Are you a Linux user?

[CybMax]

To determine that, answer the following statements truthfully with either "True" or "False".

1. Bill Gates is in fact evil reincarnated. He IS the devil himself feeding upon the masses, and brainwashing everyone with his evil bible called Microsoft Windows (tm).

2. I have spent more time getting EverQuest to run under Linux than i have actually played the game.

3. When i started with Linux, there was noone that helped ME out, so i had to spend countless hours reading through outdated HowTo's and Faq's figuring out how i would even get Xwin to start in more than 640x480 resolution.. I feel that noone should get their info easier than i did so when a person asks something in a newsgroup or similar, i autotag with "Use the Search" or "Read the FAQ".

4. RedHat (tm) is a shitty Linux version, cos people can install it without even knowing how to compile the Kernel themselves. Not to mention the RedHat Network autoupdate feature.. That is just gay! Not even have to compile every update yourself.. sheesh!

5. I think it is a LOT more rewarding for me to spend 13 hours making my own driver for my brand new FujiFilm Digicam, than it is for my neighbour to just plug in the usb cable and get it working in 1 minute using <god forbid> Windows XP.

6. Every Linux user "wannabe" that cannot make their own scripts and drivers should be banned and eternally flamed from evey "Linux Help" board!

7. I am a GOD, because i know everything there is to know about computers as a result of my indepth knowledge of Linux

8. If someone else points out a more effective way to do a function in my sourcecode, i get so mad because that person have no clue about what i INTENDED to do, and that everything i do is flawless and noone can do it better than me!

9. Every network admin in a firm with computers running windows does not deserve his job. No mailserver is better than sendmail.. Period!

10. The satisfaction and reward with buying a new hardware component to my computer is the fact that i know i will spend numerous hours figuring out how i can compile the driver to even get to use it.


You get 1 point per "True" answer.

0-3 points : You have no clue about what you are doing, and should like 98,7% of all other computer users in the world be denied the possibility of even looking at a computer.

4-6 points : This is not good.. You think you know something about Linux.. but admit it.. you are just a "wannabe"!

7-9 points : You are getting somewhere. Keep reading the howto's, and flame every question you see on every board you visit.. Keep it up!

10 points : You are a GOD.. one of the few 1,3% in the WORLD that know everything you need to know in life about computers and Linux. Noone can match your intellect.. who cares if you are 38 years old and still live together with your mom..

[BlueAdept]

Let me guess...your one of the people who want a port of SEQ for windows.

I do believe that question 1 is true....but the rest of the questions just sound like a windows wannabee trying to emulate a linux guru but not quite grasping that he doenst have a clue on what he is truely saying.

[CybMax]

Omg.. please no.. i dont want a Windows port of SEQ at all.. I am quite comfortable with seq on linux..

The little post above was just meant to have a little fun with the Linux d00des..

I have used Linux partly for a few years, mostly RedHat and Mandrake distribs.. But what i was posting about was a rant to the "no i dont want to help anybody asking a question if it is possible to figure it out yourself.. cos that was what i did" types that mostly roam every Linux board/newsgroup.

I have tried to ask questions in the past regarding different problems, but there is mostly 2 general types of "answers" you get..
1. No answer at all
2. A flame because someone wrote a "howto get FujiFilm USB cam to work with Kernel 1.2.12 dated 12.10.98"

Now.. The howto are way outdated and none of the packages mentioned are to find anymore, and the ones that are mentioned are now newer and have a totally other setup than the howto describes. Of course after a tad of work and some time, you can figure it out, and get it working.

This can of course get a tad annoying in the long run for those of us that actually want to USE what we have, instead of spending too much time to get it to work... And then ask a question to someone that have gotten it to work. Instead of providing help in the lines of what you actually did, you get a reply telling you that "this is a hint.. now go figure it out".

PS. The kernel version and date is purely figmented. As is the problems with FujiFilm usb cam.

[Manaweaver]

Unless you're using a brand new kernel or an extremely obscure piece of hard ware, then the answer you are looking for can be found using a search. In the second case, you still probably can find SOMETHING useful.

I'm not one of those guru's, but I know how to use a fucking search button.

