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Originally Posted by pmrid
But, there are traps for young (and old) players stemming from the open-source nature of the OS and its infinite variability among flavors, versions, supporting libraries and dependencies and so forth.
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I tend to see this more as a strength than a weakness - the code is free to modify and re-distribute, which is an enormously powerful characteristic. Ffrom the perspective of teh end user, the variability is handled through "distro" developers who do the hard work for you in gathering, configuring and compiling everything to work properly together. There are hundreds of distros - some highly specialised, some generic - and the biggest task that you, as a potential user, need to undertake is choosing the right distro for your needs. Afer that, learning a few basics is straightforward, though it'll take a certain investment of time and neurons on your part as with any other new endeavour.
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Can anyone suggest an entree route to learning enough about Linux to be able to operate in that OS ...
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It's funny you should mention Linux for Dummies, because there are such books - check Dymocks, Amazon, etc. for one that suits your needs. Try to get something generic, as the distro-specific books tend to become outdated quickly. For distro-specific info, online sources are generally better.
I spent three years as an admin on a major Linux forum, with much of my time helping new users find their feet. There are many online resources and a search for "Linux new users guide" ought to get you started.
Once you've chosen your preferred distro, join that distro's user forum and read, read, read! There's a wealth of information there, and mostly not too hard to find. Usually, questions are answered promptly. One word on attitude: Linux forums can be enormously helpful, but thay can also heap scorn on those who don't appreciate the help by being arrogant, or not reading up first. Read first, frame your question intelligently, and be patient - everyone on those forums is an unpaid volunteer giving their free time to help others, so cut them some slack.
Overall, Linux is best described as:
different, not harder. There are some things that will be surprisingly familiar to the ex-Windows user, and even more so to the ex-Mac user, but there are others that are new. The power you have to
do things your way in Linux is outstanding, but it also means that there are pitfalls to avoid - but even then, the modern desktop GUIs that come with Linux are pretty safe for the average user.
If you want to ask me a few questions in a PM, I can probably direct you a bit more usefully, less generically. Most importantly, you need to work out what you want to do with Linux and whether there are any legacy Windows/Mac apps that you simply can't do without.
Linux: Freedom, baby, yeah!
