So I installed Windows 7 on my laptop the other day, so it now dual boots with Ubuntu. Primarily this is so I can install some of the software I use at work to use at home as well (I know, this sounds like a stupid thing to do)
In the process of doing this, I also took the opportunity to re-jig my hard drive partitions a little to work better with the dual boot system and be able to share data across both OS's.
Without going into to much technical detail (this isn't a tech blog after all), I basically set up the main user "Documents" folders in both OS's to read from the same partition. However, after I did this, I found that in Ubuntu, I had issues with the system not being able to store passwords and so forth (eg. I had to manually type in my wireless network password everytime I logged in).
So, I did what I always do when I have a technical issue like this - I consulted the all-knowing Google! And then spent a few hours trawling through different blogs and forums trying to find an answer that solved my problem. Which I eventually did - turns out you couldn't actually do what I'd done in the way I did it, so I had to re-jig my settings a little again.
Anyway, what's the point of this little anecdote? Well, there's two actually. The first is, if you're having an issue with your computer, chances are, someone's had the same problem before, and they might have even put something on the Internet about it. If they have, then Google will find it, and then you can read about how to fix your problem. The only real thing that separates "technical" people from "non-technical" people is "technical" people know how to use Google!
The second point is, quite often I'm asked, "Why do you use Linux?". The biggest reason is, I got tired of Windows being crap. But the other main reason is, it's not just about being a braindead sheep - you can actually put some thought into it. Yes, it took me a few hours of research and fiddling with settings to fix a problem. And it was annoying while I was doing it. But at the end, I fixed it, and that gives you a real feeling of satisfaction. And that's something you just don't get with Windows!
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3 comments:
I took the easy way out; I have an NTSC partition for WinXP, an ext4 for Ubuntu, a FAT32 partition for all my files and a series of shortcuts to get me around.
I imagine that your reasoning for not wanting to do that was to be able to share the contents of your Linux home folder. I just figured that anything that I stored there will only ever be needed in Linux.
Let's be honest, being a sheep is going to Mac now, Windows are just the lazy people who can't bother changing...
@Thorn - I have essentially the same setup, but I was trying to mount the FAT partition directly as /home/
Now I've taken it back a level and just have symbolic links in /home/ to all the folders on the FAT partition.
@Mark - You're probably right, Mac certainly seems to the the fashion de jour. Personally I still think they're overpriced for what you get, but I can see the attraction.
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