Why
Linux?
I
guess the simple answer
would be why not?
I have used computers for years starting with a now ancient Apple II which worked just fine for the times, than the world of Microsoft evolved into the huge critical mass that it has become. I have never been one to root (no pun intended) for the big guy. I have phone service through the small local company, my cell phone is with another local small company, and so on. I like the hands on approach that the small guy gives over the big corporate world businesses.
But that's just me....
This has worked it's way into my computer as well. Microsoft seems to be out to own the world, and that's their right to do so, but that doesn't mean I have to support their goals. It goes back to the winter of 2002 I finally broke down and bought a CD burner. This along with recently having gotten DSL encouraged me to try Linux I had been reading avidly about it for for several years and really wanted to try. My first distro was Icepack Linux, which according to Distrowatch is still around, but not by much, their site has a simple "Icepack will be back soon" message on it. I got it burned and put in the CD and off I went. I carefully partitioned the drive giving myself a few gigs to play with. It installed just as it should have, and I booted into my shinny new Linux desktop. Damn I thought, being a bit impressed with myself. I played around a bit, as I recall Gnome was the default window manager, which may explain my preference for Gnome, although I do use KDE without hesitation as well (I'm not ready to start a window manager war just yet...)
Then I attempted to go back into Windows.
It wasn't there,
It wasn't Anywhere.
That's when I realized that I really need to get a separate hard drive for this experiment in operating systems. My wife does not find having her hard drive blown out by accident very funny in any way shape or form which I have done. Actually it has turned into a whole different computer....
A lot has happened since then, many different distros, several different computers, a dog, and so on....
I tried several different distros, a few of which would not work on the PC I was using(Mandrake and Red Hat in particular). The distro I finally found that worked for me was Lycoris. It just made sense to me. Looking back at it now, Lycoris is designed to make a Windows user's transition into the world of Linux easier and smoother. It sure did just that for me. It was forgiving of my ignorance, accepting of my mistakes, and got re-installed several times as I attempted to learn. As I learned more I began to feel like I was missing something with Lycoris. KDE 3.0 had come out with no port into Lycoris (only done recently), many of the programs I wanted would not easily install, I still really preferred Gnome which Lycoris does not use, and I knew there had to be more out there. In a vague attempt to install KDE 3.0 specially compiled by Texstar (my first encounter with Texstar's magic) for Lycoris, I completely hosed the entire thing, my fault, not his. Ok, I thought, it's time to try something else. And I did, and am still trying something else quite regularly which is what has driven me to create this site, maybe to help you find your way through the mass of distros and programs out there, and hopefully we both can learn something in the process.
So to wrap up,
Why Linux?
Partly because it is not Microsoft.
I like it because it is not always easy.
I like it because it is not what everybody uses.
I like it because other Linux users appreciate that I use it.
I like that it is safe, secure, and does not fail, crash or cause me to hate my computer.
I like it because it give me choices.
I like it because when I have a problem, I can post a question on the distro's web site and get a real answer, often from the developer, not someone who may or may not have any idea about what my problem really is, and may not even be in the same country I am in.
I like it because I can easily contribute to, and am encouraged to contribute to its development and success,
I can make a difference!
I like it because when it is done right, I just works.
I have used computers for years starting with a now ancient Apple II which worked just fine for the times, than the world of Microsoft evolved into the huge critical mass that it has become. I have never been one to root (no pun intended) for the big guy. I have phone service through the small local company, my cell phone is with another local small company, and so on. I like the hands on approach that the small guy gives over the big corporate world businesses.
But that's just me....
This has worked it's way into my computer as well. Microsoft seems to be out to own the world, and that's their right to do so, but that doesn't mean I have to support their goals. It goes back to the winter of 2002 I finally broke down and bought a CD burner. This along with recently having gotten DSL encouraged me to try Linux I had been reading avidly about it for for several years and really wanted to try. My first distro was Icepack Linux, which according to Distrowatch is still around, but not by much, their site has a simple "Icepack will be back soon" message on it. I got it burned and put in the CD and off I went. I carefully partitioned the drive giving myself a few gigs to play with. It installed just as it should have, and I booted into my shinny new Linux desktop. Damn I thought, being a bit impressed with myself. I played around a bit, as I recall Gnome was the default window manager, which may explain my preference for Gnome, although I do use KDE without hesitation as well (I'm not ready to start a window manager war just yet...)
Then I attempted to go back into Windows.
It wasn't there,
It wasn't Anywhere.
That's when I realized that I really need to get a separate hard drive for this experiment in operating systems. My wife does not find having her hard drive blown out by accident very funny in any way shape or form which I have done. Actually it has turned into a whole different computer....
A lot has happened since then, many different distros, several different computers, a dog, and so on....
I tried several different distros, a few of which would not work on the PC I was using(Mandrake and Red Hat in particular). The distro I finally found that worked for me was Lycoris. It just made sense to me. Looking back at it now, Lycoris is designed to make a Windows user's transition into the world of Linux easier and smoother. It sure did just that for me. It was forgiving of my ignorance, accepting of my mistakes, and got re-installed several times as I attempted to learn. As I learned more I began to feel like I was missing something with Lycoris. KDE 3.0 had come out with no port into Lycoris (only done recently), many of the programs I wanted would not easily install, I still really preferred Gnome which Lycoris does not use, and I knew there had to be more out there. In a vague attempt to install KDE 3.0 specially compiled by Texstar (my first encounter with Texstar's magic) for Lycoris, I completely hosed the entire thing, my fault, not his. Ok, I thought, it's time to try something else. And I did, and am still trying something else quite regularly which is what has driven me to create this site, maybe to help you find your way through the mass of distros and programs out there, and hopefully we both can learn something in the process.
So to wrap up,
Why Linux?
Partly because it is not Microsoft.
I like it because it is not always easy.
I like it because it is not what everybody uses.
I like it because other Linux users appreciate that I use it.
I like that it is safe, secure, and does not fail, crash or cause me to hate my computer.
I like it because it give me choices.
I like it because when I have a problem, I can post a question on the distro's web site and get a real answer, often from the developer, not someone who may or may not have any idea about what my problem really is, and may not even be in the same country I am in.
I like it because I can easily contribute to, and am encouraged to contribute to its development and success,
I can make a difference!
I like it because when it is done right, I just works.
Contact me at:
webmaster@capnkirby.com
