Tech Suppport IS Available

What if I need tech support?

One of the greatest pieces of FUD (a open-source community acronym for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) that is spread by anti-Linux advocates is that there is no support structure set up for a Linux end-user or IT department. Until recently, there weren't companies that provided official support for Linux, but that didn't stop people from getting the information they needed. There is a much greater amount of information available freely on the Internet on setting up and configuring Linux then there is for any other operating system.

One of the greatest resources is Deja.com, the website that allows you to search a huge archive of historical newsgroup posts. While you are always welcome to post a question on one of the numerous Linux newsgroups, the odds are you question has been asked and answered (possibly hundreds of times). For questions that lean more towards "How do I do this?" than "How do I fix this?", the Linux HOWTO archive is the best place to start.

Linux HOWTOs

HOWTOs are documents that give step-by-step instructions on how to do something that is reasonably common yet possibly non-intuitive for somebody moving from a different OS. The complexity of Linux's online support range from the Ethernet HOWTO to help you set up your net card, to the Beowulf HOWTO, which will explain how to put together a cluster of PCs to create your own supercomputer. HOWTOs can be found at the Linux Documentation Project webpage, along with tons of other helpful info.

For those people who won't be happy unless there's a live body talking down to them, many Linux distributors are now offering phone support. Red Hat offers 30 days of phone support, as well as 90 days of email support. There are also several companies, such as LinuxCare, that specialize in selling service contracts to large companies.