Hi! My name is Gene, and I'm the dude writing all of these lessons. Here are a few things about me and about this website:
What I'm Not:
I'm nobody's salesman, that's for sure. I doubt if I could sell a bottle of booze to a wino. I'm not here to talk you into buying anything. There'll some advertising on this site but that's just here to help me cover expenses; I can't even convince people to buy my stuff, let alone someone else's. Nor am I interested in convincing you to do anything. If you're here, I figure you're either a Linux user looking for more info or a newbie interested in giving Linux a try. That's great; you've come to the right place. If not good luck; I hope whatever you're using works well for you.
I'm not a guru, either. I'm good with computers and know quite a bit about Linux, but there are people all over the place that can hack rings around me with their keyboards tied behind their backs. If you're looking for a mad genius with all the answers you've definitely got the wrong man.
What I Am:
I'm one hell of a teacher. I'm also enthusiastic about Linux and knowledgeable about a wide range of computing topics. I'm a perpetual student, always looking to learn something new. And before I forget, I'm also intelligent, well-mannered, and sexy. Oh yeah... I'm humble, too!
What This Website Is:
The whole point of this website is to make it easy and fun to learn Linux. You don't have to be a computer nerd to use this site; I'm going to spell it all out for you in layman's terms. We'll start with a simple installation, move up through single-host administration, and then dive into the really cool stuff: servers and networking. I may not post everything in sequence. I'm still working on writing the beginners' stuff, but sometimes I may feel like covering an advanced topic. I intend to keep this very free-form.
What I Use:
For years I've used Debian Linux exclusively, but more recently I've been running Slackware Linux on my desktop machine and will probably wind up switching all of my computers to it over a period of time. My desktop box runs Slackware 13.1, the current stable version. The other computers in the house all run Lenny, the current stable version of Debian. That includes my wife's laptop and a couple of servers. It does not include my spare laptop, which I use to try out new stuff.
Why Slackware and Debian?
I'm all about stability. I also like flexibility and the ability to customize. Slackware and Debian are amongst the most stable and reliable operating systems in the world, and Slack is the ultimate in user configurability. Most of the so-called "desktop" distros make trade-offs in stability and configurability in order to be as easy to use as possible. I don't recommend either Slackware or Debian for Linux beginners... SimplyMepis is my favorite noob-oriented distro.
Will These Lessons Work if You're Not Using Debian or Slackware?
For the most part, yes. Linux is Linux (to a point) and a lot of stuff is the same from one distro to the next. Even if you're not using Debian there's a good chance you'll be using something that's based on Debian. Ubuntu is, and it's the most popular distro out there these days. There will probably be some differences here and there, but not enough to be much of a problem.
No Promises!
Here's the not-my-fault disclaimer: the stuff I'm posting here works for me, on my hardware. I'm not going to issue any promises that it will work for you. Any mistakes you make and any data you lose as a result are not my fault! You might also run up against a problem or two that I haven't addressed here. You can email me with questions (there's a link at the bottom of the page), but I'd prefer that you ask questions at my forum:
Adventures in Linux Discussion
I check it at least once a day. Aside form that, most distros also have community support forums. Much as I dislike Ubuntu I have to admit that they're the undisputed king in this regard; the Ubuntu community forum is damn near the eighth wonder of the world.
Enough Introduction, Already!
That's all of the introductory stuff, or at least all that I can think of right now. Time to jump into the tutorials!
