On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 4:05 PM, Michael M. Moore <[email protected]> wrote: > better, then add more bones and some flesh as I learn. I don't really > want to go the whole Linux from Scratch route -- not enough time, > energy, or interest to do that with a system I probably would get tired > of trying to maintain anyway.
I *highly* reccomend doing one LFS install, and using it for a week. Doing the LFS install was the single most enlightening linux experience I've ever gone through, and 2-3 weeks after installing it, I blew it all away anda put debian on, but it was still well, well worth the effort. --Rogan > I want a sandbox, but I don't want to > have to haul in the sand. > > I've been using Debian for a while now, am pretty wedded to it I think, > and it is sufficiently complex (to me, anyway) that by the time all > these extras and do-dads are layered on top, I really don't understand > very much about what's going on, especially when it comes to solving > problems. It's like trying to learn anatomy by poking at a full-grown > person -- it's really easier if you start with a skeleton. > > My approach to problem-solving has been: 1) Google, 2) mailing lists and > newsgroups, 3) reference books. These have mostly come through for me, > but it's left me with a spotty, haphazard and incomplete understanding > of how this Linux thingy really works. And considering how long I've > been using Linux, I'm pretty disappointed with myself that I don't get > more of it and haven't advanced beyond where I am. I've no tech > background or training, no programming experience, never taken a class > remotely related to computers beyond command-line basics at Free Geek, > when I volunteered there. I didn't grow up with computers (heck, back > when I lived in Cupertino there were still vacant fields and old > abandoned farmhouses). I don't think you have to have any of these > things to use Linux, or even FreeBSD. (Most of my Windows-using friends > response to something going wonky is, "I need a new computer," so I > guess you don't need those things to use Windows either.) But I want to > understand the system better than I do, and truthfully I probably do > understand more that I realize. The problem is, I don't realize. > > > [1] - Sure it consumes some resources, but come on, it's not 1999. I >> don't care about something that is consuming some fraction of a single >> percent of my "mostly-idle most of the time anyway" computer's >> resources. Computer time is cheap, my time is not. > > Yes, but I would like to invest some time in learning what uses those > resources. I'd like to see, what does 'top' look like with a minimal > install? What does it look like after adding various capabilities? How > do system configurations and directories change? At what stages do all > these .dot files show up in my home directory? (A few of them, to this > day, remain something of a mystery to me.) The goal of simplicity for > me, right now, is to make things more comprehensible, not necessarily > make them less work. Also, I have been having some hardware issues, > which got dramatically better when I got rid of GNOME. I'd like to get > to the bottom of the problem (which may very well be, I need a new > something-or-another, probably motherboard or power supply or CPU). > > I still have some more ducks to row before I do this. I can learn > plenty with what I've got going, and intend to practice some more with > certain CLI and ncurses apps, some bash lessons, some perl practice, so > that I'm not lost in the dark with a minimal system and don't reinstall > everything in a panic. That's why I'm taking a closer look at what I've > got and trying to figure out, what's it good for? How does it work? Do I > need it / want it? > > Michael M. > _______________________________________________ > PLUG mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug > _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
