Exit Strategy: Making the Switch to Linux

misc, personal

I’ve decided that it’s about time to remove that pesky virus known as Windows XP from my computer once and for all. Since I’m going to build myself a new machine as soon as I’m done with the Eagle, I just decided to wait and install it on my new computer. Until then, I’ll just count on litestep to make up for Microsoft’s flaws.

Nonetheless, I’ve decided to do a little background research, so that I know exactly what I need when it finally comes time to load the system. I have been totally amazed (and slightly overwhelmed) by the amount of information and choice available in Linux.

I decided that I should start by picking a distro. Dennis L., the only guy I know personally that runs it at home, uses SuSE. I looked into that, but it seemed a little too corporate for me, so I decided to move on.

Somehow, the name “Ubuntu” had cropped up a lot in my research. I looked at their site, as well as what others had written. It seemed like a clean, user-friendly distribution with good organization and a helpful community. Still, something just didn’t seem quite right. I don’t know what it was – maybe the too-white teeth and too-perfect smiles of the multiracial, picture perfect “circle of friends” on the Ubuntu homepage. Maybe I felt like it was just too user-friendly, and wouldn’t let me learn enough about the nuts and bolts of my new OS. M Anyway, I shelved it and went on to my next distribution.

The next distro that came up was Gentoo. Here, finally, was an opportunity to get my hands dirty and really understand what was going on in my operating system. I had no idea what was meant by “Portage trees” or “USE- flags,” but I figured that I would be able to teach myself everything as I went along. I got about halfway through the manual before I realized I was in way over my head. Until I had a farily firm grasp of the architecture and structure of Linux, I realized I was going to have to wait for Gentoo.

Finally I stumbled upon Dominic White’s article. This was a huge help – most importantly, it introduced me to Debian, which seems to be just the right distro for me. Not excessively technical, but not totally shiny and pre-packaged either.

Clearly, I’ve still got a lot to learn about this, but I’m glad (for the time being, at least) to have settled on a distribution. I suspect that this is going to be a very long process, but I look forward to the power, control and freedom of my very own Linux Box.

technorati tags:linux, debian, OS, litestep, windows

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More Nighttime Fun

misc, personal

After sitting around debating who to bring and what to do for two hours, we decided to go to Telegraph. A bit problematic given that none of us can drive yet, but the Thompsons are obliging. As usual, I ate way to much Indian food. Still, I had plenty of time to digest it since we spent what felt like an hour at Amoeba. I don’t really understand how worked up everybody gets about music. I figure it’s like tap water – it’s always there and constantly around you, so why pay to collect it? I guess if everyone thought like me there would be no music to listen to.
After a fascinating lecture on the evils of pornography and American government by the Future Mayor of Berkeley (I love Telegraph) we decided to head back. Conveniently, right about then Sam got a call from Emily T. looking to hang out, so we stole a bunch of people from Emily M’s birthday party (already ending by 9:45) and transfered it to David’s empty house. That’s a group of people I could definitely get to know better. After messing around in Dracena for about half an hour a woman walking her dog started to yell at us, so we went home.

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