<div dir="ltr"> <div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 9:48 PM, Robert Jaquiss <<a href="mailto:rjaquiss@earthlink.net">rjaquiss@earthlink.net</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> Hello: I want to get started learning Linux. In the past, I used Unix, so I hope I know some of the basic commands. My problem is how to get a box up and running. I have a PC that has or will have a hard drive and CD drive in it. There does not seem to be a local Linux group in my area of Louisiana. I use speech and have a Braillex 2D braille display. My goal is to have a box that I can learn enough Linux on so I can become certified and return to the workforce. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Regards, Robert Jaquiss West Monroe, Louisiana Email: <a href="mailto:rjaquiss@earthlink.net" target="_blank">rjaquiss@earthlink.net</a></blockquote></div> Robert, I have been building Linux from scratch since 2000. I have used most of the major distros at one time or another (Suse, RedHat/Fedora/RHEL, Debian, Slackware, etc.). I have recently (about 20 months ago) made the switch to Ubuntu and not looked back. I really like Ubuntu for it's ease of use as well as it freedom and ease of (re)configuration. As a server admin I use Ubuntu across the board for all of my servers; as a programmer I use Ubuntu for all of my desktops and laptops. In addition to just being easy to use, Ubuntu also has an awesome community with amazing support. So, speaking as someone who really knows Linux and could build my own custom distro, I'd say if you want a distro that just works and is easy to use...use Ubuntu. And I, as well as the rest of the Ubuntu community, will gladly answer any questions that you may have. Here is a download link for the latest version of Ubuntu Desktop for i386 from Georgia Tech: <a href="http://www.gtlib.gatech.edu/pub/ubuntu-releases/hardy/ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-i386.iso">http://www.gtlib.gatech.edu/pub/ubuntu-releases/hardy/ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-i386.iso</a> Just burn the disc image to a cd and boot to the cd. You can run Ubuntu from the CD as a "test drive" before actually installing to the hard drive or just go straight to the install. -- Karl Wilbur <a href="mailto:karl@karlwilbur.net">karl@karlwilbur.net</a> </div>