Tux Watch

10 sites offering online courses free Linux

Whether you are new to Linux or an advanced user, which is bound to have questions. Read on for a list of universities and other institutions offering courses Linux free training and online tutorials.

1. University VTC (vtc.com)

* Introductory Course to Linux

Most software VTC University of the training courses require some sort of payment, but it can take advantage of the free formation of Linux directly from the website of the University. The free video tutorials vary in length and can be viewed with QuickTime or Flash.

2. Novell - OpenCourseWare project (novell.com)

* Novell Linux Desktop course for beginners
* Certified Linux Professional Course 10
* Enterpise Linux server Course 10

Novell Training Services offers a variety of online courses Linux through its OpenCourseWare project. The courses can be accessed directly from the site without registration. You will also find the product documentation, software downloads and tips and articles of the community Novell.

3. IBM - Linux Professional Institute (LPI) Exam Preparation (ibm.com)

* Linux kernel tutorial
* Linux system startup tutorial
* Linux file servers and shared resources tutorial

IBM offers a number of tutorials Linux through its website to help people to study Linux Professional Institute (LPI) Exam. There are 13 in all tutorials. You will need to register for access to training, but it is free for everyone.

4. University of Surrey - Department of Electronic Engineering (www.ee.surrey.ac.uk)

* A tutorial Linux
* Linux Tutorial two
* Linux Tutorial three

The University of Surrey, Department of Electrical Engineering provides an excellent beginner’s guide to Unix or Linux. The guide includes an introduction and eight comprehensive tutorials that are free to all. The tutorials are accessible via the website of the University - does not require registration.

5. Shuttleworth Foundation - Learn Linux Open Source Project (learnlinux.tsf.org)

* Course fundamentals Linux
* Course management systems
* Network Management Course

Learn Linux is an open source project initiative supported by the Shuttleworth Foundation. The courses are free for the whole world and can be accessed directly from the site without registration.

6. University of California at Davis - Professor Norm Matloff Unix and Linux Tutorial Center (ucdavis.edu)

* Linux Tutorials

Norm Matloff Professor at the University of California at Davis offers a wonderful Unix and Linux Tutorial Centre text containing detailed information on every topic imaginable. Tutorials are free to students and non-students alike and can be accessed directly from the web without registration.

7. Linux Online (linux.org)

* Beginner Course Linux
* Intermediate Level Linux Course
* Course advanced level Linux

Linux Online offers a wide range of free courses for students at any level. You can also find how-to the rapid and suggestions to help you work with Linux more efficiently. Anything can easily be seen directly on the site - or unloading is not necessary to register.

8. About.com Courses Linux (linux.about.com)

* Linux Desktop 101: 14 lessons a week
* KDE: 6-Day Course Introduction
* OpenOffice.org: 4-Day Course Introduction

About.com (part of the New York Times Company) offers all sorts of free courses online. The devoted to Linux can be delivered directly to an e-mail account on a daily or weekly basis, depending on the course you choose. The site also includes an endless supply of informative articles, how - and tutorials, as well as a forum dedicated to issues of Linux.

9. Top Linux (beginlinux.org)

* PC LinuxOS Course 2007
* Course Linux commands
* Course Suse Desktop

Principle of free Linux Linux provides training through its website. Guest login is enabled for almost all courses, which means that registration is not necessary in most cases. Courses include everything from the text to the movies.

10. The Linux Tutorial (linux-tutorial.info)

* Introduction to Operating Systems
* Linux Basics
* Installation and update Linux

The tutorial Linux, a site launched by the system administrator and author Jay Mohr, offers a wide range of free Linux tutorials. All tutorials can be accessed without registration and include in-depth text on each topic. You will also find articles, a glossary and a forum on the site .

Repair4Laptop: How to Clean, Upgrade, Repair, Disassemble a Laptop or Notebook Keyboard

Since linux will run on just about anyhting, especially old laptops. It is sometime difficult if not impossible to get the laptop repaired with charging an arm and a leg for it.

This website has a list of all the major laptops with step by step instructions on how to repair them. Lists include swapping out the keyboard, replacing a lcd screen and many others.

