Knoppix
From Grokdoc
I'm a potential "subject" of the Grokdoc study, having never installed or used Linux.
I thought, "Hmmm... maybe here's a way to have some fun, contribute to the community. PJ mentioned Knoppix, so did the page from which I came. I suppose I'll jump in a try Knoppix for fun."
So, I clicked on the "Knoppix" link, and ended up where? ... at an empty page!
Of course I know that Grokdoc isn't supposed to teach newbies how to do anything. I'm not asking that.
I'm reporting the first experience of a newbie, albeit technical, who tried to use the Grokdoc site to bootstrap himself into the Linux world ... and his first click ... failed.
Of course I could have googled Knoppix, which I did (http://www.knoppix.net/) but perhaps one challenge newcomers to the Linux community will have is the one I just had?
Grokdoc is studying newbies who are encouraged and to some degree protected by a guru. Hey, if I had a guru who promised me answers when I got stuck, I'd have installed Linux a year ago! I believe I'm in a class of user that is at least as important as the end-user Grokdoc proposes to study. I'm the fringe techie, who just hasn't got the time to become an OS wizard and doesn't have a guru at his side... I hope that our Grokdoc community will reach some conclusions on how early (but not earliest!) adopters like me learn the OS... sans guru!
PS Go PJ!!!
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See also this experience trying to install Knoppix. [1] And this one on various experiences [2]
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Well, here's what I suggest. Try Ubuntu [3] or Kubuntu [4]. Grokdoc is, as you say, for a different purpose, but just as a friendly gesture, I'll make the suggestion that you try their Live CD first to see if your hardware will work. If yes, then decide if you want to dedicate your computer to it or just let it share space. Back up all your important things first, to make sure you have no disasters. Read the Ubuntu forums [5] to get an overview. Buy support [6], if appropriate. Then come back and tell us what your experience was like, please. Alternatively, you might find Mandriva [7] easy too, and the software comes with some support and you can buy internet or phone support [8] for incidents as they arise. You can look up whether your hardware will work in advance here [9]. The community will help you though. Mandriva also has forums. And LinuxQuestions.org is designed for newbie questions.
