Getting started

cbrookej · 08-08-2016, 04:35 PM

I was on the Newbie Forum this past spring, asking if I could handle Linux. Users convinced me that I could. Now I am back, having installed Mint/Cinnamon. I have found some generic introductions to Linux, but I question how useful they would be to a newbie trying to learn to use Mint/Cinnamon.

Would generic manuals be useful to such a newbie? Or would I need something more specific to that GUI? I will not be looking directly at the shell after all, let alone the kernal. How to proceed with Mint/Cin?

Can anyone recommend a starting manual, preferrably a book? I am much more comfortable with old fashioned books, than with online help I have seen so far. I find being able to flip quickly from one page to another very helpful, and being able find things in an index. Can anyone recommend such a book?

How can I get started with Mint/Cin?

Habitual · 08-08-2016, 05:00 PM

Use it every day for every day things.
There is the user guide > Start Menu > welcome
or close to that.
What version of Mint? 18 just came out MATE/Cinnamon and recently Xfce builds.
If you open a terminal and issue:

Code:

inxi -S

and paste the results, it would be helpful.

Go to and bookmark https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/Home

ardvark71 · 08-08-2016, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrookej

Can anyone recommend a starting manual, preferrably a book? I am much more comfortable with old fashioned books, than with online help I have seen so far. I find being able to flip quickly from one page to another very helpful, and being able find things in an index. Can anyone recommend such a book?

How can I get started with Mint/Cin?

Hi...

While I'm not sure about an actual book, an online resource that might be useful is "The Linux Mint User Guide" here. The actual document you download (here) is in PDF format, which you can print out and read as if it were a book.

Regards...

aragorn2101 · 08-09-2016, 04:36 AM

Hi,

Linux and Linux distributions are developed and maintained by huge communities. So, to stick to one book can give you a good intro, but if you really want to know Linux, you must have some patience and read around as much as you can. There are lots of Wiki's, books, guides and howtos. Use your system everyday and after about a week you should be very familiar with the GUI. But do not stop there, please. The GUI is limited to what it was programmed to do and to let users do. The command line is virtually limitless. The true power of a Linux system resides there.

Check out this book: http://www.tldp.org/LDP/intro-linux/intro-linux.pdf
and some of the other guides at TLDP.

Start with simple things like browsing through directories and files. Learning about permissions and utility tools. Manage files/folders, manipulating text files. Then, much later, you can start to look at system administration.

You are embarking on a long and beautiful journey.
Enjoy.

jamison20000e · 08-10-2016, 05:15 AM

+1 on running it... &sea,,, &see; signature &c.

Have fun!

DavidMcCann · 08-10-2016, 11:00 AM

There's the community documentation mentioned by aardvark and the official manual
https://linuxmint.com/documentation/...glish_18.0.pdf
If you search for Linux Mint on Amazon, you'll find several titles with the usual customer reviews.

Your programs will generally have help and may also have websites with extra information.

Sefyir · 08-10-2016, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMcCann

Your programs will generally have help and may also have websites with extra information.

This is the most true part of linux.

There isn't much of a guide for Linux Mint (Feel free to read the above linked by ardvark71) as it covers the basic stuff.
Every tool (software) you use however, will likely have extensive documentation on the official site, many guides on video sites (like youtube), unofficial "how-to" guides and often entire forums dedicated to a certain tool.

So think of something you want to do like edit video / audio, create a game, using the command line (do this one!), create podcast, convert media, etc and look at the documentation for that

cbrookej · 08-13-2016, 07:51 PM

Sorrry it has taken me a while to get back on this. Some more urgent issues came up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Habitual

Use it every day for every day things.
There is the user guide > Start Menu > welcome
or close to that.

What version of Mint?

I think I have v 18 Sarah. It was installed August 2; I'm pretty sure the tech would have installed the latest version available then. I have a user guide for 17.3; will this be good for 18?

18 just came out MATE/Cinnamon and recently Xfce builds.
If you open a terminal and issue:

Code:

inxi  -S-S

and paste the results, it would be helpful.

I found the terminal, typed in the code, got some info.
I was unable to copy and paste. I was copying from Linux and trying to paste into Windows 7. Is that the problem? If so, I will need help fixing it. I am just barely starting with this.

https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/Home

I looked at this. It sounds like Linux (Ubuntu1? Mint?) is full of land mines, too many for me to remember. I am a rank newby. I am worried.

F-18? Wow! The fanciest thing I ever flew was a T-6. It was a lot of fun.

Go to and bookmark https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/Home

ondoho · 08-14-2016, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrookej

I was on the Newbie Forum this past spring, asking if I could handle Linux. Users convinced me that I could. Now I am back, having installed Mint/Cinnamon. I have found some generic introductions to Linux, but I question how useful they would be to a newbie trying to learn to use Mint/Cinnamon.

Would generic manuals be useful to such a newbie? Or would I need something more specific to that GUI? I will not be looking directly at the shell after all, let alone the kernal. How to proceed with Mint/Cin?

Can anyone recommend a starting manual, preferrably a book? I am much more comfortable with old fashioned books, than with online help I have seen so far. I find being able to flip quickly from one page to another very helpful, and being able find things in an index. Can anyone recommend such a book?

How can I get started with Mint/Cin?

i don't understand why people don't take the most obvious step first:
look at the web pages provided by the distro in question.
including, but not limited to, their forums.

i guess it's a problem of not seeing the forest for all the trees.

anyway, in this case ardvark's answer is the correct one.