Month On Linux

Hi,
I'm Adam Gray a software design and development student from SCIL. I have traditionally used Windows for everything, however the first computers I used were Macs I have come to dislike the Mac style and love the Windows style.

I started programming with a copy of Mediator from the cover of an old computer magazine in 2004. (If you call the programming)

Not so long after a friend introduced me Visual Basic 6 Pro. I learned to program on that and became quite proficient in it but in 2005 I started looking for something bigger and better. I had heard of things like C++ and Java and it was becoming apparent to me that Microsoft Word or other "big" programs were not designed in Visual Basic.

So I started looking around for alternatives. I stumbled upon the .NET 2 Visual Studio 2005 Express editions and started playing around with them. I tried learning C++ but none of the tutorials seemed to match the CLR C++ so I tried J# and became utterly confused. (Probably shouldn't have started learning off Visual Basic.) I did have look at Visual Basic 2005 but avoided it as I was looking for something "bigger and better" so I came across C# and that's were I am now. A moderately proficient C# coder for the .NET frameworks. Now I can code however in C++ but generally try and avoid it.

I've tried Linux before but I just haven't had the guts to stick with it. I've tried Mepis, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, DSL, PHLAK and Fedora Core 4. The one I stuck with the longest was Fedora as it just worked and I could easily dual boot it. (Very idiot friendly - or at least for me)

But..... I've always come back to Windows XP (and now Vista). I once said when I stuffed up my MBR when installing Mepis as a second operating system and trying to get windows to work again (I did get it working) "I've never been so happy to see the boot screen of a useless operating system". While that might have been harsh it did hold some truth though. I had started to "outgrow" Windows (just like Visual Basic) and looked around for other operating systems but most of them were smarter than me so I went back to the devil I knew: Windows.

I never have nor probably will consider Macs. I have had bad experiences with them and if you want to know how I feel then just watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrlW_fgWMR8 (bit of swearing a couple of times but it illustrates my point)

But now I come round again. I need to learn Linux. I have fully outgrown Windows for some things. So here's my project "Linux for a Month".

I'm going to try and survive and even possibly thrive on Linux. If I do I'll buy a new bigger hard drive for it, if I don't I'll just.... well lets deal with that if I get there.

There's one catch though. I'm going to dual boot with Windows Vista..... just in case I need Windows. (I'll probably always need Windows for something or other so I'll probably always dual boot with Windows.)