughes <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:lenaudhughes@gmail.com">lenaudhughes@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
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<div class="gmail_quote"><div class="im">On Fri, Jun 18, 2010 at 12:44 PM, Brian Pitts <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:brian@polibyte.com" target="_blank">brian@polibyte.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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<div>On 06/17/2010 05:50 PM, Lenaud Hughes wrote:<br>> I'm completely new to Linux and open source software in general. Where<br>> should a novice, like myself, start in learning about the Linux OS and<br>
> participating in open source projects.<br><br></div>What are your goals? The answer to your question will vary radically<br>depending on them. It might help to talk a little about your background<br>and and what you currently do with your computer(s).<br>
<br>--<br>All the best,<br><font color="#888888">Brian Pitts</font></blockquote>
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</div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><font color="#888888"><font color="#000000">I want to thank everyone for their willingness to share information. With all the options available through Linux; it was becoming overwhelming trying to pick which distro to focus on. So, the responses really helped me narrow my scope.</font></font></blockquote>
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<div> Some members brought up the concept of professional vs. personal aspirations. So as Brian suggested, I'm including a little background to clarify my interest. I'm a college student. Prior to entering college I had no experience ( or interest) in coding or anything related to it. In my first semester I took an entry level course that used Java to explain different concepts and techniques within the computer science field. I fell in love with it; the problem solving, the ability to create something out of nothing, the entire process of going from problem to algorithm to code to solution.</div>
<div>I immediately changed my major to computer science and began delving into the world of software. I came across an article by Joel Spolsky spelling out the deficiencies of what he referred to as the "Java school" student. That article led me to a Paul Graham article which led me to a "How to be a Hacker" article which led me to Linux.</div>
<div>So at this point in my "career"; I'm not too worried about whether my focus will be on a commercially-viable distro or otherwise. I more concerned with just "digging in" and learning as much as I can. I'm sure once I start learning I'll be able to determine whether I need to stick with my first choice or change course.</div>
<div>Thanks again for everyone's assistance.</div>
<div> - Lenaud</div><br></div></blockquote><div><br>Ah! In for the love of the knowledge! A most noble manner. So now what? Unless you are paying by the GB for downloads, grab the latest release of Fedora, Ubuntu, Slackware, CentOS, Debian, in the form of a live CD for each and poke it around. Look under the covers and the command line. <br>
<br>Hard drives are cheap so do an install of 3 or 4 onto their own drives and tinker. Distro's aren't quite as personal as used underwear but many people cling to both like they're their long lost twin :-)<br>
<br>Hmm. A distro' are like underwear relation has lots of room for funny.... Must work on that some more...<br></div></div><br>-- <br>-- <br>James P. Kinney III<br>Actively in pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness <br>
Doing pretty well on all 3 pursuits <br><br> Faith is a cop-out. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can’t be taken on its own merits.<br> Dan Barker, "Losing Faith in Faith", 1992 <br>
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