I never got into computers until late into high school, and I never had my own computer until I went to college. Since that time I have always been interested in computers and software, but I never really considered myself a huge nerd until about a week ago. I was arguing with my friend about UI and spitting out a whole lot of terms that left him scratching his head.
It finally dawned on me. I know a whole about computers.
There is one area of computer use that I have not conquered yet. Linux. I had a brief encounter with Linux in college, which involved my friend coming all the way down to UCLA from Berkeley to sleep on my (filthy) floor for a couple days and install Redhat for me. I spoofed people on ICQ for a few days and uninstalled it.
I decided to take another crack at it. I have been wanting a Netbook for a long time and I grabbed an MSI Wind. I was fortunate enough to get mine as an open box item, so it was significantly less expensive, but I could tell it was brand new when I opened and booted it.
First time booting it. Windows?! We will have to fix that.
Second time booting. Now how do I remove the Windows sticker and button?
I just opened it last night and wireless doesn’t work right off the bat with Ubuntu on this particular model, so with some guidance tonight hopefully I will get that up and running. Other than that, this computer is pretty nice. It’s got a decent response time. I just have to get used to the cramped undersized keyboard. This is going to be great on trips, whether half way around the world or just to the couch.
Hooray for new toys! I’ve got some more in the pipeline, so stay tuned while I single handedly bring our economy out of this doldrums.
Hello, there. My name is Matt, but on this website I just refer to myself as m@. I love all things Star Wars, food, beer, and music, especially The Beatles. I'm one who likes to be noticed and will sometimes say or do inappropriate things to get your attention. I'm perfectly complimented by my online and real life partner
i did not understand the majority of this post, but i yay for the new toy. have fun, it looks cool!
No leopard yet? Post your process here. I’m thinking about one to add to my list of nerd gadgets and up my nerd-cred.
I decided against OS X on this, just because it pretty much breaks completely every time you want to do a system update. Installing Ubuntu is a snap. I believe wifi and webcam are the two things that don’t work by default, but I really only got a couple of hours to play with this so far.
You still interested in airbrushing it for me?
apparently, the msi wind can run full leopard with system updates as well.
so – how’s it working now that you discovered the wifi switch? :D
Everything I’ve read indicates that people are still using the hacked DVDs and doing the updates wreck a ton of drivers. If you can show me something that says otherwise, maybe I will go that direction once I learn enough here to get wifi working on Ubuntu.
I’ve got an ASUS EEE PC that runs Linux and I just love it. I was able to take it with me when I travelled to Tennessee and it was awesome to have with me. I could fit it in my purse and it was so much lighter than my huge 8lb Dell.
Yay for netbooks and Linux.
Linux has become way more powerful in the last couple of years. I used Red Hat some in college, too, and while I’m fairly devoted to Mac, I plan, at some point, to put Linux on my old iBook just to have some fun with it. Of course, that’s hinging on whether or not my laptop lasts much longer. I’ve run it through the ringer, so we’ll see.
PS Did you hear about the teacher who tried to confiscated one of her student’s Linux discs and threatened to take legal action because “no software is free”? Holy crap.
Read about the crazy teacher!
@kertong: Yup. Things work a lot better when trying to install wifi and webcam when you turn the damn things on! OS X major system updates b0rk the install still. I’d stick with Ubuntu.
@Deanna: How is your Dell 8 lb? Did they stuff it with rocks?
@Phil: Yeah, my first crack at Linux took my buddy a couple days on my dirty dorm floor just to install. I’m surprised we’re still friends. Back in 1998, Linux was NOT user friendly.
“Since that time I have always been interested in computers and software, but I never really considered myself a huge nerd until about a week ago.”
REALLY?!? you just figured this out a week ago? shouldn’t the fact that your friend came down from berkeley to install redhat tip you off you were a huge nerd then? haha i’m just messing with you, your nerdiness has helped me solve plenty of my computer problems.
You mean like that time you almost stabbed your eye out trying to remove the cover from your computer? I thought I was just using common sense, not nerd knowledge, to open the casing to the computer.
This post is completely uninteresting to me.