Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - Have you ever installed linux or do you use it?

Scott · 11-18-2006, 08:03 AM

Not to be too much of a fanboy, but I honestly believe that if you have very much technology skill at all, the learning curve is very much worth it.

I grew up using Windows XP (and Windows 95 before that). To be honest, I loved it. I loved how XP was seemingly so simple to use yet had very powerful features that you could discover if you really needed them. I loved how *gasp* it could go, like, a week without needing to be rebooted! (As long as it was spyware-free, which was easy to do as long as I ran scans on a regular basis).

At the same time, I was beginning to experiment with this weird thing called Linux - I believe Mandrake 7.2 was my first foray into that realm. I had heard that Mandrake was a good distro for beginners (it was... sort of) and wanted to try it out just for S's and G's. To make a long story short, that didn't go over so well (with me, or with my parents, because the only computer I had access to was the family one).

Fast forward a couple of years later, when I owned my own (Windows XP) computer - and boy, was it wonderful. Same anti-spyware stuff, but with an added firewall and a really cool GUI-decoration program (WindowBlinds, I think). It rocked... or so I thought.

Then I landed my first summer job working with Linux Redhat (RHEL 4), and with my newfound experience, once again tried my hand with Linux at home. This time, it was Xandros 3.0 - and I knew there was no going back.

Nowadays, I use Gentoo (definitely not recommended for beginners). No anti-spyware (it doesn't need it), XGL/Compiz (looks better than WindowBlinds ever did), and I can update without even rebooting! I probably reboot about once a month, but I know some people go far longer than that.

So, rambling aside, at least give Linux a shot. A 30-day trial, if nothing else. You won't regret it, and I'm confident that the knowledgeable people in these forums will help you every step of the way.

11-18-2006, 08:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
Scott Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 114	Not to be too much of a fanboy, but I honestly believe that if you have very much technology skill at all, the learning curve is very much worth it. I grew up using Windows XP (and Windows 95 before that). To be honest, I loved it. I loved how XP was seemingly so simple to use yet had very powerful features that you could discover if you really needed them. I loved how gasp it could go, like, a week without needing to be rebooted! (As long as it was spyware-free, which was easy to do as long as I ran scans on a regular basis). At the same time, I was beginning to experiment with this weird thing called Linux - I believe Mandrake 7.2 was my first foray into that realm. I had heard that Mandrake was a good distro for beginners (it was... sort of) and wanted to try it out just for S's and G's. To make a long story short, that didn't go over so well (with me, or with my parents, because the only computer I had access to was the family one). Fast forward a couple of years later, when I owned my own (Windows XP) computer - and boy, was it wonderful. Same anti-spyware stuff, but with an added firewall and a really cool GUI-decoration program (WindowBlinds, I think). It rocked... or so I thought. Then I landed my first summer job working with Linux Redhat (RHEL 4), and with my newfound experience, once again tried my hand with Linux at home. This time, it was Xandros 3.0 - and I knew there was no going back. Nowadays, I use Gentoo (definitely not recommended for beginners). No anti-spyware (it doesn't need it), XGL/Compiz (looks better than WindowBlinds ever did), and I can update without even rebooting! I probably reboot about once a month, but I know some people go far longer than that. So, rambling aside, at least give Linux a shot. A 30-day trial, if nothing else. You won't regret it, and I'm confident that the knowledgeable people in these forums will help you every step of the way.