First of all, please accept my apology if this is the wrong place to post this type of question. I'm new to forums along with how and where to place the appropriate post.

I've become very interested in Knoppix and all Linux distributions. Being told that knoppix is the easiest distribution (live CD) to learn and best place for a beginner to start, I began learning how to download the cd and dvd iso file and burn it. I've created several of my own knoppix cd's/dvd's that pass the cdtest cheatcode and seem to boot correctly. However, that's about as far as I've progressed other than booting the cd/dvd, creating a persistent desktop(I doubt I even configured it correctly) and playing a few mp3 files.

I've bought several books on the subject and looked through a lot of online documentation. Nevertheless I've been unable to progress further, learning what seems to be a brilliant OS tool. In fact, I become more confused the more I seek out books and online documentation for beginners.

So the main reason for this post is to inquire if there is anybody in the Northern Virginia area willing to provide one on one knoppix(or any Linux) training to a beginner. I'm even willing to pay for the time spent showing me "the ropes". All the Knoppix books and online documentation have only confused me more. Perhaps I'm out of my league here. But if I could just see someone go through the basics of Knoppix, I could then "pull myself up by the bootstraps"(sorry for that awful cliche) and move forward with confidence that I'm doing the right things. Sometimes you need to watch someone build an engine before you can build one yourself.

In short, I really don't know where to begin with Knoppix, Ubunto, SuSE, etc. So much for my ingrained Windows XP mindset!!! What I really need is someone with the patience to teach me, in person, how to use what most everyone considers an easy distribution. I so much want to through XP out the window forever.

With that said, I will keep this posting short in the event it should not even be on this site. I'm a Sr Systems Analyst for a telecom company. However, my expertise is specifically with Oracle Applications. I would love to expand my knowledge into the Linux area, but I just don't know how or where to start. I'm in an endless loop of frustration. If I can burn my own knoppix disk, you'd think I could teach myself the easiest parts of the OS.

If you've read this far without disgust and are interested in my request, please reply or provide links for the confused.

Sincerely

mb