Saturday, May 21, 2011
Just ‘Squeeze’ it
Recently, this blog has been silent and with good reason. It was finally time to tackle a hardware and operating system (OS) challenge that has been looming on the horizon for months. By the time I got through, I realized I have more skills than I give myself credit for.
Hardware is really not my thing. I even get nervous when I open the case to blow out the dust bunnies so it was pretty stressful to switch the graphics card and rearrange the hard drives. But it got done and everything works. Hallelujah!
Then came the fun part . . . installing ‘Squeeze’, the latest stable version of Debian, a Linux based OS. It’s only been a few days but so far, ‘Squeeze’ has performed nearly flawlessly and I’m LOVING it!
I started my Linux adventures in February of 2005. The first steps were daunting but it didn’t take long for Linux to became my preferred operating system. Bye, bye Windows and good riddance!!
Over the years, I tried many of the major Linux-based distributions but eventually settled on Ubuntu which is one of the many distros based on Debian code. After a few years, Ubuntu started to go places that didn’t work too well for me so, I decided the next time I upgraded my OS, I’d go to the source - pure Debian.
Just what’s so great about Linux? Well, for starts, it not Microsoft or Apple! If issues of top-down corporate control and proprietary software trouble you, welcome to the world of free and open source alternatives that are for the most part developed by a community of volunteers from around the globe. If you value cooperation, community and transparency, Linux is a perfect fit for you.
Idealism, not often in evidence in these days of money grubbing corporate rule, is a cornerstone of the Debian community as illustrated by their ’social contract’.
But apart from philosophy, a properly configured Linux system is rock solid and much more secure than the popular commercial alternatives. In fact, while Linux has not yet taken over the desktop market, Linux servers dominate and power the hosting market.
Should you decide to take the plunge, be prepared – Linux is a whole new world. You WILL be challenged! But the rewards are well worth it.
