Well, I'm finally starting to make that leap into the world of GNU/Linux. My goal is to at least familiarize myself enough with GNU/Linux to be quite comfortable when Microsoft at last unleashes its "Longhorn" on the world, which threatens to do to Digital Restrictions Management what the Deathstar did for the Empire. My hope is that the "rebel alliance," namely those cats still coding good free software, will have themselves together well enough to pose a serious threat to Microsoft's consolidation of power.
I read up on many different Linux distros before settling on Debian. I looked into SUSE and Red Hat, but was instantly turned off by the focus their on business. I tried out Knoppix, but had the sinking feeling that if I really wanted to learn GNU/Linux, I was going to have to go beyond that CD. I checked out the Debian folks and was very pleased with the emphasis on good hacker philosophy and ethics. I felt I had read plenty enough of the philosophy type GNU stuff to really appreciate what it was all about.
Now, luckily, I have four computers here in my Matt Cave (two are mine, the others belong to a friend and my fiancee.) Anyway, I have a 550 mhz computer that was basically just collecting dust, so I decided to use it for my little scheme. I didn't bother with a dual boot partition; I figured, hell, I don't need it for Windows anyway, so might as well go all the way with it.
My first attempt was a huge flop. I had *no idea* how alien Debian would be to Windows. The types of questions the installer asked baffled me. I finally muddled through, but the display wouldn't work. Neither would the mouse. I was totally lost, frustrated, and upset.
So, I searched through some online forums, read up on some stuff, and tried again. I did a few things differently, and was rewarded with a GNOME display when I booted up my machine. I had to tinker around with it to get the wheel on my mouse to work, but it wasn't as hard as I thought. Really, once I got the thing installed and running, the rest was child's play.
I'm still learning, though. One thing I'm beginning to realize is that the GUI is not nearly as central to the OS as it is for Windows. The shells are where it's at. I have some limited experience with this thanks to installing web programs and the like, but I have a lot to learn. I don't mind, though, because it's fun. The first time I booted up EMACS I thought, oh...yeah.
Another thing I noticed was that Debian expects a hell of a lot more from a user than Windows. Hardly anything is automatic. The user exchanges convenience for more precise and far-reaching control. The GNU/Linux master really lords it over the computer; she can seemingly change or modify any aspect of the software. I also notice that there is a great deal to Debian that is easier to pick up just by playing around than by sitting down to read a manual (that's hacker ethics through and through).
If I were to compare Debian with Windows, I might use the analogy of flying. Now, if you fly on a major commercial airliner, you know *very* little about how that thing works, or what's going on, etc. You have a window you can see out of and the occasional annoucement about where you're going and how soon you'll be there. Now, compare that with being a co-pilot in a small private plane. Now you can not only see all of the controls and what's going on, but you're expected to do a lot more than just buy a ticket and tell somebody where you want to go. Now you're sharing the responsibility of getting there. Kinda frightening, maybe, but also quite exhilerating. At least this way if you crash, you know it's (partly) your fault.
Using Debian, I learned that I took a LOT of things for granted when it came to computers. I still have a lot to learn, but I do appreciate an OS that expects more from me and doesn't try to make me talk to an animated paperclip if I have questions. It's like graduating from high school and starting college.
Ah, the joy of metaphors...I might also compare it to ordering food at a restaurant vs. cooking it for yourself, but I can't very well go about likening computeric to cookery now, can I??
Take the quiz
I'm learning more about myself, considering I am Debian Linux. :D
CultureCat
Funny
That's a really funny "You are," and clever, too. I plan to make several blogs about my Debian progress, so I'll keep you posted on the difficulties I encounter so that you can hopefully avoid them! :-)
debian is not for newbies
I would try SUSE personal 9.1. It's a better starting point for the first time for desktop users coming from Windows. And note that the SUSE personal and professional series are not targeted at businesses, but for individual Linux users. SUSE has another line (including a desktop version) which is aimed at the corporate market.
SUSE
Thanks for the tip, Charlie. I was surprised to see the SUSE site and all the corporate-speak; but maybe I was at the wrong place. Still, I may be a newbie to Linux, but I'm not new to hacking, so I don't imagine it will be long before I'll be hacking along quite happily with Debian. No training wheels here!