[high_jeeves]

Yeah, I never understand all the problems, either.. I just installed gentoo on a old, obscure laptop I have... Installation was a bitch, PCMCIA, USB, video all didnt work correctly with a normal install... ALL of the needed information was available by searching on the gentoo forums, or groups.google.com. It usually is...

In 99.9% of the cases, somebody has done what you are trying to do already, and if there was a problem with it, they have already posted somewhere, and gotten answers about it. Before you try to use a HOW-TO, look at the date on it.. yes, there are old ones out there, but there are also new ones. Most software you download includes excellent INSTALL, README, and man pages these days.. reference those..

On the windows topic: I dont hate windows.. I use it all the time.. I am using it right now to post.. I program on it for a living.. I use it 80% of the time at home.. I specialize in Usability Engineering, and I'll take Windows over Linux (KDE/Gnome included) any day of the week.. A big part of that is simple familiarity, things are always easier to use when you are familiar with them. That is also why I never agree with the people that say KDE/Gnome shouldnt try to emulate Windows, they should try to do things differently.. If they really want to get people to switch, they need to make people comfortable. People are comfortable with windows..

Now, does this mean I love MS as a company, and some of their business strategies? No. Am I a foaming at the mouth windows hater? No. I like to use the best tool for the job. For most of what I do, Windows is the best tool... If I am doing DB stuff, I use oracle or DB2 (or mysql for home stuff), because they are better... If I am doing webserver stuff, I use netscape or apache... I dont care who makes it, I use whatever tool works the best..

--Jeeves

[eggman]

" In 99.9% of the cases, somebody has done what you are trying to do already, and if there was a problem with it, they have already posted somewhere, and gotten answers about it. Before you try to use a HOW-TO, look at the date on it.. yes, there are old ones out there, but there are also new ones. Most software you download includes excellent INSTALL, README, and man pages these days.. reference those.. "

You sir, have just released the most covetted secret to all unicees. Consultants around the world just saw their stock value drop. It's funny though that in all this time (33 years) people STILL think their UNIX problems are unique and that they are attempting something that no one else has ever tried.

Cheers,
-Egg

[Cravin Morehead]

Real men use OS/2

[mxedisn]

Originally posted by eggman
" In 99.9% of the cases, somebody has done what you are trying to do already, and if there was a problem with it, they have already posted somewhere, and gotten answers about it.

A couple of years ago, a couple of guys decided they'd start one of the first wireless internet companies in Colorado. The decided to go with Raylink cards and were going great guns until they needed to get multiple PC's running off one Raylink question...
At the time, there were SERIOUS issues getting a Raylink PCMCIA card to play nice with any other network card in the box under Windows 98SE (like -- it just wouldn't work, period.)
I'd gotten my linux box (named Closet) happily sharing a modem via masq a few years back, and told 'em I'd be happy to try their wireless gear to see if I could find a solution.. free of charge (I still have free access, btw...)
Anyhoo, to make a long story short, I discovered a strange MTU problem, and NOBODY ELSE HAD EVER DONE IT.
It was so cool. It wasn't in any howto, and after corresponding with David Hinds a lot, we came to the conclusion that my fix was the only one that worked.

It was the first time a HOWTO couldn't help me and I figured it out on my own.

I cannot begin to express the coolness in this.

/ramble off

[Manaweaver]

You discovered what nobody else ever had eh? No shit. There is always a first post. Use the search first, if nothing comes up... post. We're not talking about random cards and brand new issues, we're talking about yak-asses asking if SEQ works when the post right below it(relatively at least) says "SEQ broken?"

That is in this case. On a much broader view... there are a ton of forums like this that have similar problems. People asking, "Why don't my teh rouuter do wut i wont it to??? pls hlp me!" You understand where idiocy stems from? Being spoon fed all of your god damn data. Fuck the idea that anyone who has the knowledge should pop it up in a forum where a god damn search would yield the answer.

[aaearon]

1

[baelang]

Originally posted by Manaweaver
You discovered what nobody else ever had eh? No shit. There is always a first post.

yeah, some people are sooo incredibley incompetent that they make a mistake that no one else, not even the newest (l)user out there, ever made before. or at least every other moron figured out what they did wrong and didn't post a question about it.

congradulations on being the first to ask why the CD dosen't fit into the 3.5" floppy drive. or where to plug in that 3-prong plug looking thing. or "what does this big switch with the I and the O do?"

