I am a newbie to Linux and to programming. I ahve messed with mandrake some. I am wanting to learn to program in Linux, and from what I have been reading Python is a good language to start out with. I went to the Python.org site, but I am not sure which distribution to download. Also I have had problems getting my modem to install in Linux. I currently run a dual boot system with Linux mandrake and Windows 98. How do I get my modem to work properly in Linux? Also what browser does Linux use (I have Mandrake 8.0) Thanks for all of your help, I am really excited about programming in Linux

Chris, Just a couple of quick answers before I head off to Sleep Land: 1. A quick look at python.org tells me that you should download the .tgz file for the version you want. The RPMs are for Redhat, and while Mandrake is a Redhat-based distro, I've found that Redhat-specific RPMs don't always work in Drake. At a glance, it looks to me that you want the "Python-2.1.tgz" tarball. You might also want to think about C/C++. Linux distros come with a C/C++ compiler (gcc) and all the neccessary libraries and header files (provided you install the development packages). 2. Sorry- I have cable, so I haven't had to configure a dialup modem under Linux. There are lots of support sites that deal with modems under Linux, though. To start with, there is a Modem HOW-TO at www.linuxdoc.org (as well as *many* other internet-connection oriented HOW-TOs). Also, do a search at www.google.com using the kephrase "+modem +linux" (without the quotes), and you'll be presented with hundreds of resources which address the issue. If you want to narrow it down a bit, I'd suggest using the Forum Search functions at www.linuxnewbie.org and www.linuxquestions.org. Use the same keyphrase I suggested above to browse their extensive archives of modem-related issues. 3. There are many browsers available for Linux users. In a custom install, Mandrake 8.0 offers Netscape, Mozilla, Opera, Galleon, and Konquerer (it's own integrated file/Web browser), as well as text-based browsers such as Lynx. At the least, most distros usually provide some version of Netscape. Obviously, you won't find Microsoft's Internet Explorer on the list ;) Hope this helps

Have you used a terminal program like minicom? It's possibly the best aid to debugging your modem installation. It comes with most distros so it's probably somewhere on your CD. (I'm too lazy too look it up right now 8) And it may already be installed for you. Start minicom. ALT-Z will usually bring up help. It's listed on the bottom line of the screen. You want port settings. From here, switch ports, exit and restart minicom. This will make the program attempt to detect your modem. If it has a problem, it will usually tell you. Otherwise you can try "AT" (without the quotes) to see if you get an "OK" response. If you do, you have found your modem and you can attempt to dial. "ATDT###-####" (again without the quotes). If your modem dials and connects, all is well. The next trick is to get pppd working properly. I've seen a lot of documentation on this and have only gotten it to work once (with a configuration script found in Slackware 7). Your best bet is to read as much as you can about pppd and try as many combinations as you can. Other options include kpppd, the dialup networking like interface found in KDE. I believe there is also a Gnome version. kpppd worked the first time, but only while X was running. As for browsers, DMR listed all the ones I know. Netscape and Mozilla aren't always stable. Opera does funky things with frames and only recent started supporting java. Konqueror is very nice but its fonts look funny and it uses the java appletviewer instead of a native plugin to run java applets (applets appear in windows outside the main konqueror window). Galeon seemed to take over my system when I first loaded it. I'm using Blackbox for a window manager instead of Gnome so Galeon tried to load Gnome across my entire desktop. It took closing X to shut it off. My current favorite is Opera 5. It's ad based, but you don't notice on a 1024x768 screen and it doesn't try to be a file manager. I hope half of this made sense 8)

For programming, you may want to begin with something web-based like JavaScript, for which you should know some HTML. These HTML will get you used to writing code, whereas JavaScript will introduce you to some of the basics like arrays and variables. But if you're not into web based things, do whatever interests you! As for modems, there are a bunch of good threads here: http://www.linuxquestions.org Do a search on modems and I'm sure you'll find something that helps you. My first impulse is to tell you to make sure your com ports are disabled in your system bios, but I'm not sure if that will adversely affect the Windoze side of things. You may have also to change your IRQ - you can find details on this stuff at the link above. That's where I learned how to get mine working! Cheers!