@ajstringham said:

@Joyfano Mint is great. Ubuntu is still nice if you rip Unity out and put GNOME back on where it belongs!

I would not do this, ever. All the badness of Ubuntu for no reason, plus all the issues of being new to the OS and having to "rip out" the intended interface and then, when you are done, having Gnome 3 which is still hard to use and will turn someone off from trying to learn Linux. All bad. I only think Mint is acceptable because Cinnamon is native, works out of the box and you never need to deal with changing things around. It's the only condition that I'd ever recommend a Debian based system for someone new to Linux and only if I thought that they were really focused on using it as a desktop. Ubuntu is a general no-no for new users because it is unnecessarily confusing and will make Linux seem much less friendly and useful than it is.

@Bill-Kindle said:

@scottalanmiller That is even worse........

No kidding. Very embarrassing.

Be aware that using Linux as a desktop will do very little to teach you about running a Linux server. But it sure won't hurt.

I would say to get Linux Mint and choose the Cinnamon option. That will be best for getting started.

Even the latest Mint would be okay on a laptop.

On your laptop use Fedora 20 or the latest OpenSuse, not CentOS. CentOS is a server distro, not good for desktop use.

That's awesome. Congrats.

There are tons of ways that you can use Linux at home for projects to learn different ways to use it. Some ideas:

• Web server (host pmWiki and static websites)
• Database server (like MySQL / MariaDB)
• Application server (MediaWiki and WordPress)
• PBX
• Firewall
• Storage Server (Samba for Windows, NFS for other Linux)
• Domain controller (via Samba again)
• Email Server (like Zimbra)
• Media Server (DLNA for actual home use)
• Monitoring (Zabbix, Nagios, etc.)
• Logging (Splunk, Logstash, etc.)

Lots of ideas. There are SO many things to do on Linux that are practical.

Doing a project, like making a wiki, is a great way to learn because you have a goal and something to actually strive towards. Otherwise you install Linux, look at it and.... what else?

@Joyfano said:

@Dashrender really? I heard that you can create a firewall using Linux
SAM suggest to create a wiki using Linux

You can make pretty much anything. Linux is a general purpose operating system. So all of the things that you would do with any OS plus some that are not very practical for things like Windows to handle.

And they are asleep. Bed time for me....

@Joyfano said:

@scottalanmiller opsss I'm out of English words now

LOL, we've exhausted your lexicon.

Especially as it was through email and they could have taken all the time in the world to learn what those words meant.

And the rest of us have the humor of small children.

The family is still asleep when I leave in the morning. And I get home just in time to tuck them in

I'll be in bed within the hour for sure.

They were still awake. Putting them to bed now. Reading "A Horse and His Boy" tonight.

Just got home.

@Joyfano said:

@scottalanmiller of course I never heard that word here.

Common with little children. Odd for adults to say it. "Potty humor" refers to adults making rude little kid jokes. Like joking about farts and stuff.

@Richard great to see you guys here!