[SWLUG] Newbie alert!

[Keith Edmunds]

> Both - primarily, I want to learn Linux (properly - I'd prefer if it was
> vendor neutral), but having gone this far down the road of being a
> tech support professional, I'd like to get  something to show for it. 
> One day soon I'll need a job again... 

In terms of learning Linux you could do worse than either setting up LFS 
(Linux From Scratch) or installing Gentoo by hand. Gentoo now has a beta 
installer, but following the Gentoo handbook is a good way to learn a 
lot about how it goes together. In the end, though, you can't beat real 
life exposure. Make sure you use Linux as your main, ideally only, 
desktop; set yourself tasks (eg, set up a mail server, set up a web 
server, set up SMTP authentication, set up Samba, set up NFS, set up 
Samba using LDAP, set up a firewall, set up ssh keys, set up a VPN, set 
up IMAP and POP3 servers - I can provide lots more challenges if you 
need them!).

> I've been using Linux on and off since Slackware was a 13 diskette 
> download

<wipes nostalgic tear from eye>

I remember that. I remember spending ages (at 9600 baud) downloading 
each precious disk, and finally being utterly amazed that I had a 
working Unix system for free. That must have been around 1992 or so; I 
know it was a pre-V1 kernel. It looked good even then, but I don't think 
any of us were prepared for what it would become.

In brief: get the experience followed by the qualifications. For what 
it's worth, I have no Linux (paper) qualifications at all, but I make a 
living working solely on Linux (well, Windows to a Samba server 
sometimes). It can be done.

Keith

-- 
Keith Edmunds

+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Tiger Computing Ltd  |  Helping businesses make the most of Linux  |
|  "The Linux Company"  |    http://www.TheLinuxConsultancy.co.uk     |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+