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10. Miscellaneous Resources

In this section, I provide a number of links to websites that I have found useful while learning to use Linux. This is an eclectic collection, but keep these handy.

10.1 Release Notes and Available Documentation related to the XFree86 X - Window Server.

This documentation accompanies each version of XFree86, and is available at: http://www.xfree86.org/. Whenever you have trouble with your X environment, peruse the notes applicable to your videocard/chipset. These typically provide details about the configuration of the X - window system relative to your card, and will enumerate any "options" you have to include in the XF86Config file that governs X.

10.2 GNU Texinfo pages

A great collection of pages is available at : http://www.geek-girl.com/unix.html#texinfo. Included are links to pages on the following:

Note that some of these are included in the "docs" that come with Linux distributions. In general, these are detailed technical documents of particular interest to developers. However, if like me, you are not a programmer, you may peruse the introductory sections of these documents to get insight, for example, into those configureand make commands you use when installing applications from source code.

10.3 GNU Software and Manuals

Many important programs that are frequently utilized by the Linux user are GNU utilities - for example, the tar (archive) and gzip ( compression ) programs. Descriptions of these programs are located at : http://www.gnu.org/software/software.html#DescriptionsOfGNUSoftware and online manuals for many of these are found at : http://www.gnu.org/manual/manual.html.

These manuals typically provide a lot more information than is found in the corresponding man page on your system. For example , compare the man page and online manual for the tar utility.

10.4 Glossary of Linux-related terms

This online guide at : http://www.firstlinux.com/guide/ has a nice collection of terms and definitions, sorted alphabetically. Go here if you encounter a term that you have not seen before or do not understand.

10.5 An online dictionary of computer and technology terms

The Webopedia website at : http://www.pcwebopedia.com/ consists of a large online dictionary of computer-related terms and a search engine that provides links to documents that discuss each item in more detail. For example, I used this site to learn the differences between ISA and PCI buses.

10.6 A detailed Guide to Personal Computers

The Topic Index to this voluminous hardware guide at : http://www.PCguide.com/topic.html will give you a great idea of the contents of this website. I used it quite frequently when first installing Linux and configuring the X Window System. I learnt a lot about videocards and monitors, including the concepts of screen resolution, color depth etc., useful when troubleshooting X - display problems.

10.7 Gary's Encyclopedia

Gary Momarison's website at http://members.aa.net/~swear/pedia/index.html contains a very large number of sorted Linux-related links. You may use the "find" function in your browser to find links in a particular category. Peruse this website to appreciate what it has to offer.


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