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1. Introduction to Linux

Linux is a great concept. It is a wonderful kernel and has wonderful userland utilities making it a perfect operating system. But for most people, it is quite new and too exciting to just dive in. This part tries to cover Linux: what is it, how does it work, what can you expect etc.

Content:

1. What is Linux?
   What is Linux exactly? How does this all fit in "Free Software"? What is a distribution and why would you care? How is Linux developed? What can you expect from it? All that is covered in this chapter.
2. Users and the Linux file system
   Linux is built upon the UNIX knowledge and concepts. This means it is fairly robust and uses a very logical approach to files, users and such. But for most people, this logical approach is just what seems the most illogical since they are not used to it. In this chapter, we try to inform those users about how Linux sees a multi-user environment and what the Linux file system is structured like.
3. Freedom, support and finances
   The most powerful asset of the Linux operating system is the freedom it gives you. But many folks are afraid that this freedom comes with a price: no support, no company backing up Linux. This is all FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) and well explained in this chapter.
4. Staying up to date
   With the decentralised development model that Linux uses, keeping a system up to date might seem like a huge effort. Indeed, it is, but it is covered by the various distributions (such as Gentoo). However, because of the openness that the development model imposes, users have conflicting feelings about stability and the differences between all version models. This chapter explains what all the differences between version models are.
5. Making a choice
   Now that most non-technical stuff is covered, it is time for you to make choices. Will you use Linux? What distribution? What graphical environment? What mail client? In this chapter we discuss the various differences between major distributions and explain that, once you have picked a distribution, all other choices are reversible.
6. Finding information
   You have a lot of resources at your disposal, but you need to know where to look for them. In this chapter we provide you a quick overview on the available resources, how to use them for your queries and what you can do to contribute to them.
7. So far so good
   Now that the introduction to Linux has ended, we will talk about the next few parts and the syntax we use throughout this document.

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