My cousin makes fun of me for using ubuntu

[kevin11951]

my cousin visited town 2 days ago, and just left. He said im not a real geek/nerd, for using ubuntu/debian :(. gentoo, and slackware are for REAL geeks/nerds :(, and that you not a real geek/nerd if you dint write your own drivers for hw :(... Now then, that just irritates me :mad:, because nobody would do that unless they have to! ubuntu is easier, i use it, all my hw have drivers, im not going to (nor do i know how to) write them from scratch!

(Man, i cant believe im fighting about a label)

i sound like an idiot for posting this (not to mention immature) don't i?

[damis648]

my cousin visited town 2 days ago, and just left. He said im not a real geek/nerd, for using ubuntu/debian :(. gentoo, and slackware are for REAL geeks/nerds :(, and that you not a real geek/nerd if you dint write your own drivers for hw :(... Now then, that just irritates me :mad:, because nobody would do that unless they have to! ubuntu is easier, i use it, all my hw have drivers, im not going to (nor do i know how to) write them from scratch!

(Man, i cant believe im fighting about a label)

i sound like an idiot for posting this (not to mention immature) don't i?

I understand how you feel. When he says this you feel like you lose computer authority and superiority? :D

[-grubby]

Your cousin sounds like the immature one to me. Perhaps he shouldn't stereotype. Also, why would writing your own drivers be useful?

[LaRoza]

my cousin visited town 2 days ago, and just left. He said im not a real geek/nerd, for using ubuntu/debian :(. gentoo, and slackware are for REAL geeks/nerds :(, and that you not a real geek/nerd if you dint write your own drivers for hw :(... Now then, that just irritates me :mad:, because nobody would do that unless they have to! ubuntu is easier, i use it, all my hw have drivers, im not going to (nor do i know how to) write them from scratch!

(Man, i cant believe im fighting about a label)

i sound like an idiot for posting this (not to mention immature) don't i?

Next time he comes over, tell him you are using FreeBSD and that he isn't a real geek.

(You might want to actually install it, to show him)

[joninkrakow]

Well, when I was a teenager, next to being called a redneck, probably the worst insult you could give somebody was to call them a geek or nerd.... We've come a long way.

-Jon

[Black Mage]

I would just put it like this:

Only a smart idiot reinvents the wheels when they don't have too.

A genius will build upon it.

[popch]

So make fun of your cousin for not using Ubuntu.

[perce]

You have two options:

1) tell him your NOT a nerd but a cool guy
2) tell him Linus Torvalds would never use Slakware because he has more important things to do (he actually said something like this in an interview referring to Debian, back in times when Debian was painful to install).

[red_Marvin]

Another good reason to reinvent the wheel is to learn, even if at first they're not very round and ground contact is shaky, as with mine.

@op: It's funny, I expected a thread on how your windows using cousin called you a geek for using linux.

[Joeb454]

Or instead of lowering yourself to your cousins level as others suggested - just ignore him, who cares what you use :) Freedom of choice is what its all about :)

[Lord Xeb]

Well, when I was a teenager, next to being called a redneck, probably the worst insult you could give somebody was to call them a geek or nerd.... We've come a long way.

-Jon

A chick at school calls me a nerd/geek all the time. I am proud that I have superior knowledge in areas many do not. Be proud of yourself. Also, ask him how easy it was to install things on his computer. You should never have to write your drivers. I can go to a manufacturers website and download drivers for linux and install them. That is what a real linux pro would do. Writing your own drivers would have many risk and they are not tested nor matured. Using drivers that work is better than writing them from scratch.

[gameryoshi600]

Next time he comes over, tell him you are using FreeBSD and that he isn't a real geek.

(You might want to actually install it, to show him)

yeah do this thats what i was gonna say

[Iandefor]

my cousin visited town 2 days ago, and just left. He said im not a real geek/nerd, for using ubuntu/debian :(. gentoo, and slackware are for REAL geeks/nerds :(, and that you not a real geek/nerd if you dint write your own drivers for hw :(... Now then, that just irritates me :mad:, because nobody would do that unless they have to! ubuntu is easier, i use it, all my hw have drivers, im not going to (nor do i know how to) write them from scratch! Just ignore him. Doesn't sound like a fight that's worth getting into or getting worked up about.

[jgrabham]

A bit OT, but I bought a t-shirt from ebay today that says "I'm not a nerd, I'm a geek" :D


Anyhoo, maybe you should try using some other distros, Ubuntu is great, works out of the box, and is awesome for beginners, but try something like Arch on the same machine, and you'll realise that Ubuntu CAN be too bloated, and it's not always the best option. *Ducks from flames*

[cookieofdoom]

Well, to some degree he has a point. Ubuntu is far easier to use. Geeks/nerds are never known for taking the easy road. The reason for doing things the hard way is the learning experience. I use Ubuntu most of the time, but I've installed (and used for a while) Arch and Gentoo. The learning experience from each was very useful.

