how do i find a mentor ?

[YellowBronco]

im kind of lost with this ubuntu thingy, i retired in the military working on dos systems , mostly imput, backups and reinstalls, i need help learning this stuf
running amd64x2 w/ 6gb ram, 2tb over lan, vista and ubuntu ve. 11.04i38
xp on 5 others networked
me on one(lol)
i have not converted the xp s to ubuntu, yet
i need a direction to go whith this system , im trying to learm c#, c++, unix, and linux all at the same time and im getting lost in it, where do i start?
dan

[WinterMadness]

first things first, simplify what you plan on learning

1. Pick one programming language at a time(c++ is good), since most concepts overlap, youll probably learn faster this way

2. Linux is Unix like, learning linux will help you learn a lot with unix.

what specifically are you stuck with?

[YellowBronco]

i think i should install the 64 bit ver. of ubuntu i have the prosessor for it,

[YellowBronco]

and is there a way to update my processor bios without the s/n, it is under the motherboard and i just thru away the box, my wife-"why are u keeping all these empty boxes?"

[lincoln32]

Depending on what you want to learn find a local ubuntu team or linux club
go back to school (I am at 52) but there is a lot on the net also.
I avoid 64 unless you have a lot of ram and patience most things are are 32 bit and not much speed will be found in 64 bit at this time also adobe flash is still in beta for 64bit.
between local college and ubuntu loco I have learned a lot fast!
ask here and every where craigslist linux forum and you will get up to speed fast and remember there are always a hundred ways to to do anything and if you mess up it is fast and easy to rebuild. Good luck

[cariboo]

Depending on what you want to learn find a local ubuntu team or linux club
go back to school (I am at 52) but there is a lot on the net also.
I avoid 64 unless you have a lot of ram and patience most things are are 32 bit and not much speed will be found in 64 bit at this time also adobe flash is still in beta for 64bit.
between local college and ubuntu loco I have learned a lot fast!
ask here and every where craigslist linux forum and you will get up to speed fast and remember there are always a hundred ways to to do anything and if you mess up it is fast and easy to rebuild. Good luck

You really should give 64bit a try, everything works as well if not better than 32bit, I've been using 64bit since Dapper, there have been great improvements since then.

[pafoo]

Your overwhelming yourself. Start simple like all admins. Learn how the OS works first, then learn shell scripting ( basic programming ) THEN try your hands in some programming languages. But since you are administrating boxes, I recommend something like python, perl or ruby. All 3 are excellent tie in's to Linux. Python would be ALOT more user friendly to learn your basic programming skills than c++ is.

[Paqman]

You really should give 64bit a try, everything works as well if not better than 32bit, I've been using 64bit since Dapper, there have been great improvements since then.

+1

64-bit is totally pain-free these days. Or as pain-free as using any infernal mechanical thinking machine can be ;)

[Blasphemist]

Your overwhelming yourself. Start simple like all admins. Learn how the OS works first, then learn shell scripting ( basic programming ) THEN try your hands in some programming languages. But since you are administrating boxes, I recommend something like python, perl or ruby. All 3 are excellent tie in's to Linux. Python would be ALOT more user friendly to learn your basic programming skills than c++ is.

I agree with this, and with joining a local group though honestly this is the way I've learned the most (reading and participating in these forums). I also use 64 bit distro's exclusively so go with that is my vote. Doing is the best way to learn. Start looking for threads involving things you have questions about. Start trying to work out solutions or at least something that moves the process forward. From your hands on and what you learn, you'll find you soon can help out. Google all questions. Collect bookmarks from sites with help and answers. Ask questions. People of all skill levels use these forums and you'll find others going through what you are. I have my original windows and 7 distro's on this laptop now and have learned a ton from just accomplishing that. Start with the beginner forum and just be curious. You'll find things that interest you.

[lincoln32]

most of the bios are set up for updating in windows--- some are starting to have a linux bios update. but depending on yours you can 1. linux update 2.bart's PE 3. OE manufactor's boot disk 4.msdos boot disk 5.freeDos see
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=318789

[pafoo]

IMHO, there is no real point to running 64 bit unless you plan on having a huge ammount of ram/hd space. It seems to me there are more compatible software that is written only in 32 bit than 64. 64 is for large systems and servers.

[YellowBronco]

wow thanks everyone , great info, im loading python now 2.7.2 msi, hope it works, dan