[newbie] A true newbie asks...

[Andrew Willard]

On Friday, December 5, 2003, at 10:41  PM, Ed Lyons wrote:

> I am interested in moving from Windows to Linux. I'm basically a user
> (office s/w and intro GIS), not a programmer.

Welcome... Linux/Unix systems are not just for programmers, although 
there
are a lot of us out there :)

> Is there anyone out there who can guide me through some basic
> decisions, like which Linux variant is "better" for a desktop 
> environment

I guess I should set things straight for you before we progress any 
further.
When you talk about 'variants' of Linux what your actually wishing to 
talk about
are known as Distributions. There are MANY distributions available these 
days, if
your looking for a list of them check here:
http://www.vlug.org/linux/links/Distributions/index.html

I hesitate to recommend one distribution over another, I always tell 
people to get
as many distributions as they can and try them all... it doesn't cost 
anything but
your time and a few blank cds. But, if I had to suggest a distribution 
for someone
just starting out I would tend to chose: Mandrake or even Fedora & 
Knoppix. Choosing
a distribution is a personal choice, but the nice thing is that no 
matter which one
you do choose underneath it all is the same system (Linux) and tools 
(GNU).

> (having read about Red Hat getting out of the desktop development 
> market, etc.).

Redhat is not out of the market, just concentrating on the enterprise 
side of things.
Fedora is the offshoot of Redhat's consumer distribution.

> I'll need some hand-holding to get things installed and running.

Hand holding is ok, but it will only go so far. People in LUG's tend to 
help
those that help themselves far more readily than those that don't.

> I'm not adverse to fee for service, as I want to make the transition 
> fairly
> quickly starting in Jan 2004.

Your fee will be to join and support the club... how is that for a 
fee? :)

As far as quickly making a transition from Windows to Linux... I 
seriously suggest
you do NOT do the switch cold turkey. Setup your machine for a dual boot 
of both
Windows and Linux, that way you can still have a comfortable working 
environment
to fall back on until your skills at using your new Linux system are 
acceptable.
You may find after a very short while that you no longer need Windows at 
all and the
dual booting situation can disappear ;)