At serious risk of hurting non-computer-wired minds, I am posting a little something I had to write up for OpSys. I had a lot of fun...
A Brief Summary of my Linux Expedition
I. Intent
I set out on my Linux expedition desiring to increase my understanding of its functionality, usability, and power.
II. Resources
My varied resources included:
A. A Pentium II 450 I have sitting around my room (I had to install a power-supply before I could begin, but that was fun.)
B. 3 Debian Linux CD’s from resident Linux Guru Ardith “Penguin” Hoyt
C. The mind of said Ardith.
D. Three hours of time borrowed from the sleep bank
III. Procedure
Once the system was up and booting, I followed a rather strict procedure:
A. Turn the computer on.
B. Insert CD 1 in the drive.
C. Hit enter when it says “Press enter to continue”.
D. Hit enter when it says “Select your configuration, or hit enter for default”.
E. IM Ardith when it says “The default doesn’t work, y tambien no hablo ingles, asi vas a morir jajajajajaja”.
F. Implement Ardith’s simple solution, which makes the evil, unintelligible error message go away.
IV. Results
The system was totally installed and in the final stages of configuring when the unthinkable happened: Ardith went to sleep. Thus, when X-Windows declared “I hate you”, I had no way to persuade it otherwise. Perhaps I shall be able to conquer its malice sometime today, but until then it will be sitting in the final configuration menu.
V. New Feelings about Linux
Linux is nice, I’ve always wanted an OS that was smarter then me. Actually, the work involved in setting up my very standard system was surprising. My past experience with Linux tells me that it is reliable and, if you have the right expectations, an extremely gratifying experience. My inability to get all the way through configuration leaves me without a full new experience to add to that knowledge base.System Specifications:
Intel Pentium II 450
256 Mb 133 Mhz SDRAM
2 x 2 Gb ATA 66 5400 RPM Western Digital hard-drives
48x Mitsumi CDROM
Nvidia TNT powered Diamond Viper 550 w/ 16 Mb VRAM
3Com 3C905C-TX 10/100 NIC
Creative Labs SoundBlaster 128 (4 channel surround full, duplex)
Custom 6 Fan Front Panel Controlled Cooling System
I am particularly proud of the specs on my extra system.
Posted by Moore at April 2, 2004 09:58 AM