| wIndependence Day Essay: Learning Linux |
by Mark Finlay (July 18, 2002)
After 10 months of non-use, my MS Windows 98 partition has gathered a thick layer of dust. People talk about missing features when they try to switch to Linux, but I am at a loss when I try to find any. When it comes to missing features in windows: I could write a book! No virtual desktops, no gtk themes, no bash, no easy to edit config files. Even when one sets the software aside, there is nothing like the feeling of working with an international community of Open Source programmers and users, all participating in what I have always considered to be the only successful application of socialism in human history.
I love Linux, but learning to use it has been no pleasure cruise. My experiences started 3 or 4 years ago, when Corel Linux 1.0 came out and was stuck to the front cover of my favorite computer magazine. I was only about 14 y/o at the time so it was all very new to me. I installed it on a 486, and as far as I remember and the performance was less that impressive. Looking back I think that there must have been a hardware problem – It usually doesn’t take 12 hours to install Linux :) . But even with its 15 minute boot-up time and its crippling inability to connect to the internet I already loved Linux. It was just so much cooler than windows, and when you’re 14 coolness is very important. Unfortunately because of my under-powered computer, problems with hardware and being unable to connect to the Internet, and my general ignorance of what Linux was, I went back to Windows for a year or two. During this time I played with Linux on and off. I don’t really remember much of what I did, but my CD collection includes such relics as Mandrake 7.2, Redhat 6.3 and some old Debian and Best Linux CDs, so I must have been doing something useful.
Everything changed when I got Redhat 7.0 – It was sufficiently good to entice me to use it but sufficiently broken to entice me to fix it. And so my learning experience began. I was able to get online, and I had Mozilla instead of the terrible versions of Netscape that came with the versions of Linux that I had used previously. At to top it off, I delighted in Linux’s stability and flexibility.
My fist major learning experience was when I decided to upgrade to the latest version of X to get 3D support for my video card. I had nothing fancy like RPM’s to use, only console-based install scripts. So I was thrown in to the dark and murky world of the console and config files. It was at this time that I learned how to use the console, how to execute seripts and how to edit config files. When I finished installing the new X it failed to auto-detect KDE. But unlike when I had repeatedly broken windows as a child and felt sick to my stomach, I felt calm and confident. Linux is transparent in the way things are done, so when I’m using Linux the only limit to what I can do is my ability to learn, unlike in MS Windows where I can only do what Microsoft decide I should.
Things got even better when I got Redhat 7.1 – X came with full support for my video card. I started playing around with the Wine Half-Life tutorial, trying to get my favorite game to run in Linux, but I had no luck. After that, my next major experience with Linux was when I got my hands on Mandrake 8.1 last October. Mandrake finally provided me with a GNU/Linux based OS that was sufficiently feature rich to completely replace windows. I spent a lot of time working out how to do the things I was used to being about to do in Windows. But an even more enjoyable journey was learning all the things that I could do in Linux that I couldn’t do in Windows.
At that stage I was 16 y/o and still much happier in the GUI than in the console. Mandrake provided me with a huge set of toys to play with: the was KDE and GNOME to play with as well as many other WMs, there was the GIMP, Galeon etc…
Mandrake gave me a platform on which to design my perfect OS. I went from one feature I wanted to another, beating away at them for a few days, working out how I wanted to add this particular piece of functionality, adding it to my website, and ticking it off my list of 'Things I want to do in Linux'. Among my 'projects' was trying to make Mandrake 8.1, including X, boot off a CD-ROM, and I actually managed this and learned a huge amount about the power of the console and underlying structure of the Linux system in the process.
