[balug-talk] how do people find the tools they're looking for in a Linux/Unix environment?

[Michael Paoli]

Well, in addition to other methods already noted, "find someone
who already knows" (or knows more, better, and/or differently)
is quite significantly useful.  Along those lines there are often
these various resources, to name a few:
o co-workers - in large organizations/companies this may include
  persons/groups far removed from those one is commonly directly
  working with
o user groups, associations, forums, etc., e.g.:
  o BALUG http://www.balug.org/
  o Lots of other local/regional LINUX/UNIX/... groups/lists/etc.:
    http://linuxmafia.com/bale/
  o LinuxWorld Conference and Expo http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/
  o USENIX, SAGE, LISA, etc.:
    http://www.usenix.org/
    LISA & USENIX conferences & proceedings
  o SANS http://www.sans.org/
  o USENET, e.g.:
    news:comp.unix.shell
    news:comp.unix.admin
  o various publications (some free, some not), e.g.:
    SysAdmin http://www.samag.com/
    ;login: http://www.usenix.org/publications/login/
    Unix Review http://www.unixreview.com/

That's at least a small sampling, anyway.

There are also lots of great books and such out there, including
some publishers (or divisions/subsidiaries) that specialize in
technical books - including UNIX/LINUX, etc., e.g.:
O'Reilly http://www.oreilly.com/

Of course there's also lots more out there.  Some reasonable searches
(e.g. via Google) can often lead to collected lists of such resources.
Also, doing some web searches is often a good way to find useful
information.  Put in enough relevant words/terms about what one is
trying to find more information about, and one will often find "answers",
or at least references/pointers on what may be happening in that realm,
and what may already be a "solved" problems, and what may still be a
challenge and/or active area of development.

references/excerpts:
http://lists.balug.org/pipermail/balug-talk-balug.org/2006-December/003896.html
http://www.weak.org/pipermail/buug/2006-July/002845.html

Quoting Will Lowe:

> In general ... how do people find the tools they're looking for in a
> Linux/Unix environment?
> 
> I end up spending a lot of time with Unix newbies and the only
> solution I've found that works is "find someone who already knows".