why is linux for advanced users?

[firewolf]

a good friend of mine is great with computers, but he says it takes a while to get used to linux, and you have to learn a whole lot of other stuff. i must have some mental block or something but i can't imagine what u would need to do to work a OS such as linux. do you have to enter commands to open programs? does it look like windows/mac? why is it for advanced users? what do you need to know? how long does it take to learn enough to work linux and "get around"

any thought/answers would be highly appreciated
-firewolf

Edited: "How long does it take to learn enough to work Linux and "get around".

I read that question again and I guess it depends on how fast you can learn something. Try and base the answer on the knowledge that i learned advanced basics (if that makes sense) of HTML in over 1 weekend and made my first not bad website on monday. i started learning ActionScript for flash and created a fairly decent website in 1 week. i have had 1 and a half weeks with vb.net and have learned a whole lot, not a lot that i know everything, but i did some newbie stuff like make some games like Tic Tac Toe, some casino game of my own thought, and some other stuff

i dont know if this matters, but here is one of my websites with flash...
http://blackxstorm.tripod.com/

[CMonster]

www.linux.org has a basic course that will answer all your questions direct link

Linux is not DOS or Windows or MAC of course, but it does have a few similarities in common with these other operating systems both in function/method, and user interface. If you are somewhat experienced with computers (i.e. not just a button clicking mouse pusher) you should be able to install and use most current Linux distributions.

To get the full benefit of all Linux has to offer you would need to study and research a bit.

[firewolf]

Thanks a lot I'm reading their stuff as we speak. Just one more question. Why is it free? I'm not complaining but from what I heard Linux is a great operating system and must've taken a lot of work to programm and design.

[CMonster]

You'll find that answer too, but in a nutshell; the GPL under which Linux is licensed provides for FREEDOM, which doesn't necessarily translate to FREE stuff.

[firewolf]

im sorry for being such a lazy b... but i almost have no time for searching through stuff, because most of the time i'm a bad searcher and i find nothing. but i just read about the penguin logo and i found it to be a great choice lol and yes i did find the answer, right after i asked, so i apologize for my laziness

[crouse]

If you want to try linux without installing it.......

you can download www.knoppix.net KNOPPIX is a run from cd linux.... very cool.

If you want to try it on the web... check out www.workspot.com (web based...looks like redhat)

Both are slower than hard drive installed versions...but it will give you a peak at what to expect

[willy_ph]

I second Crouse's suggestion. Try running knoppix to see if you really like linux. It takes some getting used to, however, it isn't really much harder to use than windows once you get used to it.

[washe]

it sounds like we have another penguin here.....

I also suggest a tryout on knoppix or if you have and old harddisk try one of the full distros... like mandrake or red hat..

[nukes]

Yes, Knoppix is a great way to show off Linux, it should detect most of your hardware and give you a nice desktop to play with.
The main reason I use Linux is its freedom. In that because everything is documented and configurable as seperate things, I get a lot more control over my system than I would if I had Windows or some other OS installed. This goes for every layer of the OS. Almost all the software I use is GPL, and that gives me the source code to any program I use. The fact that its all free is just a bonus. I'd use this anyway.

[firewolf]

thanks for all the suggestions ill try the method of not installing linux but trying it out and let you all know how it went

thanks again,
firewolf