I am new to the group and to linux and thought I would give a newbie&#39;s opinion here.  I am not concerned right now about kernel issues (directly) I am trying to resolve basic fundamental issues.  Things like file and directory permissions, configuring your system for network connection (i.e. network addressing, setting up your domain, hostnames, nameserver resoltuon)<br>

<br>While I know that any one of these can get very very complex, even just the first few steps have been pretty huge.  But I want to learn.  There is only so much you can learn in a linux forum depending almost entirely on the disposition of would-be experts and how they can communicate.<br>

<br>My perspective is that even though I have worked in a highly technical field as a power user in Windows it is obvious pretty quickly when making decisions to configure even the smallest of home network systems that I have relied heavily on Microsoft to help me configure things.<br>

<br>Consider that most homes in the US have more than 1 computer and many have more than 2.  While just about anyone can download Ubuntu or (other distro) follow instructions and have a system up and running in 1/2 hour the minute they have to network 2 or more computers life just got way more complicated.  In today&#39;s world were every home may have some sort of network, the amount of things I have had to learn and do to network my home systems would make Linux a deal breaker for many people.<br>

<br>The frustration is that there is no place to go to get a general overview of what needs to be configured, and how to do it.  I know there is no one answer, but there are best practices and they are going to differ depending on the need.<br>

<br>I have been &quot;mapping net work drives&quot; in Windows for 15 years and never new until 3 months ago what SMB/CIFS was or Samba, or NFS,  Having to understand Samba alone just to get Linux/Unix to talk to Windows or MAC can cause many to run screaming back to $MS with there wallets open.<br>

<br>Maybe there needs to be a PLUG beginners group or a CONFIGFEST if this is too braud to tackle in presentations.  But after the last 3 months of trial and error configuration problems in my network at home I would eagerly sit through a 4 hour hands on well prepared discussion on file server configurations with SMB/CIFS and understanding how to get smb.conf and fstab and file permissions to work together.<br>

<br>Sorry of the length.  $MS is an addiction I am trying to beat everyday. <br><br>James<br><br><br>