I great resource if you are trying to ge that ol laptop working again

Fultus Technical Documentation and Professional Literature eLibrary

I was looking for some information on how to solve a particular difficult problem and I came across this fantastic resource for linux users. This site has all the technical documentation for the most popular versions of Linux.

The library also includes How-to’s, faq’s and other more general technical documentation.

From the website

Fultus helps writers, bloggers and companies to publish, promote, market, and sell books, blooks, eBooks, textbooks and technical documentation manuals. Fultus combines traditional self-publishing practices with modern technology to produce paperback and hardcover print-on-demand (POD) books, color picture books, blooks (books from blogs) and electronic books (eBooks). You retain all rights to your work. We provide distribution to bookstores worldwide. And all at a fraction of the cost of traditional publishing.

This is a definite bookmark and technical resource that I will daily

Five Common Misconceptions About Linux | MI-80
I have been a linux user for about 5 years now and have used linux exclusively for over 2 years and it still amazes me the misconceptions there are about linux.

The article has the top five and it still is true today.

Top 25 Ubuntu Blogs By the Numbers | Free Geekery

Having issues with Ubuntu ? Looking for more resources to help with your Ubuntu install ?

Free Geekery has put together a list of the top ubuntu blogs.

You are welcome

I Can Has Linux? » Blog Archive » 10 ways Linux can breath life into your old PCs

Have an old PC that you do not know what to do with? Turn it into something useful such as a firewall or router. The article give more ideas. What do you use your old pc for ?

Ubuntu: Identify Any Package in Ubuntu with the Ubotu IRC Bot - Lifehacker

This is a great tip from Lifehacker:

Ubuntu users: When you try to compile and install an application from source, occasionally you will run into missing packages that you just can’t seem to find with apt. A tool exists in the form of an IRC bot that can help you locate exactly what package you need to install. All you need to do is fire up your favorite IRC client (XChat for instance) and send Ubotu a message from any channel with the following syntax:

/msg ubotu find package.pc

Replace “package” with the package you are trying to locate. Ubotu will give you a response in about 10 seconds with exactly the package you need. Additionally, as shown above, you can also throw other search phrases at Ubotu and get pretty good results.

Singapore Airlines puts a Linux PC in every seat - Network World

To make flying more enjoyable for its passengers, Singapore Airlines Ltd. is adding bigger screens, more in-flight movies and a PC, running Red Hat Inc.s distribution of the Linux operating system, in every seat on its newest plane.

Hmmm, I wonder if I can swing a vacation to Singapore this year .

HowTo: Smaller, Neater Menus in Ubuntu | MBHoy.com

My Ubuntu install has been getting quite cluttered as of late. I install and uninstall many applications either for review or to try out on my own. While trying to clean up my menu’s , I found this article that seem to fit the bill. IT actually quite simple and you end up with a nice clean menu.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes

Pretty And Productive: Power Up Your Linux Desktop With Compiz Fusion - Lifehacker

Lifehacker has a great article on how to get Compbiz Fusion working. I have had mixed results in the past buts when its working, I find it very slick and useful. Its like having 4 computers in one. I also like it better than the flat multiple screen utility. I now have it running on all my laptops and I am not sure how I got along without it.

Give it a try for yourself and let me know what you think

Slashdot | Increased Linux Use With SCO’s Defeat Predicted

Now that the SCO lawsuit is pretty much over, I feel that the use of linux will grow and migrate into the business desktop.

From Slashdot:

The defeat of SCO’s infamous copyright attack has Forbes wondering if a GNU/Linux boom is upon us. They discuss how this will benefit Novel, IBM, Chrysler, AutoZone and Red Hat. ‘The SCO Group frightened potential business users away from Linux with lawsuits demanding billions in royalties. But the litigious company’s claims were shot down in a ruling that will likely boost uptake of the operating system.’”

SCO Shares Plummet In Novell Ruling Aftermath — Unix — InformationWeek

Looks like it finally over. Court Ruling in SCO case effectively gutted SCO case and ruled that SCO has no claim. Shares of SCO are down 70%

DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.
Clement Lefebvre has announced the release of the Xfce Community edition of Linux Mint 3.0: “This is the first Xfce release of Linux Mint. It is based on Cassandra and comes with the following mint tools: mintInstall, mintDisk, mintWifi, xfcemintConfig, xfcemintDesktop. Although similar to the main edition, the Xfce Community edition runs faster and takes less resources. It is ideal for older computers. The default software selection includes: OpenOffice.org 2.2.0, Firefox 2.0.0.6, Thunderbird 2.0.0.5… Notable differences with the main edition are: the presence of Exaile which replaces Amarok; the Xfce desktop replaces GNOME; Wicd replaces Network Manager.