You are a nerd/geek, but someone who's done those things would probably (and this is entirely dependant on the definition of the word) be nerdier/geekier than you. Don't let it bother you, though, as it really doesn't matter. I've never written a driver, that makes me less nerdy/geeky than some other people... that's not my goal though. My goal with Linux is to learn, have fun, and have a usable system.

[kevin11951]

Well, to some degree he has a point. Ubuntu is far easier to use. Geeks/nerds are never known for taking the easy road. The reason for doing things the hard way is the learning experience. I use Ubuntu most of the time, but I've installed (and used for a while) Arch and Gentoo. The learning experience from each was very useful.

You are a nerd/geek, but someone who's done those things would probably (and this is entirely dependant on the definition of the word) be nerdier/geekier than you. Don't let it bother you, though, as it really doesn't matter. I've never written a driver, that makes me less nerdy/geeky than some other people... that's not my goal though. My goal with Linux is to learn, have fun, and have a usable system.

the only problem with test out different distros for the learning experience, is that i only have 1 computer, a laptop... so if it goes belly up in the middle of a project, its SOL for me

[kevin11951]

Another good reason to reinvent the wheel is to learn, even if at first they're not very round and ground contact is shaky, as with mine.

@op: It's funny, I expected a thread on how your windows using cousin called you a geek for using linux.

actually, my other cousin is a mac girl, and makes fun of me for using ubuntu too. but that dosent bother me because ive used macs, and their os bothers me, i dont know what it is, but it bothers me.

[jgrabham]

the only problem with test out different distros for the learning experience, is that i only have 1 computer, a laptop... so if it goes belly up in the middle of a project, its SOL for me

Virtualbox?


actually, my other cousin is a mac girl, and makes fun of me for using ubuntu too. but that dosent bother me because ive used macs, and their os bothers me, i dont know what it is, but it bothers me.

The problem is, you have over three brain cells,and you're trying to use a mac!! Clever people + Macs equal headaches all round - stick to PCs (REAL computers)

[kdardio2415]

Or, the next time he tries to make fun of you, just shush him, and give him a great big bear hug, and say "It's okay, it's okay. We can all just get along." And then, gently sing John Lennon's "Imagine".

[Black Mage]

A chick at school calls me a nerd/geek all the time. I am proud that I have superior knowledge in areas many do not. Be proud of yourself. Also, ask him how easy it was to install things on his computer. You should never have to write your drivers. I can go to a manufacturers website and download drivers for linux and install them. That is what a real linux pro would do. Writing your own drivers would have many risk and they are not tested nor matured. Using drivers that work is better than writing them from scratch.

I must agree. I rather be a nerd than average Joe or idiot. Another thing about being a nerd/geek, they generally do end up more finicial secure than non-nerds.

But hey, maybe Bill Gates and Steve Jobs should have given up when they were called nerds. They didn't seem to get to far anyway.

[Novus]

or... tell him that you actually have a life too and don't want to spend every weekend compiling the kernel

[jrusso2]

Well, to some degree he has a point. Ubuntu is far easier to use. Geeks/nerds are never known for taking the easy road. The reason for doing things the hard way is the learning experience. I use Ubuntu most of the time, but I've installed (and used for a while) Arch and Gentoo. The learning experience from each was very useful.

You are a nerd/geek, but someone who's done those things would probably (and this is entirely dependant on the definition of the word) be nerdier/geekier than you. Don't let it bother you, though, as it really doesn't matter. I've never written a driver, that makes me less nerdy/geeky than some other people... that's not my goal though. My goal with Linux is to learn, have fun, and have a usable system.

Gentoo and Slackware are for baby's. Gentoo just teaches you how to use Gentoo.

If you want to be a real geek do Linux from scratch then you have some braggin rights

[cookieofdoom]

Gentoo and Slackware are for baby's. Gentoo just teaches you how to use Gentoo.

If you want to be a real geek do Linux from scratch then you have some braggin rights

I don't know much about Slackware. Gentoo broke for me when I first installed it so I had to go through installing a lot from scratch: drivers, xorg, a bunch of useful command line stuff. It was pretty annoying, lol. I got real familiar with the command line. At one point I ended up recompiling the kernel with some custom options. I was so surprised when it worked.

I thought about doing Linux from scratch, but I've not had the time and it sounds rather difficult as well as time consuming. Maybe someday, though.

[AmishFury]

sounds like my cousin... i believe he went linux from scratch and instead of a desktop environment that looks even remotely attractive he uses some really fugly window manager

if he knew i was running ubuntu he'd probably make fun of me

[jespdj]

i sound like an idiot for posting this (not to mention immature) don't i?
Maybe, but your cousin also sounds like he's ignorant. Maybe he's jealous? :p

[spoons]

Just ask him how he gets his computer working, he will go through "compile kernel, install x, configure y, apt-get moo" etc. Then say, well, I just install Ubuntu.

