Starting from scratch?

M

mirageshepard

New Member
Hey everyone I'm the new guy. I've been playing around with computers for a few years now but I've never really dug into 1 to see what makes it tick & what makes everything that is "seen" work....as in colors, fonts, websites, etc etc etc. I've talked to a few friends that have been in computers for years to try & help me get started into everything, & besides laughs (I think it's because I'm a ex-gearhead) they mention for me to start from scratch & find a linux system. I've read abit about the Linux system but I guess its going to be 1 of those things that need hands on experience for me to understand. I'm still kind of short on thought how thats going to help me master everything after it.

I think I got a cheat sheet in my favorites folder for all the little stuff like what .exe means or what HTML is etc etc etc. Most of the little notes I do have is from viewing sites through stumble, I've wasted so many hours stumbling lol. I'm starting school later this year & I'm hoping to take a computer class or 2. The same friends that laugh at me for wanting to study computers also said to learn hardware and stick with that but I'm not happy just studying 1 part & only 1 part. All help is appreciated, I have a feeling I'm going to be corrected & that is fine, I expect it :)
 
Your friends are among the 5% of PC users running Linux. Linux is user-unfriendly. Learn Windows stuff as a priority but learn some Linux should the opportunity arise. The available information and tutorials on Windows totally eclipses Linux and Mac. If you wanted to learn a useful global language, what would you choose - English or Swahili?

The suggestion you should stick with hardware is very short-sighted. That probably comes from someone who wants to have the meanest PC on the block. The hardware can point to the technology but it's not the be-all and end-all. Many people don't care two hoots about the hardware as long as it runs their apps.

Unfortunately the whole field of computing is enormous. You only have to look at the number of sub-forums in this forum. There is no magic bullet, it takes time. Taking a few classes may help and point you in the right direction. As I said there are many tutorials on the Net. If you google a subject that you are particularly interested in, you can usually find something at your level whether beginner or advanced.

Play around with your hardware and apps and be inquisitive. Browsing forums like this is good for learning because you see problems people are having, how to solve them, and the terminology being used. Anything you don't understand you can google.
 
search youtube there are tutorial videos for everything, using microsoft office, right through to building a full custom pc, just put in the name of what you want to know and you will find countless videos to show you how
 
jamesd1981 said:
.....right through to building a full custom pc.....
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I'd agree with that. Building your own PC forces you to learn the terminology and what makes things tick. First-hand experience is more enjoyable and you tend to remember lessons learned (electric shocks, fried CPU etc). It doesn't have to be an expensive PC. You could refurbish an old banger, use whatever parts you can beg, borrow or steal and buy the rest.
 
Nanobyte said:
Your friends are among the 5% of PC users running Linux. Linux is user-unfriendly. Learn Windows stuff as a priority but learn some Linux should the opportunity arise. The available information and tutorials on Windows totally eclipses Linux and Mac. If you wanted to learn a useful global language, what would you choose - English or Swahili?

The suggestion you should stick with hardware is very short-sighted. That probably comes from someone who wants to have the meanest PC on the block. The hardware can point to the technology but it's not the be-all and end-all. Many people don't care two hoots about the hardware as long as it runs their apps.

Unfortunately the whole field of computing is enormous. You only have to look at the number of sub-forums in this forum. There is no magic bullet, it takes time. Taking a few classes may help and point you in the right direction. As I said there are many tutorials on the Net. If you google a subject that you are particularly interested in, you can usually find something at your level whether beginner or advanced.

Play around with your hardware and apps and be inquisitive. Browsing forums like this is good for learning because you see problems people are having, how to solve them, and the terminology being used. Anything you don't understand you can google.
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sorry, going to have to disagree with you a bit on some things.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_use_Linux

Plenty of people use linux. For anyone who is ever wanted to get into computer networking, setting up servers, etc you have to know linux. It dominates the server market. As far as information, i have never run into a issue with finding help on a issue in linux, regardless of what it was. The one time i couldn't, i asked in the linux forums. Plenty of support and friendly people there. So to say it's hard to get information on it is a bit false. And i wouldn't call it user-unfriendly. The transition from windows to linux for me was painless, and in all honesty a joy. Do i still use microsoft OS's? Yup. They have there uses.

Other then that, yea i agree with you. Explore every area you can think of, and find one that really catches your attention. I personally am a huge fan of programming, whether it be a app, a game, or working on a custom linux distro. You'll find somethat that sticks with you, it just takes time. Get as many books as you can on anything you can think of. Like it's been said, there's too much for one person to learn, so just try to learn everything you can. :)
 
Linux has done well in servers because people who run servers are generally professionals or really into programming. Not too many grannies running servers (some no doubt). Linux has been around for years and has been championed by enthusiasts. Its lack of penetration into the consumer market is testament to its unfriendliness (not its abilities). It's a plain, simple, fact. I can guarantee that if Google comes out with a decent OS, its usage will surpass Linux (non-server) in no time even if it has less functionality. Google simply will not produce an unfriendly OS.

As I said, there is no reason why Mirageshepard should not take the opportunity to learn Linux if the opportunity arises but otherwise, you start with what nearly everyone is using.

I have the same view in video editing. The open source apps like VirtualDub, AviSynth etc do a decent job for free. You can say the same things about them as you said about Linux but they are not for everybody because there is a steep long learning curve. You cannot slap in some input, press a button and get output. I'm reluctant to recommend using them unless the thread poster clearly has the smarts.

I was wondering why it took so long for someone to defend Linux!
 
