Confessions of a Distro Whore

I have used Linux exclusively for the past five years with a few years of dabbling in it before that. I am not a newbie, but neither am I an expert. I am a self-confessed distro whore, having used just about every major distro at one time or another. I have an extensive collection of Linux installation CDs and DVDs which go back 6 or more years.

I had used Apple IIs when desktop computers were in their infancy. Later I moved to the Commodore 64 and then DOS. I know my way around computers. I welcomed the mouse and GUI when they were new. I have always appreciated inniovation.

I had used the command line for years, but when the GUI came out I was really grabbed by how it made the computer into something accessible to anyone. I went through the growing pains of GUIs until Windows was first released. I gave up my Apple II and bought a new PC with Windows 3.1.

So when I switched to Linux, I did not relish the idea of returning to the command line. It would be a step back for me. It would be like going back to using computer bulletin boards and the internet before there were www’s. I remember those days and I having gone through that stage I appreciate the way things are now. That was the past. The GUI is now. No command line for me unless I absolutely need to use it, thank you.

My first serious distro was Mandrake 7. I had seen Linux before this and had used it a bit, but never considered using it full time. Installing Linux was a hassle and as a born tinker I was bound to get into problems. I put it off until installation was straightforward thanks to anaconda and similar powerful installers. I liked Mandrake’s great tools for installation and maintenance. Over the first two years I made extensive use of the installer.

I used Fedora for awhile after it was released. This was the beginning of my unfaithfulness. Then I discovered the wonders of Linux through the power of broadband and my CD burner. I began downloading and trying distros. I was hooked from the beginning. Not all distros were good, but there was something about them all and the spirit of the open source community that captivated me.

I used Mandrake and Fedora for about two years before giving up RPM-based distros in favour of Debian based ones. I was tired of living in dependency hell. One of the distros that got my attention was MEPIS in 2003. It just worked! The problem was that I enjoyed installing and de-installing too much to stick with it for long.

I began partitioning and using every computer I could lay my hands on to install at least one Linux distro. More often it was at least two.

My current desktop computer now has 11 partitions on two hard drives plus more on usb hard drives and pen drives. I have five OSes running at anyone time. Four of these are Linux. I am not sure why I even have Windows XP MCE, except that it came with the computer.

I also have a pen drive that runs two separate distros courtesy of pendrivelinux.com and another on a bootable usb hard drive. Not satisfied with that, I have 160 GB and 20 GB usb drives dedicated to running virtual machines. At any given time I can boot into a dozen or more different OSes.

As I said I am a distro whore. I can’t help it. Linux is way too much fun! I have my favorites. I have one distro that I use full time. I sometimes changes, but right now it is Ubuntu. Of course, I have every option and available desktop choice installed.

I keep one of my partitions for my home drive which I just recycle and re-use. I tag my user name with a suffix for the distro that matches it. That way I can always keep track of who I am supposed to be. I do not hesitate to drag files across the home directories as needed. I have bookmarks and email folders that go back years.

I love the diversity that I can experience in Linux. Using Windows is way too plain, way too slow and just plain annoying for me, now.

I use Ubuntu Ultimate Edition. Why settle for the plain brown one when you can have the Ultimate one? I run Kubuntu or Ubuntu. I can’t decide which I prefer. Both KDE and Gnome have their virtues and problems. I sometimes will use Fluxbox, Enlightenment or XFCE for a change. Most of the other desktops are installed just because they are available.

I tried doctoring my Linux box to look like a Mac, but never to look like Windows. Enough said. I switched back to a proper Linux theme after the novelty wore off.

Others worthy distros are Simply MEPIS 7, Open Suse 10.3 and PCLinuxOS. I install Fedora or Mandriva out of nostalgia every once in awhile. I don’t take either too seriously right now, though. Suse has the crown for slickness, but it has the problem of breaking if you are like me and install lots of things.

It is just a matter of time before an RPM based distro runs into dependency problems as far as I am concerned. I find synaptic much more dependable. I like PCLinuxOS which is Mandriva at its heart, but it isn’t leading edge enough for me. I find the repositories not as deep as Ubuntu’s. In addition to Ubuntu’s huge repositories I have Automatix, CNR, Klik, getdeb.net and autopackage to play with. This would delight any distro whore’s heart.

I have Hardy Heron running right now as well as those mentioned above. I have KDE 4 working in both my main Gutsy distro and Hardy Heron. It has not grabbed me yet and it is still a bit buggy too be used full time. I use it as a novelty or for a change of pace.

I have to decide what to do with my old distro CDs. Right now they are in a box beside my old Apple II and Imagewriter printer in the back room. I can’t bring myself to part with them. I will likely turn my favorites into a virtual machines. Maybe I could make a museum of Linux virtual machines which show how Linux has developed and matured. That project will have to wait for now.

Right now I am having too much fun being promiscuous. Sorry I can’t promise to be loyal to anyone. There are just too many good looking dance partners out there.