Hello - This is my first time on this forum...
 

Well that little tag at the top of the screen seemed to want me to introduce myself haha.

I really wanted to spend my time reading old threads and getting lots of decent info so I could set up a computer with Linux or Free BSD... Probably both. :)
When I stated that I didn't intend to post, it was due mostly to my lack of knowledge regarding Linux, not due to being antisocial.

So what can I say to make this post have some vague interest to people?
I have spent most of my life using Windows, and I was put-off Linux by people who had never used it, and yet seemed to think it was the worst thing the world had ever spawned. The same thing happened with Mac OS.X when a friend claimed how awful it was, but failed to state that the last time he has used it was 4 years ago, and that he had no idea what the new Mac computers were like. Because of all this bad info I stuck with Windows and didn't give other operating systems another thought.

I actually quite like Windows - when it works, I really like it. I'm not an anti-Windows person really and after reading "In The Beginning Was The Command Line" I do believe that Microsoft has given a great helping-hand to Linux by constantly insisting on newer hardware with each updated version of their OS, thus leaving a gaping wide hole for people who want to run something decent on dated hardware.
The only thing about Windows that always gave me pause was the feeling that I was only getting half of the computer experience - I mean sure everything was working, but I always felt as if something was missing... I guess I felt like a computer bystander rather than a computer user. It was mostly things like not being able to customise my computer, and too be honest, not really having a clue how Windows itself worked despite using it every day. Despite all this, I was still under the belief that Linux wasn't very good, that it was very hard to use, and was all text based - what a pity, I wasted a lot of time believing such junk.

A few months back a friend of mine told me how he had acquired several Silicon Graphics Octane machines, and that he had enough to give me one for free! So I decided to try it out and see what it was like. My first reaction was "Oh my god, this isn't Windows!" and I swear, I actually miss-trusted it a bit. After using this cool machine for a while now, I am in love - it does many of my day-to-day tasks and there is something totally cool about it. The operating system used on this machine is IRIX - a branch of UNIX used by Silicon Graphics providing a very usable, and IMHO pretty GUI, *but* when you wanted serious power, the UNIX shell is there ready to kick butt.:)
Now I love my Octane to bits, but I have to accept that there are certain things it simply cannot do. Things such as USB, games (Yes, I do quite enjoy NWN and RPG games hehe)and a few other things which are small, but I do rely on these for several important things.
So I was a bit sad to learn that my wonder machine couldn't do everything, but it was around this time that I sat down and had a look through the Linux documentation. This wasn't *exactly* UNIX, but it had the same kind of feel to it, and worked in a similar way. The more I read about Linux and *BSD, the more I simply loved the idea. I had experience with IRIX and this seemed to be a really good learning extension.

So here I am - a UNIX lover, but a Linux newbie. I think I should be able to fit right in with Linux or BSD. I have the install discs and should have access to a 'I don't care if it does blow up' old PC that I will be able to install BSD and Linux on to, within the next few days.

So thank you for reading my introduction, and I apologise for writing so much and not getting straight to the point.

Thanks again for reading,

Ben.

P.S: I don't seem to be able to post a link to the above mentioned article on my first post, so I will include it as a second post - I'm not intentionally double posting!!!:p

Here is a link to the above mentioned article:
http://www.spack.org/wiki/InTheBegin...TheCommandLine

There are parts where it totally drifts off and you think that the author is never going to get to the point, but it does come together in the end. The part about Apple isn't entirely true due to the emergence of OSX after this article was released; but despite all this, I consider it a good read.:)

Hello and welcome (three most commonly used words in replies of this side of the forum I believe) :)

I'm not saying much, because it's late, except that if you're an UNIX lover you shouldn't worry; some people refer to Linux as "UNIX re-written free of charge". It's very close to (some from of) UNIX, of course not all of them because UNIX has a few flavours, but seems to me that it has also added to the package. By this I mean that some GNU programs can do more than their UNIX grandfathers. But generally the thing works like UNIX does.

I would also like to warn you about BSD users; most of them are nice, but it seems for some very odd, bizarre and non-understandable reason there exists a few of them who tend to get angry if you happen to think Linux and BSD resemble each other. Yeah, they're a bit different just like the branches of UNIX and Linux are, but..well, I'm not saying anything further so nobody starts a war (again), and I personally have nothing against BSDs (I could be a BSD user now, but because of some incidents am not), but some people just are weird. Surely there are same types of persons among Linux users too (like the one who created the "MS Firefox Professional" site), but I just seem to bump into more people who defend BSD's being unique to the last man standing than any other system :) So, shortly put, it seems dangerous to say any "own" opinions about any systems. The only worse thing you can do is compare two operating systems if certain people are present.

You had luck getting one of those Octanes, I wish I had had a similar opportunity when I started out. Anyway, welcome, and now - good night!

Thank you for your warm, and very fast welcome. :)

That sounds cool - from what I read, it seemed that there would be similarities between Linux and UNIX. At any rate, it will be fun to learn something new I imagine.

So saying something along the lines of "OMGORZ L1nux is t3h same as BSD!!!!" Might not go down to well with certain people? Just kidding, but I understand what you mean. :)

I really like how BSD seems to work, but I also like how Linux works... I'll probably install both and see for myself which one I prefer.

Yeah, I was lucky to get my Octane I think, but I am very glad it turned out the way it did.

So thank you again for your helpful reply, it's nice to get greeted like that when you join a new forum.:)

Heh Split the diff between Linux and BSD and do Solaris. Someday I am going to put me a box together so I can do it. Maybe even a sparc station. Although these days an x86 box is probably infinitely better.

Hi and welcome to LQ :D

Hi my name is linux aware iam new to this forum.