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I am thinking of giving Linux a try, and have a few questions, which I hope
the experts here will answer.

I'm looking for a version of linux that is easy to install. If it could be
as easy as windows 98 to install, that would be ideal, but I'm willing to
do a little work if I have to.

Standard office apps are available for linux, if I have it right, and so
are email clients and browsers, but I'm wondering how difficult it will be
getting linux to recognize my network card. Will there be any problem with
the CD reader and the CD burner?

Once the network card is working, can linux 'talk' to the other computers
on our home lan? They are running windows, and are connected using a
Linksys router.

Any idea of the best way to acquire the OS - download or on CD?

Thanks for any recommendations.

starwars <nobody@tatooine.homelinux.net> wrote in
news:bcad0998674508884821e58e3a588132@tatooine.hom elinux.net:

> I'm looking for a version of linux that is easy to install. If it could
> be as easy as windows 98 to install, that would be ideal, but I'm
> willing to do a little work if I have to.

RedHat 9 was very Windows-ish WRT installation.

> Standard office apps are available for linux, if I have it right, and so
> are email clients and browsers, but I'm wondering how difficult it will
> be getting linux to recognize my network card. Will there be any problem
> with the CD reader and the CD burner?

None.

> Once the network card is working, can linux 'talk' to the other
> computers on our home lan? They are running windows, and are connected
> using a Linksys router.

Yes. Use samba and it will appear to your other boxes like a Windows box
with shared folders and printers.

> Any idea of the best way to acquire the OS - download or on CD?

Download the 3 ISOs from RedHat and burn them. Then boot from ISO #1.

--
- Mark ->
--

On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 16:37:36 +0100 (CET), starwars wrote:
> I am thinking of giving Linux a try, and have a few questions, which I hope
> the experts here will answer.
>
> I'm looking for a version of linux that is easy to install. If it could be
> as easy as windows 98 to install, that would be ideal, but I'm willing to
> do a little work if I have to.

Mandrake or Suse. Here look at Mandrake
http://doc.mandrakelinux.com/Mandrak..._Startup.html/

>
> Standard office apps are available for linux, if I have it right, and so
> are email clients and browsers, but I'm wondering how difficult it will be
> getting linux to recognize my network card. Will there be any problem with
> the CD reader and the CD burner?

You may want to read http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
We cannot see what equipment you have from here.

> Once the network card is working, can linux 'talk' to the other
> computers on our home lan? They are running windows, and are
> connected using a Linksys router.

Yes.

> Any idea of the best way to acquire the OS - download or on CD?

Yes, with over 190 linuxs, you can buy it at the distro's site.
You could check store's web pages for the one you pick.
Realy depends on where you are.

> Thanks for any recommendations.

Frequently Asked Questions (faq) Search engine:

http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search
buy cd in the first box
*linux* in the Newsgroup, pick English

In article <bcad0998674508884821e58e3a588132@tatooine.homelin ux.net>,
starwars wrote:

Congratulations on a very sane OS choice. However, your questions are
quite meaningless, and I think you should refine them a little.

> I'm looking for a version of linux that is easy to install. If it could be
> as easy as windows 98 to install, that would be ideal, but I'm willing to
> do a little work if I have to.

Speaking of Linux per se, get a fairly new version, 2.4 is good.

If you mean the difference between distributions like Red Hat, Debian,
Mandrake, etc., few distributions today are as hard to get working as
Windows 98. You even get all the apps and drivers installed at the same
time, as a bonus!

> Standard office apps are available for linux, if I have it right, and so
> are email clients and browsers, but I'm wondering how difficult it will be
> getting linux to recognize my network card. Will there be any problem with
> the CD reader and the CD burner?

No way to tell, since you don't give a clue about what sort of cards and
CD drives you have! I have no problems, for what it's worth, which is not
much. Check the hardware compatibility list of whatever distribution you
end up choosing.

> Once the network card is working, can linux 'talk' to the other computers
> on our home lan? They are running windows, and are connected using a
> Linksys router.

Of course. Networking is the strong area of Linux.

> Any idea of the best way to acquire the OS - download or on CD?

I don't know. Would you prefer downloading or do CDs feel more
comfortable? Do you have a fast connection? Are you willing to buy a boxed
set of a nice commercial distribution with CDs, manuals and tech support?

--
Juha Siltala
http://www.edu.helsinki.fi/activity/people/jsiltala/

In comp.os.linux.misc starwars <nobody@tatooine.homelinux.net> wrote:
> I am thinking of giving Linux a try, and have a few questions, which I hope
> the experts here will answer.

