Technology 101: Learning Linux And Be Patient

(One way to do yoga – picture source: www.uni-yoga.com.ar/)

There are several ways in this world for one to learn to be patient and take one’s time to do things. One can go for yoga classes and do some serious meditations or one join the early morning tai-chi session with the uncles and aunties in the neighborhood. Others go for a long holidays or spend some quiet moments sleeping or do gardening.

For some like me, learning to be patient means learning to use Linux

My home computer has gone 100% Linux and whilst I was happy that I have finally salvaged the crashed computer, I know that using Linux will not be as easy as Windows XP – simply because it “tackles” the OS thing from a different angle. There is some step learning curve for someone who is used to Windows whole life.

Linux as the only OS in my PC is performing rather well for the last few days. The internet connection was still down because I need to get the drivers for the modem (I tried using the scanModem but the /Modem folder is not created) and unable to play MP3 files. After several visits to the Linux forums, I managed to get some deb files that should solve the MP3 problem by today (fingers crossed). In the meantime, to listen to music from my PC, what I did was to extract songs from my CDs into OSS format. Finally yesterday night, SP Bala was “back” on my computer singing the 80s Tamil songs but on OSS format. Hopefully some of the deb files that I copied will help the Linux media player to recognize MP3 format. But if that does not work, using OSS format is still fine with me but there is additional work to be done converting the formats.

Next was getting the internet connection up. The problem seems to be is missing modem drivers (yes, I am not on Streamyx). Checking through the Linux forums seems to lead back to one tool to use – scanModem. I followed the steps and made sure that I used “sudo ./scanModem” command but the Modem folder was not created. I checked and there was nothing done. It was a test of my patience as after trying for several times, still nothing happened. On the net, it was mentioned that there is no way that the tool will not work. So, I guess I must be missing something or something in my Linux OS is not updated.

As you can see, using Linux is not that straight-forward as “double clicking on the Setup icon”. Probably this is what keeps the regular PC users from trying Linux in their PC. Installation is a breeze but getting some applications or hardware to work is a major pain in the neck. As for me, I guess getting my hands “dirty” through tough installations is the only I am going to learn using Linux fast and well.

Time to do more research (at the forums again), sigh – as I said, this is the right time to learn to be patient.

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