Recipe A.1. Linux Documentation on the Web

Linux is truly a child of the Internet. Keeping up with advances and finding documentation means becoming acquainted with search engines and relevant Web sites. The first stop is the Web site of your Linux distribution. Look for online manuals, howtos, FAQs, knowledge bases, mail lists, and list archives. Most Linux distributions are customized to some degree, so you'll need to know your distro-specific quirks.

Next, visit the Web sites of the individual programs you are using, and look for their mail lists, online documentation, and user communities.

Then there are a large number of general-interest Linux web sites, and online Linux publications. In this chapter are a number of resources I've found to be useful. Note that many of these welcome contributions from readers and ordinary Linux users. Don't be shy- share what you know.

As always, pay heed to proper netiquette. Search list archives before posting a question. If it's been answered recently, or often, you'll get yelled at. Mind your manners, and ignore trolls and rude people. Life is too short to waste in silly flame wars.

A.1.1 Linux Web Sites

The Linux Documentation Project

http://www.tldp.org/

IBM developerWorks

http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/

Librenix

http://librenix.com/

O'Reilly Network

http://oreillynet.com/

TuxMobile

http://www.tuxmobil.org/howtos.html

Wireless LAN resources for Linux

http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/

The Linux Kernel Archives

http://www.kernel.org/

Linux Gazette

http://linuxgazette.net/

This is, as far as I know, the only group devoted to supporting women Linux users, and an excellent group it is. There are several great mailing lists, including Newchix for newbies; courses on various subjects, such as programming, filesystems, and networking; and there are even Linuxchix chapters all over the world, where people can meet in the flesh. Yes, face-to-face, in person.

LinuxChix

http://linuxchix.org/

O'Reilly's Safari Bookshelf deserves a special mention. It's an online, searchable library of over 1,300 computer books. It includes books from many good publishers. Subscriptions are quite affordable. Take it for a test-drive with their two-week free trial.

Safari Bookshelf

http://safari.oreilly.com/

A.1.2 Usenet

There are dozens of Linux groups on Usenet. Try these for starters:

comp.os.linux.announce

comp.os.linux.hardware

comp.os.linux.networking

comp.os.linux.security

A.1.3 Google

How did we ever live without Google?

Google home page

http://google.com

Google Groups, a great searchable front-end to Usenet

http://groups.google.com/