The Linux community is unique in that there is a tremendous amount of community support. Chances are that if you have a question, it has already been answered somewhere, and if not, there are many places to find help. Generally, the first place to start is at your distribution vendor's website. Most of them have knowledge bases that are very detailed and catered to your specific distribution of Linux.
One of the best sets of resources are the collective Linux "HOWTOs". There are documents written by very knowledgeable people in the Linux world and are available on a wide range of topics. A list of available HOWTOs can be found in many places including Linux.org.
The Help Desk has compiled a list of helpful resources with everything from HOWTOs, guides, forums, and online chat sessions.
Presentations
- Linux Uses in an Academic Environment - This presentation was given by JJ Urich at the Open Source Day forum at the University of Iowa on December 6, 2004. The presentation provided contains lessons learned, information about Red Hat Networks, and tips on why and where to use open source.
General Sites
- www.linux.org -General site with links to documentation, distributions and other resources
- www.linux.com
- www.justlinux.com
- www.li.org - Linux International
- www.linuxhq.com/links.html -A page that maintains links to other helpful Linux websites.
Linux News Sites
Linux Software Sites
- www.sourceforge.net - A site where thousands of developers collaborate on software projects in every category.
- linux.tucows.com
- www.linuxapps.com
Other Sites of Interest
- www.opensource.org - Information about open source software as well as corporate case studies in the implementation of Linux
- www.kernel.org - Information about Linux kernel development as well as archives for their mailing list which is full of postings from Linus Torvalds, Alan Cox, and other big names in Linux.
- netfiles.uiuc.edu/rhasan/linux - A brief history of Linux as well as the first post Linus Torvalds made regarding his pet project in 1991.
These sites and the links they contain should help you to find whatever information you need. Google also has a portion of their database geared specifically for Linux. If you have a Linux related search, go to www.google.com/linux.
If you have comments or suggestions about the content of this page, please contact us at its-helpdesk@uiowa.edu
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Last Updated: 04/24/2008