Start
here. The grab a LiveCD distro of your choice. The easiest way to learn is to jump in and do it. Just think of it as the Windows Command shell on vitamins and steroids.
And ugh... Emacs?? Tsk, Tsk.
Writing your own OS, eh? Sounds like a rough class. Well, I'll ASSume you already know how to use a compiler (GCC ?). If not
here's where to go.
If you have questions, ask. There's enough of us around to help.
--JamesT
