(no subject)

[Da Rock]

On Thu, 2008-11-06 at 19:45 -0500, SAM HAYNES wrote:
> Greetings, O Learned Ones
> from:  Sam Haynes, Pathfinders 2008
> 
> I haven't the foggiest as to how you came to be in my favorites list, 
> other than that I probably tagged you in an ongoing search for both or 
> either something to replace Win XP  and or build my own personal server.
> 
> I have been usining XP for several years now.  Recently, I tried to 
> install XP from my OEM cd and was notified by Gates and Company that XP 
> would no longer be supported. Bummer! So what else is new?  Time to part 
> company with Bill? Vista was tha final straw.
> 
> I need something that will replace XP in all the essentials but without 
> a useless bag full of coverups for poor performance..
> 
> Debian was the first encouraging encounter. It was recommended as a 
> cheap entry into the personal server concept, using a two to three year 
> old PC chassis. Sounded good but I could never figure out just how to 
> download it.
> 
> So, FreeBSD appears in my fave list and server appears in the same 
> paragraph as operating system.  Here is my plan.
> 
> I am 76, a retired Master Electrician, PC builder since '87, have a wife 
> of 40 plus years, debilitating medical problems and a strong belief that 
> I can milk a living out of internet affiliate marketing despite the 
> current economic crisis.
> 
> My current model is to generate a basic website, use my existing isp to 
> promote two consistent converting products, bootstrap the proceeds from 
> that into building my own dedicated server to market 'how-to' products 
> over a hundred or more websites.
> 
> All using ready to serve apps and a WYSIWYG HTML  generator.
> 
> I appreciate your time reading this over long monologue... I'd 
> appreciate it even more if you could take some time to throw some 
> suggestions back at me..
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Sam I Am, PATHFINDERS 2008

Perhaps you should try the linux distros first to get a bit of a feel of
*nix variants? FreeBSD can be daunting to the first time user, but is
one hell of a production system once you know how to handle it properly.

Maybe start with Ubuntu rather than Debian straight off (I never quite
worked out how to download Debian either... wierd bunch that :) ), it is
a bit like a half way house for new users, and helps out with some of
the usual administrative tasks. Fedora is another good one, but the
support is better with ubuntu, plus the Ubuntu is more forgiving admin
wise.

In any case I'd say you'll be in for a steep learning curve, but at
least the gradient is not as sharp when you start with Ubuntu.

Keep watching this list, it'll answer any questions you have (no matter
how silly they may seem to experienced users, and without most of the
condescension you'll find on a lot of lists- Ubuntu support is similar
to this list), and read the handbook, and eventually you'll be able to
tame one of the most powerful operating systems in the computing world
and put it to work for you. Some servers have been going for months and
even years without stopping (depending on security required and
experience of the admin), so it is rock solid.

Good luck!