Best Video Tutorial For Linux

[Ahsaniqbalkmc 0]

I am trying to get into linux and learn it to the extent so that I can make it my primary OS. But for this to happen, I must first learn how various basic and intermediate things are done on this OS. I am especially interested in learning how the terminal works and learn how to use it to perform various operations. I hate reading books and prefer video tutorial much more. Do you know any good video tutorial series on his subject from lynda, video2brain etc.

[yordan 10]

First of all tell us what you really want to do on your main OS.If you want to use it as most of people use their Windows system, then it works the same way : you click and you wait.Terminal commands are for advanced users, exactly as on Windows systems.Do you use "cmd" line commands on your current computer? If yes, which command lines do you type ? Quite a lot of command-line instructions are exactly the same:- mkdir- rmdir- cd

[Ahsaniqbalkmc 0]

First of all I need to learn some basic stuff like how to install something to the system. I know how to get software from the list provided by the application manager but I don't know how to install software that are not listed. I remember that few weeks ago, when I was trying to install adobe flash to the linux virtual machine I had setup, I had to go through a lot of pain. First I downloaded the adobe flash tar.gz package for linux but I didn't know how to use it. I extracted everything from the package, as I would normally do with archives in windows machine, but unlike the packages for windows machine, that package didn't contain an installation file (setup.exe). And I was stuck there. I did some research on the internet but wasn't able to use that package. I solved the problem of installing flash through a package update ( I don't remember exactly what update it was, but I am sure it was some update that did the trick). So the first thing I would like to know is how to install new things outside the stuff provided by the application manager.Second I would like to know how to handle network connections. For instance, how would I set up a pc-to-pc connection on a homegroup and share files (with a windows machine). I would also like to know how would I share my internet connection (that is through a usb dongle) with the computer in my homegroup connected through the ethernet port. I would also like to know how to set up wireless ad-hoc networks (with a windows machine) and share files through it.Third thing I need to know is how to handle various peripherals if they don't have drivers for linux. For instance the USB dongle I am using doesn't seem to have a driver for linux, so how would I use it to connect to the internet. SImilar goes for my graphics tablet, which also doesn't seem to have a driver for linux OS. This is something that you won't have to deal with when using a windows machine, as almost everything has a driver for windows. But for linux, there are going to be many things which don't have proper drivers. I need to know how would I deal with them.Fourth thing that is coming to my mind right now is to learn to deal with local test servers as well as test servers set up on a different physical machine. I don't have much knowledge about this topic even in the windows environemnt as wamp and xampp etc have made life very easy. But on a linux machine, without a similar package, I assume that I have use terminal to control things like this. It is one of the uses of terminal I am going to need to learn.Lastly, I must say that from whatever little experience I have with linux, I have come to know that it is quite a powerful Operating system that lets you control almost everything. I have also come to know that Terminal is its most powerful tool. So if I make a shift from a windows environemnt to a linux OS, I need to know what are the features that are more powerful in linux and what are the features that are more powerful in windows. Surely, this knowledge can only come through experience, but a theoretical knowledge of things is also very useful. From the little help I have sought online, I have realized that terminal is the tool that can be used to accomplish multiple tasks all at one place, So I need to learn more about this so that I can make a strategy about different programs I will need to successfully make a shift from windows to linux.

[yordan 10]

