Copyright © 2002 - 2012 John F. Moore
The lessons contained in this series are designed to introduce Linux to an audience of new users. They will concentrate on what make Linux different than Windows or the Mac.
Linux is more that just an Operating System, it is a tool box. One of it's strengths is that it gives you the user everything you need to create new programs, or just customize what you have, to your likes.
Linux has flourished because it allowed programmers, or literally anyone who is willing to write computer code, to create and use computer programs which are under their control. At their day jobs, many programmers are hobbled in trying to build elegant programs by marketing pressures. The phrase It's good enough, ship it. does not resonate with people who like to take pride in what they build. Much like the painter who is never satisfied with his/her work, these are people who enjoy creating and working on elegant software programs.
Have you ever used a computer program that just doesn't work the way you want it to? Do you wish you could open up the covers and fix the problem? Well Linux allows you to do that by giving you both the source code to the programs, and the tools to rebuild them.
Have you ever wished that you could teach the computer a new trick? Well, in Linux you can. Because it gives you all the tools you need.
Another strength of Linux is that it encourages you to share you ideas, and your source code. The process of looking over another's work is one of the foundation principles in Science. Each researcher publishes his/her findings and methods. Before their work is accepted as fact, others look over their work and review the findings. Only after other researchers have reproduced the results and understood the findings is the principle accepted. This protects science from people making false claims.
For background information on John F. Moore take a look at this
Who is John F Moore page.
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This section will be a series of topics discussing different aspects of Linux and how to make use of them. This is not in any specific order or theme. You can jump in anywhere, so read through all the topics before starting. Select what is of interest to you and enjoy.
This is a new sub section of the WPCUG dedicated to more advanced topics in linux.
Tonight we are going to discuss the tools/applications which make up the core applications as defined by LFS (Linux From Scratch), and a couple other small distributions.
Next we will look at how the system boots and what happens before the boot prompt.
Lastly, time permitting, we will discuss shell scripts. These scripts and the shell that supports them are what make many of the operations of Linux useful.
Before we start to setup our Linux From Scratch system I would like to discuss what is a personal computer. Having an understanding of what makes a computer, and how it operates at a hardware level will help understanding why software works the way it does.
Before we end we will discuss how to get started with the Linux From Scratch setup.
If you are already a Linux user, I have several articles on what you can do with Linux. As a tinkerer myself, I keep finding new things to do with Linux. But the thing I like to stress the most about Linux is roll up your sleeves explore.
If you are interested in Computers, think of Linux as a well spring of knowledge. You can dive in and NEVER hit bottom.
In addition to the topic of Finding Help, I will answer some questions about backups and how to Virus check and recover files from a Windows computer.
When the IBM PC first came on the market, it opened up the hardware and software to non-IBM companies. The hardware world exploded with many different brands of computers. Before the IBM PC, much of the software on computers was created by the users and often shared. The original OpenSource movement came from MIT and a group called the Free Software Foundation.
OpenSource exists because people like to create neat applications. Computers allow you to create programs with little cost, distribute them almost free, and contribute to them over time and space. So this freedom is expressed by people creating pet projects and sharing them with the world through the Internet.
Tonight we are going to explore the netbook and linux. I will be using this Lenovo Ideapad S10-3T to demonstrate 6 different versions of Linux. I will also discuss how to go about installing these distributions on a Netbook which has no CD drive.
Have you ever noticed how useful web pages are? Have you ever thought about how you could use the web at home to find information, share ideas, or just play? Well we are going to learn how to make web pages, and serve them at home.
Today may of our appliances come with displays and buttons. Instead of motors and gears, many household items today have embedded Microcontrollers. We are going to explore how we can experiment with Microcontrollers at home.
You just brought home your new Ubuntu system, so where do you start to make it your own? Let look at some common configuration and setup steps you should make.
The Graphical User Interface (GUI) has become the default interface for personal computers. Lets take a look at how we got to the GUI, some of it's components, and variations on how it looks and works. I will be focusing on the Linux implementation of X Windows and the linux display managers.
The command line is the original type of interactive input to every computer system. Even though the graphical user interface has taken over most peoples interaction with the computer, there is still many valuable uses for the command line, provided you are willing to spend the time needed to learn the commands.
We have talked about Ubuntu, but most of us spend more time using the application, not the operating system. So for this talk I choose some applications to explore, Firefox and some music players.
In the Unix world there have been a number of systems for creating documentation. A number of them are still around and doing well. This talk will explore a few of them to give you an idea how you can convert words on a page into a presentation document.
One important aspect for this transformation ability is creating and maintaining web sites. We will look at how a Wiki like page can transform into HTML, or XML, or PDF without revision. We will explore how to easily edit a text document which becomes a web page, or a web site.
Have you ever thought about creating your own web site. We are going to explore how to create and maintain a web site. In this first installment we will talk about some choices and methods of maintaining a web site.
In this section we will be creating a network for use in a Home. The basis is a Linux server and windows/linux clients.
Since this is a user group, sometime the meetings will be defined by the questions asked by the group. Since there is no global heading for this type of question and answer sessions, I thought I would give it it's own section. I will list the question and answer sessions by Date so they are easier to find.
This class will discuss how to configure your home network to download and play music both through your computers, and through your sound system. Linux the music server for you home.
We saw the movie Revolution OS in the meeting. This movie describes the background behind Open Source, the Free Software Movement, and Linux. I collected a set of web links to the people and ideas discussed in the movie. They are available here. If you liked the movie, consider getting your own copy at Revolution OS from Amazon.
Here is a web page pointing you toward more information on DRM and it's impact on the world of Linux and Home Computing. If you do nothing else in Linux, please get involved in this discussion.
As promised during the second lesson, here are instructions on how to install cygwin locally under windows.
The following lessons are aimed at teaching shell programming to a group of software testers. They were part of a series I created for windows users who wanted to learn about Unix. They are a little old, but still valid.
Here are some references which I have come across. Enjoy them.
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Last modified: Mon May 14 20:03:00 EDT 2012 
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