..:: Notes on Linux ::..

below are my notes on Linux and various configs


ahh linux, so powerful, so confusing, why do many options, why so many distros ?

my first interaction with linux was during tertiary education, and it was weird, and wonderful, however fleeting. i don't recall much.
i have nightmares thinking of failures i had attemping to install Redhat v6 or something (pre RHEL) from a magazine cover disk, all on a 486 and being so proud when i got an xsession working. only to have no skills and re-install windows 3.11 / win95.

i have fond memories of being guided by a work collegue how to setup Debian 2.2 Potato on a spare work pc, setting up a file and web server, and using pgp email.
it wasn't until another year or two that i was playing with again with linux in the form of suse, debian, slackware, mandrake as desktop systems. comparing gnome, kde and windowmaker.

next was a vmware-server ontop an ubuntu install. (pre esx)
is seems there always been a linux box nearby, physical or virtual, does it matter, a terminal was only an ssh away.

now days, i don't use linux in the cloud, unless the workload demands it.
i do however use it at work (RHEL, Centos, Ubuntu), because commercial support
and at home, main PC, main Laptop (both Pop!_os) becasue just works + commercial vpns, citrix and ms-teams, two rasp-pi's and a stack of vm's.
no doubt it's embedded in a number of products too.


things i like:
cutitng edge, fast development, excellent hardware support, commerical awareness/support.

things i dont like:
fragmented development, projects forking, gnu lic, linux-crazies, systemD, ZFS conflict, too many options, distro-wars.. still.. and poor quality of documentation and upkeep.