I have been interested in Linux for a few years now. I think the idea of ownership interests me the most; it is my opinion that I own my computer and I like the idea of control over what runs on it. No doubt this is a bit of arrogance on my part, because given an empty computer I am helpless unless I have someone else's software to run on it. Perhaps because I developed an attitude toward "my computer" before the Internet ever came along and was even a bit late in connecting to the WWW. I feel a certain proprietorship about it all and am a bit put off anytime it is hinted that the actual ownership of a computer or what runs on it is questioned.

I first encountered Linux as perhaps everyone did a few years back when a friend passed me a Knoppix CD. It booted right up and did pretty much what would expect from a computer. The main problem was that I am on dialup so at least for a time Linux could only be a novelty for me.

Things were going well for me and I saw fit to buy myself a laptop. I had read it advised that hopeful laptop buyers should aim for about the same power and speed of their current desktop, and that seemed somewhat reasonable to me. Because I am always several years behind the times, I could pick up a used laptop with slightly better specs than what I was used to for a fraction of what new models were going for. The opportunity here was that the laptop would be wiped; I would have to install the operating system. I had a copy of Windows to install, so I went for it.

I don't know what posessed me to think that an OS install was beyond me, but after getting through several hurdles I ran afoul of some drivers and admitted defeat. I drove to town and bought an hour of the local tech's time and at last my laptop was usable to me. Things were great for just about a year.

After a while my CMOS battery ran down and what the heck I replaced it myself. An hour of the local tech's time had become a large percentage of the laptop's replacement cost. Shortly thereafter, Windows refused to boot. By then I had started a collection of live Linux CDs and when they would run on the laptop just fine I declared it to be a software problem.

This time around, having proved that the laptop actually worked and having a few successes to bolster my confidence, I was determined to do the install myself. I was able to find the missing driver and bring my laptop to full function. This empowered, I felt I was ready to risk going off into the unknown arena of disk partitioning and attempt a Linux dual-boot.

I had a copy of Mandrake full install on hand; I think I chose it because I liked the name. The partitioning and install proceeded very smoothly and I soon had a working Linux machine without any driver worries at all. Of course I didn't use it at home because of the dialup issues, but when using the wireles card at coffee shops and the like I automatically booted into Linux and was able to carry on as natural as could be.

Another year passed and I felt it was time to replace the failing desktop. The purchase of a better, used machine without an OS was by now a the obvious step. I was able to triple my speed and processing power at a very low price. Since the new computer had no modem installed, I was in a way forced to buy an external modem which would also work with Linux and remove the barrier of using Linux full time. I will tell of this in detail in the second part of the story.

It has always been my philosophy that carrying around lots of heavy camera equipment will earn you a reputation as a fine photographer, especially since hardly anyone asks to see the photos later. It is easy enough to pass around one or two clear examples as the best of the lot. You really don't have to state how bad the culls actually were. In my early days I aquired a standard 35mm camera and a huge zoom/macro lends which also meant I had to carry around a large, bulky tripod to even use the thing. I looked marvelous. I have since switched to digital, but I did manage to find a filter holder for the lense that makes the camera much more imposing. People tell me I have a fine looking camera, and I smile and say thanks.

I never realized the harm in this type of deception until I was asked to photograph someone's wedding. Finances were an issue and I knew it would be me or nothing at all, so I agreed. Fortunately an ace photographer showed up from out of town and agreed to take over with the film camera. I was able to outdo my self with 3 or 4 clear shots with the digital.

I keep trying to remember why I am switching to Linux. I am able to get everything I need to work except for FTP. My Kbear has a bug which crashes it immediately and FileZilla behaves very badly. So far this is a showstopper.

The new 80GB Seagate Barracuda finally arrived. It is installed and the only time it failed to boot was when I tried using the old drive as a slave.

I installed OpenSUSE on a dual boot setup and have been using it almost exclusively. Linux is as much of a headache as anything else computer related. I have been pretty much going about my business just fine and only booted up into Windows to update the antivirus.

I was happy to fine that PocoMail runs under WINE, but it does behave very strangely. I also run Firefox under WINE. I wanted to try the newest version, but it is not available from the SUSE update and I couldn't figure out how to install it with the tarball. I am not able to find these programs using the terminal so I have to navigate through the file manager. bummer.