rm -rf /*

by

i spent a great amount of time last night running through the idea of forsaking linux in favour of a microsoft-based operating system on my home computer.
this is a question of almost religious importance for me. since converting to slackware in the fall of ’97 i’ve been swept away by the open source movement and reveled in the sense of community it brought. but all that was secondary to the thrill of conquering what so many people cannot grasp. to use the power of your computer without the need for fancy icons or pretty colours. having more control over your machine than you ever before imagined.
there’s something comforting about a white on black console glowing in a darkened room.
but i’m becoming a little disillusioned. i’m several iterations behind and if i were to upgrade now it would become a very large project that i’m not sure if i’m up for. plus, i’m in dire need of certain key hardware upgrades which precipitate the software replacements i’m hesitant to attempt. all this has caused me to actually miss the days when i could add hardware almost indiscriminately, with nary a care for compatibility. when i didn’t worry about which library a program was compiled with. the time when i didn’t know there was another option.
i will probably spend a week or two mulling this change over, all the while slowly relocating my stored information from second extended file system to fat partitions. i don’t look forward to eating the crow which will no doubt be served by those whom i’ve taunted with my command-line acumen.
i’m trying very hard to comfort myself with the knowledge that afterwards, i’ll be able to buy new parts for my pc on a whim. just think, i’ll be able to see things in 24 bit colour, get a highspeed connection, a cd burner, a wacom tablet, a digital camera with usb interface! it will be worth the lost of control… really.

Posted in: words

8 Thoughts on “rm -rf /*”

  1. dangerman on April 4, 2001 at 17:11 said:

    STONE THE GEEK!
    *throws goat dung*

  2. paige on April 4, 2001 at 18:26 said:

    uh….*drool*

  3. heather on April 4, 2001 at 19:14 said:

    yeah, dangerman. look who’s talking!
    and it worries me that paige is drooling over goat dung.

  4. dangerman on April 4, 2001 at 20:40 said:

    Whats not to love about goat dung?

  5. drooler on April 4, 2001 at 20:55 said:

    i’ve got mad goat dung disease.

  6. heather on April 4, 2001 at 21:02 said:

    light the pyre, drooler’s getting fried.

  7. Goddess on April 5, 2001 at 07:46 said:

    Whenever anyone talks about computer stuff I just skip reading the entry but I just wanted to post something anyway. So, here it is. Ta Da!!

  8. heather on April 5, 2001 at 08:59 said:

    *laugh* just wait until i list the things i’ll miss about linux!

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