So, how did you convert to Linux?

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paveway

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Its getting to the time of my life where I need to start doing something a little more advanced. Right now I am into gaming, hardware, networking, and other various things. I guess right now I am considered a generic "power user."

For about 5 years now, I have been wanting to learn how to use Linux. Some of my friends have been using it since High School and now they are making like $20/hr right out of high school. Now, I figure if I wanted to go into network security, it is essential that I know the ins and outs of Linux. So I ask you, how did you convert to Linux? What made you do it? Do you use only Linux?

I need some advice on how to begin exploring Linux. I tried it a few years ago but I just gave up. I had no reason to use it and I had no clue how to use it.

I know there are probably a million threads about "where to start." I have even looked at a ton of guides on where to start. I can just never grab a hold of it. Im just trying a different approach. Maybe the way you guys started could be the way that sparks my interest!

Thanks guys!
 
The easiest way to start is to get a so called "LiveCD" and boot from it. Then tinker around with anything you want without destroying your existing system.
 
Back up your existing files (documents, mp3's, etc), buy another hard drive and install Linux on it. Honestly, jump in and start learning.
 
i wiped my drive and just dove in and im lovin it :) There are still things i like more about windows but overall i like linux. I dont know how long i will stay with linux because i have grown fond to all my programs that i use and finding a program that is close to a windows version is kind'a annoying.

1. I wiped my windows off my drive so i wouldnt get mad and just go back to it.
2. Cause i was always intrested in learning about linux, even though i knew some things would be hard to get at first.
3. Read #1.
 
WicKeDcHilD said:
...
1. I wiped my windows off my drive so i wouldnt get mad and just go back to it.
...
Click to expand...

That was the biggest step for me, when you don't have Windows to fall back on, it forces you to solve the problems that you're having.

I started using Windows on my laptop, then I converted my workstation at work to Linux, then finally my home desktop.
 
I learned linux by running a CS server on my college LAN. Been using it ever since as a test bed for my java and C programs.
 
I got into it learning Smoothwall Express 2.0 and modding the crap out of it .... Then I had to setup a K12 terminal server using Fedora core 4 as a test bed for another school .. now I use K12ltsp 6 and Edubuntu at work and don't use windows at work at all unless I'm gaming with the kids here

I tried going linux only at home ..but couldn't get CS:S or any steam stuff to play thru wine or cedega ...so went back to XP64 now Vista32bit at home :(
 
I got a free dell optiplex gx400 which I made run linux, tinkered around with it, for about 1yr-2yrs really kinda learned alot in the first 6 months, and especially how different linux is then windows. Then I got a 4th hard drive for my primary computer formated it and installed linux then started, copying music and videos over, from my windows partitions, and then formatting the partitions to ext3. Left windows on for gaming .......
 
When XP was released and it asked me to "activate" my system, I said hell no "big brother"

Then I printed out the entire Gentoo handbook(dont do that), and installed Gentoo 1.4

Never will I ever go back.
 
I started on Solaris and Dec Tru64 unix systems. Did work on SGI IRIX and IBM AIX as well but most of the work I did was on solaris and tru64.

As I moved on from them I went to BSD which is what I prefer to this day. Started using windows right as windows 95 came out. Been using it as my main OS even since as printing support was much better and to be frank I wanted to play games. Still love to use freebsd when I can though. Also support mac os10 servers. I got into linux as it is used more the bsd and is better suited as a desktop/notebook os. Have an extra notebook that I use to work with it(amd 2ghz with 1.5 gigs of ram). Right now most of my work is with windows. Just more work around where I am for it. Looking at using openbsd for firewalls for clinets. Would love to switch some of them to linux but it just isn't going to happen for a few years.
 
WicKeDcHilD said:
I dont know how long i will stay with linux because i have grown fond to all my programs that i use and finding a program that is close to a windows version is kind'a annoying.
Click to expand...

That's the exact same reason I have trouble converting to Linux...I like all my Windows apps :(
 
Sorry about the length, I didn't have any idea until it was done!

Moving to Linux is difficult if you don't have a very specific reason for doing so, which is why so many people have (and will) tell you to remove your Windows install.