LinuxWorld | Telco dumps Red Hat for Ubuntu

It seems a major teleco, Co. in Brisbane has switched from Red Hat to Ubuntu. Interesting read.

Linux has come a long way in the past two years. Today much of what needs to be done on a Linux machine can be done using a mouse and a little pointing and clicking. Occasionally, however, there are things that still require a little under-the-hood tinkering, where a rudimentary understanding of the command line comes in handy.

In response to regular comments from readers who ask for more detail on the commands we use in articles, Tectonic has put together our top eight list of must know command line tools. The list is not exhaustive and certainly not comprehensive, but if you know these commands you’ll convince most of the people most of the time that you’re a Linux guru.

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1: sudo/su

su is for switching users, usually to switch to the root user. sudo is a shorthand way of executing a command as the root user without needing to log in as root. Linux is a true multiuser system with each user having their own account and set of access privileges. The superuser or administrator account is called the ‘root’ account.

Today’s modern Linux systems usually force users to create non-root users when first installing, which is a sensible precaution. Running a system as root is potentially fatal because it is remarkably easy to break something by executing a wrong command. And as root, the system can’t protect the users from themselves. There are times, however, when it is important to be the root user - when installing software for example - and a way to switch to root temporarily is provided by sudo.

To use sudo do this:

sudo command you want to execute

You will be prompted for a password. You don’t need the root password. Just type in your password and the command will be executed as root. Once the command is done you will be returned to your own login.

su is a more permanent solution in which you are able to switch to another user for a whole session. To use type in su username you want to switch to and provide the password of the user when prompted. You will then have the privileges of the other user. To return to your own login type exit.

2: ls

One thing you’ll always need to do at the command line is list the contents of directories. ls does exactly this. ls is similar to the dir command on Windows and DOS. It lists all the files and directories in the current directory. ls /usr/share/ will list the contents of the /usr/share directory.

3: mv/cp

Something else you’re going to need to do is move and copy files from one directory to another. This is where mv and cp come in handy.

mv file1.txt /usr/share/ will move the file file1.txt to the /usr/share directory. mv *.txt /usr/share/ will move all the files with the .txt extension to the /usr/share directory.

To rename file1.txt as file2.txt mv file1.txt file2.txtcp works exactly as mv does except that is duplicates the file. So cp file1.txt /usr/share/ will copy file.txt to the /usr/share directory and keep a copy in the current directory as well.

4: cd

cd is the change directory command you’ll need to switch from one directory to another. Typing in cd /usr/share for example will switch you to the /usr/share directory. To get back to your home directory type in cd ~/. The tilde sign (~) represents your home directory.

5: man

man stands for manual. Most commands in Linux have a built-in manual entry. So next time you’re confused about how to use a command type in man command which will bring up the description of the command and its various options. Try man cp for example.

6: less/more

less and more do essentially the same thing: they display the contents of a file. less file1.txt will print out the contents of file1.txt in the terminal window a screenfull at a time. Use the spacebar or the arrow keys to navigate up or down the file.

7: locate

locate is a speedier way than find to find files on your Linux system. There is a caveat, however. Locate works so quickly because the filesystem is indexed ahead of time. Most Linux systems are set up to run updatedb at regular intervals which does the indexing.

locate filename or portion of filename will find the various files you are looking for, so long as they have been indexed. If there are pages of results use the more command to display them one screenfull at a time: locate filename | more.

The ‘|’ is called a pipe and it effectively filters the results of one command (in this case ‘locate’) through a second command (’more’ in the example’).

8: tar

Many of the files you will download for Linux will be compressed using a combination of tar and gzip. The files will most likely look something like filename.tgz or filename.tar.gz.

tar creates an archive of a number of files and gzip compresses the archive. To decompress these types of files do this: tar -zxvf filename.tgz which will decompress the file and pull the contents out of the archive file.