Wow!Quite a lot of needs!OK, first of all you should forget a lot of "obvious" things which are not so obvious at all.Drivers is one of the main problem in personal usage field. For instance my printer does not have drivers for windows seven nor windows vista. So, thinking that windows has drivers for everything is false. You are supposed, before buying some device, to look if drivers for your version of windows or your version of Linux do exist, else simply do not buy this device.Secondly, there are some standard ways to do in Linux world. And most of them are not available through videos, they are available from books or from tutorials on the net.The first thing is that polite people, when they pack a software like adobe flash player, usually put this in a .tgz file. Usually you have first to unpack that file, and then see what are in the unpacked package. Usually it is a something.rpm file, you simply have to click on it. And usually there is a readme or README or readme.first or readme.install or readme.something.txt file saying how to install it. If this software is not packed that way, you have to go to another place.Also communication between PC's can be something rather complicated if you want to have several networks on several machines.For instance, if you want your Linux machine to be on a separate system and share the internet connection available on a PC with a USB dongle, you have to install a (preferably free) proxy server on your PC and configure your Linux machine to use this proxy. However, if your Linux machine is a virtual machine on the same PC, simply use the NAT facilities coming with the virtual environment, everything will work fine without any pain. When installing, Linux will see the NAT network as it's main network, and will access Internet normally.NFS is the standard Unix (so also Linux) way for sharing files between Linux and other Linux or Unix machines. If you want to communicate with the Windows world, you will need to configure a Samba server (or client, depending if the shared files are on the Linux or on the windows machine). And you guess that this inter-os communication question is not a Linux problem, because in a pure Linux world it does not exist. The problem is if you want to make two different world communicate without any misunderstanding.So, maybe, instead of saying "I want a video explaining everything immediately", maybe you should ask one thing after the other one. For instance, ask "how do I install flash on Linux?"

[Ahsaniqbalkmc 0]

Wow!Quite a lot of needs!

Actually, this was the list of needs that came into my mind at the time of writing the post. There m{ay be many more, which keep coming as I do different tasks at different times. But I know that I cannot learn most thing before I actually get into the linux environemnt so you can rightfully say that it was a long list of needs.

OK, first of all you should forget a lot of "obvious" things which are not so obvious at all.Drivers is one of the main problem in personal usage field. For instance my printer does not have drivers for windows seven nor windows vista. So, thinking that windows has drivers for everything is false. You are supposed, before buying some device, to look if drivers for your version of windows or your version of Linux do exist, else simply do not buy this device.
Secondly, there are some standard ways to do in Linux world. And most of them are not available through videos, they are available from books or from tutorials on the net.

This statement of yours that many devices have drivers for linux and not for windows, is kind of strange for me as I have not seen a device like this yet. Probably this is because the area I live in is not familiar with Linux at all and almost everyone uses windows system. But if I keep living in this area, I will never have a problem of finding a driver for my windows machine because everything available at the market has a windows driver (otherwise no one would ever buy it). However, I will always have issues with my linux machines as branded products might have drivers for linux but other cheap ones might not have them. So I have to plan a solution for this thing before I make a permanent shift from windows to linux as this will be one the problems without solving which I wouldn't be able to work. And if I am unable to work in my new environment, there is no reason for me to make a shift.
As I said in my first post of the topic, I hate reading books on my laptop screen and I prefer videos much more as I gain more from them. But in a circumstance where the sole source of information is a book or a webpage, I would definitedly read it. So please name a few books I can read to learn more about the driver issue on linux machine.

The first thing is that polite people, when they pack a software like adobe flash player, usually put this in a .tgz file. Usually you have first to unpack that file, and then see what are in the unpacked package. Usually it is a something.rpm file, you simply have to click on it. And usually there is a readme or README or readme.first or readme.install or readme.something.txt file saying how to install it. If this software is not packed that way, you have to go to another place.

I remember that the file I downloaded for the flash was a tar.gz archive. I don't remember if it had any .rpm file or a readme file but what I remember is that I was unable to figure out how to install it and thus I had to look for alternative ways of getting flash installed. If you can provide a link to a package which has a .rpm file or which has a readme file with the installation instructions, that would definitely help me.
I know almost every tool worth using has a linux version and if I learn how to install those linux versions of the software, I would be able to continue my work on the new linux machine. But I also know that there are some tools I use that don't have a linux version and I have to find some way of using them or I will have to find alternate software. I would prefer some way of using software built for windows machine to be used on a linux machine and this would definitely take some learning. So that is also one of the item included in the LONG list of needs.

Also communication between PC's can be something rather complicated if you want to have several networks on several machines.For instance, if you want your Linux machine to be on a separate system and share the internet connection available on a PC with a USB dongle, you have to install a (preferably free) proxy server on your PC and configure your Linux machine to use this proxy. However, if your Linux machine is a virtual machine on the same PC, simply use the NAT facilities coming with the virtual environment, everything will work fine without any pain. When installing, Linux will see the NAT network as it's main network, and will access Internet normally.

