I would second the previous suggestions to install Linux. I wouldn't do it as a dual-boot or virtual server (a la vmware), but rather get a used pc -- we have a Discount Computer store here in Austin that has stacks of old Dell desktops in the $50-$75 dollar range which would be fine as a Linux machine -- colleges/universities commonly surplus such computers. Choose a distribution (some are so easy to install nowadays that you might not learn much!) -- perhaps Debian would be a good choice. There are a couple books that I especially like: Michael Stutz's "Linux Cookbook" on No Starch press, for instance. No Starch also has a book called the "Debian System" that I'll bet is good. If you are really brave and have some time on your hands, you might try a distribution like Gentoo, which forces you to compile all of the software. They happen to have superb documentation as well. Just the process of installing the operating system is a useful execise. Other highly regarded distributions are Ubuntu, Fedora (both easy to instal), Arch Linux (a real hacker's distribution), and others. One of the nice things about a dedicated machine is that you can *really* mess up (and you will ;-)) and always have the opportunity to erase the hard drive and start over. My all-time favorite resource/road-map for getting more unix saavy is Eric Raymond's "How To Become a Hacker" available at http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html. --peter keane > Hello all, > > I realize this is a bit off-topic for this list, but I'm hoping someone > might have some advice or recommendations for me concerning Unix training. > > I moved from cataloging to our systems position two years ago. At the time, > we were on a maintenance contract with our ILS vendor, meaning I only needed > to do very basic things with the server (my job primarily entailed running > reports against our data and working with some other locally developed > Access applications.) > > Last summer, we joined a consortium and migrated our catalog to their > servers, and would like to do something else now with the server we were > previously using for our ILS, probably along the lines of archiving locally > produced media on it. > > But I obviously need more training. It's a Sun box, running Oracle 9, and > I've looked at several companies that do short term classroom training > (i.e., www.learningtree.com ( http://www.learningtree.com/ )), but I've > also been considering online coursework, either by Sun ( > http://www.sun.com/training/) or, perhaps O'Reilly > http://www.oreillyschool.com/. > > I learn pretty well on my own (I figured out by myself most of the basic > Unix stuff in respect to copying and moving files, working with vi, working > with the crontab, etc.) but would want any course I sign up for to have an > instructor to ask questions of. > > Does anyone have any experience with any of these programs they'd be > willing to share? > > I'm sending this to several lists, so apologies for cross-posting. > > > > > > > > Cindee Phillips > [log in to unmask] > Library Systems Administrator > Rolfing Library/Trinity International University > Deerfield, IL, 60015 / (847)317-4021 >