Need some ideas

[apoorv_khurasia]

So I was pondering for over a minute whether its ideae or ideas and you might have guessed how idle I am at the moment. Basically I need your help on this now. In the past I used to install a new distribution everytime I entered this phase but now I find that option quite boring. I want to figure out what can I do with my Linux (distros listed on the left). As in people do all sort of (crazy) things on Linux or Windows and extend the capabilities of their Operating Systems. Does anybody here have a good link or suggestion(s). Feel free to write anything --I just want something to do.

I know some people would say "man you need to figure that out yourself". True, but I have not explored Linux in its completeness and am basically unaware of its potential, so thats where you guys come in. Please help me out.

Any suggestion would be deeply appreciated.

[rong]

If you are interested in building and learning quite a lot about servers check this out for a good project tutorial.

When I get bored I go play pool

[fatalexception]

I have an idea. Learn to code.

Just picture it - every piece of software on your machine is open for you to stare at and modify. Tweak anything you don't like. It's extremely rewarding to accomplish even the simplest hacks if you're a newbie. I remember giggling like a fool when I modified the naim (instant messenger) source to play gaim sounds when I receieved an IM. I still don't know whether naim can actually play sounds, but at the time I was too impatient to sift through docs and did it anyway. Haha!

Trouble is, now that I can write some code, I can't find that 'itch' that developers talk about. Hopefully it'll hit me one day.

[apoorv_khurasia]

Tweak anything you don't like

Hmmm....interesting. Never done that before....partly because I suck big time at coding. New area for me to start. In fact following your suggestion I got some programming books from the library and did some gtk dialog stuff on my comp. Its fun!!! There are a couple of things which I want my system to do for me such as display unread mails on the screensaver. Lets see how far can I get. Thanks a lot for the suggestion.

Rong thanks for your suggestion as well but since I already am a system admin for some six-seven servers serving a monster load, thats pretty much what I do daily. I actually wanted to do something for the desktop experience which I get while using linux. Can you suggest me something on that line?

P.S:- If you guys have some more suggestions keep posting please. Thanks again to all of you.

[fingal]

Actually I've had the same problem in deciding what to do next. I'm now learning PHP, MySQL and Apache. This is going to take some time, but I know I've found the right thing.

I think you need a long term objective, but identifying that isn't easy. You know you like using Linux, you know you have access to a lot of stuff ... but you don't (perhaps) feel motivated to learn.

You have a lot of options. If you just keep learning and doing whatever you're doing you'll figure it out on your own. You might consider coding in Python; there are endless possiblilities.

[chadders]

Actually I've had the same problem in deciding what to do next. I'm now learning PHP, MySQL and Apache. This is going to take some time, but I know I've found the right thing.

Good choice of MySQL. I had to learn those on a windows machine in year 12. Now I do it on Linux and it's so much better .

[stubbe]

python would be a very good choice. It's used widely, in alot of different fields, including CG.

[fingal]

Good choice of MySQL. I had to learn those on a windows machine in year 12. Now I do it on Linux and it's so much better.

Cool ... I thought it might come in useful, and it fits quite well with my librarian's training (not sure if that's good or bad ) ... Also, PHP is quite a good introduction to programming as it's object orientated and - with GTK extensions - it can also be used for writing desktop apps. I haven't seen a single example of that though.

[apoorv_khurasia]

Also, PHP is quite a good introduction to programming as it's object orientated and - with GTK extensions - it can also be used for writing desktop apps. I haven't seen a single example of that though.

I never knew that.

Well I have been trying my hands on MySQL for some time now I think I good idea will be to develop some apps that use it. PHP, I have heard, is a good choice for it.