That brought me up to last March. In 6 Months I had gone from a Windows user with a RedHat dual-boot to Linux user with a thorough knowledge of the Linux OS (I even wrote an Article for my website, called 'The Layers of Linux'). I am very quick to point out that Microsoft Windows could never have inspired that extremely rapid learning process, or the enthusiasm or passion involved. I owe a lot to Linux, and especially to Open Source. The philosophies underlying Open Source Software, as set out by Richard Stallman, are the most admirable I have ever encountered. I strive to live my live according to the principles of Open Source and I think that if everyone was to adopt these philosophies, of sharing and of a community pushing forward together for the greater good, we would live in a better world.
More recently I got my hands on Mandrake 8.2 and OpenOffice.org. Mandrake 8.2 was a great update but had no major effect on my 'Linux Experience'. OpenOffice.org on the other hand I found very intriguing. I installed it under GNOME, and, setting its bad integration with the system aside, it was an excellent Office Suite. As I got to know it I added a section on my website detailing with how to get OpenOffice.org up and running as well as a few extras like hot to use the Quick Starter.
Soon I became frustrated with just adding articles to my small website that no-one was going to read, and decided to get involved with the OpenOffice.org project. But like any big project it is slow to adopt new features, and I’m and impatient person. So I started the 'Evolved OpenOffice' project to provide integration and extra features for OpenOffice.org users on the GNOME and KDE desktops. It’s currently 2 weeks old but already at the 95th percentile on the activity chart on sourceforge. (Drop by for a look here.)
Correct me if I’m wrong but I think that that’s not bad for someone who doesn’t need to shave every day yet ;)
Look out for me in the future. I plan on making a name for myself!
Talk back! Do you have comments or questions about this story? talkback here
Please note: The opinions expressed in this essay are those of the writer, not of the management or staff of DesktopLinux.com.
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
Approaching the Linux Desktop
The purpose of this paper is to help organizations evaluate the Linux desktop against their own enterprise needs and discover what benefits the Linux desktop might bring to their organizations.
Migrating To Linux: Application Challenges and Solutions
Several solutions exist to help organizations migrate in an orderly fashion from Windows to Linux desktops. This paper establishes the characteristics of an ideal cross-platform solution and reviews these alternatives in light of this ideal standard. The paper takes a closer look at the pros and cons of various solutions and outlines the business benefits that can be achieved.
Linux Advantages: Publicly Available Information on Linux Software
This paper offers a brief summary of readily-available Linux information to help businesses sort out this widely misunderstood operating system.
Top 5 Strategies for Managing Linux
Despite continuous evolution in the manageability of Linux, a 2006 survey cited manageability concerns as a top reason why organizations are hesitating to adopt Linux. Levanta believes Linux can be as manageable, if not more so, than other operating systems by following key strategies. These strategic recommendations were developed from experiences in numerous customer environments, both large and small.
Why Choose Novell for Linux?
This paper outlines the benefits of switching to the Linux platform and choosing Novell as a high-performance, enterprise solution.
Enterprise Linux Selection Guide
Considering moving your enterprise to the Linux operating system? Since there are so many similar versions, choosing the right one can be tough. This paper offers a clear process to help you make an informed decision and get the features, support, and cost that are right for your business and technical needs.
Overcoming Challenges in Managing Linux
Levanta has created a new administration model with innovative technology that breaks down the barriers to making the most of Linux systems. This paper will provide an in-depth look at the workings of Levanta’s product, the first Linux appliance of its kind.
SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 for Retail Businesses
Discover why major retailers have switched to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop in the back office. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is a low-cost desktop that offers a complete set of productivity applications and interoperates seamlessly with the other Windows, Macintosh and UNIX desktops in your store.
Moving to a Linux Desktop
Migrating from Windows to Linux on the desktop can be a substantial undertaking because it has the potential for touching -- and perhaps disrupting -- every user in your organization. Unlike a data center (server and infrastructure) migration that is largely transparent to users, the cultural and administrative transitions and environment readiness required to support a Linux desktop migration are extensive.
Seven Good Reasons to Exchange Exchange
This paper describes seven compelling reasons why you should switch from Exchange to Scalix.
|
|
|
|
|
news feed
