Learning Linux, begginer advice please.

[theguyuk]

Being a Windows and Android casual user these days, the days of plugging a motherboard, soundcard, graphics card, installing eide drives is in my long ago past. I want to learn Linux basics and just found  a site called.Linux Survival

 

http://linuxsurvival.com

 

Anyone recommend any other good places to learn Linux from and focused at the casual home user?

 

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[sooperior]

Hi,

I'm afraid this might not be the best place. Armbian, or rather the devices it runs on, requires some technical knowledge/linux background.

If I were you I recommend using something like Debian, Ubuntu or Linux Mint (Mint is easy and similar to windows 7/Vista) in a standard PC. You can find plenty of tutorials on how to install / use them and most of the time you'll be working with a graphical interface.

 

You are more than welcome to use armbian (after you have learned a bit of linux) but as a starting point... Honestly, I don't recommend it. Armbian is based on debian (also Ubuntu and Mint), so you can start by learning Debian or its derivatives and then give armbian a try.

 

PS: You know that armbian can only run on soc devices, not in a standard PC, don't you?

[dhlii]

The casual home user does not buy raspberry Pi's or cubox-i's.

 

That is like saying I am a casual driver, can you point me to a source with information to rebore my engine.

 

 

You can setup alot of this small cheap boards and use them much like Tablet PC's or RiKo baxes - though there are lots of cheap tablets and cheap STB's so the only reason I can think to do so is that you want more.

 

The gadget's we are playing with here are about doing more. Doing things casual users do not do. 

 

Some of us might be working on developing the black boxes that causal users do use in the future.

[theguyuk]

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

 

I should point out I have a Orange Pi PC, have had a Orange Pi One. Did download the Orange Pi version of Banana Pi Raspbian but it over uses the cores on a Orange Pi PC if you start iceweasel ( Firefox ).

 

I am of that age I used Dos, Atari FM, Sinclair Spectrum and Sinclair ZX81. To me Linux is just a command line OS like Dos was back in intel 386 CPU days, so it does not bother, it just seems backward as a desktop environment.

I do get that it allows it to be free and configured how the user wants, ideal for headless use and none desktop environments. Very good for technical uses.

 

I hope Armbian becomes eventually the Raspbian of multi core Arm PC world and used in education so more children and beginners can learn on Armbian enabled single board computers. Instead of the out of date Raspbian. Why educate kids on a system board that cannot even run Android, it is used on so many Phones, Tablets and TV boxes, Dongles, so why blind kids to its existence like Raspberry Pi does.

[rodolfo]

@theguyuk


Instead of worrying what's good for kids or ranting about backward desktops and Raspberry Pi missing Android - just relax and have some fun with your boards.

If you manage to successfully install and run the desktop version of Armbian on one of your OrangePi boards with HDMI monitor, keyboard, mouse and Internet access via LAN, there is plenty of on-the-job basic Linux training available. If you run into trouble, you'll have to be rather knowledgable in Linux.

Here's another route to Linux that will spare you the added trickery with the development boards : Buy a cheap used laptop, install Debian or Ubuntu and play around for a couple of weeks. This would be a suitable first step into the Linux world. Later you would use the same Linux laptop to prepare ressources and interact with your boards.

Best of luck

( and please do not punish kids with Android, they deserve an education )