standing on my own 2 feet?

[millatoe]

As a noob to linux and a frustrated one aswell, i was just wondering how long is it going to be before i'am able to figure things out for myself and even help others figure things out.
the reason iam asking i suppose is becuase i just cant see the light at the end of the tunnel, i use my pc mainly for leisure purposes, ie editing movies, making music and stuff but for the last week or so i have constantly been looking through the forums here,reading tutorials on this and guides on that but i still feel completely lost.
i've never claimed to be a computer genius but i just feel so stupid now iam almost embarressed to ask questions in the forums now.

How long until iam able to stand on my own 2 feet?
How long till i start feeling the benefits of linux?
how long did it take you?

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[thevinn]

i've never claimed to be a computer genius but i just feel so stupid now iam almost embarressed to ask questions in the forums now.

Make a list of everything you want to be able to do with Linux and then learn them one at a time at your own pace.

[Sunflower1970]

I've been at this now since end of December or so, So about a month and a half? Going on two months. I'm much more comfortable now than I was originally. The terminal scared the crap out of me, but I forced myself to use it as often as possible instead of using some sort of graphical interface all the time.

You don't want to know how many times I messed something up, and had to reinstall. :biggrin: But, each time became easier and easier. I wrote down all the little tweaks and other things I did the first few times I did it so I'd have a hardcopy reference if I had to reinstall again (and again, and again lol)

I'm still trying to figure out programs that are similar to the XP ones I used (I've yet to install Wine to install some of the stuff I liked, like Photoshop)

It's trial and error. Some things work, some don't. Sometimes I'm very frustrated (like trying to use the Gimp and having a hard time navigation the program), and others, I'm amazed at how easy it is to use.

I use the search function here all the time. For everything. Been able to find answers that work 99.5% of the time.

I also bought a few books to help myself out. One called Ubuntu for Non-Geeks, another Ubuntu Hacks and Ubuntu Unleashed. The Non-Geeks book helped out immensley, and I'd recommend it to anyone just starting out. I actually did read it from cover-to-cover and found it very useful for lots of different tips, tricks, amusements.

The learning curve for each person is different. Some will take to it very easily, others will have a tough time. Just keep at it though. With each little bit you do though, it will get easier.

[Choad]

time/experience is all it takes

and dont feel embarassed about asking questions. thats *how* you learn

[Nikron]

As soon as I learn python and bash, then I'll consider myself half-way competent with Ubuntu. For now, I can do most anything I've tried so far after using Linux for about 1.5 weeks.

[Tomosaur]

Stay in the command line for a while. The biggest irritant for me was the GUI, basically entirely due to Nautilus, which I still dislike. I spent most of my time in the terminal, because it forced me to read up on the directory structure and the various commands.

[saulgoode]

http://www.brunolinux.com has some decent guides for beginners. You have to be careful though; Linux sometimes moves so fast that docs from a year ago are useless... and other times you will find yourself using the same commands that sys admins were using in the '70s.

Good luck. Ignorance is fleeting, knowledge is forever.