1 Year Linux Challenge: Contemplation Edition

Eden · February 2, 2017, 4:32pm

A post was split to a new topic: Linux challenge: I need to change my title

Eden · February 2, 2017, 11:56pm

A post was split to a new topic: LordDoctors Linux Insights

anon93513649 · February 3, 2017, 1:01pm

I use Linux for more then 10 years now (use as in main). In specific Fedora. Think its one of the few OS that just do what you expect from a OS. With the option to go deeper into code if you want to but you don't need to. Fedora has done a exceptional job in creating a good structured organisation to deliver a good OS every 6 months with new improved ways to work with you Computer.

New is not always better but i enjoy that Fedora tries to keep things fresh and in most of the them the improvement that they do are good improvements. Not Like Windows that fucks up the entire GUI so you have to click 10 times more to switch on or of an option!

In my experience Linux in general does what you expect from a real computer and not lock you up in some kind of VTECH experience (APPLE!!!!) You can look and manipulate you own computer if you want to. You can just see WHAT THING does WHAT and WHY does it WHAT it needs to and WHY it does it on a specific TIME.

BSD Distro's (Dragonfly/NetBSD/FreeBSD (i use)) is a good alternative but it feels like they are couple years behind Fedora. They are well structured but boring in my eyes and they aren't as FREE and Open as Linux is.

Just think this is my experience after years of Linux.
It's how i look @ it. Your experience may vary.

@Eden.... For freedom!

Dje4321 · February 3, 2017, 2:14pm

this post is about moving people onto linux and getting them into the mindset the linux is more than just a windows replacement. Windows programs do not work natively but wine can be a pain in the ass to get working

maxbeta1 · March 29, 2017, 12:47pm

I have been using Linux for the past 4 years in all my personal systems. I use windows only for my office work (which is a company owned hp laptop).

Smerrills · April 4, 2017, 3:54pm

Here's mine!

So far on my 1-year Linux Challenge Blog

Well, I started Linux in Sep, 8th 2016. I started on plain old Ubuntu. Fun start if you ask me. First right off was a pain. Linux would set up, but then wouldn't boot into desktop. Just boot into a black screen after grub. (Have to use grub for windows games) Let me tell ya, this almost took me off Linux right off. But I persisted, looked around. Googled alot. And I mean alot. Watched YouTube vids on similar problems. Eventually I found the culprit, and the fix. It was my gpu. Apparenly, with a dual monitor setup, or if you're using dvi Linux's video software can't map the outputs or something similar. It gets confused. The OS still boots, but you see nothing. I would even hear the startup sound. But the display wouldn't come up. And what was wierd about that, is that you could still just Ctrl+Alt+Del and the system would just restart. It was as if it was hung \ not hung during boot. Something was amis. The solution was going back into the Grub boot loader, pressing e right away and editing the line of the main ubuntu startup to set it to nomodset or nomodeset (one of the two) until I got back in and could get the video drivers installed. Once the Nvidia drivers were installed there was no worries. Then I decided around Dec, or Jan, (can't remember which) to switch to Ubuntu Mate. It seemed more friendly, and more toward my tastes in liking. Till now I had been just putzing with stock Ubuntu so I saw no reason why I shouldn't just nuke whole Linux install and not save anything and install Mate. This led to a whole SLEW of new problems that were pretty much connected. Ubuntu Mate, once installed, never booted. I'd get it to boot, but would end up with a screen that said grub rescue>. That scared the ever living crap outa me. I'd never just installed an OS, and it not work right away. Never. I was at a complete loss and didn't know what to do. And googling it didin't help at first because I was typing the error and symptoms in wrong. I nearly nuked eve…

BelisarusRexRPM · April 20, 2017, 12:37am

I helped out with Fedora Users questions on the Tek Syndicate original thread.
Would be happy to help here. Been a daily Linux user for 4 years now. Work in Open Source in IT. Just do not ask Ubuntu questions!

tkoham · April 20, 2017, 12:40am

What's that distro by canonical called? I have a few things I need cleared up about it and you said you were keen to help

BelisarusRexRPM · April 20, 2017, 12:41am

** Goes to get *Unsupported stick. ***

tkoham · April 20, 2017, 12:43am

But my good buddy Mark S. told me it was the one to go with.

What's an init system? is that like mir?

BelisarusRexRPM · April 20, 2017, 1:20am

IDK Sir, I have never installed GNU/LINUX.

tkoham · April 20, 2017, 1:21am

GNU? is that like unity?

Dje4321 · May 5, 2017, 2:07pm

Will do mine here soon just dont know what do to it about.
Might do mine about how linux made me understand the importance of open source and how it made linux successful

Vitalius · May 5, 2017, 2:28pm

You probably know this by now, but GNU stands for "GNU is Not Unix". It's a recursive acronym. The GNU project is the Linux project. Essentially.

Looking forward to it.

I've been using Linux since about the middle of last year, so I guess I'm nearing the 1 year Linux Challenge's end this Summer.

I started with Arch linux and still use it over most other distros today, although my workstation at work is on Fedora for ease of use reasons. Not really sure if I'll write about my experience although I feel like I do have some notable things to mention that I've learned.

