How I learned to love the command line [07 Feb 2019]
I first go into messing with GNU/Linux boxes in 1998, when I
installed Slackware 3.5 on a 486 that had outlived it's usefulness
as a Windows machine. I had acquired a used laptop that had a little
more speed and RAM than the 486, so I used that for my daily driver.
It took over twenty floppy disks to install the base and networking
packages, along with X. I sat there downloading the floppy images
one at a time with the laptop, while the 486 that I was installing
to would be saying "INSERT NEXT DISK". Many times, the disks would
be corrupted, because I had used them so many times. If the 486
rejected a floppy, I would have to go back and download that image
again, since I did not have room on my laptop's hard drive for all
of the packages.
I remember the thrill I got after the system booted for the first
time, and I was greeted by a command line like this:
darkstar:/
The only problem was, I had no idea what to do next.
Luckily, I ended up becoming good friends with a web developer who
was really into GNU/Linux, and was running a Slackware server that
was networked to his Windows NT machine. He was able to get me up
and running with the 486.
I also worked with a guy who was studying for his RedHat
certification, and he taught me a lot as well.
When Slackware added Gnome on Version 7.1, it was a really big deal.
I ordered the CD-ROM set from Amazon, and started to enjoy the
slick desktop.
During all of that time, I felt that I still needed to keep a
Windows box around, because I was worried that I would not be able
to find GNU/Linux replacements for some of the programs that I liked
to use. So, I was still using Windows machines for my main rigs,
while playing around with the GNU/Linux boxes in my spare time.
That all ended in 2010, when I started using CrunchBang, then
Trisquel, then Debian. I have installed and used Ubuntu, but I found
it to be a bit bloated, and too much like Windows for my taste. I
preferred the lean feel of a stock Debian install with XFCE.
I started to do web design full time, and I found myself having to
set up servers more and more, due to the slow performance of shared
hosting providers. VPSs offered the speed and stability that my
clients needed, and they usually offered Debian and Ubuntu as
servers.
Through a lot of reading and trial and error, I developed a pretty
good system for getting LAMP stacks set up on plain vanilla Debian
servers. I learned how to use vi, since it was stock on every
server that I worked on.
I was really starting to love the simplicity of plain text on the
command line, and I quickly began looking for replacements for any
gui programs that I was still using.
For editing, I switched from Gedit to vim.
For music, I switched from VLC to CMUS.
For IRC, I switched from Chatzilla to irssi.
For a file manager, I switched from PCManFm to Ranger.
And for blogging on WordPress, I switched to gopher.
I don't know where this will all lead, but I am enjoying the ride so
far. :)