> I'm looking for a version of linux that is easy to install. If it could be
> as easy as windows 98 to install, that would be ideal, but I'm willing to
> do a little work if I have to.

Present-day distributions are easy to install - I have used SuSE with
good success, other people regularly report spectacularly good success
with Knoppix.

> Standard office apps are available for linux, if I have it right, and so
> are email clients and browsers, but I'm wondering how difficult it will be
> getting linux to recognize my network card.

Chances are that your card is suported, and if it is supported,
chances are that the installer will be able to get it to run. To make
sure, search for your model on http://www.linuxhardware.net, or on your
distributor's hardware compatibility list.


> Will there be any problem with
> the CD reader and the CD burner?

No, not unless they're older than eight years or so.

> Once the network card is working, can linux 'talk' to the other computers
> on our home lan? They are running windows, and are connected using a
> Linksys router.

Yes, linux speaks more network protocols than you can shake a stick
at. The obscure ones can be tedious to set up, sometimes.

> Any idea of the best way to acquire the OS - download or on CD?

If you are computer-savvy to any degree, chances are that your time
spent downloading and burning is worth more than the couple $ you pay
for a boxed set. I'd say buy one and support the distributor. Many of
them employ kernel hackers and other contributors, so you get to feel
good about it, too.


--
No animal was harmed in the composition of this message.

On Thursday 08 Jan 2004 3:37 pm, starwars uttered these immortal words:

> I'm looking for a version of linux that is easy to install. If it could be
> as easy as windows 98 to install, that would be ideal, but I'm willing to
> do a little work if I have to.

SuSE or Mandrake in that case really. See http://www.distrowatch.com. TBH,
having installed Win98SE recently, I've found most recent distros easier to
install. YMMV of course and the choice is yours.

> Standard office apps are available for linux, if I have it right, and so
> are email clients and browsers, but I'm wondering how difficult it will be

Office suites include KOffice and OpenOffice.org.
Mail clients include KMail, Evolution and Sylpheed.
Browsers include Konqueror, Mozilla, Mozilla Firebird, Opera and Galeon.

> getting linux to recognize my network card. Will there be any problem with
> the CD reader and the CD burner?

Depends which network card. Check for hardware compatibility at the website
of the distro you choose or Google/Google Groups. Most recent CD writers
work. Again, check a hardware compatibility list or Google/Google Groups.

> Once the network card is working, can linux 'talk' to the other computers
> on our home lan? They are running windows, and are connected using a
> Linksys router.

Linux impliments TCP/IP and so does Windows so they will be able to "talk"
to each other. It just depends which protocol (language they talk in)
you're going to use. My guess is you'll want file and print sharing so look
at Samba.

> Any idea of the best way to acquire the OS - download or on CD?

Which ever way you feel is best for you.

--
Andy.

On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 16:37:36 +0100 (CET), starwars
<nobody@tatooine.homelinux.net> wrote:

>I am thinking of giving Linux a try, and have a few questions, which I hope
>the experts here will answer.
>
>I'm looking for a version of linux that is easy to install. If it could be
>as easy as windows 98 to install, that would be ideal, but I'm willing to
>do a little work if I have to.

Depending on the Linux "distribution" you get, installation can be anywhere from
trivially easy to fiendishly hard. I've heard that the Knoppix installation is
pretty friendly (Knoppix Linux /can/ run directly from the CDROM, meaning that
you can evaluate it before you install it). Personally, I run Slackware Linux
and have never found the installation all that difficult.

>Standard office apps are available for linux, if I have it right, and so
>are email clients and browsers, but I'm wondering how difficult it will be
>getting linux to recognize my network card. Will there be any problem with
>the CD reader and the CD burner?

No trouble at all. The operating system is fully capable of handling all but the
most esoteric of network cards (you don't happen to have a S390 VNIC, do you?
<grin>); any standard network card will be detectible, configurable, and usable
under Linux. The same goes for CDROM and CDRW drives.

>Once the network card is working, can linux 'talk' to the other computers
>on our home lan? They are running windows, and are connected using a
>Linksys router.

Linux can 'talk' to your other computers using standard TCP/IP tools. If you are
looking for "file and print sharing", then the Samba application for Linux
provides that functionality. Samba is a standard part of most mainstream
distributions, and (in distros like Knoppix or Mandrake, etc.) is easy to
configure.

>Any idea of the best way to acquire the OS - download or on CD?

Download if you got the time and capacity.