[CybMax]

Search IS the thing you need.. www.deja.com i use all the time. If i did not have the ability to search the internet, i would have been lost a loooong time ago.

When i am eg. out to a customer to fix a problem with whatever thing he got, i ask him "Do you have access to the internet"? If he replies "Yes", i will happily go out to him doint no perticular preinquiry on his problem before i leave the "base", cos i know that most likely i will find the problem just as fast sitting with the troublesome device and an internet pc in front of me.

I agree to the fullest that everyone should learn how to obtain, and give information to different newsgroups/boards, and learn how to search in them to obtain information. I have posted on "newsgroups" since i started with different BBS boards back on my C64.. so i know what power it have. The only thing i AM nagging about is that the general "crew" of Linux users tend to be so bitchy about things, and also the nastiest flamers

I was actually quite satisified the day i got my TeleS Pcmcia ISDN card to work with redhat 5.2 on my old 486DX2 66 laptop... Took me quite some hours, and i actually made a detailed howto that i put on my own webpage.. It was actually linked on http://www.linux.no/ as a good howto (back then).

[NDT]

Hehe...I don't want to see SEQ ported to windows either...like everyone else I feel it would just make it easy for robots who want to run setup.exe and be done heh.

But I use both and I gaurantee damn near everyone here uses windows and a Linux flavor. Reasons are for one...The world of software is basically wrapped around windows...There are certain programs out there that just don't run on Linux nor does anyone have the resources or time to make them run on Linux...Do I hate Bill Gates...nah...any one of us if we knew we could get that rich would have traveled the same road. Capitalism is just born into us americans... I don't know about the rest of the world hehe. I've been to Spain, France, and Italy...and while they are nice people it isn't like they woould piss on a billion dollars and walk away either hehe. So lets face it do I like linux? "yes!" Do I like Windows? Well...it's a love hate relationship...heh for making money programming in visual basic and doing ASP code yeah I love it...Would I rely on windows for some heavy server duties over linux? Probably not...

But I use both and probably will always use both...one does one thing better then the other in all kinds of circumstances.

Most of the people that ramble on about how they despise windows usually are people who 1) are young as hell 2) Don't have the money or resources to support certain system requirements of the bloated windows XP and so on 3) Are just jumping on a hate Microsoft bandwagon 4) Just wanna look cool in the forums hehe.

I love Linux and I like Windows
nuf said

Later all
-Don

[cbreaker]

As a huge Linux fan, I want it to be as simple and "windows-like" to use as possible, while holding on to the excellent user-oriented development as it has now.

I want everyone to use Linux as a primary OS. If we remove the Operating System from the control of a single entity, we'll be advancing computing as a whole.

Linux has been responsible for most of the "Free Software" movements, and has sparked so many fantastic projects and products. Although I am not a free software zealot, as I feel that one SHOULD be able to sell their software, I do firmly believe that the core of the computer, the OS, should be vendor independant.

So yea, I want the normal joe-shmoe to be able to install, run, and enjoy Linux. It doesn't need to be difficult to learn, and companies like Redhat, Mandrake, etc are making this more possible every day.

At the same time, we can run the same exact software on the Linux that WE choose. We can run Gentoo and enjoy the control over our systems, or we can use Mandrake and let it control itself. It's freedom, and we don't have that with Windows.

Windows versions past Windows 2000 have treated me well. Windows XP has been stable enough for me, but I don't know whether to blame this on the OS itself, or the fact that the technologies in PC hardware have matured quite a bit. Probably a bit of both. The problem is that it's not free - it's actually pretty expensive - and we're at the mercy of Microsoft. They have a broken peice of code? It MIGHT get fixed, someday. You'll probably have to pay for the "upgrade" though. We have to do things the MS way or no way, and there's nothing we can do about it. We can't change anything that's part of the OS, and let others enjoy those changes either.

Every day Linux gets better and better. The framework is improving quickly. The ease of use will follow. It will just take a little more time.

Linux itself stands for a lot more then simply a free and good OS. It stands for true freedom in computing. And I don't think anyone should be left out of it because they are not computer hobbyists.