PC Hilfe , PC Notdienst , PC Reparatur und PC-Service

The easiest thing is probably to find a friend with FTP access. If there is a Linux users group near you they may be able to help. If you have a reasonably good email connection you could try the FTP-by-mail servers at [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]. Linux is also available via traditional mail on diskette, CD-ROM and tape. The Installation HOWTO, and the file /pub/Linux/docs/distributions on sunsite.unc.edu, contains information on these distributions. You could also try Zane Healy 's list of Linux BBS's, which is posted regularly (1st and 15th of each month) to comp.os.linux.announce and occasionally to the Fidonet and RIME UNIX echoes.

There are three main archive sites for Linux: ftp.funet.fi (128.214.248.6) /pub/OS/Linux sunsite.unc.edu (152.2.22.81) /pub/Linux tsx-11.mit.edu (18.172.1.2) /pub/linux The MCC-Interim release is available from: ftp.mcc.ac.uk (130.88.200.7) /pub/linux The TAMU release is available from: net.tamu.edu (128.194.177.1) /pub/linux The contents of these sites is mirrored (copied, usually approximately daily) by a number of other sites. Please use one close to you -- that will be faster for you and easier on the network. src.doc.ic.ac.uk wuarchive.wustl.edu sunacm.swan.ac.uk ftp.eecs.umich.edu ftp.ibp.fr mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de bond.edu.au ftp.ibr.cs.tu-bs.de monu1.cc.monash.edu.au ftp.dfv.rwth-aachen.de ftp.sun.ac.za ftp.informatik.rwth-aachen.de cair.kaist.ac.kr Not all of these mirror all of the other `source' sites, and some have material not available on the `source' sites.

There are several pre-packaged releases of Linux available, including the MCC-Interim release, the TAMU release and the Slackware release. Each contains the software you need to run linux, ready to install and use. The exact details of which software is included and how to install them vary from release to release. You should read the Installation HOWTO for more details on how to go about installing Slackware. If you prefer a small, clean distribution to one with everything but the kitchen sink you might like to try the MCC-Interim release. All of these releases are available via anonymous FTP from the Linux archive sites

There are five international Usenet newsgroups devoted to Linux. comp.os.linux.announce is the moderated announcements group; you should read this if you intend to use Linux. Submissions for that group should be emailed to [email protected]. comp.os.linux.help, comp.os.linux.development, comp.os.linux.admin and comp.os.linux.misc are also worth reading -- you may find that many common problems are too recent to find in this FAQ but are answered in the newsgroups. Remember that since Linux is a Unix clone, most all of the material in comp.unix.* and comp.windows.x.* groups will be relevant. Apart from hardware considerations, and some obscure or very technical low-level issues, you'll find that these groups are the right place to start.

Look in the following places, and on sites that mirror them. ftp.funet.fi (128.214.6.100) /pub/OS/Linux/doc/HOWTO tsx-11.mit.edu (18.172.1.2) /pub/linux/docs/HOWTO sunsite.unc.edu (152.2.22.81) /pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO For a complete list of Linux FTP sites see Q2.4 `How do I install Linux ?'. If you don't have access to FTP try using the FTP-by-mail servers at [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]. A complete list of HOWTO's is available in the file HOWTO.INDEX in the docs/HOWTO directory at the FTP sites, but here is a (possibly incomplete) list: Installation HOWTO Electronic Mail HOWTO Linux INFO-SHEET UUCP HOWTO Linux META-FAQ SCSI HOWTO NET-2 HOWTO Printing HOWTO Ethernet HOWTO Hardware Comaptibility HOWTO News HOWTO XFree86 HOWTO Distribution HOWTO MGR HOWTO Ftape HOWTO Sound HOWTO JE HOWTO Busmouse HOWTO Keystroke HOWTO Some more of these documents are in preparation. You should check in nearby directories on the FTP sites if you can't find the answer in one of the HOWTOs. There are also a few mini-HOWTOs in the docs/HOWTO/mini directory. The HOWTO.INDEX also contains information on how to write a new HOWTO. The HOWTOs are coordinated by Matt Welsh, . The `books' produced by the Linux Documentation Project are available in /pub/Linux/docs/LDP on sunsite.unc.edu. Please read them if you are new to Unix and Linux. Here is a list of those released so far: The Linux Documentation Project manifesto Installation and Setup Guide for Linux The Kernel Hacker's Guide Network Administration Guide Linux System Administrator's Guide

This is a matter of religious debate, of course ! If you want to hear the Linus himself say how he pronounces it download english.au or swedish.au from ftp.funet.fi (in /pub/OS/Linux/PEOPLE/Linus/SillySounds). If you have a soundcard or the PC-speaker audio driver you can hear them by typing cat english.au >/dev/audio The difference isn't in the pronunciation of Linux but in the language Linus uses to say hello. For the benefit of those of you who don't have the equipment or inclination: Linus pronounces Linux approximately as Leenus, where the ee is as in feet but rather shorter and the u is like a much shorter version of the French eu sound in peur (pronouncing it as the u in put is probably passable). When speaking English I pronounce it Lie-nucks (u as in bucket) --- this is an anglicised pronunciation based on the analogy with Linus' name, which in English is usually pronounced Lie-nus (u as in put). It is of course quite acceptable and common to modify the pronunciation of a proper noun when it changes languages. I think I can safely say that the pronunciation Linnucks (short i as in pit, short u as in bucket) is wrong in English, as it is not the original Swedish pronunciation, not a sensible direct anglicisation of it, and not based on the anglicised version of Linus' name.

The Linux kernel copyright belongs to Linus Torvalds. He has placed it under the GNU General Public Licence, which basically means that you may freely copy, change and distribute it, but that you may not impose any restrictions on further distribution, and that you must make the source code available. Full details are in the file COPYING in the Linux kernel sources (probably in /usr/src/linux on your system). The copyright of the utilities and programs which come with the installations vary; much of the code is from the GNU Project at the Free Software Foundation, and is also under the GPL. Note that discussion about the merits or otherwise of the GPL should be posted to gnu.misc.discuss and not to the comp.os.linux groups.

10Mb for a very minimal installation, suitable for trying it out and not much else. You can squeeze a more complete installation including X Windows into 80Mb. The SLS 1.03 distribution (which I would recommend you stay well clear of - it has a number of serious and annoying bugs) takes around 100Mb.

ou need a 386 or 486, with at least 2Mb of RAM and a single floppy, to try it out. To do anything useful more RAM and a hard disk are required. Reportedly Linux also works on a Pentium. VESA local bus and PCI are both supported. However, a driver for the NCR SCSI chip in many PCI machines is not yet available, but is under development. There are problems with machines using MCA (IBM's proprietary bus), mainly to do with the hard disk controller. There is a developers' release for PS/2 ESDI drives on invaders.dcrl.nd.edu in /pub/misc/linux. Certain kinds of SCSI controllers also work, I understand. Work is in progress to create a suitable version of the Slackware distribution. I'm afraid I don't have any further details; you could try asking Arindam Banerji . Linux is reported to run on 386/486-based laptops, with X on most of them. For details of exactly which PC's, video cards, disk controllers, etc. work see the INFO-SHEET and the Hardware Compatibility

Linux has GCC, Emacs, X-Windows, all the standard Unix utilities, TCP/IP (including SLIP and PPP) and all the hundreds of programs that people have compiled or ported for it.

Linux is a Unix clone for 386/486-based PCs written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX compliance. It has all the features you would expect in a modern fully-fledged Unix, including true multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, shared copy-on-write executables, proper memory management and TCP/IP networking. It uses the hardware features of the 386 processor family (TSS segments et al) to implement these features.