That is definitely a good addition to my limited knowledge. First, I didn't knew that I can share a connection by installing a proxy server on the primary machine and second, I don't know how to install a proxy server (even a free one) on my primary machine. The first step would be to install a proxy server on my windows machine so please talk more about this as I have no idea how I can acheive this. And when I have successfully installed the proxy server on my main machine, I will have to set up my linux machine to use that proxy server, and I don't know how I would do that. So please talk about this also.

NFS is the standard Unix (so also Linux) way for sharing files between Linux and other Linux or Unix machines. If you want to communicate with the Windows world, you will need to configure a Samba server (or client, depending if the shared files are on the Linux or on the windows machine). And you guess that this inter-os communication question is not a Linux problem, because in a pure Linux world it does not exist. The problem is if you want to make two different world communicate without any misunderstanding.

You may find it funny but what is "NFS"? I don't understand it so please elaborate. Suppose I have two linux machines set up on two different computers and I want them to be part of the same workgroup (I don't know the linux terminology), would I just mimic things I would do on a windows machine or the criteria is different. How would I achieve this?
Please talk more about samba server and client. I need to know more about sharing files with a windows machine because this is what I do on daily basis so I will have to deal with it alot. As you said, this is not a Linux problem at all, but for me it is a problem related to Linux because I cannot do it on Linux. I can do it on a windows machine so that doesn't concern me but because I am planning to shift to Linux, I need to know the solution to this question in a language that Linux would understand. So for me, it is a problem related to my use of Linux. I can assume that Linux to Linux connections would be even easier than windows to windows connections but in my case, I need to solve the problem of connections between different worlds.

So, maybe, instead of saying "I want a video explaining everything immediately", maybe you should ask one thing after the other one. For instance, ask "how do I install flash on Linux?"

You got me wrong here, or may be I was unable to correctly explain myself. Normally, when I am trying to learn something, I would find a collection of video tutorials about that stuff all in a single DVD. For instance, when I was trying to sharpen my PHP and Mysql skills, I found a DVD created by people at Lynda.com where a collection of vidoes on the subject were present in an arranged manner. And when I say "a good video tutorial", I acutally mean "a good collection of videos in a single (or a series of) Tutorial DVD". And if I mean that, I think I don't sound foolish because more often than not, I have been able to find such DVDs in the market at a reasonable price. So if subjects like PHP, Mysql, SQL, etc are covered, I thought someone would have also created similar stuff for introduction to Linux so that beginners can use it.

[yordan 10]

OK, what you want is a Linux administration very complete tutorial for your LInux version. As a matter of fact, each Linux version has it's own way of being administrated. For instance, in the Linux systems I use, inside the something.tgz file, if you uncompress it, you find a file named something.rpm, you simply click the rpm file or in a command-line window you type "cd myfolder ; rpm -i ./something.rpm", and this is supposed to be fully explained in the embedded readme file.So, you should have a look for a DVD with tutorials for administration for your Linux version.

[manuleka 0]

there are some pretty good readings online about getting started with Linux or books about Migrating to Linux... http://www.tuxfiles.org/

[Ahsaniqbalkmc 0]

I think I will have to give up the search for video tutorials for linux, or linux administration as mentioned by "Yordan". I did a lot of search on the internet and was unable to find such a tutorial. There was just one video tutorial made by people at VTC. The title was "Introduction to Linux". But the problem with that tutorial is that it is outdated by a huge margin. It is about 6 years old, and this makes me assume that it won't be of much value to me.So instead of looking for ghosts that either don't exist or are too difficult to find, I would rather try to find some useful books and articles, which at least would have up-to-date information. The tutorials mentioned by @manuleka, "tuxfiles.org", seem to be quite useful. There are also many other good articles each targeting a specific issue.I would start to address my problem one by one starting from the major ones like installation of software and driver issues. Then, when I am comfortable with solving issues that are a potential hinderance in basic use of the operating system, I would shift to the OS and solve problems as they come forward. I think this would be a better way to do this.

[manuleka 0]

best bet is reading materials online... there's a tremendous amount of online reading tutorials and articles on Linux, even Free Ebooks are available, just a matter of googling and searching for it (with a bit of patience of course)