How much computer-knowledge do you need to use an open-source OS?

Question

That is, how much programming experience would you need and how much general hardware/software knowledge would you need? I'm interested in Linux, but I'm intimidated by my lack of experience.

Answer 1

First of all don't be intimidated by a lack of knowlege, when I bought my first computer about 8 years ago I had it set up for over a week before I plucked up courage to turn it on, having no knowledge of how to use a computer I even found windows scary, I should have turned it on day one there's nothing to lose.

In fact if you are able to use windows you will be able to use Linux, you don't need any programming knowledge at all, the graphic interface works in a similar way to windows, some hardware can be a bit difficult but it's mostly periforals which may not be supported (this is the fault of the manufacturers not releasing the specs to the open source community), there shouldn't be many problems though. I would suggest you get a copy of Suse 10.2

http://www.novell.com/products/opensuse/?sourceidint=productsmenu_linuxprofessional

Suse probably has the best hardware support of any of the Linux distros & its administration tools are easy to use, slighly like control panel in windows. Probably the best way to use Linux as a beginner is to dual boot it with windows, this means having both windows & Linux on the same computer but on different partitions, when you boot you choose which OS to use. There's no need to worry about that either because Suse will set it up for you if you follow the default installation, all you need to do is insert the CD/DVD & reboot the machine, making sure it's set to boot from the CD drive before the hard drive, then just follow the instructions, anything you are unsure about just accept the defaults, but make sure you remember your root & user passwords you'll be prompted for all this.

Once you have set this up and installed Linux you can take your time to learn how to use it. Suse comes with about 2000 programmes all of which is free & most windows programmes have a linux equivelent.

2 usefull forums to register with are:

http://www.suseforums.net/index.php?

http://www.justlinux.com/forum/register.php?s=abf893ee34d2b0976f40f555e0fd53e2

These are very good & you can ask for help if you get into difficulty. I tried Suse about 4 years ago and when I bought my new laptop last year I installed suse over windows and only run linux on my machine, I think it's better than windows, you have complete control over it, no viruses or other malware, no need to defrag and completely free to download and use.

If you want to try Suse & need any advice or help, email me.

Answer 2

Hello Mack,

I use a Macintosh, and they have a bunch of open-source software available for the Mac OS. It's not Linux, but Unix, but there isn't any intimidating hardware/software knowledge that is needed. It just works fine.

I'm sure that there is software that is strictly binary and may require some special extra work, but the majority of it is pretty easy to use.

--Rick

Answer 3

To use windows you need no programming experience. To use any linux distro you need no programming experience. To program in windows you do need programming experience. To program in linux you do need programming experience. If you have no programming experience, you can start learning.

A good distribution to start is ubuntu.

Learning linux or windows for the first time feels the same that learning to ride a bike: it at first intimidates, and you will crash one or two times. But you wont notice when you have learned enough and you will just begin to feel natural with it.

Answer 4

Well..there is no end of knowledge..whether it is computer-knowledge or software/ hardware knowledge or programming or others..you are interested in Linux ..well its a good sign..my friend...try to learn linux Red hat..as it is very useful in computer programming..you must be confident of your knowledge whether it is deep or not..whether it is vast or little...