Tag: Windows

Switching to Linux 2

Posted by Emil Swenson – December 7, 2007

My laptop is 100% “Linux-sized” now. Ubuntu 7.10 Gusty Gibbon it is. I’ve been using it for a couple of days now and I have to say that I really enjoy the compiz effects. My Intel graphics card was on the compiz black list, but the fix for that was easy.

I’m currently sitting on my tower computer, which happens to be my main computing location.  I have 2 USB hard drives attached to it, trying to extract all the valuable data off the NTFS volumes. There are thousands of duplicate files from years of reinstalling, a few months of running a Mac Mini, and them getting back to Windows. The situation is a mess.

I have one problem left which is making me think that I will need a Windows installation on the tower computer. The issue has to do with my iPod Video (5th gen 80 gig). I know that there are linux programs like GTKPod and Amarok which can utilize the iPod, and I may have gone with them in the past, but I know that they are not exactly perfect. I happen to enjoy my iTunes experience a lot and I don’t want to go back to hunting down podcasts and uploading them individually.

So here’s the plan: Dell Laptop = Linux; Tower = Linux and Windows XP. I promise that I will only use the Windows partition for syncing my iPod.

Switching to Linux

Posted by Emil Swenson – December 5, 2007

Ever since 1995 I have been a user of Windows. It all started with my mother bringing a Windows 95 computer into the house. Long story short: I know Windows inside out. I wasn’t satisfied with this. I wanted more toys. There is only so deep you can go with Windows. The innards of the operating system are always hidden from you; you cannot change them in any sensible and easy way. What’s in the NT kernel? Can I read the source code? Legally? Nope, I cannot.

So in 2002, I went into a CompUSA store and purchased (or was it a gift?) a copy of RedHat 7.3. I tried installing it and it didn’t work! I tried again and it didn’t work again. I got frustrated and quit trying for four whole years.

In 2006, I discovered Ubuntu. I liked it, but I wanted to keep exploring. I tried everything I could get my hands on. Debian, Slackware, Knoppix, DSL, Gentoo, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Mint, PCLinuxOS, and many, many others. I remember the days when I reinstalled Gentoo over 40 times in a row. Compiling that thing over 40 times and then emerging X11 + KDE was great.

The thing is, I never switched to Linux. I tried, but it never lasted. I have one Dell Vostro laptop and a huge tower (dual core opteron, 3 GB of Ram, 1 TB of storage) at home. Up to now, I have been dual booting the laptop between Windows XP and Ubuntu and the only thing I have on the tower is Windows. Why do I keep living like this? I know what I’m doing (well, I do reasonably well) when it comes to Linux and BSD. I guess old habits die hard. Between running a Windows environment at work and doing the same at home, I never wanted to get off my rhythm. Well, that’s over folks.

The reason why I’m writing this is because my case is by no means an anomaly. There are thousands upon thousands of folks out there who like Linux–who use Linux! Yet, they never got around to switching. Do it now! Learn! Grow!

In a future post (hopefully tomorrow), I will outline the reasons why I believe free, libre and/or open source software is superior to commercial software (in certain situations).

Note: Linux = GNU/Linux and vice versa. I won’t want to bother with this argument… yet.