Linux newb wanting to improve

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I am a complete convert to linux, currently using Ubuntu Karmic, I started the odyssey with Jaunty. So after about 8 months I would now regard myself (based against windows) as a reasonably competent home desktop user. However I come unstuck whenever I want to do something slightly outside of the norm, as in download and install something that is not in the basic repository that requires (what would seem) a fairly basic knowledge of terminal.

So my question is, where do I look to improve my knowledge. I have searched for generic, online linux courses, but have not really found something that is suitable.

So folks, any ideas.

if you are looking to really really learn linux, my suggestion is Gentoo. It simply forces you to do alot of the things many distros do for you. Other than that just look at things you might want to set up and maintain and try them out. You'll go through them one at a time.

Try this page. Then ask another question.

http://amitech.50webs.com/installing/index.php.html

WATCH OUT for the RTFM'ers and the
elitists! They are useless knownothings
don't bother begging them for info,
belive me you will know one if you run into one,
run from them, not to them, they cannot
help you.

I am honest enough to admit that I don't know
alot about Linux but I will HAPPILY SHARE
what info I do know with you.

Something that the elitist knownothings cannot
seem to grasp.

An interesting way to put it.

The default shell under Ubuntu (as with most other distros) is "bash" (the "Bourne Again SHell").

Quite a good place to start is therefore just "info bash". You can immerse yourself in the wonders of nitty-gritty, text-only help. ("man bash" is OK, but far less "chatty")

Actually, to get familiar with "info", you'll probably need to start from "info", rather than going straight to "info bash". I always forget how to "go back" (type 'l', though once in "info", '?' will help.).

On the other hand, http://tldp.org/ "The Linux Documentation Project" may suit you better.

Installing stuff outside the repos- first look around and see if you can find it in a PPA somewhere. If you can't, you'll have to source-compile. The README notes should list the dependencies, but sometimes a library or two will be named slightly differently in the README as compared to your distro's repositories. Just grab whatever looks closest and it should build.

The default in Ubuntu (and Debian) is actually Dash, a stripped-down shell chosen for how lightweight it is. It's mostly bash-compatible, though.

Good point. I should have said "the shell that people will find themselves using, when they login under desktop Ubuntu, amongst many other distros, will by default be bash".

I hadn't noticed that dash is used for other purposes.

Indeed, "dash" is the default shell here - as it is symlinked to be "sh".



I wonder if there's a good "Things that are in bash (and are pretty useless) that you won't find in dash (which seems to have regained some of the beauty of the original Bourne shell)"

I used to be able to get to technical courses online, and did some Linux courses there (tho it was all command-line, but that's another story)

You can go by any used book store and pick up a Linux book or two, though that's probably a really dry way to learn... Maybe if you set yourself a project or something to do in the Operating system?

Thanks for the advice everyone. With regard to the Gentoo idea, the sink or swim method does have merit, although I do wonder (with the literal meaning of this saying)how many people have actually drowned when taught to swim in this fashion

TOGG13 Would the Gentoo community be accepting and helpful to a raw newb?

There might be some shark attacks involved:



No, in general they would not be. You could try out Sabayon (Gentoo for mortals) to get a start into the Gentoo way of doing things, or you could move from Ubuntu to Debian, which does less to baby its users. Fedora is also a good shot at a distro that is somewhat more technical than Ubuntu while still being usable.