Hello and introduction to myself

[TruthSeeker]

Hi all!

I'm a student with no computer of my own as of yet. I've been using my parents' Win98 box for the past few years, but I'm about to buy a laptop, and then it's bye-bye Mircosloth. :P

My first computer was an MS-DOS box with green-on-black screen. We soon moved to Windows 3.1, which was great fun to play around with and learn on, but too slow for most practical uses. We got our current machine shorlty after Windows 98 came out. At that time, I didn't know all that much about computers (though I had always been "good" with them). I liked the Windows GUI much more than the Mac, but there was always something I didn't quite like about Microsoft, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it. As I watched MS over recent years, I grew to dislike them more and more. They seemed to be pursuing some distorted idea of user-friendlyness. The way I see it, if a powerful machine isn't logical and doesn't do what it's told, someone could get hurt (not to mention that it's not very useful). Computers are no different: they should be logical and do what they're told. From what I've seen of Windows XP, MS is headed in just the opposite direction, to a world where computers control their users, rather than the other way around.

I've known about "open-source" projects such as Mozilla for a while, and the idea interested me somewhat. But it didn't strike me as a very big or widespread thing.

So for a while I've disliked MS, but I never knew of any real alternative. I'd heard the word "Linux" a few times, but I didn't know what it was, or think it could be of interest to me, so I didn't look into it. But one day around eight months ago, I googled it on a whim. I don't remember exactly what prompted me. Within about half an hour of reading, I was converted.

As I read more, I found out more about the wonderful world of Free Software, and I was greatly impressed by Richard Stallman's moral arguments (free as in freedom).

So now here I am, an experienced computer user but complete newbie to GNU/Linux, completely committed to it and Free/Open Source Software at large.

I'll be installing Debian on my laptop when I get it, and I expect I'll need some help. But for now you know who I am.

[bryansmith]

Welcome aboard and just remember...everyone here is willing to help. There are no stupid questions here.

Bryan

[Dapper Dan]

Hi TruthSeeker, and welcome!

[Dapper Dan]

There are no stupid questions here.

Well... there was that one time I asked what to do if you accidently deleted your /var directory...

[JoeB]

The way I see it, if a powerful machine isn't logical and doesn't do what it's told, someone could get hurt (not to mention that it's not very useful).

So True! Welcome from farmcountry, Illinois

[geese]

Hi and welcome to the forum

[oz]

Welcome to the board... hope you'll visit often!

[TruthSeeker]

There are no stupid questions here.

Charles Babbage said of his Difference Engine (something of a predecesor to the computer):

"On two occasions I have been asked, 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."

So there are always stupid questions.
But I promise not to ask too many of them.

[ibowtotux]

welcome :smoke: