One of the most confusing things about an operating system is how things get done. When the word Linux is used, a fear reaction happens for many Windows users. A person simply has no idea of what to do to make the Linux computer go. Even if you use Windows just a little, you get an idea of what you may need to do with Linux. One of the more interesting facts I found within myself is; when I first learned computing would have been the best time to learn about Linux. Instead of learning Windows 3.1, I could have easily learned to use Linux. Of course; I would be wringing my hands about learning Windows now if I had.
I had an idea my experience with Linux would lead me to where I am today because I have tried it before. I purposely set out to get the out-of-the-box experience with different distributions of Linux at the same time. I will have to go back and try regular Ubuntu a bit later because my preferred distro is Mint. That is an off-shoot of Ubuntu. Because I had some experience with Ubuntu, I found LinuxMint 11 easier to use. What I did was download several different distros of Linux and have at it. The first thing I did was install two different virtual machine programs on my Windows computer. After installing VMware and Virtual Box; I went nuts with my bit torrent getting Linux distros.
The first distro I installed was LinuxMint 11 with the Gnome interface. I immediately turned to Ubuntu as the next install. I merely set a few things I could figure right off and put the Ubuntu on a vm. I turned right around and put Fedora on a vm, and then openSUSE. I had all these operating systems whirring away and I overwhelmed myself with them. I had to pick one and go for it; I picked Mint 11 and Ubuntu as the interfaces I liked the best. I deleted the Ubuntu vm after a short while because I dislike the reversal of where the task-bar is and such things. It’s not that hard to change, but I really wanted to get at Mint because I have read a lot about it. I went through the blind test with Mint.
Meaning; I simply installed LinuxMint 11 with Gnome and started just clicking on things. I ended up re-installing Mint a few times and reading up on it. I’ve found I like the Gnome desktop over the KDE desktop environment for now. I ended up asking myself how I learned about DOS/Windows and using those answers to learn more about Mint in the same way. There were some classic mix ups on a few things before I decided I could actually run the operating system. The more I tinkered with the Linux os, the more I found consistencies with how I used the Windows os. I came to a quick conclusion that today’s Linux is simple enough to run without big problems.
A computer user will not have much trouble learning to run the environment. Let me qualify this a little. Computer users are people who switch on a computer and accomplish tasks with it. An operating system is the means for operating the computer. An os is not the magic goose nor the interface that makes the world happy. It is the programs we run on our computers that we simply love and must have. The main window to the world on any computer is the Web Browser. We all have those and all computer users have their favorite browser. My favorite browser is Google Chrome. I’m a bit of a minimalist I guess and Chrome just works out for me best. My Windows computer has several browsers installed on it. Microsoft did well to introduce IE 9 to compete with Google Chrome and FireFox. MS usually fails to get the point their user base wants. This time the failure is backwards compatibility for XP. I abandoned Windows XP for Windows 7, so it doesn’t bother me.
Being a window to the world, the web browser has to do a lot of things and do them well. The real selling point of a browser for me on Linux was the ability to sync book marks and browser data. Google Chrome and Firefox do that very well. Since I like Chrome, I use the Chromium browser with Linux. It seems identical to the Windows version and all I did was sync my settings to have the very same functioning browser for both operating systems. Now that my eyes can see equally on both operating systems, what is the big deal about operating systems? Remember, the operating system the thing that lets a person use the programs they love on a computer. I have more love for my Windows programs for now. A person usually puts out a great deal of money buying an operating system and then the programs to use on the operating system.
OK, I lied; I haven’t bought one single Linux operating system or program to use on it. I don’t have to, it’s all free! That is a concept Linux lovers everywhere have loved well for many years. One problem with Linux is finding a program that works like your Windows program. I really wouldn’t mind paying for a program to use on Linux if it is nearly the same on Windows. The biggest problem is getting folks who make programs for Windows to make the same for Linux. I won’t get into the thousands of dollars a person has to spend to become a developer with all sorts of certifications for Windows. I’ll simply say, those folks need to be educated the same for Linux. Developing programs to use on the Linux operating systems isn’t catching on that well because there isn’t enough money in it. Look what Microsoft has done to earn the billions of dollars it now has. MS made their operating system the king of the world. In that way; many people become very wealthy because they develop programming for Windows.
Linux distributions are still considered social pariahs in the view of the money makers of the computing world. The Free and Open Source Software society is making a comeback in the world. Actually it isn’t a comeback, it’s an emergence that has been sought for a long time. Linux runs thousands, or hundreds of thousands business servers in the world today. The same can be said for Microsoft except the Linux servers do not come to nearly the cost of Windows servers. That is another dragon to slay at another time for me. Programs that run on an operating system comes down to the choice that must be made by the population of the world. Since Windows is already in use by more than half the computer users in the world; Windows is on top. The billions of dollars milked from the Windows operating system makes Windows very, very popular.
No one in the Linux world has come up with the magic idea to get Linux out in the world with great popularity. It’s not that folks haven’t tried; it just doesn’t work out very well. Enterprise versions of Linux do well in the business world. The world’s population is a very different plane of existence. People without the means to buy into the Windows market flourish when Linux is introduced to their market. People who are tired of paying thousands of dollars for Windows stuff do well with Linux. The Linux verses Windows fight has gone on for as long as I can remember Linux in the world. Things like not being able to purchase Adobe Creative Suit for Linux pulls things down. I can’t argue about Microsoft Office products in the same way. There once was Open Office which was behind some of the very early low cost Windows business suites.
There is now Open Office, Libre Office, and many more Office suites that compare very well to MS Office. There are many, many more programs that do compete with Windows products. It’s the problem of business already being based in the Windows environment that gets to the alternatives. I like my Microsoft Office suite that I bought. It is what I know and what I need to do with those programs that keeps me with Windows, sort of. If I spent the last ten years learning and relearning the FOSS Open Office or Libre suites; I would love them instead. Just like Linux, those office suites are ready for prime time in a lot of ways.
What isn’t ready for the most part are the people of this world to accept and learn something different from Windows. I could go to a third world country that needs a computing environment and totally set them up with Linux or Windows. Linux is that usable and it doesn’t come with all the expense that Windows has. The reason I haven’t gone to third world countries to do Linux evangelizing is simple. Linux beat me to it a long time ago and I don’t have enough money to travel the world. Too bad money can’t be replaced with a Linux port.
My learning sojourn is not nearly complete. I have scratched the surface of one Linux operating system that I wanted to try. I have several more distributions lined up waiting for me to test. This is part or mostly why I get to say I’m a geek. Currently I am a Windows geek in the world of computing. I want to change that to a computing geek so I don’t have to be so specific. Since I am retired and in my mid-fifties, I have a chance to learn things at my pace and convenience. Old dogs really can learn new tricks. That is a fact I will continue to expound upon.
