Community Resources

What is Linux?

If you're new to Linux, this is a great place to start. Learn what Linux is and why millions of people worldwide are using it as their operating system of choice.

How to Get Linux

This page offers links to some of the most popular Linux distributions, all of which have free versions available to you to download today. If you don't know which distribution is for you, not to fret -- in this section we discuss important factors to consider when choosing a Linux distribution.

Supported Hardware

Find out which hardware is known to be either supported (or unsupported) under Linux.

Software

Need a word processor? An accounting application? A media player? Planetarium software (you're curious, aren't you)? In this section find links to extensive lists of applications all available for Linux.

Getting Help

Whether you're a long time Linux enthusiast or a newbie, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the vast amount of Linux information available. We've compiled a short list of places you can most easily start your search for help.

Industry Events and Conferences

Find out if there's a Linux event coming your way soon.

Featured Videos

Linux Journal Gadget Guy, Shawn Powers, reviews the Flip Video Ultra, a small portable video camera, and shows us how easy it is to edit the video with Kino.

Thanks to our sponsor: Silicon Mechanics

Webcams are notorious for their lack of support under Linux. But thanks to GSPCA, many webcams now have functional V4L drivers. This tutorial covers the building, installation, and configuration of the GSPCA drivers, including how to adjust color balance and brightness directly at the kernel module level.

From the Magazine

September 2008, #173

Feeling a bit like a Thermian? Never give up, never surrender! Someday, you could go from underdog to top dog. Just take a look at a few of the underdogs we highlight in this issue: Mutt, djbdns, Nginix, Gentoo, Xara and the program voted mostly likely to fail just a few years back—Firefox. If Firefox not radical enough for you, check out Chef Marcel's column for some more alternatives. Having trouble mapping your program data to your relational database? If so, Rueven Lerner shows you some tricks in his At The Forge column.

Need to run GUI applications on your server in the next state? In his Paranoid Penguin column, Mick Bauer shows you how to do it securely. Kyle Rankin keeps hacking and slashing and shows you a few split screen secrets you may not be familiar with. Finally, we all know what happens next February, but only Doc knows what happens afterward.

Read this issue