I don't think that trying to learn linux on the Nokia 770 is a great idea. The reason I say that, is there are too many standard functions that just don't work right on the 770. Not that they don't work, just that they don't work on lots of normal systems.

There is Linux for Dummies (7th ed) by Dee-Ann LeBlanc. Its not too bad as books go. It'll give you a good grounding. Personally I like Running Linux by O'Reilly, but the new version seems a little over whelming when it comes to new users (from what I've seen).

If you have a PC or a Laptop or something like that, get a live cd that you can pratice on. Depending on how old the computer is, Knoppix, Ubuntu, or Damn Small Linux will work on the computer. Each has its up and down side, but you should be able to learn the basics from there.

First Linux != Unix.

Second, you saw the same problem happen in Unix as well, even back in the 80s. There has never been a standard. Look at where HP-UX, AIX, SunOS (Not Solaris, but it fits in the mix too), puts their config files. They don't agree. In one you have to make changes to one area, in the other, a second area, and the third is another area all together. Then you get into the "Open" systems, and it gets uglier yet. The Unix System Administrator book published by O'Reilly does a great job in telling you where to look but it's always been a case of "what flavor do you want?"

All we are seeing now, is more and more child distro's because someone didn't like the way the parent distro did things.

Sorry, I’ll get off my soapbox now.

Thanks guys,
I'm beginning to realise that trying to learn using the 770 is not a great idea. I'd probably just wind up bricking 'my precious' as I nearly did the past weekend trying to get it to work with a 2gb card!! - see my other post :

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...ead.php?t=2764

I think that I need to install on an old machine and just get a couple of books to start with and do it the old fashioned way, although I have to say that I did install Ubuntu on my normal XP machine and it's working really well now with no problems at all. I'm a bit worried about doing something to the XP part of the machine while playing in Ubunty though so this is only a temporary option.

I was wondering if it would be worthwile for someone to do a section of this forum for TOTAL newbies like me - after all many linux virgins are now buying 770's just to browse & mail rather than poke at them with a programmer's stick!! This website is the only place where we (as in non tech people) can get any help / info on the product.

Ravi

Ravi: I've only played with the Ubuntu VMWare player but it looks like a nice distro. When you installed it on your XP box were you using the live CD? (In which case it's not actually installed)... or did you actually install it and get a boot menu when you turn your PC on? In either case, so long as you stay away from commands like fdisk and don't have your Windows drive mounted (so Linux can see it) you shouldn't have too many problems. Just stay away from commands like fdisk and be careful if you're doing an 'rm -r' (delete but recursively so it kills any subdirectories). Fdisk will let you wipe your partition (effectively sending your data to hell) and 'rm -r'... well. Let's just say you can delete your kernel effectively pooching your box until you dump one back in there (fun process.) Trust me. *sigh*

Anyway, my two cents on how to learn. So far as XWindows goes, after using Windows it should be pretty intuitive. Anytime you're prompted for a root password, be conscious of what you're doing. Play around in X, check out some of the system tools, etc. After that learn how to navigate around in a shell (the command prompt) and do simple things like move, copy, delete files, change directories, list directories, etc. It's good to know how to use commandline tools like vi, ftp (or ncftp if you've got it, I always liked that one better), displaying text files, etc. Most distros should come with the 'less' command. You can type 'less filename' on a text file and it'll let you scroll up and down. Just search for tutorials and have fun. I still can't tell you where half the stuff on my FC5 box is.

youre right. i think its much easier and better to use a desktop PC - simply for practical reasons. keyboard, mouse, speed, ... you will have to concentrate on new things to learn, so i believe its better to have a fast machine with good input devices.

You don't need an old machine. I recommend DSL Linux. You can acutally run it inside M$-Windows or just boot from a CD. It is based on Debain so pretty much what you learn playing around this DSL Linux will apply to the 770.

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

I like Damn Small Linux for some things. I have it on a mem-stick (bought from DSL) and am happy with it. I need to see if they've included the embeded in the latest cd. Probably not.