Fw: [clug] beginners path

[Dave Upton]

________________________________
From: steve jenkin <sjenkin at canb.auug..org.au>
To: linux at lists.samba.org
Sent: Thursday, 23 April, 2009 10:41:11 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: [clug] beginners path

Dave Upton wrote on 23/4/09 5:52 PM:
> Hi Cluggers
> 
> I am a new user and I am still coming tonight. I looked for linux
> users groups and found this one.  No others but this one.  Maybe if I
> had explored PCUG I might have seen their support.
> 
> Personally if you guys aren't going to help and you ARE the LUG then
> what hope is there for us newbies.
> 
> I came to Linux to get out of the Windows trap and I like my
> decision. What will turn me away is not finding help.  I search
> forums and all manner of help sites to try and figure out my problems
> and have managed to fix a few.  However typing some obscure command
> in the terminal without explanation might fix the problem but it goes
> nowhere to furthering my understanding so I can figure stuff out for
> myself one day.
> 
> It is a culture shock.  Things that used to work no longer do.
> Making them work is not easy.  Finding someone who knows Linux and 
> can explain it in almost plain English is not easy either.  If I
> can't sort it out myself that was my hope for this group that someone
> might take the time to explain it in understandable terms.
> 
> Form an advanced LUG but don't fob off the newbies because without
> newbies there won't be any advanced users one day.
> 
> Newbie Dave
> 
> PS
> 
> My apologies to Lana as I only sent this to her originally.

Dave,

>Silly question, but what others paths are there for the 'normally
>windows literate' into the world of Linux??

>Are there short courses at TAFE or Community 'college'?

>The PCUG Linux SIG has been cited - was that inaccessible for some reason?

>I'd love to know what the real/perceived obstacles are for the average
>punter.

>cheers
>steve

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Steve Jenkin, Info Tech, Systems and Design Specialist.
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Hi Steve and others,

>Silly question, but what others paths are there for the 'normally
>windows literate' into the world of Linux??

It is a very good question.  I got into Linux the way you get into the ocean when the water is very cold.  Slowly but surely and all the time thinking I really should just dive straight in and get it over with.

I have no idea about TAFE short courses or anything similar and the PCUG Linux SIG didn't come up on my search as such.  PCUG did but I knew that to be Windows (so much for what I know) so I didn't bother with their site.

As for the real or perceived obstacles I think it is the Linux image that still lingers of geeks in darkened rooms tapping out countless lines of code/commands to get things to work which in Windows you just point and click and they work.  Despite how easy it is to snstall a distro it still takes a lot of patience to get everything working and to the average Windows user that is why we have computer repair people.

As for me I have mucked around with computers since the C64 days but have never been a coder/programmer. I did play a little with DOS which sort of reminds me of the command line in Linux.  I would consider myself an experienced Windows user who could fix a lot of stuff myself.  I still find Linux intimidating and I am using Ubuntu 8.10 which from what I have read is probably the most user friendly version for the migrating ex Windows people.

I have found answers to problems I have faced such as getting my mic to work but the solutions I find tell me to open a terminal and then type one or several lines of commands and hey presto it works.  I have no idea why or how or what I typed but it works.  Nice but I like to know what I did and why so if faced with a similar problem I just might be able to nut out the solution.

The community is great but there seems to be an assumed level of knowledge in the answers.  Now this may sound silly but the simple instruction of "open a terminal" to a lot (majority) of Windows users would have them scratching their head.

I have rambled on long enough about this and if I sound negative I apologise as I am enjoying this journey of discovery.

Dave U



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