Linux overview and introduction

This video is somewhat in depth on my thoughts about Linux and its background. For those of you just looking for how to install, feel free to jump to minute 35.

What we cover is a slightly more detailed overview of Linux, including how to get started and some things (like enable your firewall) to run when first installing Linux. Linux Mint is used as the example just because it is popular and has a more familiar user interface for people used to Windows.

For more information about the source material and references used, please see the links below. To download some popular Linux distros and find out more info about where to learn all the ins and outs of Linux, please check out the Quick Links in the sidebar.

Linux commands:

• http://linuxcommand.org/
• http://tldp.org/LDP/Bash-Beginners-Guide/html/
• https://medium.com/@duruldalkanat/bash-commands-guide-129c81cbfe87

Creating a bootable USB:

• https://www.pendrivelinux.com/liveusb-install-live-usb-creator/
• https://rufus.ie/
• https://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/
• https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Still have more to come, hope this is helpful.

What are we doing here?

This blog is aimed to be a supplementary reference to a series of YouTube videos I am slowly putting together as free training / overviews on using open source and free software tools. The name is opensourcetechtrn because I can't really think of anything better, but not all tools covered are necessarily open source, and some do have paid features you can decide if you wish to use or not.

What I hope this site and video series can be is a reference to get more people started and understanding of how to use tools like Linux, Google Docs, GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), and FreeNAS to better understand computers, website design, programming, and more. These are a collection of tools that I myself use and have had to learn through years of combing the Internet for information about how to do things like create websites, backup files, share files, script functionality in spreadsheets, etc. In my time, the more I used these tools, the more I learned and the more interested I became in the history and functionality they offer. My goal is to help gather these tools, speak on their usage, go through how to use them on a basic level, and provide more reference links for those of you who wish to master any of these topics.

The series will cover everything from fundamentals of an operating system, to getting started with Linux, to using GIMP for photo editing, and even some rudimentary programming with Python and Java. I am not a master of any of these tools, but I have through years of bumbling around learned a few things, and hope my experience can be useful for non-technical people to get over the fears of starting. Like it or not, technical skills are becoming a requirement for nearly every industry with average salaries well above minimum wage.

When I graduated collage with a liberal arts background, I never thought I'd end up learning so much about computers, servers, programming, and more. These 'geeky' technologies are in fact not only accessible, but really handy, and I truly believe anyone can learn them.

I hope this page can be useful and help more people get started understanding open source tech.