[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]> sharathpaps said:
hey Guys,
):P I am so happy to be here. I've tried so many flavors of Linux before - Suse, Knoppix, Mandrake, Red Hat, Ubuntu are just a few. Eventually I ended returning to windows because 1. I didn't know the first thing about Linux & 2.One or the other pieces of my hardware wouldn't be supported. But now, I've finally downloaded & installed Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex 8.10 & this time I am determined to learn it as well as I can. I've devoted an entire system for the purpose. The only problem is that I don't really have a lot of time on my hands to do that..But never mind.. "It is a rough road that leads to the stars"....
I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you & to learn from you...
Thanx Welcome aboard!
FWIW, I believe your personal saying is supposed to be based on the Latin "Per Ardua ad Astra", or something like that.
I understand completely your urge to learn the OS so you can become self-sufficient and proficient, and I can certainly relate to your need to kind of "optimize" your learning time as much as possible. So herewith I present some suggestions...
- (Gee, isn't it cool to start out with "Suggestion Zero"...) I'm sure you know there's plenty of online retailers to buy stuff from, usually at better prices than a brick-and-mortar. That's all fine and well, but just like you wouldn't buy clothes without trying them first, the same goes for buying keyboards, mice and, well... self-help books, too.
- Take a look at the following self-help books: Ubuntu For Non-Geeks by Rickford Grant (ISBN: 1593271808 ) , or [/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=2]Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux, 2nd Ed. by Mark G. Sobell (ISBM 0137003889). Even though a book becomes dated over time, it's still useful because it covers a lot of ground and often times answers questions you didn't know you had on subjects you didn't know to ask about. Besides, you can take a book with you!
- Spend some time doing arbitrary searching and visual scanning of this message board. Naturally, a lot of it is going to be meaningless (at least, on the surface), but you will see people asking questions, and (generally) you'll see solutions. Invariably, you will stumble into areas which seem interesting, or those which might seem relevant to your own usage.
- Hang out here in the community area. We'll grow on you... eventually. :)
- Experiment, experiment, experiment!
- Here's a useful shortcut to finding out how to do things: Go to Google and do a search, formatted something along the lines of: "ubuntu" + "how to ..." + "whatever". Like, for instance, "ubuntu" + "how to play" + "mp3s and DVDs". Typically, the first (or, at a minimum, somewhere in the top 5) search result will point you back here to the appropriate forum and thread where it's explained in quite good detail. Trust me, you'll simply be stunned at all the things you can find out that way.
Good luck! [/SIZE]