LinuxQuestions.org - Noob Graduation - a look back on stupid problems I had

Friends, I hereby reverse my role on the linuxquestions.org forum.

Over the weekend, as I was working on the second round compile chain on my from scratch installation of Linux, I reflected on my experience learning to use Linux.

Follows is the history of my computer use and then a small section covering stupid questions/problems I had while I was a noob.

I'm currently 21 years old. When I was about 6/7, my father brought home our first family computer. I don't remember much about it aside from it being a 5 1/4 floppy capable, optional mouse, sulfer green screen job. It ran DOS. I could not do anything with it.

The next computer we aquired ran OS/2. My grandmother found it in a house she was trying to sell. I could not do anyhting with it. My family questioned the usefullness of personal computers.

The next upgrade was to a Win95 machine. I played with it a lot. It broke :(

Next was a Win98 machine. I spent a great deal of time on this. I had all sorts of fun leeching stuff off of websites, changing the cursors and playing around the desktop settings. It broke. I fixed it. That rush of energy as I used my mind to "beat the machine" told me what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I mowed lawns, raked leaves and cleaned gutters and bought my own machine a year later. It was a business level mini-atx Compaq desktop.

Not long after, my father told me about a friend that built his own computers. This amazed us. We set out to build our own. After some manuals were read and some time was spent, we built our first desktop. No one in my family/friends has bought a name brand system since.

Ah, freshmen year of high school introduced me to the "LAN party" concept. The friends I made taught me a graet deal about hardware and software. During the time period of the LAN parties, I built another couple of systems, broken a bunch of systems, screwed up a couple of OS installs, worked with Windows ME and eventually swore to find an alternative.

Mac's were too expensive, but I found a copy of Red Hat 7 in a magazine at the book store. I installed it on an old machine. I had too much trouble and I gave up on it very quickly.

The next year I took a couple of broken machines and cannibalized them into one old hunk of junk. I used this to experiment running apache/mysql. I ran a crappy server for a while from my cable connection. I hosted a forum owned by a british guy that made bombs for fun. This server ran WinXP pro. After hearing how much better Linux was for servers, I set out to learn it, dead or alive.

I installed and used Redhat 9 for a while. I didn't understand the CLI. I could only install from .rpm's, and only with a little luck.

During this time I made a bunch of posts on this and other forums complaining about how hard it was to use Linux and demanded to understand the reason why everyone said it was so good. I couldn't compile software, I couldn't get my graphics and sound cards to work an other issues.

I quit Linux again for another year or so.

After graduating high school, I took a year off. I didn't have a job or go to school. I had plenty of time to screw around with stuff, so I installed Fedora Core 1. This time I also picked up a few manuals which I read from cover to cover.

I've been in school for almost 2 years now. I'm getting a bachelor's in software development. I'm good with C++, java and vb.net/asp.net.

These days, I use the CLI almost exclusively. I look sideways at people that only use the gui. I know the Linux system inside and out. I've read and understand most of the kernel. I write my own apps and use them actively. I'm currently working on my own app to sync directories between hosts on different networks.

I look back on all of my experiences as positive. I finally feel confident in linux with only 3 years of use.

As my compile chain finished up, I hope that others will share their stories and talk about their experiences with learning Linux. I'll be answering questions in the Newbie section until I see the thread updated.