[AmishFury]

Just ask him how he gets his computer working, he will go through "compile kernel, install x, configure y, apt-get moo" etc. Then say, well, I just install Ubuntu.

yeah... put in disc.. spend a minute clicking... go make a sandwich... eat it... log in to your freshly installed ubuntu

[DigitalDuality]

d

[bufsabre666]

hahahaha just reminded me of a video ive seen a while back

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSCNpzD37l4

a great watch, its so funny

ubuntu over slackwar,e although i like both
and fat chicks over skinny ones, although i like both

[shadylookin]

Before Fedora had PowerPC support, I ran YDL for a while, and before that I had SuSE. Funnily enough, the only distributions I tend to refuse to touch are the "technical" ones, so I've never run Debian, because as far as I'm concerned, the whole and only point of a distribution is to make it easy to install (so that I can then get to the part I care about, namely the kernel), so Debian or one of the "compile everything by hand" ones simply weren't interesting to me.

that's a quote from linus:lolflag:

I tend to agree with him. I've checked out slackware and gentoo, but I'm not a big fan of reinventing the wheel. With ubuntu I just need to install and spend 5 minutes on synaptic to get everything I want then I can do the nerdy things that i enjoy and skip the dull compiling from source.

To each his own of course I'm sure some people find the "technical" distros to be fun and rewarding it's just not my cup of tea.

[id1337x]

Pssh... Tellem you aren't a TRUE geek until you are an expert in FASM and you write drivers in it for KolibriOS. :lolflag:

[barbedsaber]

sticks and stones, just make sure you keep him away from the dictionary. (they do break bones I broke someone's nose once with a thesaurus, in self defense of course :))

[K.Mandla]

Tell him real geeks build their own cars too. And grow their own food. And hunt down the animals they eat and butcher them on their own, and walk everywhere and educate themselves and don't under any circumstances rely on the efforts of other people to make their own lives easier.

I always wonder why so many Linux fans waste their time infighting.

[Cresho]

Well, I do admit I use Ubuntu and I do feel a little guilty that it's very easy and all but..

Try building software for the zaurus 3200. I own one and its discontinued and am damn proud of showing it off. I thought arch linux was a geeks operating system?

[%hMa@?b<C]

Tell him real geeks build their own cars too. And grow their own food. And hunt down the animals they eat and butcher them on their own, and walk everywhere and educate themselves and don't under any circumstances rely on the efforts of other people to make their own lives easier.

I always wonder why so many Linux fans waste their time infighting.

why on earth would you walk if you just built yourself a nice car?:lolflag:

[Barrucadu]

I thought arch linux was a geeks operating system?

If by "geek" you mean "someone who likes computer DIY", then yes.

[Sand & Mercury]

my cousin visited town 2 days ago, and just left. He said im not a real geek/nerd, for using ubuntu/debian :(. gentoo, and slackware are for REAL geeks/nerds :(, and that you not a real geek/nerd if you dint write your own drivers for hw :(... Now then, that just irritates me :mad:, because nobody would do that unless they have to! ubuntu is easier, i use it, all my hw have drivers, im not going to (nor do i know how to) write them from scratch!

(Man, i cant believe im fighting about a label)

i sound like an idiot for posting this (not to mention immature) don't i?

When did being a geek become a badge of honor? :lol:

[Linuxratty]

Well, when I was a teenager, next to being called a redneck, probably the worst insult you could give somebody was to call them a geek or nerd.... We've come a long way.

-Jon

Strange how intelligence is seen as a bad thing.
I think the terms geek and nurd cam to be because those are not quite as smart as us have to bring us down to their level by insulting us with names like geek..
But yes,that is changing now, at least a little.
Now,I feel sorry for your cos' for still using Windows...
Poor dude.
I'd call him the less bright one for insulting a Linux user.

[Cresho]

If by "geek" you mean "someone who likes computer DIY", then yes.

:popcorn:

[robertchahine]

send him a virus and tell him to send you one.
when his computer will be totally harmed and yours is healthy he will see who's the loser ;)
(don't try this at home :D )

[days_of_ruin]

you Have Two Options:

1) Tell Him Your Not A Nerd But A Cool Guy
2) Tell Him Linus Torvalds Would Never Use Slakware Because He Has More Important Things To Do (he Actually Said Something Like This In An Interview Referring To Debian, Back In Times When Debian Was Painful To Install).

+1

[dnairb]

Um... are you upset because he said you weren't a geek??

Anyhoo, next time, look him in the eye and say "I don't care". Simple.

[cardinals_fan]

send him a virus and tell him to send you one.
when his computer will be totally harmed and yours is healthy he will see who's the loser ;)
(don't try this at home :D )


Strange how intelligence is seen as a bad thing.
I think the terms geek and nurd cam to be because those are not quite as smart as us have to bring us down to their level by insulting us with names like geek..
But yes,that is changing now, at least a little.
Now,I feel sorry for your cos' for still using Windows...
Poor dude.
I'd call him the less bright one for insulting a Linux user.
The cousin uses Linux too...

[FFighter]

Come on... tell your cousin to get a life. We want to get things done, not hack with the kernel, I need to pay the bills, so I don't have time to mess with configuration stuff, generally.

On the other hand, if in some other life or dimension I eventually become an OS architect or some other low level code-monkey, then yes, I would be searching for the most hardcore bit-level experience. But I do web, and I can't bother too much with low-level stuff.

So, keep walking, Johnny Walker :)