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.

Some of the topics that I plan to bring to this blog will include my personal experiences, helpful resources, tips and tricks, tweaks, how-to’s, joys, gripes and general Linux tidbits that I feel a new user would find helpful. I’m attempting to make the move to Linux almost exclusively. I say almost because my job requires that I maintain a certain level of familiarity with Windows. Now, with that out in the open, I actually prefer Linux desktops and the tweak-ability of Linux and it’s applications. I’ve decided that whenever possible I will use a Linux machine and open source alternatives instead of proprietary products. I prefer the community spirit of F/OSS projects in general and I’ve been very impressed with the level of assistance I’ve received from old and new Linux users alike.

I’m excited about just being a Linux user. For years I’ve heard little bits about the OS, How hard it is to use, how only developers and uber-geeks are the only ones that could possibly understand it. I want to help dispel that reputation and show people that Linux IS a viable alternative to Windows or MAC machines. It’s just a bit of a learning curve and if you have the right mind set, it can be A LOT of fun! Proprietary operating systems aren’t the only game in town!

I should also mention that I’m not an OS basher. I believe that there is a place for Windows and MAC OS in this world and instead of trashing them, developers should be aiming for interoperability (that’s not just open source developers, but the big boys as well). There’s room for everyone here!

Please feel free to send me feedback (matt at linuxworldnet dot com), post comments and let me know what you like or dislike about this blog.

My next blog will be a little about my experience and then we’ll get onto the Linuxy stuff.