![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
As another Windows Orphan (you must PAY AGAIN to reactivate your Windows because something got bugger in the setup or you install some hardware not on our Approved List) goes to the Dark Side... my thoughts turned to Who Switches to Linux and Who Doesn't.
I think it falls into different categories: the Rebels, the Frustrated and the Experimenter. These are not exclusive of each other, just general idea sets.
The Rebels are philosophically against the Evil Empire of Bill Gates. The concept of software as a _service_ that you rent rather than a product that you own is rejected. If you should own it; you shouldn't have to pay again if you make changes in something else that you own - like the hardware.
The Frustrated have had Windows F*ck Up once too often. It could be a massive disk crash, a virus infection, malware infection or just the general clunkiness of the code that causes the pain and problems. Or it could be that the Latest and Greatest version (which you paid out the ass for) doesn't work with your old system, peripherals or software. So you have to either get patches or buy new software or equipment that _used_ to work just fine.
The Experimenter is curious about things. They want to play with stuff. They're tinkerers - always poking under the hood and wondering what this wire, this button, this solder pad, this line of code does. Fussing with things is fun and entertaining - and sometimes you learn something new... even if it's "Don't do that".
But to make the leap to Linux I think that you must be willing to be a bit of an Experimenter. Linux is not Windows. Your Windows chops will not easily transfer. You will be required to learn new skills, try new things, and be willing to blow up a system or two on the way. That's why I recommend to anyone shifting out of Windows is to have another computer to experiment with. Computers are *cheap*. A 1Ghz processor system can be bought used for a song. I was *given* a 900Mhz machine - minus disk drive - and Linux runs just fine on it. I started with a 366Mhz machine and played with different distributions until I settled on one that I liked. I still keep a second system that I load up new software into _before_ I use it on my main machine.
I'm a mixture of Rebel and Experimenter. I'm also a skinflint and a dumpster diver - which may be branches of Experimenter. I haven't had Windows massively screw up on me but I did grow frustrated at the constant upgrades need to run the newer versions of Windows. I can run the latest stable version of Debian on a 900Mhz system - you can't say that about Windows XP or Vista. It's a bit pokey but it works.
So for those thinking about it - get yourself a used system and play with it. Go ahead - blow it up, try different distributions, play with the command line... learn. It may cost you time, but it won't cost you in anything to download the software - assuming you have broadband. Otherwise, there's places where you can buy CDs of the different distributions cheap. That's what I did when I was on dial-up back in the stone age.
Try it. Play with it. Learn.
-m
I think it falls into different categories: the Rebels, the Frustrated and the Experimenter. These are not exclusive of each other, just general idea sets.
The Rebels are philosophically against the Evil Empire of Bill Gates. The concept of software as a _service_ that you rent rather than a product that you own is rejected. If you should own it; you shouldn't have to pay again if you make changes in something else that you own - like the hardware.
The Frustrated have had Windows F*ck Up once too often. It could be a massive disk crash, a virus infection, malware infection or just the general clunkiness of the code that causes the pain and problems. Or it could be that the Latest and Greatest version (which you paid out the ass for) doesn't work with your old system, peripherals or software. So you have to either get patches or buy new software or equipment that _used_ to work just fine.
The Experimenter is curious about things. They want to play with stuff. They're tinkerers - always poking under the hood and wondering what this wire, this button, this solder pad, this line of code does. Fussing with things is fun and entertaining - and sometimes you learn something new... even if it's "Don't do that".
But to make the leap to Linux I think that you must be willing to be a bit of an Experimenter. Linux is not Windows. Your Windows chops will not easily transfer. You will be required to learn new skills, try new things, and be willing to blow up a system or two on the way. That's why I recommend to anyone shifting out of Windows is to have another computer to experiment with. Computers are *cheap*. A 1Ghz processor system can be bought used for a song. I was *given* a 900Mhz machine - minus disk drive - and Linux runs just fine on it. I started with a 366Mhz machine and played with different distributions until I settled on one that I liked. I still keep a second system that I load up new software into _before_ I use it on my main machine.
I'm a mixture of Rebel and Experimenter. I'm also a skinflint and a dumpster diver - which may be branches of Experimenter. I haven't had Windows massively screw up on me but I did grow frustrated at the constant upgrades need to run the newer versions of Windows. I can run the latest stable version of Debian on a 900Mhz system - you can't say that about Windows XP or Vista. It's a bit pokey but it works.
So for those thinking about it - get yourself a used system and play with it. Go ahead - blow it up, try different distributions, play with the command line... learn. It may cost you time, but it won't cost you in anything to download the software - assuming you have broadband. Otherwise, there's places where you can buy CDs of the different distributions cheap. That's what I did when I was on dial-up back in the stone age.
Try it. Play with it. Learn.
-m