Dje4321 · May 5, 2017, 2:30pm

ive used like 5-6 years so no clue on what to do it

theandronium · May 6, 2017, 1:13am

I used pure Linux for about a year out of necessity. I was 14 years old, just finished building my budget Gaming PC but realized that I didn't have enough cash for Windows 7. I installed a version of Ubuntu GNOME LTS on my pure AMD gaming rig and installed as many compatible games as possible. There was a struggle with driver issues, but I eventually figured it out and had no issues being completely open-source. It also gave me some nice bragging rights to my nerdy friends. I eventually replaced it with Windows 10 for gaming but still dual boot with Ubuntu GNOME to this day.

I think one of my proudest achievements during that year of Linux gaming was after months of head bashing and blind key pressing, I finally figured out how to turn on the LED's on my keyboard (I wasn't the smartest 14-year-old.)

I think one of the issues that still hasn't been fixed is the awful drivers for AMD GPUs in Ubuntu, I spent months struggling to get my 7970 to run games at a fair FPS and still occasionally run into bugs.

tkoham · May 6, 2017, 3:29pm

It's a joke bruv read the thread

Blanger · May 7, 2017, 2:43am

Linux challenge: Completed and Thoughts Blog

Coming up on my 2nd year of running Linux on my daily driver, I guess like a lot of people who took the challenge I was looking for a way to move off of Windows, but like a lot of people I still needed Windows for gaming and Adobe software. Several years ago on the old site @Zoltan made a post about the ability to run Windows on top of Linux in a VM with hardware pass through, this post really inspired me and provided the original motivation to move to Linux, not only did this type of setup seem to provide everything I wanted but was to me a cutting edge concept that was not only functional, stable, and a robust environment but also offered the ability to run Windows in a container that the user could control which in the Win 7 days was helpful but with the advent of Win X seemed like it was going to be a necessity. (I'm adding the link to Zoltan's original post...thanks @Grim_Reaper for reminding me of the name) I was warned a couple times by people I trust that work in the IT industry to steer clear of Win X, this was before the free OS was offered, while the OS was a beta, this information along with Zoltan's post provided all the motivation I needed to take on the 1 year challenge. Like most people I had very little experience with Linux, I messed around with a couple Red Hat spins back in the day, tried out KDE to check out the "cube" desktop and other eye-candy and was duly impressed...but there wasn't really much software back then, at least nothing close to today where in a lot of cases you have a 1:1 replacement for Windows software. (in most cases) Anyway like most folks with little to no experience I started on Ubuntu, I had been running a Ubuntu server for a few months so was familiar with apt, I used a old rig I had installing Ubuntu on it and started playing with the CLI and Virtual Box, just about everything I tried worked even running Windows 7 in Virtual Box but as we all know that won't work with gaming or any software that needs direc…

tkoham · May 7, 2017, 3:56am

Ooga Booga, where the forum badges at?

Linux Challenge: Extreme Edition -- Creating a secure desktop for a working journalist atop FreeBSD Blog

I've been using linux (and BSD, windows, OSX) for years. They work for what I need them to do, and I've formulated an environment that works well for me. Linux and FSF-Only environments are a lot like Veganism: no one cares, and the people participating are overwhelmingly pale, obnoxious dullards with a special brand of smugness that permeates them to their cores. I'm obnoxious, and pale six months of the year, but I try to leave the other things at the door. So: in a purely-spontaneous-and-not-motivated-by-forum-badges display of curiosity, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and try something new, in the spirit of the challenge. a little over 22 months ago, I started to get bored of linux for productivity. My personal setup works well enough, but I'm not using my work machine for any intense computation or programming (I have a deep learning and ML rig for that) and it seemed to me that an opportunity had arisen -- an opportunity to do something I just hadn't gotten to for entirely too long. I was going to build a secure BSD machine for my day-to-day work. I had three main requirements: does word processing and web browsing, manages email/RSS is secure enough to comfortably communicate with sources won't shit the bed on me or lose my data I'll admit the going was rough at first, security and data retention were the easiest parts by a mile, but the UX on ghostBSD was horrendous at the time, OpenBSD felt like using a decade old system, and TrueOS didn't exist in the workable form it does today. I settled on a heavily customized installation of FreeBSD, and wrote an automated installer in case I ever had to use the nuclear option. Eventually I had a system that was passable as a daily driver, but it wasn't all cream puffs and rainbow enemas. I was lucky Wi-fi worked at all (things are different now, mind you) but I could only interface with it via command line. Learning init, and purging all of what I now consider bad habits took far longer than I ca…

SudoSaibot · May 8, 2017, 3:16pm

Hi, my name is SudoWolf and I'm a Linux user. Its been over 18 months and it has ruined my life and affected my family. I'm bitter toward windows users, propose everyone use with me and make bad jokes against naysayers.

TS and this forum was my catalyst to migrate away from windows. I tested many distributions and desktops to find Ubuntu Gnome to suit me best. I'm fine with using proprietary drivers and software if I have the freedom of choose alternatives. I prefer the system to be feature full and not make me or my better half struggle to watch Netflix/Hulu/prime.

Things I love:
-I have never experienced a BSOD.
-I have not experienced a system hault or kernel panic.
-Simple until I want to make things complex.
-Options abundant.

Things I hate:
-Explaining why Its better.
-Hardware incompatibilities.

I used to get flustered about lack of OEM software and games support, but I really don't care anymore. Companies build for windows because their demographic uses windows. I am no longer part of that, by choice.

Choice is the reason I use Linux.