www.upfrontezine.com

Previous Entry | Return to Linux | Next Entry

More Explorations in Linux

Saturday 9 January
I am pleased that -- bit by bit -- I am getting more of Linux working to my liking. It's an exciting time, like the early days of personal computers (1983 for me), the early days of Web browsing (1994 for me), and the early days of the PalmPilot (1996).

I am stalled, though, in my exploration. My son is spending hours on Civilization, the game included with Corel Linux. The 3D game runs in full-screen mode, at 1280x1024 resolution. Despite the father-son clash over who gets to use the Linux computer, I am impressed. He has figured out how to exit Windows and start Linux on his own. Plus, he gets to boast to his geek friends at school that he is running Linux.

Monday 10 January
I'm back to tinkering with Linux. I am midly annoyed that I can't figure out some things. I am grateful for the half-dozen upFront.eZine subscribers who have offered to help. But there is a catch: each of them uses a different dialect of Linux; none use Corel Linux, so they can't help. I got a free copy of Linux for Dummies from http://alpha-processor.com but it is of no help, since it ignores KDE. "The Fun and Easy Way to Make Linux Work for You" -- not!

That was the Achilles Heel of Unix: no common dialect. By the time the Unix industry got its act together to unify Unix, Windows had taken over. I fear Linux may suffer the same fate -- even if it is "free."

I launch the "My Life with Linux" Web site at http://www.upfrontezine.com/linux, which you are reading now.

Next week, Part VI: Don Comes to Visit