This section will help you find software for Linux to do all the net.stuff you are familar with under Windows or another operating system. This is not meant to be the end-all-be-all list of net software for Linux, nor is it meant to be a tutorial on how to surf the web or read email.. For more software listings, check freshmeat.net or LinuxApps.
There are two web browsers that most people use under Linux. Both of them come with Redhat 6 but you had to install them, if not, get out your Redhat book and learn how to install things off the CD.
One important browser is Netscape Navigator, the old favorite from Windows and Mac. Navigator is fully graphical and is usually the same version as the Windows version, with the same features. Netscape has been really good about supporting Linux since the beginning and will hopefully continue to support our favorite platform. Navigator requires that you use XWindows, which isn't much of a problem for most people but you should know that little piece of info for future reference.
The other popular web browser is called Lynx.
Lynx is an oldie but goodie in the *NIX (*nix is slang for all the versions
of UNIX, including Linux) world. Lynx is text-based, which means you get an
[IMAGE] tag instead of the image, but it's really fast and contrary
to popular belief, does support most important webpage components. Because Lynx
is text-based it does not require XWindows and also works over telnet or ssh
connections if you know what that means. If you want to test someone's web design
talents, check out their webpage under Lynx. If it looks alright, they are good
designers. Some people might disagree with me on that but they are wrong.
There are lots of people who use Emacs to surf the web, as well as others who use the many other web browsers out there but those are the most widely used under Linux.
And no, thank Linus there is no version of Internet Explorer for Linux, nor do I expect there ever will be. :)
This topic is a little more complicated. There are many, many, many email programs out there are every single one of them seems to have a group of people who would rather die than give it up. Also complicating the matter is that some clients will read HTML formatted email (which is basically a webpage instead of plain text), some won't read it, and others make you run another program to read it. I personally think HTML email is somewhat evil and only semi-useful for certain things (the New York Times daily email comes to mind) but it is important to a lot of people.
I'm sure I'll miss some important program but here are the ones I found to be the most widely used. For a good poll about the most popular email client, check out this Slashdot poll.
Pine is basically the email client version of Lynx. It is fast, pretty easy to use, and text based so you can use it to check your email anywhere as long as you can connect via telnet or ssh. Pine will allow you to run Lynx if someone sends you HTML formatted email..
Netscape Communicator, the parent product of Navigator, includes an email client which is the second most widely used client. Netscape Mail reads HTML mail natively and is also pretty easy to use.
Mutt is another text-based email client which is popular. I'm not a big fan of it's interface but I haven't used it that much to be honest. A lot of people swear by it though and they tell me it supports PGP encryption of your mail without outside help.
Elm is a text based email client that by default uses vi for editing your email. This one fact alone is enough to scare me away from recommending it to new Linux users (and all other sane people) but people like it so maybe I'm judging it too harshly.
Balsa is the official GNOME email client. It is fullly graphical and has many features but it is fairly new software and has lots of bugs that need to be worked out before I would use it for important work. If you just need an email client that works well with GNOME and you don't do life or death emailing, you'll probably like Balsa.
Like I said, there are probably others that i skipped but this list should be plenty for you. Most people use Pine and Netscape Mail without ever even learning about the others and they live happy lives.
Being able to connect to other computers is one of the best things about using Linux (and other *nix clones). From your home machine you can connect to another computer and do work on it like it was your own.
The most common method of connecting to another computer is called telnet.
Typing
telnet www.spinn.net
on the command line lets you connect to SpinnNet's webserver to work on your webpage for example.
The problem with telnet is that it isn't secure. While the possibility of someone
"sniffing" your password from a telnet connection is very remote,
it is possible. The solution to that problem is called ssh.
ssh www.spinn.net
lets you connect our webserver but it does so securely, that is, all your data is encrypted across the connection. You will need to install ssh on your home machine but after you do that, always use ssh to connect to other machines if possible. Let me repeat that, always use ssh to connect to other machines if possible. You can download ssh here. One thing about ssh, ssh2 is available but it's license is more restrictive than that of ssh1. ssh2 is only available as a trial or educational version unless you pay for it. ssh1 is free and more widely distributed as a result. You will be perfectly happy with ssh1.
There a million other things you can do on the net and pretty much all of them are supported by programs for Linux. Reading Usenet newsgroups, chatting on IRC, finding friends on ICQ, playing games, etc, etc, etc. The best place to find programs to help you do these things is freshmeat.net, a software announcement site. freshmeat is the place to find software to do just about anything you want on Linux and other *nix platoforms such as the BSD systems.
Well, there you go. If you've followed directions and are lucky, you should be online and connected to the rest of the world. Linux is a powerful tool and isn't for most people. Right now Linux is for people who are willing to learn something about their computer. In the future it will as easy to setup and use as other, older operating systems but in exchange for having to learn something, you've gotten power and stability. A good trade I think.
Now that you've learned something about your computer and how to do things, the best thing you can do now is to help somebody else out. If you see somebody in a bookstore looking at Linux books, point out one that helped you. If you read a question on a website or on a Usenet newsgroup, answer it. The Linux community is just that, a community. If everyone who setup Linux helped one other person out, we would achieve Linus Torvalds' hope for Total World Domination by Linux in no time flat. Isn't that something you'd like to be a part of?