If something seems different at The Plucked Chicken, I’d be surprised.
But if it does, it’s because I’ve upgraded and rearranged some things on
the old home network.
It began when I wanted to install something on the server that hosts the
PC. (I don’t even remember what it was at this point!) For those who
don’t use a Debian-based flavor of Linux, I have to explain how most
software installs and upgrades work. It’s pretty easy. Software is
split into packages by task, functionality, mutual compatibility, and
versions. So the first step is to find the package you want to upgrade
or install, and there are package-management tools that make this fairly
easy. (Understand that there are somewhere over 6,000 Debian packages.)
After that, you use one of several package-management tools to do the
upgrade or install. The computer handles the rest: figuring out
dependencies, downloading packages and installing them. It even checks
cryptographic signatures when possible to make sure nothing insidious
has happened.
So I tried installing something remotely on the server machine, but it
had been a long time since I’d performed a major upgrade, and years more
since I’d upgraded the Linux kernel. I just didn’t want to mess with
it, because it sits there, happily running connected only to 115v AC and
10Mb ethernet. Then, I messed with it. The installed system was quite
outdated compared to current Debian systems, and it needed a new kernel.
Time past, I’d compile a new kernel without blinking. It was standard
operating procedure for a long time while using Linux 2.2 and 2.4
kernels, and pretty easy. (I fondly remember a presentation Joe
Abrahamson made to the LUG in Mankato on configuring a kernel for
compiling.) This machine was still running 2.4, and Debian is now
shipping with something like 2.6.20. I didn’t like the prospect of a
full kernel compile on that 333 Mhz machine, not really remembering
exactly what hardware it contained. So tried a few short cuts and
rebooted it remotely, fingers figuratively crossed. It didn’t come back
up. That was Friday morning.
Fast forward past a late night/early morning, one-man emergency computer
rebuilding party, involving a GRUB emergency boot disk, a spare hard
drive, a CD-ROM drive borrowed from the kids’ room, a newly-burned
Debian net-install disk, and an uncooperative DSL modem. As you can
see, the PC is up again. Now it has more hard drive space than ever
before, sporting its own CD-ROM drive (invaluable for emergency
boot/install situations), and a brand-new hostname in honor of a
fictional young man whose brief experience as a dragon changed his life
for the better. It still has only two wires: 115v AC and now 100Mb
ethernet (swapped with kids’ computer).
I remember spending many late hours trying to get Windows or its
programs to work. That was many years ago. It’s inevitable, because
computers are just complex machines. Even appliances go berserk from
time to time. The frustrating thing for me was that I paid good money
for the privilege of that sleepless (and often fruitless) wrestling to
get things working properly. It was about that time that I tried some
alternatives in the hope of finding a Better Way. That included
OS2/Warp, and would have included MacOS too, if I could have afforded
it. (MacOS 7 was current at the time.) Then, I learned about Linux. I
reasoned: “Why pay for my problems, when I can have them all for free?”
The surprising thing was that my problems and frustration were also
dramatically reduced, while my productivity and satisfaction were
dramatically increased. See? You get what you pay for.
Linux is still free, and my problems are still few. Now, though, you
can buy low-cost computers running Linux from Wal-Mart and many other
places. Also, many (most?) of the embedded devices you use without even
realizing it are running Linux.
Just think: my recent upgrade adventure, which wasn’t even so bad
overall, used to be so commonplace that it was hardly worth writing
about. Now, it’s rare enough — for me, anyway — that I mentioned it
on the Plucked Chicken. So thank you, all who contribute to Free
Software!