Linux Resources

Summary:

Linux General
Linux Documentation
Linux Books
Linux News
Linux Usenet Groups
Linux IRC
Linux Mailing Lists
Linux User Groups

(This is of course a very limited choice.)

Linux General

Linux is an operating system. Its development has been initiated in August 1991 by Linus Torvalds and is a new implementation of UNIX (Linus UNIX = Linux). The penguin is often used as a symbol for Linux. No code has been copied, so its usage is absolutely legal. Mandrake Linux is one out several Linux Distributions, probably the best ;-) .
Linux can coexist with other operating systems like Microsoft Windows on a PC or Mac OSX on an APPLE. Linux itself consists only of the kernel. Some special hardware will need additional kernel modules to be runnable. Linux CDs are delivered with a lot of application programs. Most of this software is under the GNU General Public License (GPL). This Open Source Software can be freely distributed, only the commercial applications have to be paid for. For more infos see GNU Operating System - Free Software Foundation. It is a common usage to say 'Linux' and mean the kernel together with free Open Source Software from the GNU Project.

linux.com is quite possibly the Linux portal. Lots of up-to-date links to news, software, documentation etc.
linux.org is the mother of all Linux sites, lots of useful links and information.
The premier Linux search machine is the Linux section of Google.

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Linux Documentation

At the The Linux Documentation Project (LDP), you will find:

Linux HOWTOs,
online books,
FAQs (like the huge and very helpful Linux FAQ),
man pages

and much more.
All of these documents can either be read online or be downloaded in various text formats and languages.
The LDP has many mirrors worldwide.

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Linux Books

Linux in a Nutshell, O'Reilly, 3rd edition, by Jessica P. Hekman et al. is a sure bet.
It covers all the basic bash shell commands as well as Perl, shell scripting, the editors Emacs and Vi, basic system administration and more. It's the only book on GNU/Linux I use almost every day.
Running Linux, O'Reilly, 3rd edition, by Matt Welsh and Lar Kaufman is widely regarded as the best introductory level book on GNU/Linux.
Remarkable: it's fun to read (well, at least I think so ;-)). Get the third edition featuring co-author Matthias Kalle Dalheimer of KDE fame.
Linux: Installation, Configuration, and Use, Addison-Wesley, 2nd edition, by Michael Kofler.
This book covers almost everything Linux: basic tasks as well as KDE, Gimp and ~LyX. Comes with a GNU/Linux distribution on two CDs. It's a multi-purpose book: you might as well learn GNU/Linux with it as - given its size and weight - kill everything up to the size of a grown-up cat. :-)

Consult the Linux Reading List HOWTO by E.S. Raymond for a larger list. You may also visit the Open Source Bibliography by O'Reilly.

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Linux News

Linux Today provides short summaries of daily news with links and the possibility to voice your opinion. ~LinuxDailyNews offers a similar service.
Linux Weekly News has in-depth news coverage with sections about security, distributions, announcements etc. New edition every Thursday. They also have a page with daily updates.
Free online magazines like The Linux Gazette and ~LinuxFocus do not only cover news but also provide Linux related tips and tutorials.
~LinuxFocus comes in different languages and the Linux Gazette offers a quite useful search page for its huge archives. Linux Journal also publishes some articles and older editions online.
Slashdot. 'News for Geeks and Stuff that matters'. Provides news, latest gossips and discussions. Very customizable and one of the few sites worth visiting daily. You can create an account and suit many options to your preferences.

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Linux Usenet Groups

Linux was born and grew up in Usenet groups. A web interface and archive is provided by Google Groups, but for the real fun you should install a news reader like PAN (it's on your Mandrake CD).
You'll find a lot of groups under 'alt.os.linux.' and 'comp.os.linux.', but also national Linux news groups like 'de.comp.os.unix.linux.*' for Germans.
Most Usenet groups maintain FAQs (list of frequently asked questions) which you are advised to read before posting.

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Linux IRC

Every IRC network has its #linux or #linuxhelp channels plus a wide range of channels devoted to this or that program, window manager, driver, distribution etc.
A good place to start is The Open Projects Network ({server}.opirc.nu).

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Linux Mailing Lists

Empty mail box? Well, subscribe to a Linux mailing list to make new friends (and foes ;)) and test if those procmail filtering rules you've set up really work.

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Linux User Groups

If you want to get to know some real people who are using Linux for a change, consider joining a Linux User Group (LUG) in your vicinity. Or start one yourself1.1

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