your Linuxville guide is back.......

He's suave, debonair, speaks a dozen languages. Then gets assigned to Africa, can't find anyone he can talk to. Africa has I think 800+ languages and dialects. Linuxville is not that extreme but the words tech savvy mean slightly different things here. If you will allow me to say, how dare you come to my city not having done a little research to know some basics. Oh, we can accommodate everybody, we have bright lights and swamp gas, sidewalks and dirt paths. The common word is that Linux will run on anything from a wristwatch to a mainframe but, it is not the same Linux that does it. Design limitations, yes, this is why there are Hardware Compatibility List and Hardware Support and forums, because users think they are James Bond acquiring a gadget from Q. Let me relax.......... The latest complaint I hear is for wireless support. Since you didn't buy your laptop with the first intent of installing Linux, you need to know what kind of luck other users have had with Linux on laptops. Go to http://www.linux-laptop.com, for a start and by all means buy an ethernet cable, there are times when it's OK to be tethered. Speaking of gadgets from Q, ever notice some are so amoured by technology, they will buy the most extreme thing on the market, then cry "CRAP" when Linux doesn't work on their machine. The object is to accommodate as many users as possible, at the same time giving them all the opportunity to choose from a wide assortment of equipment while being flexible and changeable and adjustable and reconfigurable, yet stable. You are getting this for free and you still complain. You are getting the Rolls Royce and complain, the hood is locked and too few cup holders. Perhaps Linux should have commercials like the Bill G and Steve J show, in the Bevis and Butthead format or penguins the likes of Coke commercials. I, the Linuxville guide get so frustrated by folks so trained on MS, switch to Macs and refuse to admit, "Hey, this is different". They come to Linuxville with this attitude also. Please, buy the books, get the videos, get the latest news, find out where Linux is today. Now, back to tech savvy. The reputation that Linux is hard because you have to type in commands is generated by folks who are use to doing it. If you want that, you can have it, but the desktop GUI you have known and loved and expected in other operating systems is now and has been for some time a prominent feature in Linux. Games, Linux has games, lots of games, just not MS games. To cap it all off, nobody is going to harass you for knowing and using more than one operating system. People have the ability to learn multiple languages all the time. You can actually use 11% of your brain. MS is OK, use it, Linux is OK if it is useful to you. Linux does offer different stuff, surprise!! My intent is to provoke you, slap your face, get that man or madame of the world glazed look in your eyes to focus. When in Linuxville the DOS born three finger salute doesn't work, the proper etiquette is ctrl-alt-backspace. If you ask nicely I have a chance to exercise my excellent mouse-side manner to assist you, redirect you, guide you in all the ways of Linuxville. What's it like settling into Linux? It's exactly like that Russell Crowe movie, "A Good Year"............

The Linuxville embassy blurb

Linuxville is not that difficult to navigate, but it does depend upon your approach. I highly recommend the live-CD Linux because you can visit and leave at your discretion. You could employ a jump drive or a shared directory on your MS system to save your memoirs. If you plan to stay, you have a couple of options from dual-booting on two hard drives, two or more partitions on one drive to going the virtual machine route. So, putting down roots (installation) can be tricky or as straight forward as a fresh install making Linux your only OS (welcome to the neighborhood). The most comfortable approach is pre-installation, then you can just turn on, boot up, log in and enjoy.

Then, what kind of user are you? Your bio makes a difference. How Linux fits your needs is the key to happiness. Server and workstation admins and coders will probably want to know all about the text input options like, the terminal emulators and text editors. They need to have at the internals, configure, compose and compile programs and other system admin stuff. If you are a point and click artist, like me, you want the ins and outs of the GUI made plain. At some time in your Linux life you should venture to know a few command line things but it is not a prerequisite. If it is your own computer you are required to know about user accounts, permissions and basic file management. What car owner would survive without knowing how to add oil or change a tire. The car manual is the car user's guide to all the user accessible features. You've read what I think about most Linux user guides, but they are none the less very helpful. Also the distro of your choice has web pages, user forums and tutorials, and also fanboy/girl blogs are rampant. This is in lieu of "the missing manual". And if all else fails, "goggle it" or "yahoo it" (sounds funny), the info is on the net by other users (Linuxville citizens). Did I forget Linux user's groups and computer clubs?

If you are a tourist or road warrior (using the live-CD) you don't have all the rights and privileges of a resident. Depending on your hardware, live-CD's run slower and you don't have the (MS Windows compatibility) extras. So if the fonts in the word processor or web browser look funny or you can't play a video or you're unhappy with the live-CD selection, you must realize this is a foretaste of better things to come.
Some live-CD's come with tools to add stuff you want and then make a new live-CD, but that is yet to be explored by yours truly.

But the big question that is asked by all visitors to Linuxville is, can I do my normal computer stuff with Linux? The answer is yes, maybe and yes, probably. You have to look into the applications available to see if they meet your needs. This includes running MS Windows in a virtual machine or using a software called Wine (allows MS software to run in Linux).

Then, if my MS stuff works fine, why try Linux? You are free to try or not. And if the opportunity to try or adopt presents itself, the benefits are yours to own. In my situation economics, choice, history, philosophy, involvement and many other considerations made Linux very attractive. But, trying it, I liked it. The cost of ownership and the legal commitment of Linux is very low for an individual user (per seat). Maintenance is lower, security is very good, and stability is excellent. But the best part of Linux is that I did not have to buy newer, bigger, faster equipment in order to run the latest OS so that I could do the same things I've always done on my computer, upgrading was and is still an option. I get good performance and bang for my buck.

Regrets, you ask, are there any regrets for switching? Sometimes you are the only Linuxville citizen in a crowd, you do the same things as others but, the slight difference can be annoying or gratifying. Having a bumper sticker is fine but wearing a TUX costume is a bit extreme. I often feel a quiet desperation because others are missing out or are duped and in the back of my head is a notion to educate them. Practically, I have not missed a beat in my computer use and as I find out more about Linux, I find Linux can accommodate that expansion. And I have discovered the holy grail of the do-it-yourself world (if your that kind of person), bragging rights.

Linuxville, citizenship has its benefits.