I'm such a newbie... I'm curious, but I don't even know where to start.

[Cynical Drunk]

Anyhow, I've heard alot about Linux for many years now but never really cared to explore its possibilites, until...

I stumbled upon PHP and MySQL. Now *that's* interesting.

After speaking with some programmers I am acquainted with, they told me I should give Linux a shot especially since my interest in PHP has been sparked.

However, things are not very obvious to someone who's been using MS Windows for the last 6 years. I don't even know where to get the Linux OS. Apparently, Linux's ftp site can't afford the bandwidth for a free download... and that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my questions and concerns.

Will there be GeForce II MX drivers for Linux? Will it matter?

What kind of browser will I be using under Linux? Do I have to use Netsacape?

Sorry folks, but if I'm going to be ethical about the computer industry, Microsoft and Bill Gates are a lesser evil compared to the mega-corp that is Netscape/AOL/Time-Warner/Universal/ICQ-AIM/Ted Turner/CNN.

Also, it seems (I might be wrong here) that the most up-to-date versions of Linux must be paid for while the older versions are free. Is this true?

I've also got two computers sharing the same DSL connection. I doubt my ISP provides Linux-compatible software/drivers to run the DSL modem I rent from them. Is there a solution?

Anyhow, as you can tell, I'm pretty much Win98-ized. I am curious about Linux and would really like to give it a shot but my system *works* on Windows. I simply need some info (like where I can download the bloody thing f'rinstance) before I try out this OS.

... yes, I'm feeling insecure. Everything works here and I'm a little worried about screwing up the set-up I have. Heck, if I install Linux and my modem doesn't work, I won't even be able to come back here for help!

Any answers to any of these questions would be greatly appreciated.


Cynical Drunk

Yes ... I know nothing.

[knowledgepeacewi]

Linux has gotten _a_lot_ easier to install in the passed 3 years.

Two versions in particular are very promising.

Redhat 7.1 and Mandrake 8.0.

Mandrake is based off of RedHat but is specifically designed to be user friendly.

I have a dual-boot Windows98/RH linux system.
On boot I can choose which OS to boot into.

For home users this is the most common setup for linux. (And for me, it helped my a bunch in the earlier years when I needed windows internet to trouble shoot linux)

At either of the above distribution's sites you can find How-To installs and major things.

Summarized.
1.Write down everything you know about your hardware.
2.Run Scandisk and Disk Defragger on your windows box. (this is freeing up space to use for linux, I like a 5gig+ partition but you can use very little space for linux.)
3.use fips.exe in dosmode to partition your drive non-destructively.
4. get/burn a RH mandrake CD set.
5. put CD1 in CD drive. restart. (you may need to go into your bios to change the startup sequence--you want to make sure that the computer reads from cd on boot. Alternatively you can make a boot floppy or do a network install (which requires a different boot floppy))
6. follow instructions on screen. Use disk druid to assign partitions. Complete install with the packages you want.

There you go a linux/windows box. (make backups of everything first) The new distributions are really good at setting everything up for you. Read the install manual.