RE: Looking for a mentor/adviser

    I am only new to Linux, been working on computers for longer than I want to admit. But there is as much bad info/advice about Linux out there as good and it's not easy to figure that out when your new. How tos don't always fit the situation and there isn't a lot of helpful direction after that. I can get opinions about which app is best or what distro I should be using, which isn't my problem. I could care less at this point what I use... I just want it to work. Once I figure out what's even possible I can decide to try variations. I don't want to move to Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 if I can help it.

    I had set myself a goal to see if I could eliminate/minimize my dependency on Microsoft products, and learn/use Linux in 12 months, I'm 7 months into my timeframe and I haven't gotten much to actually work. I have attended several gatherings and I've spoken to several people. I've frequented the IRC channel and other forums looking for advice and perhaps some guidance. I have tried to implement various small scale projects to test functionality and to build up my experience.   My attempts to do this on my own have failed. People I've spoken to say; oh, you'll figure it out.... So far numerous books and multiple attempts have shown that I haven't just figured it out. I can make Windows Server do just about anything, but I'm not getting some critical part of Linux toward making it work for me. Hence my post.

    I didn't ask someone to build a production environment for me or to provide step by step training. I asked if someone was willing to offer me help while I worked on this project, somebody who would talk through my plan and point me in the right direction, and maybe someone who could help me through some of the rough spots. Hopefully along the way I'd learn some as well.

    If all this is too much to ask without having to compensate people or hire them as consultants, then I guess I misunderstood what this user group was all about. I intend to do the work, I even agreed to share the experience with anyone else who wanted to work toward my goal. I didn't think I was being selfish and expecting someone to do it for me.

     I was only asking if someone was willing to offer me advice in a more one-on-one environment.

> Matt,
>        I haven't selected a distribution, I tried Ubuntu and Debian, and
> didn't have a lot of success. My original post was simply to get someone
> willing to mentor me to help me build as much equivalency as possible so I
> can see if it can be done. How we were going to do this was yet to be
> determined.

>        I will insist that "IF" I determine it is feasible that support
> contracts will be investigated for at least the short term.