Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2000 17:05:30 -0500 From: Schwartz <mschwart@cs.iusb.edu> To: freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.org Cc: mschwart@cs.iusb.edu Subject: devices Message-ID: <200009072205.RAA02949@cs03.cs.iusb.edu>
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> > [1]Navigation Bar > >Resources for Newbies > > The following resources are some of those which FreeBSD newbies have > found most helpful when learning to use FreeBSD. Please send > corrections and additions to [2]FreeBSD-Newbies@FreeBSD.org. > * [3]Using the FreeBSD web site > * [4]Learning about FreeBSD > * [5]Learning about UNIX > * [6]Learning about the X Window System > * [7]Helping other people > >Using the FreeBSD web site > > This web site is the main source of up to date information about > FreeBSD. Newbies have found the following pages particularly helpful: > * [8]Search the Handbook and FAQ, or the whole web site, or the > archives of the FreeBSD-Questions mailing list. > * The [9]Documentation page has links to the Handbook and FAQ, > tutorials, information about contributing to the Documentation > Project, documents in languages other than English, and much more. > * [10]Support page contains a wealth of information about FreeBSD, > including mailing lists, user groups, web and FTP sites, release > information, and links to some sources of UNIX information. > >Learning about FreeBSD > > * If you haven't installed yet, look for the [11]latest mainstream > release. (See the Handbook for why you should not be tempted by > any of the other branches.) Before you begin, carefully read the > [12]installation instructions, as well as each one of the *.TXT > files in the FTP directory or on the installation CD. They are > there because they contain information that you will need. Also > pick up the latest [13]errata file from the web site, in case it > has been updated. > If you decide to download FreeBSD, check whether these illustrated > and expanded [14]download instructions for a previous version are > still available before you begin. That should make the whole > process a lot clearer. > * A number of [15]tutorials are available. The one [16]For People > New to Both FreeBSD and Unix is popular with absolute beginners. > You don't have to know much about anything to enjoy this one. It > is also available from [17]the author's site and can be downloaded > in [18]postscript or RTF format for printing. > * The first thing many people need to set up is ppp, and there is a > lot of documentation to help. You might start with at least those > parts of the [19]Pedantic PPP Primer that are relevant to your > needs, and explore the [20]ppp page for links to the other > valuable information and the latest updates. > * [21]The Complete FreeBSD by Greg Lehey, published by Walnut Creek > CDROM. This book assumes minimal UNIX experience and takes the > beginner step by step through each stage from installation to > everything you need to know to set up and run a FreeBSD system. > You also get to understand what you're doing and why. > * The [22]FreeBSD Handbook and [23]Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) > are the main documents for FreeBSD. Essential reading, they > contain a lot of material for newbies as well as some pretty > advanced stuff. Don't worry if you can't understand the advanced > sections. The handbook contains the installation instructions and > also provides lists of books and on line resources, and the FAQ > has a troubleshooting section. > * Join the FreeBSD-Questions mailing list to see the questions you > were too afraid to ask, and their answers. Subscribe by sending > mail to [24]majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "subscribe > freebsd-questions" on its own in the message body (the subject > doesn't matter). You can look up old questions and answers via the > [25]search page. > * The main newsgroup for FreeBSD is [26]comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc. > You might want to keep an eye on > [27]comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.announce as well. > * Man pages are good for reference but not always the best > introduction for a novice. The more you work with man pages the > more familiar they become. Some are very good for newbies, so > always check them out. The ppp man page, for example, is more like > a tutorial. > >Learning about UNIX > > Many of the problems we have as newbies come from being unfamiliar > with the UNIX commands needed to fix our FreeBSD problems. Without a > UNIX background you'll be faced with two things to learn at once. > Fortunately a lot of resources are available to make this easier. > * There are many easy books, such as the "Dummies" guides, in any > large book shop. If you want something really easy, take a look at > what is available and pick one that seems to speak your language. > Pretty soon