A Linux adventure: A Blog for linux newbees by a Linux Newbee...

[brotman]

Hey Y'all,

I've Just made the Leap to Linux [Ubunto 9.04]. I did this mostly to learn something new, to check out the Linux hype and to see whether Linux might be a suitable alternative to windows, for me. To further complicate Matters.  I decided to keep track of my progress by way of a Blog [my first].  I think this can serve as a journal for myself, and as a warning system, for others who may try to follow this path. I.e.  let others learn from my mistakes, so maybe they can avoid making them themselves.   I did this as a Dual boot with XP on my laptop (NOT my main machine!)  If anyone is interested in checking out and/or commenting on my blog and/or following my progress (or lack of progress) please,Come on over to http://chuckstartslinux.blogspot.com

[brotman]

And OBTW, how about a sub-forum just for Linux, or even just for Linux Newbies?????

[mouser]

great stuff brotman, i'm going to bookmark it to follow and see how you do.  thanks for sharing with us 

as for linux section.. we keep almost making one..  can't find the thread where we discussed it.. anyone know the thread i'm talking about?

[40hz]

Hey Chuck:

Welcome to the Realm of the Penguin!

I'll be following your blog with a great deal of interest. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

as for linux section.. we keep almost making one..  can't find the thread where we discussed it.. anyone know the thread i'm talking about?

Yup.

http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=13656.0

[Innuendo]

I'm going to be following your blog with interest, brotman. Ever since I got both a wireless router and a NAS that are both running Linux I have been thinking it'd be a good idea to learn something about Linux so I can leverage the power in these devices more.

The problem has been Windows 7 has been too good for me ot walk away from.

[brotman]

I'm gratified to learn that there is some interest in my blog  -- I was starting to feel a little lonely 
Again, I can offer only my experiences, no (initial) expertise. 

I had the same thought about Windows 7 as Innuendo. If it's as good as it sounds, I may have no need to switch to Linux. But at least this way I'll have some idea of what I'm not switching to.  On the other hand I'm not likely to shell out big bucks to move to Win7, esp if a free Linux meets my needs. 

I will make a separate post regarding the child board question...

[Dormouse]

The problem has been Windows 7 has been too good for me ot walk away from.

I agree. I'm pretty certain I'll have W7 on one machine, however MS price it.
OTOH, there's no reason not to have Linux on them all 

[brotman]

as for linux section.. we keep almost making one..  can't find the thread where we discussed it.. anyone know the thread i'm talking about?

After reading the thread contents I come to the conclusion that there were three main trains of thought:

• one: don't fragment the boards with separate areas for every little topic. It's nice to find stuff you didn't even know you were looking for..  
• two: If we make a child board for linux, we'd also need one for BSD, MAC-OS, etc.  
• three: The child boards are more for the writing than the reading because people simply read from the new posts list rather than going through the boards by hand  -and-
• four: We don't need no stinkin' Linux

to summarize, here are some representative posts:

I vote against, for the selfish reason that I'm interested to see how others use their machines and OS's, what issues arise, and what solutions are found. To me this seems more meaningful in an integrated environment, such as we now enjoy-- it provides a better perspective.

I think it is better as it is. Simply because people like me who only use windows read these mixed forums and enjoy reading "this is easier in Linux/Mac" or "this is why I haven't switched to linux yet"
it lets us see the other side of the world.

I mean, where would you put a "linux vs Win" thread? in the general area where only Gatesians would read it, or where only followers of the cute penguin would see it?

I don't really believe in multiculturalism, but I still like to see OSs discussed together.

I like keeping the big happy family all in one place . Anyway if there is a Mac-specific forum, I'll just end up feeling *very* lonely  
It seems to me that these comments say:  

• "I'm interested to read about it so keep it integrated". . .
  If, in fact people keep-up by reading from the new posts list, wouldn't having  child boad still allow this?

