Linux Neophyte

Before I *really* start posting I should tell you a little bit about my methods and myself. I want to keep this blog as easy to understand as possible while still providing useful information. For example, if I’m posting a how-to, I’ll always try to go with the graphical method for getting the job done. In some cases however that’s not always the best way to do something. Installing several applications from a GUI package manager might take a whole lot longer, and be more hassle, than entering a command into a terminal window.

Linux will, at times, require you to enter a few commands at a prompt. It’s not as scary as you might think and once you get used to it, I hope that you’ll find it a handy and fast way to get something done. I know from experience that the command line can be intimidating, there are so many commands to remember, the syntax and options are not the same for every application and switching a -r to a -R will impact the results. Patience is key, I keep telling myself that, over and over.

Now a little bit about me, I’ve been a Windows user since the days of DOS 6.?? and Windows 3.1. It all started when I found myself wondering why certain shareware games just wouldn’t play on my girlfriend’s Packard Bell (remember those?). That (fortunately for me) snowballed into an obsession with computers that carried me through to today. I just find computers fascinating, I enjoy making them communicate with each other and forcing them to do my bidding. I love taking a misbehaving application or piece of hardware and cor-r-r-r-recting it. FYI: I don’t have any formal training, I just read what I can and apply it to my daily work and play.

I’ve never owned a MAC and I haven’t used one since the mid 90s. Other than my recent foray into Linux I haven’t used many other operating systems. I did spend some time in a shop that employed a VMS mainframe and while that was fun and interesting I was a Windows guy and thought the world of terminal computing was at an end (so I never really focused on learning the ins and outs).

When I decided to become a Linux user I basically immersed myself in the OS. I built a speedy multi-boot machine at home for desktop Linux (Ubuntu is the only installed distro at the moment), I converted two old machines into servers (Debian & Ubuntu), and I set up a multi-boot layout on my laptop (Ubuntu, Fedora, XP) and finally, I set up a multi-boot machine at work (Fedora, XP). I have two XP machines at home, one is my home theater and the other is a desktop machine that pretty much gets ignored these days.

Note: I used an article in one of the early Tux magazine publications for setting up the multi- boot machines

As you can see I’m familiar with a few distributions, I’m an expert in none. For the most part when I attempt new things, I’ll be trying them on Ubuntu and Fedora. I’ll include notes on both distros when applicable. When I do try other distros I’ll post about my experiences here and hope that it benefits you.

written by M@ \\ tags: About