My first experience with Linux was back in 1999 when I installed RedHat 5.2 on an AMD K6 300mhz machine. From then on I was amazed at Linux’s ability to force me to learn. Some may not understand why this is anything important, but for me it was extremely important. Linux helped me to become proactive. If I wanted to get something to work I had to learn how to do it. This was the best method of learning for myself.

I was a slacker in every sense of the word. However, Linux forced a simple compromise. Either I learn how to do things the Linux way or go back to Windows (Windows 98 at the time). I stuck with it and enjoyed every step of the learning process. Of course there were some frustrating moments, but the reward of finding a fix far outweighed those.

Is it good for a normal user to have to “suffer” through this learning process? Of course its not, but I never considered myself a normal computer user and Linux was never a normal operating system. I always felt a sense of pride when I figured out something new. This learning helped me in my career because I learned to take initiative on my own and not depend on the paper MCSEs that were so prominent in the 90’s.

Now all I see is talk about how Linux is/is not ready for the desktop. For Linux to become successful on the desktop it has to do this they say. Well it is already successful on my desktop. Has been for six years now. Would it be cool to have everyone using Linux? Sure it would, but not at the expense of what makes it special.

The Corporate World

The corporate world along with journalists have this notion that something is not successful until it starts to either make a considerable amount of money or has a significant piece of marketshare. Linux is no success to them until it has a desktop share that can start to compete with Microsoft.

I could care less if my mom can figure it out or not. She has Windows and Mac OSX to make her life easier. Linux is getting easier by the day thanks to the advancements of Gnome and KDE. Great, just keep the essence of Linux the same.

Is Linux a failure if it can’t make it on the desktop? Why would it be? It has done what no other “hobby” OS has even come close to doing. It has also brought together a bunch of geeks that probably wouln’t even know each other without Linux. It has changed the way businesses think about IT and brought about drastic changes in software development methodologies.

To every person who uses Linux and has fought through those troubleshooting moments, Linux means something unique. Linux is fine doing what it does best: everything for me. Keeping Linux, Linux is fine by me. Won’t see me complaining…