A faithful reader writes,

I enjoy your Linux newsletter but it seems to be aimed at those who are familiar with Linux. Would you recommend some resources for those of us new to Linux? Also, I tried to run the Ubuntu Live CD on my Sony VAIO desktop but it kept hanging up at “Starting hotplug subsystem”. Any suggestions?

I’ve found the best places to learn about Linux are forums, where you can ask specific questions and get a variety of responses. Reading a static Website or book works for some, but I prefer forums.

I’m certainly partial, but two of my favorite forums to ask about Linux are Lockergnome Forums’ Linux Fanatics and Scot’s Newsletter Forums’ All Things Linux. Both forums prohibit flaming or hassling new Linux users, and the people there are friendly and eager to share what they know.

If you prefer just reading good advice, Linux for Newbies is the site I’d recommend.

A great source for those just exploring Ubuntu is Paul Stamatiou’s bolg entry on Ubuntu for novices.

From what you said, it sounds as though some peripheral that Linux can’t find a driver for is hanging up the live disk. If you have any unusual or older peripherals connected by USB, parallel port or FireWire, you should disconnect them during boot up and see if buntu will finish loading. Many device drivers are not recognized by Linux and may be causing your problem. For additional help there’s also the Ubuntu forums that may help you.

Once you’re up and running, head on over to Tips for Linux Explorers for many easy-to-follow tutorials that will help you understand your new operating system better. And if you just want to follow some interesting links on Linux, you can’t beat http://gada.be/g/linux.

I’ll keep your comments in mind and see if we can’t get more content into the newsletter aimed at those new to Linux. Every day new resources appear aimed at those wanting to explore Linux or make the change from another OS. I’ll feature some of those sites in coming days.

[tags]linux,ubuntu,lockergnome,newsletter,resources,forums,fanatics[/tags]