NyxCharon said:
sorry, going to have to disagree with you a bit on some things.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_use_Linux

Plenty of people use linux. For anyone who is ever wanted to get into computer networking, setting up servers, etc you have to know linux. It dominates the server market. As far as information, i have never run into a issue with finding help on a issue in linux, regardless of what it was. The one time i couldn't, i asked in the linux forums. Plenty of support and friendly people there. So to say it's hard to get information on it is a bit false. And i wouldn't call it user-unfriendly. The transition from windows to linux for me was painless, and in all honesty a joy. Do i still use microsoft OS's? Yup. They have there uses.

Other then that, yea i agree with you. Explore every area you can think of, and find one that really catches your attention. I personally am a huge fan of programming, whether it be a app, a game, or working on a custom linux distro. You'll find somethat that sticks with you, it just takes time. Get as many books as you can on anything you can think of. Like it's been said, there's too much for one person to learn, so just try to learn everything you can. :)
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Most of the people who use linux however, aren't realizing it. The majority of (end user) experience with linux lies in the area of Smartphones (Android, Webos, etc), or netbooks preloaded with a distro of linux, and even fewer have ventured much further than simple use of the Linux Based OS's on those devices. The biggest userbase, as you said, is network/IT professionals (and with that comes learning other fun things, such as the workings of terminal based routers such as anything running Cisco IOS's). If you're trying to learn about PC's, the best place to start working(In my opinion) is with a windows OS. Why? Because the majority of end users are going to be running Windows. As you become more familiar with the operation of Computers and a more userfriendly operating system such as Windows, that is when i would suggest a user starts their foray into the world of Linux. I'd be inclined to agree with Nanobyte here, that Linux is somewhat of a user unfriendly operating system, especially when new to computers. For someone who has more experience working with computers, i would totally agree, Linux transitions can be painless--but i've run into countless times where a relatively knowledgeable user decides to try even a widely supported common distro such as Ubuntu, and run into problems with Network Adapters and GPU's, which have a tendency to frustrate the hell out of someone who hasn't worked with it before.
 
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Are we talking about Linux Kernel or GNU/Linux OSes?

The GNU/Linux OS is a sub-category of the OSes using Linux Kernel.
Like the Android uses Linux Kernel but does not have the GNU libraries.

As Gary said there are many users of the Linux kernel but they don't realize that but the people using Linux/GNU OS they all know perfectly what they are using.


Anyways to answer OPs question to learn more about computer it can be done on windows also but if you use any GNU/Linux it is going to be a really nice experience and also a learning one.
But you won't be able to learn about the dot net platform and other windows platforms on Linux/GNU OSes.But on a Linux OS everything is not made up for you for some small things you have to work for them which is the most exciting experience.I can gaurantee you the first application which you will install on you GNU/Linux OS using command line you will feel proud of yourself.Try installing VLC as the first application.

When I made my CDMA Usb modem work on linux/GNU using usb mode switch and wvdial I was ecstatic.
 
Linux is estimated to have over 65 million users which I consider impressive considering it is not sold in stores and it is not massively advertised. Linux has taken over the server market due to the fact it cost is lower.

As for everyday people using linux in many cases it is easier to use then windows. My Ubuntucan do everything that a windows machine can do and most cases it is the same software I ran on windows but the Linux version of it, Linux is starting to get large enough where many software companies are making software for Linux. The only thing windows does better is gaming and even then the only pc games I would play is by blizzard or valve which can be installed easily with wine. Any other games I would play usually comes out for my ps3 so I have no need for a gaming pc (not to mention ps3 is cheaper). My wife is good with computers bit is no where near being a advance user and she recently just complety removed windows with a ubuntu install and uses it like a pro already and it even works with here school thanks to open office. Some of you need to do your research before you bash on a os considering windowsis still the most poorly designed os on the market.
 
DMGrier said:
Linux is estimated to have over 65 million users which I consider impressive considering it is not sold in stores and it is not massively advertised
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....and it's free. If you cannot give it away and it's only 5% of the market, the masses have spoken. What it can and cannot do is irrelevant. Read my previous posts.

I mentioned Linux only because Mirageshepard's friends seem to think it's the only way to go. If someone wants to start a thread on why Linux is so poorly supported, go ahead; don't hijack the original question.
 
I wouldn't say that the packages like ubuntu or mint are "unfriendly" by anymeans. I have installed ubuntu on a few of my buddies laptops and they picked it up with ease and pretty much all my friends are computer illiterate. I would say that it would be no different from going from windows to osx.
 
Might I just chime in here to say that open source software powers around ~60% of the Internet. When I say open source, I mean Unix/Linux, Apache, Nginx, Lighttpd, MySQL, etc.

While Microsoft does(and should) have its place in the market share, any 'fanboy-ish' remarks to study one as opposed to another should be disregarded. Don't be a fanboy, public beatings should be administered for being a fanboy.

I agree with DMGrier, the iOS and Android OS are Unix and Linux, respectively. The reason for their success is ease of use and stability.

If you guys want to promote Microsoft products, do some research on NTFS ADS (Alternate Data Streams). Be sure and tell me all about that design.
 
My apologies for starting a debate, I guess everyone has their favorites & why 1 is better then the other for what ever reason. I would have chimed back in earlier but I was having "blonde" issues :D . I THINK the reason a few friends said to start with linux is to use it as a building block for learning everything else. I didn't realize how much knowledge could be struck from so many people @ 1 time in such a short amount of time & for this I am extremely greatful. This forum is turning out to be a lucky find for when I started out looking into where to start in my journey of the computer.

I guess I'm going to start learning more about the computer the same way I started working on vehicles years ago, start from how its powered & trace that line of power to everything else & along the way figure out what each part does & how :) . As always I appreciate any knowledge thrown my way.
 
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