Why I love Linux

[NewtHoot]

I am currently posting this from my P.O.S Windows Xp, as I cannot get Debian to recognize my DWL-650. (please don't offer me help, I understand there are a plethora of posts dealing with this exact problem I have, and I have no desire to create another). Let me tell you a little about myself. I am a sophmore at Laguna Hills High School, CA. I was raised of Macintosh, dated with Windows, and am finally grwoing up with Debian. I am a newb to Debian is the hugest degree. I downloaded Knoppix on a whim, liked the way it looked, and after about five minutes, decided I needed Debian. I installed it of an old "borrowed" Great Quality, that was actually shiped with a distribution of Linux, though I do not know which one. It took me maybe ten different installations to partion my hard drive to run 98 and Debian. Maybe another five to realize I need the X11 package to run KDE and maybe two more just for the fun of it. I will tell you straight out, Linux and Debain are a huge pain in the ass. But everytime something works, everytime it doesn't give some random reason why it could follow the instruction I told it to, It's like I died and went to hevean. I don't know about you guys, especially you Linux Pros, who could do the things that literally took me a month in minutes, but for me, the challange of the journey is what makes it all worth it. It's almost as if the more of a pain in the ass something is, the more we appriciate it when its not. And personally, whenever I deal with Microsoft Support, I feel like I'm being spoon fed by strangers. It's like a nice stupidity pill with a sugar coating of faux interest. Its the same with Mac too. My dad tells me of a time when you could call up, and get a real person who didn't feed you some lines or tell you that an upgrade would be best, but someone who not only could not only fix problems, but knew what caused them and how to avoid causing more. But with Linux, I don't know. It almost feels like a family, and some people maybe actually want to help you. It leaves you with a feeling of belonging and comradery.
Wow. Thats a lot more then I wanted to write. I guess I'll wrap it up. And in conclusion (tell me thats not the dumbest way to wrap up a post) I would just like to say, that each OS is wonderful in its own way, there is so much diffrence between them, I really can't see myself divorcing from any of them in the forseeable future.
But if I were stranded on an Island of Bikini babes, and all I could bring was one computer, at least right now, it would be Debian.



If I can ever get the damn thing to work.

[hcgtv]

Hi,

Your Dad is right, in the old days it was possible for knowledgeable people to man the phones, there wasn't that many PC's around.

But due to the economics of scale, it's impossible nowadays. So when you call support for a commercial product, more often than not you get someone clicking on a knowledge base and when they can't find an answer to your question, it defaults to you need to re-install or get a newer version.

On the Open Source side, there are no economic restrictions, cause volunteers are everywhere manning support forums willing and able to lend a hand. This and this alone has Microsoft very worried, as they should be, because they are seeing a brain drain that is helping to contribute to a new generation of self reliant individuals.

I still run Windows, I'm typing this on a WinXP laptop but I can easily boot over to Debian Etch and continue without missing a beat. So I'm not an OS bigot, but I do see that my days on Windows are numbered. XP will be my last Windows, I'm not making the trip to Vista. In order to prepare for a life without Windows, I'm using only cross platform apps, like Firefox, Thunderbird, Komodo and the like.

Now if I were stranded on a Island, Debian would also be my choice, but I'd wish there were a broadband connection

[al3xanr0]

<snip>
But if I were stranded on an Island of Bikini babes, and all I could bring was one computer, at least right now, it would be Debian.
If I can ever get the damn thing to work.

It begs the question of just how productive you would be amidst the distractive bikini adorned babes. I'd even go as far as saying Debian's usage would be a rare occassion. However, I do agree with Debian being number one next to bikini babes.

[Grifter]

Now if only bikini babes came with apt-get...

[mzilikazi]

Yeah Linux can sure be a PITA like any OS. I spend a great deal of my time fixing wimpdows boxes at work. I cringe everytime I have to use the so-called M$ knowledge base (haha what a joke).
Don't you love windows error messages? Cryptic, uninformative and IMPOSSIBLE to copy/paste! It just makes it that much harder to figure out what's wrong. You can't just leave the error window there and fire up a browser - oh no, you gotta close the error window first! oy vey.

The same is true of another proprietary vendors, specifically Polycom. Even though we have long-standing HUGE $ contracts (as in 100 + thousands of dollars) w/ Polycom their tech support has to rank as some of the worst in the entire world. Not only are they lacking in knowledge but they are just at a 9-5 job and pay more attention to the clock on the wall than your problems. Their website is nearly useless in assisting you with troubleshooting. Dead links and a disfunctional search engine are the highlights. On the contrary, when I have a problem w/ Linux I just get on IRC or start searching any of the myriad of forums or documentation sites. The general attitude of Linux users is just great. Most people like to help others and personally I always get some satisfaction of returning the favor (if I can). I think that in part is what drives Linux - the users themselves. Of course we cannot fail to mention the thousands of individuals that give their time freely writing cocde, building distros or studying how to make Linux easier for Grandma to use. Money really is the root of all (corporate) evil.

[shoof]

Now if only bikini babes came with apt-get...

Or if apt-get install bikini-babes worked.

[hcgtv]

Or if apt-get install bikini-babes worked.

apt-cache search bikini-babes

[Jason W]

As you know, there is a linux package called "hot babe" though I don't think it is in Debian, yet anyway (I wouldn't know, I still use Woody). But it is out there, and similar to the "bikini babe" idea. Not that I would install such a thing, though.

[hcgtv]

(I wouldn't know, I still use Woody).

There's a joke in there somewhere

[craigevil]

Hot Babe
http://dindinx.net/hotbabe/

Once you get things working it gets much better. I have ran Debian Sid for over two years and not a day goes by that I don't learn something new about how things work.

[ghostdawg]

Or if apt-get install bikini-babes worked.

apt-cache search bikini-babes

aptitude search bikini-babes...

[jml]

getting back on topic.

Hang in there NewtHoot. The more you work with Debian the easier it gets. I agree with you. Sometimes setting something up can be a real pain, (it took me about 3 months to get WPA encrypted wireless working,) but once you solve it,...it just feels so good. Yup, I must be a geek. I have found this forum to be very helpful and friendly. I hope you enjoy your ride.

Joe

[al3xanr0]

Or if apt-get install bikini-babes worked.

apt-cache search bikini-babes

aptitude search bikini-babes...

while we're on the subject, how about

Code: Select all

dpkg -l | grep bikini-babes

you never know, you could have her tucked away somewhere in /usr/bin land. If not you could always

Code: Select all

dpkg -i bikini-babes-on-fire_1.4.1-0_i386.deb

fun fun fun...