suggestions please

[thefamousnomo]

hello people

ive been using ubuntu for some time now and i am loving it! being a windoze power user it is quite a steep learning curve, but enjoyable none the less.

i find it hard to keep up with /home/usr and /etc/*.conf files and the like. how can i achieve a general understanding of whats going on here, i mean, its fine for me to add this line to this file to fix a prob, but why?!? why this file? which file corresponds to what?

i have read on other forums that installing a basic debian / gentoo (sorry, i know this is an ubuntu forum!) can help in being better able to understand whats going on, even if it takes 4 or 5 times to get it right, more is learned in the process. any comments?

i have a good grasp of whats happening regarding the use and configuration of computers and catch on fast, but i dont want to be scratching my head when i get help with a problem or offend when i ask whats always in my head, why add this line, why to that file?

hope this makes sense!

thanx

[earobinson]

usualy if some one asks you to change your sources.list for example you can man (http://man.he.net/?topic=man&section=all)sources.list or at least apropos (http://man.he.net/man1/apropos)it

[thefamousnomo]

usualy if some one asks you to change your sources.list for example you can man (http://man.he.net/?topic=man&section=all)sources.list or at least apropos (http://man.he.net/man1/apropos)it
thanx man, but why the sources.list? why do i have to change that? what else references the file? im looking for an all round better understanding of whats going on here, not just how to get help.

no suggestions on the more basic installs? something that doesnt do it all for you? i realise this may seem strange as everyone batters on about how it should be more user friendly for the average user, but i feel i have missed a lot of theory and practical configuration. somewhere to start to learn a bit more about linux in general?

[tseliot]

thanx man, but why the sources.list? why do i have to change that? what else references the file? im looking for an all round better understanding of whats going on here, not just how to get help.

no suggestions on the more basic installs? something that doesnt do it all for you? i realise this may seem strange as everyone batters on about how it should be more user friendly for the average user, but i feel i have missed a lot of theory and practical configuration. somewhere to start to learn a bit more about linux in gereral?
You should study the functioning of APT (which manages packages) in order to understand why is sources.list.
I think Google can provide you with an answer.

If you want to learn something about Linux I warmly recommend you 2 books (I've bought them from Amazon.com)
"Running Linux" (O'Reilly) (which I think it suits your needs), "A Practical guide to Linux" (Mark G. Sobell).

[thefamousnomo]

If you want to learn something about Linux I warmly recommend you 2 books (I've bought them from Amazon.com)
"Running Linux" (O'Reilly) (which I think it suits your needs), "A Practical guide to Linux" (Mark G. Sobell).
thanx man, ill definitely do that.