Discussions relating to networking with Linux.
comp.os.linux.development
Discussions about developing the Linux kernel and system itself.
comp.os.linux.misc
A catch-all newsgroup for miscellaneous discussions that don't fall under the previous categories.
There are also several newsgroups devoted to Linux in languages other than English, such as fr.comp.os.linux in French and de.comp.os.linux in German.
Linux Mailing Lists
There is a large number of specialist Linux mailing lists on which you will find many people willing to help with questions you might have.
The best-known of these are the lists hosted by Rutgers University. You may subscribe to these lists by sending an email message formatted as follows:
To: [email protected] Subject: anything at all Body: subscribe
Some of the available lists related to Linux networking are:
linux-net
Discussion relating to Linux networking
linux-ppp
Discussion relating to the Linux PPP implementation
linux-kernel
Discussion relating to Linux kernel development
Online Linux Support
There are many ways of obtaining help online, where volunteers from around the world offer expertise and services to assist users with questions and problems.
The OpenProjects IRC Network is an IRC network devoted entirely to Open Projects - Open Source and Open Hardware alike. Some of its channels are designed to provide online Linux support services. IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, and is a network service that allows you to talk interactively on the Internet to other users. IRC networks support multiple channels on which groups of people talk. Whatever you type in a channel is seen by all other users of that channel.
There are a number of active channels on the OpenProjects IRC network where you will find users 24 hours a day, 7 days a week who are willing and able to help you solve any Linux problems you may have, or just chat. You can use this service by installing an IRC client like
Linux User Groups
Many Linux User Groups around the world offer direct support to users. Many Linux User Groups engage in activities such as installation days, talks and seminars, demonstration nights, and other completely social events. Linux User Groups are a great way of meeting other Linux users in your area. There are a number of published lists of Linux User Groups. Some of the better-known ones are:
Groups of Linux Users Everywhere
http://www.ssc.com/glue/groups/
LUG list project
http://www.nllgg.nl/lugww/
LUG registry
http://www.linux.org/users/
Obtaining Linux
There is no single distribution of the Linux software; instead, there are many distributions, such as Debian, RedHat, Caldera, Corel, SuSE, and Slackware. Each distribution contains everything you need to run a complete Linux system: the kernel, basic utilities, libraries, support files, and applications software.
Linux distributions may be obtained via a number of online sources, such as the Internet. Each of the major distributions has its own FTP and web site. Some of these sites are:
Caldera
http://www.caldera.com/ftp://ftp.caldera.com/
Corel
http://www.corel.com/ftp://ftp.corel.com/
Debian
http://www.debian.org/ftp://ftp.debian.org/
RedHat
http://www.redhat.com/ftp://ftp.redhat.com/
Slackware
http://www.slackware.com/ftp://ftp.slackware.com/
SuSE
http://www.suse.com/ftp://ftp.suse.com/
Many of the popular general FTP archive sites also mirror various Linux distributions. The best-known of these sites are:
metalab.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/distributions/
ftp.funet.fi:/pub/Linux/mirrors/
tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux/distributions/
mirror.aarnet.edu.au:/pub/linux/distributions/
Many of the modern distributions can be installed directly from the Internet. There is a lot of software to download for a typical installation, though, so you'd probably want to do this only if you have a high-speed, permanent network connection, or if you just need to update an existing installation.[1]
Linux may be purchased on CD-ROM from an increasing number of software vendors. If your local computer store doesn't have it, perhaps you should ask them to stock it! Most of the popular distributions can be obtained on CD-ROM. Some vendors produce products containing multiple CD-ROMs, each of which provides a different Linux distribution. This is an ideal way to try a number of different distributions before you settle on your favorite one.
File System Standards
