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View Full Version : How would you describe what I use Linux for?



Drone4four
June 21st, 2012, 02:42 AM
I have fun troubleshooting on forum message boards and enjoy solving problems. Burning an iso to a USB key, passing the nomodeset parameters in Grub2 on initial boot, partitioning a hard disk, installing Ubuntu (using a GUI), getting a new splash screen for Gentoo, creating an fstab that mounts partitions properly, installing VirtualBox with aptitude and then simultaneously running Slackware, Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Gentoo and Windows XP -- which is all made possible with my 16 GBs of RAM -- is what I do with Linux in my spare time. And that’s not even an exhaustive list. Performing those tasks is a hobby. Listening to music, being rational, and bathing in solitude as such is my spiritual calling. Sitting in front of my computer for hours on end is a form of meditation for me. I love it. I’m never lonely as long as I have my Linux box. This is who I really am.

http://picpaste.com/pics/GNU_wallpaper-75306-F0yJkfzF.1340243025.jpg

What do I say to strangers when asked what I like to do with my spare time? While I use the command line interface to install compiz 0.8.8 on 64 bit Slackware first in a guest virtual machine and then second on a separate base system, I didn’t write the SlackBuilds myself. So I am a script kiddie. But saying, “I am a script kiddie” isn’t very dignifying. And saying, “I tinker with Linux” or, “I play with Linux” is kind of juvenile and isn’t very clear at explaining what I do. I am “programming” a computer by inputting commands and diagnosing output. Likewise, I am scientific as I examine input and output to solve a technical problems. If I say to someone that “I program Linux” or simply that, “I am a computer scientist” then that effectively conveys the message that I spend a lot of time in front of a computer and that I am an IT guy, which I think is a fair assessment. But then again, I can’t say I’m a computer programmer because I’m not actually programming using a language yet. Ostensibly, the easy way out here would be to learn to code Python and then I could just say that I am a computer programmer or computer scientist. But I have tried to learn Python and Bash, among so many other languages, but I can’t seem to get past the ‘hello world’ stage. I could go into more detail regarding my ordeal with learning programming languages, but that is a bit off topic. For now I just want an answer to my query: Based on I have said I do with Gentoo, Slackware and Ubuntu, do I qualify as a computer scientist/computer programmer even though I am not coding yet? How would you describe what I do with GNU Linux?

blackbird34
June 22nd, 2012, 08:23 PM
over-indulging? ;-)

Drone4four
June 25th, 2012, 03:29 AM
blackbird34: How am I over-indulging?

whatthefunk
June 25th, 2012, 03:44 AM
You are a hobbyist.

rai4shu2
June 25th, 2012, 07:24 AM
... Sitting in front of my computer for hours on end is a form of meditation for me. I love it. I’m never lonely as long as I have my Linux box. This is who I really am. ...

Since you already know who you are, there you go.

I would describe this as someone who likes to taste rather than digest. Or perhaps you have lost your way but have decided that that is a good thing.