- or -

See if there's someone in your neighbourhood (or church, or place of work, or
health club, or .. you get the picture) that already uses Linux, and see if they
will lend you the install media. Chances are that not only will they lend it to
you, they'll /give/ it to you, along with advice and assistance.

- or -

Buy a CD from a distributor: either go to the website of your distro of choice,
and use their 'store', or go to a place like cheapbytes.com and buy it for
peanuts.

- or -

Go to your local big-box bookstore, and see what they have in the way of
software or books. A fair number of "Linux" books come with an install CD, and
bookstores that carry software sometimes carry Linux distros. That's how I got
into Slackware; the local big-box bookstore only carried Slackware for the
longest time, and I purchased my first CD set from them before they started
carrying other distributions.


>Thanks for any recommendations.
>
>

--
Lew Pitcher
IT Consultant, Enterprise Technology Solutions
Toronto Dominion Bank Financial Group

(Opinions expressed are my own, not my employers')

"starwars" <nobody@tatooine.homelinux.net> wrote in message
news:bcad0998674508884821e58e3a588132@tatooine.hom elinux.net...
> I am thinking of giving Linux a try, and have a few questions, which I
hope
> the experts here will answer.
>
> I'm looking for a version of linux that is easy to install. If it could be
> as easy as windows 98 to install, that would be ideal, but I'm willing to
> do a little work if I have to.
>
> Standard office apps are available for linux, if I have it right, and so
> are email clients and browsers, but I'm wondering how difficult it will be
> getting linux to recognize my network card. Will there be any problem with
> the CD reader and the CD burner?
>
> Once the network card is working, can linux 'talk' to the other computers
> on our home lan? They are running windows, and are connected using a
> Linksys router.
>
> Any idea of the best way to acquire the OS - download or on CD?
>
> Thanks for any recommendations.
>
>

For your first try at Linux...I'd say Mandrake would be a good place to
start

On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 16:37:36 +0100, starwars wrote:

> I am thinking of giving Linux a try, and have a few questions, which I hope
> the experts here will answer.
>
> I'm looking for a version of linux that is easy to install. If it could be
> as easy as windows 98 to install, that would be ideal, but I'm willing to
> do a little work if I have to.
>
> Standard office apps are available for linux, if I have it right, and so
> are email clients and browsers, but I'm wondering how difficult it will be
> getting linux to recognize my network card. Will there be any problem with
> the CD reader and the CD burner?
>
> Once the network card is working, can linux 'talk' to the other computers
> on our home lan? They are running windows, and are connected using a
> Linksys router.
>
> Any idea of the best way to acquire the OS - download or on CD?
>
> Thanks for any recommendations.
I like Mandrake and am using vesion 9.2
Try www.linuxemporium.co.uk for a download version.I expect you have
similar suppliers in the US.

I have a Linksys BEFSR41 router and a D-Link DSL-300G+ router and both
work well, we have 3 comps. Mine and my sons (SUSe) both dual booting with
windows and my wife with win XP only.

--
Neil
Delete delete to get address

On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 16:00:37 GMT, Bit Twister
<BitTwister@localhost.localdomain> wrote:

>On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 16:37:36 +0100 (CET), starwars wrote:
>> I am thinking of giving Linux a try, and have a few questions, which I hope
>> the experts here will answer.
>>
>> I'm looking for a version of linux that is easy to install. If it could be
>> as easy as windows 98 to install, that would be ideal, but I'm willing to
>> do a little work if I have to.
>
>Mandrake or Suse. Here look at Mandrake
>http://doc.mandrakelinux.com/Mandrak..._Startup.html/

Mandrake is my reccommendation for newbies at home, though here's a
link to the main page (the link Bit Twister gave you is for the 9.1
startup guide, which is still useful, but Mandrake is on 9.2 now).

http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en-us/

>> Standard office apps are available for linux, if I have it right, and so
>> are email clients and browsers, but I'm wondering how difficult it will be
>> getting linux to recognize my network card. Will there be any problem with
>> the CD reader and the CD burner?
>
>You may want to read http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>We cannot see what equipment you have from here.

Mandrake has a database of hardware that has been tried with their
software at http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/hardware.php3

The only CD-ROM I ever had a problem with was extremely old (early
1990s)... I've never had a problem with a CD-RW.

<snip>
>> Any idea of the best way to acquire the OS - download or on CD?

That depends a lot on your needs and situation and patience. I
usually download what I need because it's cheaper, but I have paid
copies of Debian (ordered because at the time I had dialup), Mandrake
9.2 (because I was impatient, didn't want to d/l it, and wanted the
book that came with it).

<snip>

Any other questions? Just shoot.

Susan