The best single place to start is by reading a document called "The Linux
Distribution HOWTO", available at URL
http://metalab.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/Distribution-HOWTO.html .
>From the opening screen of the document: "This document is intended to help
new users choose a Linux distribution, and to help experienced users track
the state of the Linux market. It does not aim to be a complete list of
Linux distributions for all platforms, but instead focuses on leading
English-language Intel distributions available on CD-ROM and accessible to
Linux novices."
I'll give you a bit of a rundown of your options here, but that document is
much more comprehensive than I can be in a single e-mail reply.
While you *can* download Linux for free (and I'll get back to that in a
minute), the full set of stuff that comes with Linux is big enough that
on-line access is time consuming unless you have a really fast Internet
connection. So people commonly install from CD-ROMs. Several companies make
Linux "distributions" -- the main 5 are Red Hat, S.u.S.E., Debian, Caldera,
and Slackware. All are available in "full" format and all but Debian in
"lite" format.
There are several on-line sources for getting the full (expensive, except
for Debian) and lite (cheap) versions. The one I use (not necessarily the
best, just the one I actually buy from) is at URL http://linuxcentral.com/ .
Many Linux books also include CDs, but all the ones I know of have very old
versions of Linux. Perhaps someone else on the list can suggest good titles
with more recent distributions on the CDs?
The lite versions can be downloaded for free. I don't know the best places
to get them all, but here are a few:
www.cdrom.com is the Web site for Walnut Creek CD-ROM, creator of the
Slackware distribution
www.debian.org is the site for Debian
www.redhat.com is the site for Red Hat
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/distributions has Slackware, Debian, Red
Hat, and several specialized, small Linux distributions.
Just what you need depends on which distribution you get and how you plan to
install it. I think Slackware is the only major distribution that still
supports distribution from floppy disks -- you can download their A (basic)
and N (networking) series and use them to create a network-ready Linux PC.
Then you should be able to do a network-based install of the other portions
of Linux (D = programming, F = FAQs, AP = accessories, X = X Window, etc.).
Debian will do a complete installation over the Internet; all you need is
the Debian boot disk set (2 disks, I think, or maybe 3), downloadable from
their site.
I don't know how to download Red Hat, S.u.S.E., or Caldera for installtion.
Except for Red Hat, I'm not even certain that it's possible.
Finally ... I don't know where you are located, but in some areas, the local
Linux users' groups have periodic meetings where they invite beginners to
come in and get help with installation. My local group, for instance,
Silivon Valley Linux Users Group (SVLUG, at www.svlug.org) has monthly
"InstallFests" of this sort, and while I don't know the details, I do know
that other groups to them as well.
Hope some of this helps. Good luck.
At 11:08 AM 1/21/99 -0800, gene hitz wrote:
>Okay, I'm a REAL newbie. I've had 17 years experience with computers
>and am getting sick of microsoft's buggy systems. I've heard a lot
>about linux, I realize it's a bit difficult to get into but I really
>want to try it. I hear it's free and available to download but the
>sites I've visited all list dozens of files. I need help getting
>started. Just what do I need to download to get started with it, how
>do I proceed.
------------------------------------"Never tell me the odds!"---
Ray Olszewski -- Han Solo
762 Garland Drive
Palo Alto, CA 94303-3603
650.321.3561 voice 650.322.1209 fax [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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