I have already explained in my previous post that it was wet and miserable yesterday. So what did I spend the day doing, yes, an easy guess I was on the computer. Two weeks ago I increased my monthly broadband data allowance after I was going over my 15 gb monthly allowance and last month I had to pay and extra $60 in excess fees, the month before it was $40 over. So I now pay an extra $20 a month and have doubled my data to 30gb. Once the downloading settles down I will revert back. So why the need for more data, first, both my son and wife and been more active on-line [watching streaming video account for a good chunk of it]. Lately I have been expanding my knowledge with Linux and have been downloading complete installation CD's of various versions of Linux.
Apart from my preference of Ubuntu [which is by far the easiest to master], I have looked at OpenSuse and Fedora. Now Linux comes with two desktop managers KDE and Gnome. KDE is by far the flashiest looking and Gnome has many features that support the business user. Software designed to run with both of these desktops works equally well with each other. My preference is Gnome, although my quest over the last few days has been to familiarise myself with KDE [don't ask]. I downloaded the KDE and Gnome versions of both OpenSuse and Fedora. Each file is around 700 mb in size and in total I have downloaded around 3 gb of data on these alone. I swapped out a spare hard drive from my laptop and installed all four trying to determine the easiest to adapt too. I have settled for Fedora 8 and after several hours I managed to get it to work the way I wanted it too. ARE YOU BORED YET !
I now have a backup Linux system, totally free, apart from the data costs [negligible]. Why the change? I have been a computer addict [yes I'd have to say it's an addiction], since 1980. My ex-wife may use this as a reason for separation, although I have heard that she accused me of adultery along with a raft of other reasons, but I digress, now back to the story. So from 1980 I have had more computers than I can recall, there is a photo album somewhere with my earlier models, only an addict has a photo album of his computers.
I have had my days of pirated software [maybe not] and although many challenges still exist with computers, I have always been a software freak and occasionally I ventured down the hardware path. Linux has brought a whole new set of challenges, while it remains a more than functional working system. My move to Linux started in August last year and while I still use a Windows laptop at work and I have my little MAC, I am now a true convert. I have recovered from a couple of near disasters and regularly keep my system backed up, after a critical crash it's easier to swap out a hard drive.
This year [2008] could be the year for serious Linux development. The operating system [built on a Unix platform] has been developed to a point that it becomes a serious contender to Windows, especially after the problems still plaguing Vista. The move to Linux is not, however, for the faint hearted. If you want to install it and use it for email, word processing and web browsing then install and enjoy. If you want that little extra, then get a cheap older computer to play with, in fact the operating system can turn an old slow computer into a pretty good usable computer.
I daresay that there will heart-aches and plenty of obscenities to come but that's all part of the challenge.
The photo [completely non-linux] is off a Water Lily, complete with a Bumble Bees ass sticking out of it.
0 comments:
Post a Comment