Case in point: My original attempt at moving was to throw on an easy distro, which I think at the time was Mandrake 9. Two things occured to me once I got there.

  1. What's the real difference here?
  2. Why won't Internet access work?

Deciding I needed Internet access to fix problems, and this being my only computer, I went back to Windows after three days.

My second attempt to go to Linux was installing Gentoo on a second desktop computer becuase I wanted to play emulated 8-bit Nintendo games on it. I sucessfully did a Stage 2 install, and used the machine for almost a month. I found as I went that I really didn't enjoy those games as much as I thought I would, and eventually a bad emerge of firefox kept me from loading into KDE. I formatted it without even a marginal attempt to fix it.

Fast foward 6-9 months later. Now I have a notebook computer for college, and two desktop computers. I want one machine to basically storage that I and one friend can get onto to send each other stuff without the clumsiness that is email. That's basically a server, right? I grabbed one of the earliest Fedora builds (I think the first one) because I did not have the means to pay for a retail copy of Windows. (Heck, i couldn't even have machines if they weren't made from a rotating trade of parts between a buddy and me.) In fact, I now remember: I also wanted to try MythTV (although to be less worried about dependencies I installed the whole suite). I spent the better part of the month "fixing" things related to ivtv drivers and other inane things that I can't even remember now, but this machine had a purpose, and I stuck with it. I kept it running for the better part of a year.

So now I wanted to really get my geek on. I essentailly used the machine as a television on the side of my other computer (a Windows desktop), so I could watch TV while doing schoolwork. I got a KVM switch and another videocard. So my Windows Desktop would have three monitor on it, and one monitor was hooked to the KVM so I could switch easily, and I used and Instant Messaging client on the Linux box. Essentially, I did this just to feel like I was really cool in my multi-tasking. In fact, I was kind of obsessed with "Two's". I had two (or three) monitors, using two computers, one of which had dual processors, and in retrospect, there was really no reason why I wanted two of everything. But I digress, and back to the point.

I kept that setup for over a year, and eventually finished school. I was deployed to Kabul for over a year, during which time my machines were split between storage and being on long-term loan to friends. When I came back, I went to straight to graduate school, where I quickly learned that I was not as finished with programming classes as I thought.

So now I have a notebook that MUST run Windows XP Pro, as the school requires. But I want the ability to do some data recovery. While searching out some LiveCDs on the Net, I happen across an early stage of Ubuntu through some forum (probably this one, actually) that someone claims reads NTFS partitions well. I figure this is a good idea, and do a dual-boot setup with it. Because my notebook was one of those budget Gateways that were rebranded E-Machines that were actually made by Arima, I got some very good specs for the price. And more to the point, I had plenty of space to put on a Linux OS. I'll be damned if most of it didn't work out of the box. If I recall correctly, only the wireless adapter failed to work. But I never would have used it anyway, as I would have had to configure VPN client software and other stuff that wasn't really supported by the school tech shop.

At the same time, I still had the dual-processor desktop machine at home. But I don't need a desktop anymore, and I've outgrown the need for a "Matrix Operator Terminal" in my home (since I barely got there anyway). I lived over an hour from school, and I wanted to avoid going there any more than I had to. Most of my time was eaten up in group meetings and whatnot, not lecture, and there were some days I had to go without even going to a lecture. So to ease the strain on others from me not being there all the time, I added Skype to my notebook. Trouble was, we were doing group collaborations on very large papers containing very large files. Add this the fact that I was now taking web programming classes. The solution: Create a file server with a boatload of space for transferring files, and also use it for programming (since notebook screens suck). So now I needed a server, and Fedora 6(?) fit the bill nicely. The included packages for Java and C++ IDEs were extremely helpful, with little to no work to get things running.

I learned quickly here that programming environments get set up easier in Linux because of it's nature, and that serving is really, really simple to do. Webmin was my friend. Of course, I put a (much better) version of Myth on this machine, too. I can no longer stand commercials.

