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I would say you just have to spend some time in linux. For example, get a $5-$10 vps from Vultr or Digital Ocean, and start hosting things and experimenting. Or

I would say you just have to spend some time in linux. For example, get a $5-$10 vps from Vultr or Digital Ocean, and start hosting things and experimenting. Or start trying out different distros in a vm like virtualbox. As a matter of fact, one of the best things I did was distrohop like a madman. It forces you to learn the intracacies of various distros. I also try hard to spend time in whichever distro I'm supporting at the moment. For example, if I'm supporting a mostly debian environment, I would prefer to be running Debian-derivitave as my daily, or at least have a VM of it I'm working in daily. The same for Suse, CentOS, etc. I used to make new guys install arch, because it taught them the underside of linux without being quite as bad as gentoo/slack. Document your knowledge as it progresses. Take notes. Compare commands in Windows you are used to and find the equivs. I actually plan to eventually release some of my own documentation (I use emacs org-mode/asciidoc), but its one of many projects. In the end, I don't think looking at it as relearning from scratch is correct. You already have the basics down, you just need to shift that knowledge and expand it. For example, I'm sure from Windows you know the difference between Fat16/32 and NTFS. Maybe about FDE with bitlocker. So with Linux, check out ext4, btrfs, zfs. FDE with dmcrypt/luks or aes-loop. You know the folder structure of Windows... so learn the linux layout: http://www.gocit.vn/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Linux-file-system-hierarchy-v2.0.png http://www.gocit.vn/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Linux-file-sy... One thing I think helped the most was making comparison spreadsheets. I need something that solves X problem. Learning how to choose the software thats best for you is the primary skill I think that makes someone better, because you have to think about the reasoning for your choices. For example, licensing is important to me, so I would always have a column for license info. Unlike windows, there are many more tools to solve problems so you have to get good at this or you can be crippled by indecision. Probably the single most helpful resource is the arch linux wiki. https://wiki.archlinux.org/ https://wiki.archlinux.org/ Also, IRC is still happening for the FOSS community, despite all the proprietary fad chat like slack, discord, etc. I also think it's very important for you to understand the history of computing and OS's. If you know how Linux, Unix, Minix, BSD, DOS, Windows all came about and how they relate, you have a stronger basis to expand on.

cm2187 9y ago
Getting hold of a linux machine is the easy part, between VMs and all the hardware I have, that's not a problem. Learning how to use the OS is the hard part. I did try previously but my attempts were frustrated by the lack of UI (self-discoverability) and the variety of alternative tools to solve the same problem, which also means the documentation is very fragmented. The breadth of acronyms doesn't help either. I am sure it is just stuff to learn, and I have the feeling I will need to force myself to go all-in if I ever want to do the jump (rather than having a linux laptop on the side I never use). What I wonder is if soneone who has done it before knows of good resources to help with the process.

cm2187 9y ago

Getting hold of a linux machine is the easy part, between VMs and all the hardware I have, that's not a problem. Learning how to use the OS is the hard part. I did try previously but my attempts were frustrated by the lack of UI (self-discoverability) and the variety of alternative tools to solve the same problem, which also means the documentation is very fragmented. The breadth of acronyms doesn't help either. I am sure it is just stuff to learn, and I have the feeling I will need to force myself to go all-in if I ever want to do the jump (rather than having a linux laptop on the side I never use). What I wonder is if soneone who has done it before knows of good resources to help with the process.