you will want to move on to a book that gives more > coverage. > * One book mentioned frequently by newbies is UNIX for the Impatient > by Paul W. Abrahams and Bruce R. Larson, published by > Addison-Wesley. It is intended both as a book for learning UNIX > and a reference, and includes an introduction to UNIX concepts and > handy chapter on using the X Window System. > * Another popular book is UNIX Power Tools by Jerry Peek, Tim > O'Reilly and Mike Loukides, published by O'Reilly and Associates. > It is organised as a series of short articles each of which solves > a problem, and these articles are cross-referenced to other > articles with related material. Though not specifically aimed at > newbies, the design makes it ideal for a newbie with a burning > question or the odd few minutes to browse. More elementary > material is near the front of the book, but there are short easy > articles throughout. > * A [28]UNIX Introductory Course from Ohio State University is > available online in HTML, postscript and Acrobat PDF formats. > * [29]UNIXhelp for Users is another introductory guide which is > available in HTML at a mirror site near you, or can be installed > on your own system. > * UNIX questions are dealt with in the newsgroup > [30]comp.unix.questions and the associated [31]Frequently Asked > Questions. You can also get a copy of the [32]FAQ from the RMIT > FTP site. Newbies are likely to be most interested in sections 1 > and 2 initially. > * Another interesting newsgroup is [33]comp.unix.user-friendly which > also has a [34]FAQ. Although this newsgroup is for discussing > user-friendliness, it can contain some good information for > newbies. The [35]FAQ is also available by FTP. > * Many other web sites hold lists of UNIX tutorials and reference > material. One of the best places to start looking is the UNIX page > at [36]Yahoo!. > >Learning about the X Window System > > The X Window System is used with a number of operating systems, > including FreeBSD. The documentation for X can be found at [37]The > XFree86 Project, Inc., including the [38]XFree86 FAQ. Beware, much of > this documentation is reference material which is likely to be > difficult for newcomers to digest. > * For basic information about installing, configuring and using the > X Window System, two of the books mentioned above have sections > dealing with X at beginner level: [39]The Complete FreeBSD and > [40]UNIX for the Impatient. > * There is an easy and informative section on [41]using the X Window > System in the Linux [42]Users' Guide. Interesting material will be > found elsewhere in that document too, but remember that Linux does > not always work exactly the same as FreeBSD. > * Before you can get X running exactly the way you like, you will > need to choose a window manager. Visit the [43]Window Managers for > X page and follow the link to the introduction to find out about > window managers, then return and read "The Basics". Then go back > and compare the different types that are available. (Bonus: > there's another beginners guide to UNIX there too.) Most if not > all of these window managers are available to install from the > FreeBSD ports collection. > >Helping other people > > Everyone has something to contribute to the FreeBSD community, even > newbies! Some are busy working with the new advocacy group and some > have become involved with the [44]Documentation Project as reviewers. > Other FreeBSD newbies might have particular skills and experiences to > share, either computer related or not, or just want to meet new > newbies and make them feel welcome. There's always people around who > help others simply because they like to. Write to [45]FreeBSD Newbies > for more information. > > Friends who run FreeBSD are a great resource. No book can replace > chatting on the phone or across a pizza with someone who has the same > interests, enjoys similar accomplishments, and faces the same > challenges. If you don't have many friends who use FreeBSD, consider > using your old FreeBSD CDs to create some more :-) > > [46]User groups are good places to meet other FreeBSD users. If > there's not one nearby, maybe you could start one. > > Before talking to real humans about your new skills, you might want to > check the [47]Pronunciation Guide and the [48]Jargon File :-) > > On line we have the [49]FreeBSD-Newbies mailing list for non-technical > discussions about matters of interest to newbies. Another mailing > list, [50]FreeBSD-Questions, answers our questions about using > FreeBSD. > _________________________________________________________________ > > > [51]freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG > Copyright © 1995-2000 The FreeBSD Project. All rights reserved. > Last modified: 2000/05/03 04:29:15 To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-newbies" in the body of the message
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