Now I'm using Linux in my Windows-based school to solve the problems of traveling distance and programming logistics (although I never did try to get Tomcat on there). So more life problems are bound to come up. My twin girls, who were able to entertain each other at the age of four, decided that at five they needed constant attention from me, and I cannot empasize "constant" enough. Now, at this point I'm the only real parent they have, so there's no one else to spend time with them. So, as evil as it sounds on paper, I decided I had to get them some electronic distraction. Movies and video games it is. It worked for me when I was a kid, right?

Enter the modded XBox with wireless controllers. Now they can play games without me setting them up, as they are right on the drive. At the same time, I switched the Fedora Machine over to Centos 4 to fix some stability problems related to full HDs (Myth recordings). Now, I also rip my DVDs and keep them on the server, so they can be streamed right to the TV through the XBox, and the girls can get to everything themselves. I don't have to police anything, so long as I lock down certain movies from the machine when I put them there. Now I can really focus on schoolwork (somewhat) as I am only bothered once every 10 minutes instead of twice every 5 minutes. :)

That brings me pretty close to present, where I am just a couple weeks from finishing grad school. Now that I have this great machine (CentOS is really rock-solid), I want to get into BitTorrenting. However, this locks up my router periodically, plus I have to turn it on and off many times a day when I want to check email (large files sometimes) or make a phone call (I use Skype exclusively for phone now). I need a better router, but I have zero dollars to my name. Serendipitously, a buddy Instant Messages me asking if I want some of his spare computer parts. Like I ever said no to free stuff! A router/firewall/server is born. What do I use? ClarkConnect, another Linux distro. That is put together and installed, but not yet on the network, as I can't afford to break that connection for at least two more days.

Yes, I know. Long story. And the point...?

The point is this: Trying to learn Linux just for the sake of learning Linux is difficult, just like trying to learn C++ is. You need a goal. Say I want to do X, and I think that would work best using a Linux distro. I wanted to server files quickly two ways, and Linux served that need well. I wanted to emulate NIntendo games so my then-wife wouldn't think I was always playing games, and Linux served that need. I wanted to stream movies to my television, and Linux + XBox served that need. I especailly wanted my own PVR where I could have control over what was done with the content, and Linux served that need in spades. And of course, once I found and fell in love with a little app called Amarok, it made me spend a lot of time of that machine, creating new projects. (Now I'm ripping my CD collection to lossless FLAC format).

But when I tried to use Linux just to learn Linux, I kicked it after a few days. Yes, I was young, and probably less mature than you currently are. But the point still stands.

If you have a very specific goal or need, then you won't have to worry about jumping back to Windows. I never did at that point. Now a barely touch my Windows notebook except for email and a second web browsing terminal when my Linux machine is busy with transcoding/encoding/decoding.

Linux is great, but use it for your needs, not as a general "need to learn Linux;it's good for security" tool. Learn to create a VPN to your network, or learn IPSec in a hands-on fashion. Create a web server that uses SSL certificates. These are examples, but you get the idea.

Oh, and have fun! I did.
 
i turned my older setup into a linux box and ran ubuntu on it. i try to use it whenever i can and i've slowly grown fond of the advantages linux possesses. however, its just tough to get used the something new when your previous way of doing things (windows in my case) suited you perfectly fine.
 
I had been reading about linux for a while (as much as a 10 year old could take in), but as soon as I was no longer limited to the family computer, my laptop became a testbed for windows power user stuff (age: 12) Not long after, I decided to dual boot with SuSE 9.0. I screwed up the dual boot, and pretty much lived with linux for a month trying to make grub work correctly. Finally, I installed Ubuntu 4.10 on the whole drive and that was the end of it. I used ubuntu up until 5.04, then switched to gentoo for a while. Finally, sick of compiling, I went back to ubuntu for a month (too buggy at the time!!) and finally settled on my current distro, Arch Linux.

Bottom line: Sell your games, jump right in, and try to survive on LINUX ONLY for a month. If you can make it that long, you probably won't want to go back. If it's a desktop, just buy a cheap 40gb drive and put in on there, but unplug your main. Going in cold turkey works surprisingly well, at least it did 3 years ago :rolleyes:
 
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