A unix is a unix is a unix is not a GNU
I started dabbling with FreeBSD when I was 14 or so. I had a few friends who were a little bit older, a whole lot nerdier and obviously a tad cooler than me, and they were the people who first introduced me to the world of UNIX. A bit later I started using Debian at home.
At the time I believe BlackBox was all the rage amongst my friends, a minimal window manager for both BSD and Linux. I used it, I loved it, I adored the simplicity:
This was the only face of Linux and BSD that I knew. I then got into Fluxbox, which is a fork of Blackbox, so things pretty much stayed the same for a long time. I never tried Gnome back then, but I saw it at times (it seemed bulky to me). What I loved and still love about Fluxbox is the simplicity. Not only is the look and functions of it simple, the configuration is too. When I did start using Gnome at times (either personally or when helping friends and family) I found it so irritating that it decided for me what to list on my menus, what programs to run on startup and so on. I had that control in Fluxbox, ever so clear and simple – I wanted it in Gnome too.
I think it was the feeling of being in control that made me like BSD and Linux to begin with. I could finally remove that irritating option, disable that stupid popup and start up exactly the programs I wanted. This control and freedom to choose has always been at the center of the Linux experience to me and I strive to keep it so.
I now run Ubuntu with Gnome on both my desktop and laptop. It’s a nice window manager (and a nice distro!), especially if you want things to just work, as is the standard nowadays. But I always feel at a loss when I need to use graphical tools for setting the look and feel of this or that program. And I am ever so happy that I learnt using Linux at the command line. Even the thought of having to manipulate my files using nautilus or some other file manager makes me feel handicapped.
Linux can be a lot of things. It can be a solid, free and easy desktop OS for an average family with kids, a server platform for the hobbyist, an enterprise-level solution, an embedded OS… and so much more. Linux can be easy as pie, and harder than a boiled rock.
For those of you who are scared to try Linux, I assure you, it really isn’t dangerous. And your computer won’t blow up.
There are 5 Comments to "A unix is a unix is a unix is not a GNU"
And if they do, somehow, blow up, well, get a mac!
Jag är väldigt nöjd med att köra (x)ubuntu på min gamla arbetslaptop (som den nybörjare jag är) just av anledning du nämnde: att det bara funkar. Man skulle önska att dessa system blev allmänt accepterade (det skulle väl onekligen bli billigare) så att hårdvarutillverkarna skulle se en poäng i att utveckla sina produkter även för dessa system. Jag skulle absolut vara intresserad det system anpassat för musikproduktion som t ex ubuntu studio erbjuder om det inte var för ett problem med hårdvarustöd. Windows xp som är den enda vettiga windowsplattformen för musikproduktion är väldigt bristfallig och behöver tweakas alldeles för mycket för att vara roligt. Det skulle vara fantastiskt om det fanns ett problemfritt OS för detta. Vilket även innebär stöd för windowspluggar.
… för oss som inte har råd med mac då.
Simon, vad är det för ljudhårdvara du har?
gillar också unix och linux men varför man måste vara ett geni för att förstå det fina i enkelheten begriper jag inte. alla kan gilla linux, är helt säker =).