SuSE
Hey, I'd like to second Charlie's comment. I can only speak from my own experience, so here it is:
I first heard about Linux through Neal Stephenson's In the Beginning Was the Command Line. I was pretty pumped to try out Debian (potato, I think it was then) and since there was a Linux installfest coming up, I sent in a RSVP and attended. I think there must have been 100 people getting Linux installed on their boxes that day. I was the ONLY person asking for Debian (most everyone was getting Red Hat put on) and, truthfully, thought that made Debian even cooler. My installfest counselor was a longtime Debian user, and in spite of several hours spent on my machine, we never were able to complete installation. I think it was due to the fact that we couldn't find a driver for my video card. I took the disk home, got an O'Reilly book, and tried installing it over and over for some time, but with no luck.
After some months I gave up and downloaded Red Hat (7.3?). I liked it well enough, but I had a (completely unrelated) mechanical failure in my hard drive not long after and was too nervous to repartition the new hard drive once I got it going and therefore resolved to install some kind of Linux once I got a new box built.
By that time Red Hat had switched to its new commercial focus, and I had heard a lot about how SuSE (8.1?) was easy to install. I tried it and loved it. It was an extremely easy install, and YAST seemed to be a great package update system. Had KDE desktop rolling in no time. I know that some folks love the challenge of getting x-window up and running by themselves, and, truthfully, I thought I was one of them. But I now realize that SuSE got me further along in actually using Linux for my day to day ssh, e-mail, browsing, etc., by holding my hand through the install. Now that I have some Linux hours under my belt I think that I'd fare better in the Debian install, but I'm just not that interested in bootstrapping it all on my own.
But now I don't run SuSE on that box either -- I really think that if you're interested in Debian you should check out
Gentoo. It runs on Debian and has great install support. Plus, it gives you three install choices, with one fully manual package, one medium assistance package, and one easy install. Plus, it has a great user base and great package manager system.
So let me add Gentoo to your choices, if you haven't already checked it out. We all go about this differently, and, of course, that's what makes Linux so much fun.
Now, back to checking out BSD!
have not tried Gentoo
but I've heard good things about it. However, for a first venture into Linux, I would think that SUSE, or even Fedora Core, would be a better adventure. Mandrake's not bad either for beginners. Then Gentoo after some experience, and finally Debian later on if someone is a real die hard about configuring everything themselves :)
Part of the reason I switched from Fedora Core (RedHat before that) was because of YaST. It makes installing, updating, and configuration much easier. And SUSE has one of the most polished desktop interfaces I have seen. Novell seems to be putting some serious resources into making it a user friendly experience.
Now, if you are going the server route and run Linux off the command line, and not interested too much in the desktop, I would recommend RedHat because of all the support available online and all the RPM builds for it.
BTW: I run a dual boot system for a desktop, but I don't partition my hard drive to run Linux and Windows off the same one. The best setup if one wants to be able to switch back and forth is Windows on one drive, Linux on the other. And then have a partition on the Windows drive (or a separate drive) which is FAT32. Linux can mount, read, and write FAT32 partitions. Makes it easy to keep document files and other personal files in a partition available to both OS's.
Linux in general
I applaud your efforts at testing the Linux waters. I agree with one of the other posters that Debian may not be the best choice for someone without much experience. I have used a number of flavors since being introduced to Linux by a high school student in 1997: Redhat, TurboLinux, Xandros, Slackware, Yellow Dog, Power PC Linux, others.
Redhat has an excellent education program (reduced cost, online support) and you may have been a bit hasty there. It is a solid company with an established record. Great choice for first Linux is Mandrake. Suse is also excellent. All three use Redhats rpm package formats which tells you something.
If you are looking for a desktop replacement for Windows, check out Xandros or Mandrake. On the server side, I like Redhat or Suse.
Linux is ready for the desktop and makes a lot of sense for education.
Some advice (for what it's worth). Take a course in Linux basics online, or at a community college. It will move you ahead in a big way.