Donationcoder is a windows-specific place, with a few users who also/exclusively use other environments. As I still use Windows along with OS X, I still like to read DC for windows stuff, and because DCers are such a fantastic bunch of folks and DC is such a nice place!!!. My interest in Windows has dropped dramatically since running OS X so I don't come here as much. If DC had a vibrant OS X community then I'd definately come here more, but I doubt we could grow such a community. And thus mixing perspectives from other operating systems in the mix is really the best thing to do...

I think it would help for things such as OS-specific computer problems, programs, tweaks or strategies, etc...but I do agree that it would most likely fragment the flow of discussion from the various people and how they use their computers, their view on things, and whatnot. How about a "trial" of it for a month to see how it goes, and if it capsizes, just toss the topics into the Living Room (or wherever they are applicable) and delete the Mac/Linux/UNIX/YourOSHere boards. Then its all back to normal, and back to the drawing board.

But I have to disagree with longrun, I love the large content overview the newsletter offers

In favor of a child boards:

When I switched to Linux last fall, I cut down my visits here quite a bit because there didn't seem to be much interest in Linux around these parts. I still use XP (running in VirtualBox) for a lot of programs, but most of the little utilities I use are now Linux, not Windows and I did not think there would be much interest here in those. (To be honest, the only Windows utilities I really miss are AutoHotKey and FARR.)

I like the idea of a dedicated Linux (or Other OS) Discussion area.    Child board?  Probably not.

 
My confusion comes from the fact that what seems like arguments against or for the status quo are not arguments but actually agreements (if looked at in the right light.  The reason I asked for a child board is because I felt uneasy putting an off-topic thread in a predominantly Windoze arena.  I decided to go ahead since I was only making a pinter to my Blog (which by the way I would have been inclined to put on DC directly had there been a place where it seemed to fit. In any case there was apparently some interst here. Someone a litlle less extroverted might have not posted at all...


returning to my original list of apparent concern (My replies in color=red]red[/color]) :

• one:don't fragment the boards with separate areas for every little topic. It's nice to find stuff you didn't even know you were looking for..  Doesn't the read new post function serve to re-integrate it all?
• two: If we make a child board for linux, we'd also need one for BSD, MAC-OS, etc.  I'd say no. not unless there was a specific and reasonable demand for it
• three: The child boards are more for the writing than the reading because people simply read from the new posts list rather than going through the boards by hand   -and-
  
  
  • four: We don't need no stinkin' Linux
  
  I think the last two  just make my point.  The child board encourages posting "outside the box and the read new post function gives everyone easy access Those who want NO STINKIN'  LINUX have a way to avoid it
  
  
  What is the Stigma about a child board??  Does it change  things  operationally?  If we're worried about being take over by alien OS'es, why not narrow the topics?  Like info/questons for/from Window users interested in linux, etc. I know I would have appreciated seeing something like that here and a child-board might have (?) made it easier for me to find.
  
  Can't we have our cake and eat it, too?
  
  Chuck

[Dormouse]

Thanks for summarising the thread.

My own perception is that this is a Windows forum with some Linux & Windows/Linux users. Don't see many posts on other OSs.

A Linux forum may encourage more Linux posters and Linux orientated posts. I think that would be good (if it is what happened). But then, I do use Linux.

[brotman]

My own perception is that this is a Windows forum with some Linux & Windows/Linux users. Don't see many posts on other OSs.
A Linux forum may encourage more Linux posters and Linux orientated posts. I think that would be good (if it is what happened). But then, I do use Linux.

I agree! I'm still, primarily, a WinXP user, but I thought a little cross fertilization my be in order.  I'm not looking to create a Linux Forum, but rather a Linux for Windows users (bi-curious?) forum

[cianoc]

I've been very pleasantly surprised by http://www.geteasypeasy.com/ for the Asus EEE. Can't imagine making the switch from Windows, as I have too much invested in it, but Linux makes for a very nice netbook.

[40hz]

What is the Stigma about a child board??

In the case of Linux and FOSS, I think there was a general feeling that a child board would be counterproductive and possibly lead to some balkanization of the forum.

There were also some folks that felt that the 'cross-cultural' benefits of having Linux discussed in the same places as Windows was more beneficial to the overall forum dialog than if it were off on its own.

I'm still conflicted as to whether it would be a good idea or a bad one to have a separate Linux board. But as of right now, I'm still less in favor of it than otherwise.

Just my 2¢

[40hz]

Again, I can offer only my experiences, no (initial) expertise.

Not a problem. Far better to offer to share your experiences minus the (initial) expertise rather than try to share "expertise" without first having some experience. There are enough poseurs out there already.

I, for one, appreciate your candor.

[Edvard]

The problem has been Windows 7 has been too good for me ot walk away from.

I agree. I'm pretty certain I'll have W7 on one machine, however MS price it.
OTOH, there's no reason not to have Linux on them all 

Good point. No matter how chained to windows you are, Linux is ALWAYS an option.
Maybe not your ideal, but it's there if you ever feel like it.

[mouser]

i do worry often about the idea of "Balkanization".. i think the more subforums there are in general, the more fragmented the discussions get, and the more the danger is that we lose the feeling of being one happy family.

of course the opposite is true to -- that if you try to have all discussions in one section, it the signal-to-noise ratio gets so bad that no one wants to even bother, since most of the posts they are encountering aren't relevant to them.

we could just try a linux section for a few months and see how it goes.. worst case scenario just merge those topics into the General Software section, no harm no foul.

[Dormouse]

Have to agree with Mouser.

I don't have a clear view on what is best, but would like more Linux posts/threads than we get now. Maybe that will happen with time anyway and what we have is just a reflection of what we are all using.

[brotman]

Mouser and Doormouse,

When you refer to it as "Balkanization" I can sort of see your objections.  I personally don't see the problem as being significant. But then, I'm not responsible for maintaining this stuff, nor do I have your experience with the other boards and problems mentioned within this thread (and the other thread discussing this topic).  I'll leave this up to y'alls, and probably not bring it up again. B,ut if I may make a small suggestion... My main (initial)concern was that I felt awkward, trying to figure out where (or even if) to put my post regarding my nascent linux trials and tribulations.  It was unclear how it might be received.  I didn't want others to have the same doubts or confusion...

My point is: maybe this could be clarified (in the appropriate boards descriptions?)  I don't have very strong feelings one way or the other but if I had seen, in the "general software discussions" board a comment saying either "We don't need no stinking Linux" or "you are welcome put stuff relating to other OS'es or platforms here..."  I probably would never have felt the need to bring up the question of a child board...

Chuck

[f0dder]

The reason I asked for a child board is because I felt uneasy putting an off-topic thread in a predominantly Windoze arena.

Avoid terms like Windoze and Micro$oft and you'll be just fine

I'm against a zillion child boards, because it makes navigating the forum by board that much harder. The asmcommunity was a subforum explosion once, and the fragmentation certainly didn't work well there.

I don't see any problem in discussing other OSes than Windows in the general boards - why would it be a problem, as long as it's done in the generally nice and peaceful DonationCoder way?

[zridling]

I've been using Linux exclusively for 2.5 years and I still consider myself a noob. I know my way around and can work myself out of most problems, but I can't tell you how much fun it has been to be free from Microsoft. I don't hate Windows, but I came to tire of Microsoft's behavior over the years. Having the alternative has been nice and it has freed up some much-needed cash in a variety of ways.

Good luck, Chuck. When you have time, visit some of the helpful Linux links I've compiled on my blog at http://www.thegsblog.com/ They might help you as you start.

[brotman]

Great Blog, zridling!   Thanks for the pointer.  I'm sure I'll spend lots more tie perusing and learning over there! 


Chuck